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1 internautes sur 1 ont trouvé ce commentaire utile :
4.0étoiles sur 5
Huge & Gorgeous (& a bit too long), Avril 5 2004
The anonymous young Smoky Barnable leaves the City to marry into a very strange family occupying the very strange manor at Edgewood, where a war, or a merging of worlds, or something like it, may or may not be happening.Little, Big is a huge, gorgeous piece of work populated with some of the most endearing characters and touching episodes I've read in a long while. Each of Crowley's characters is affected - sometimes quietly, but always deeply - by the mysterious Something happening at Edgewood. There is a definite force at work, but whether it's good, evil, or indifferent is all part of the mystery. Crowley does have a tendency to be verbose; with a bit of snipping the book could have been 100 pages more to the point. Though the ending wasn't as illuminating as I would have liked, the tale itself was highly satisfying, with many smaller beginnings and endings along the way, and enough triumph and sorrow for all four generations of Edgewood. I didn't think of it until just now, but Little, Big is similar to Mervyn Peak's Titus Groan. Think of Edgewood as a contemporary Gormenghast driven by otherworldly forces rather than ancient tradition.
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5.0étoiles sur 5
Magical in Every Sense, Jui 30 2004
Little, Big is no easy read, but is well worth the time. To summarize the plot briefly just to give an idea of the backdrop, Little, Big tells the Tale of Smokey Barnable, an ordinary man who leaves the City to visit with the family of one of his coworkers at their country house, Edgewood. There he meets (and marries) Daily Alice Drinkwater and her family, who all are Somehow part of a larger tapestry bridging the world as Smokey knows it and the world of the faerie. Be forewarned, though -- for a book about Faerie, don't expect little people with pointy ears on each page a la Lord of the Rings (which I love, btw, that is not meant disparagingly). On first read, there won't seem to be a lot of Faerie in it at all. But, the Faerie are mostly hidden on each page of Little, Big just as they are in Edgewood, and thoughout the read the sense of magic is everywhere. Little, Big is at once epic in scope and deeply personal, magical and commonplace. That is part of the wonder of the book, the sense of magic that Crowley works into the quotidian, the feeling that something so unplausible really could be. Crowley's prose is incredibly rich, atmospheric and moving -- I often found myself wondering how he could write so many rich and beautiful lines in one book without ever feeling artificial. There is not a lot of action, although so many things happen. There is not a lot of dialogue, although there are at least 8 major characters and scores of supporting players. And, as mentioned, there's not a lot of faeries, although they are everywhere (read it and you'll understand!). But, Little, Big is easily one of the best books I've read in the past ten years, the kind of work that is as magical as its subject matter and makes you long for more works this grand. It is a crime that Crowley has not found a wider audience, he is truly one of the most talented writers I've read.
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5.0étoiles sur 5
If there is a god..., Jui 9 2004
Par Un client
then this is the Bible... well, it works for me at least! It is one of the most momentous and gorgeous books ever written, and god strike me down, I shall stand by that statement for all eternity! I first read this book when I was fifteen, and it hasn't left my side since (that makes nine years). A reviewer here wrote disparagingly that there is no plot, and that therefore you can open the book and read from any point... isn't that the nature of all great scripture? "please turn to verse..." While the writing is dense, and the plot may be slow, it is more than worth the effort to read it. Seriousely, look no further, this is the answer! I swear!
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