Friday, September 07, 2007

Book Of A Thousand Days by Shannon Hale


Hale, Shannon. 2007. Book of A Thousand Days.

Based on a tale from Brothers Grimm, Book Of A Thousand Days is an exciting read about a maid, a lady, two suitors, mistaken identities, disguises, love, and war. Dashti, our narrator, is a maid to the Lady Saren. The two, when the book opens, are being locked away in a dark tower because of the lady's refusal to marry the man her father has chosen: Khasar. The other suitor, the one she was secretly betrothed to, Khan Tegus, has been rejected by her father. The pair will remain locked away in the tower--under guard--for seven years. There is a cellar in the tower with what her father deems enough food for two to last seven years. But, let's say that the father didn't count on his girl's greediness nor the hunger of the rats.

Dashti is our heroine from the onset. Though she is a maid, she is the one our heart goes out to. She is the one we know is worthy of so much more. Saren, well, Saren is sullen and whiny and miserable and selfish and clingy. The book is a diary of their time together...their fears, their hopes, the dangers, their losses, etc.

I can't really relate much more without giving away too much...but I must say that this book was INCREDIBLE. I loved the story, loved the characters, loved the plot twists, loved the ending. It was satisfying from cover to cover.

This book--according to Amazon--will be released September 18, 2007. It will be released in the UK in March 2008.

Behind the scenes of Book Of A Thousand Days.
Miss Erin's review of Book Of A thousand Days.

8 comments:

Ana S. said...

I love retellings of fairy tales, so this sounds just like my sort of thing. I will definitely look for it once it's out.

Becky said...

All of Shannon Hale's books are great. This one and Goose Girl are based on actual fairy tales. :) And the rest of her books have that *feel* about them. You may also like The Princess and the Hound. This is one of my favorite themes/genres :)

Kailana said...

I saw this book today and didn't get it, decided I would get it the beginning of next week. Come home, change my mind, bookstore here doesn't have it. :(

jenclair said...

Like Nymeth, I love retellings of fairy tales, this one is going on my list.

Framed said...

I am a huge Shannon Hale fan. She writes beautifully and with so much imagination. I can't wait to get my hands on this book.

Charlotte said...

Thanks for contributing this post to the Carnival of Children's Literature, which is now up and running at my blog.

Anonymous said...

ok do you know of somewhere where u can read it online?

Anonymous said...

is it a fairytale