A Telling of Stars

Something about how they make you feel old and ugly after you've seen them, because they're just so goshdarned beautiful. That's the same effect this story had on me. After each sentence, I feel everything about myself, and everything else around me, becoming dull, and ugly, because the world contained within a page and words was more beautiful than anything else. Somehow Caitlin Sweet had weaved a magic so true, it hurts. The story by itself is nothing special. A girl seeking revenge for her family, the paths she must choose, the men she loves. It is the way in which everything is written that is worth reading. In a genre so overwrought by descriptions and clichés, the sparse, simple style is a relief. Read this book expecting nothing, because you will be disappointed--there are no epic battles, no detailed adventures, no true story worth repeating. What this book is is the kind you have to cherish for each page, reading each word, and loving every moment of it.

I have just completed A Telling of Stars. One word is floating around in my head the most: beautiful. Jaele's story of loss and her search for vengeance, and especially the prose in which it is written, is very beautiful. I haven't read such a throroughly lovely book in a long time, and I was a bit sad when I reached the last page (although perhaps the last few pages were the most delicious of all). I can't stress enough how much I enjoyed Caitlin's prose. It was at once utterly sparse and beautifully lyrical. What economy of language! Caitlin's prose reminded me of Guy Kay. But even Kay doesn't pare down his language so much. I was very impressed with the way Caitlin managed to convey sharp images and worlds of meaning with only a few well placed words. I found it refreshing, after reading so much epic fantasy, to read a book which chronicled the journey of only one person. I think that narrowing the focus of the story to one POV makes it all the more compelling and poignant. Soon into the book I began to care deeply for Jaele and for the friends she meets on her journey.Much in the book surprised me. A strength of the book is its unpredictability. Everything I figured would happen, didn't. In this unpredictability it had a feeling of real life despite the fantastic nature of so much of the book. Which brings me to another point: Caitlin has formidable powers of imagination. Starfish that juggle shells! Birds that spin webs of silk! An entire orchard of fruit trees underground! And so much more...from beginning to end Telling is filled with descriptions of things and places that made me say, "hey, that's so cool..."Over the course of Jaele's journey she grows more reliant on her own strength and less on others. It's amazing and wonderful to watch the transformation in her character even as she journeys to such strange and wondrous places.The ending of the book, in which Jaele comes to a powerful realization about those people she has loved and lost, was breathtaking. A fitting finale for an emotionally powerful book.I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys either the lyrical, emotional style of Guy Kay or the sparse yet powerful prose of Ursula Le Guin.

I picked up a copy of this in Canada just over a year ago, and it easily lived up to its recommendations. _A Telling of Stars_ is a short, lyrical and moving novel about a young woman's struggle to cope with the brutal murder of her entire family. It is a fable, in essence, which makes deft use of a fantasy world to explore how grief can both harm and heal. Jaelle's journey is both an emotional and a literal one: driven by grief and anger to seek revenge, she travels through Sweet's poetic fantasy world. Along the way, she grows and changes with every new encounter and situation, slowly moving from the extremities of loss and despair into a deeper understanding (if not without bitterness) of herself and of human relationships. The prose is heavily poetic, even sonorous, frequently weaving its colourful world through sound and imagery rather than direct description. It may not be particularly fast-paced, or gritty, or filled with labyrinthine plotting - rather, this is a quieter triumph, and it _will_ stay with you.

For me, "A Telling of Stars" was a unique and entralling reading experience. I say 'unique' because I found I could not read it in the same way I usually read fiction. Very soon I discovered that this was not a book to be read quickly or in a cursory manner.The moment I lapsed into a casual reading style the magic of the book was shattered and I quickly lost the thread of the story. I also found that an overly analytical approach broke the spell of the narrative. What "A Telling of Stars" required of me was an unhurried approach. It also asked me to surrender to its language. When I allowed myself to enter its enchantment in this way the language evoked a wonderful world, not with detailed descriptions, but with its poetic rhythms and nuances. "A Telling of Stars" offers many rewards to those willing to let themselves be swept up in its magic.

For me, "A Telling of Stars" was a unique and entralling reading experience. I say 'unique' because I found I could not read it in the same way I usually read fiction. Very soon I discovered that this was not a book to be read quickly or in a cursory manner.The moment I lapsed into a casual reading style the magic of the book was shattered and I quickly lost the thread of the story. I also found that an overly analytical approach broke the spell of the narrative. What "A Telling of Stars" required of me was an unhurried approach. It also asked me to surrender to its language. When I allowed myself to enter its enchantment in this way the language evoked a world of wonders, not with detailed descriptions, but with its poetic rhythms and nuances. "A Telling of Stars" offers many rewards to those willing to let themselves be swept up in its magic.