The Runes of Elfland

In the Age of Technology, it is a testament to myth's eternal power to inspire that a book like "The Runes of Elfland" by Brian Froud and Dr. Ari Berk has come into being. At once whimsical, passionate, solemn, and joyful, each page is a gift, a fresh breeze that blows across the mind and takes the reader to a special place uncorrupted by that which is easily acquired and jealously owned. Myth and runes are owned by no one; they are tools by which we can escape into the unexplored corners of our minds, and one could want for no better guides than Froud and Berk. The point and counterpoint of the work is exquisitely displayed as you turn each page and presents something certain to affect everyone who looks at the book, if even for a moment.As always, there is darkness and sensuality in even the most innocent picture, as Froud's faeries peer out from the corners of the pages, yet even the most sinister picture has some measure of beauty. Berk's words are soaring poetry, written with a deft touch that presents a deep scholarship in mythic conventions without being pretentious or pontifical.While the book claims to be nothing more than, as Berk says, "a process of seeing, listening, and remembering," this is expert and elegant storytelling that respects the reader and the material. In fact, it is even more because through these words and images, we gain (or re-gain) the power to appreciate not only the "landscapes in [our] memory," but the land itself. No matter your spiritual orientation, there is something to be gained and cherished from the journey you take each time you open this wonderful book.

What can I say? On one page I held my breath. On another, I lost it. One page left me in tears, the longing and the recognition were so poignant. When I went to look for that page again, I couldn't find it, like the gold under the rainbow. It will happen to you. At some point you'll discover the page that haunts your dreams, describes your world, or makes you smile.Ari Berk's exquisitely informed text and Froud's always extraordinary pictures combine to open the world you know is there but have forgotten how to see. The runes, charms, and stories delineate the bargains, the sorrows, and the treasures of the journey. Get this book. Get copies for your friends. If you've ever heard the voices under your bed and wanted to know their names, or wept at a sunset for no reason, or considered walking through the door at the back of the wardrobe, just in case--get this book. They're playing your song.

The word "rune," once, a long time ago, could refer to anything from a single letter to a whole poem, or to an object inscribed with these letters. Ari Berk knows this, and each elfin letter in this book grows or hatches or blooms or fractals out from a letter to a poem to a legend.I got this book as a present, on the longest night of the year, and found warmth in those stories, found inspiration and magic, found myself feeling restored and refreshed from watching those stories grow. The illustrations are wonderful and often reminiscent of art from "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries" or "Faeries" more than "strange stains and mysterious smells," but this is a good thing, as they aren't pictures to accompany silly stories: they're paintings to convey, with the help of Berk's retellings of old legends, the importance of stories, since stories have long been a window to Elfland if not a road. If you like folklore, buy this book. If you like Brian Froud's art, buy this book. if you like stories that are on par with Neil Gaiman's in terms of creating the sense that these things are going all around us but we generally don't take notice, buy this book.

I don't usually read about mythology, faeries, etc. But a friend had The Runes sitting on her coffee table: I picked it up to take a look, and then I stopped visiting and started reading. It is not a mystery novel, but still I didn't put it down until the last page. I knew nothing about Runes and faeries before I opened this book, and was surprised by how easily and quickly I became involved with each new page. Ari Berk's writing is excellent, smooth enough to keep me interested to the end. He successfully takes an out-of-the-ordinary genre and hooks you in. "The Runes..." is the perfect book for anyone interested in experiencing something new - and those readers who are familiar with this topic will enjoy the writing and Brian Frond's uniquely exquisite illustrations.

Professor Berk writes with wit and a wink. An ancient clay pipe interrupting a wry smile, he sits on a stump at the edge of the village where the old road enters the woods. He tells quiet tales, smooth on the surface but roiling beneath, inviting a listener to step through the nearby trees into a part of the realm few take time to explore anymore. Listen to his tales for a lark. They certainly provide an afternoon's amusement. Or better still, take time to let them work upon your imagination. Soak in their earthiness; understand that they speak of a time before and after the hurly-burly of people, pavement, and traffic you know so well. These are tales about something you've forgotten, or at least something you haven't noticed in a long while. They have a power and playfulness perfectly suited to Mr. Froud's artwork. His color illustrations are weird and wonderful, but they are only part of the pleasing visual texture of this book. Each page offers an invitation: look here, behind the letters, off to the side of the path and behind that moss covered stone. Enjoy the trip, and if you linger in the woods longer than you had intended, good for you.