The Seventh Swan

Philip Pullman recently said that the big,important themes are dealt with in childrens' books. This proves him right. Love and attraction, keeping and breaking faith, fear and courage, and learning to live with, but not be bound by, your limitations, are among the themes of this magnificent story that redeems the often-cutesified term 'magical' and reminds us that faery is a dangerous place. I've read this book over and over again and every time it moves me to tears. If you can handle grown-up magic and real emotions, you must read it.

I had a hard time getting into _The Seventh Swan_ at first; I think Gray's writing style was the culprit. He jumps between points-of-view constantly, so it's hard to tell who's thinking what. After I got used to that, though, I found a moving story in this book.Alasdair is the seventh swan-brother from the famous fairy tale, left with a swan's wing instead of one of his arms because his sister was unable to finish that last shirt in time. He is a young Scottish lord in this novel, incredibly handsome but shrouded in self-pity and the immaturity that comes from having such a strange "childhood". Since he lacks his sword-arm, he has a bodyguard, Ewen, a gruff mercenary who is both more kind and more haunted than he seems. Alasdair also has a sweetheart, Fenella, who finds out about what ails him--and being an intrepid young lady, sets out immediately to find the magic to give him back his arm! But dangers await, and many dumb decisions are made by various characters, and misadventures ensue. We come to care for all of the characters. Although I would have preferred a different ending to the story, _The Seventh Swan_ was worth reading.

Did you ever wonder what happened AFTER some of the fairy tales you've read? If you've read the story this answers--or even if you haven't!--this will be worth your time to read and enjoy.I loved _The_Seventh_Swan_. Even though I've read it over and over, I always react to it with wonder and hope and love and sorrow. I think you will too. Every time I glance into it I get drawn into rereading the whole tale, and I am very glad to have found it. [I try to collect the tales in this publisher's series, because I've enjoyed several of them.]You may be surprised by this fairy tale. I highly recommend it, from the characters to the clever insights to the witty comments. Unlike most traditional tales, the characters have names and personalities; by the time the pipe plays you will know them. I suspect you will cherish them.I invite you into the world of fairy tales - come, step inside, be breathless with wonder. =smile=Also, to pique your interest in Gaelic, the author includes a glossary of the phrases he used at the book's end. It's made me realize that I too could learn Gaelic; some of the endearments are my favorite phrases.

I first fell in love with this book when I was in the seventh grade. I'm now 26, married, with a degree in English, and this is still probably my all-time favorite book. Ewen was the first character from a novel that I ever wanted to pull out of the pages and marry. :) And it was the first novel I ever read where everything did not end happily. A good one to give to your pre-teens. And a good one to pick up yourself.

Nicholas Stuart Gray asks the question, What happened to the poor seventh prince (of the Swan Princes) who had to go through the rest of his life with one arm and one wing? He writes the answer with charm and humor, thrown in with a liberal sprinkling of adventure and heroism. An unwelcome plot twist took one of the stars away from my review, but overall I loved this book when I picked it up at the library. It was very funny and interesting. Check out "Grimbold's Other World" for a 5-star N.S. Gray experience.