|
|
2.0 out of 5 stars
"This Garden is like a Long Book.", Feb 1 2004
Lucy Boston is best known for her "Green Knowe" books, suited for a reading age of seven and up, but in 1965 she tested the waters of writing for younger readers, and came up with "The Castle of Yew". Anyone who is familiar with the Green Knowe stories will instantly feel at home here: a young boy (Joseph) is fascinated by an old house and its mysterious garden, and so under orders from the postman to deliver the old lady's letters, he takes the opportunity to look around.But of course, magic is alive in the garden, and on finding a lawn created like a chess board with pansy-and-turf squares and yew cut into the shapes of the chess pieces, Joseph finds himself naturally small enough to fit into the rook hedge-sculpture - the yew castle of the title. Joined by an older boy named Robin, who rides the knight-piece like a horse, the two boys explore their new surroundings as tiny beings, and face the dangers of pecking moorhens, hungry cats and huge dogs, whilst at the same time furnishing their home with bits and pieces they find around the garden. It is a basic premise, and unfortunatly one that has been done to death: everyone one at some point reads of people shrinking and growing and the dangers they face, with Lewis Carroll ("Alice in Wonderland") as the obvious example. Despite Boston's beautiful, mysterious prose that is the trademark of all her works, and her uncanny ability to clearly create landscapes, there is not much in "The Castle of Yew" to recommend it. It is not long enough to create any sort of mystery or story-line to keep older readers interested, but is too experimental and poetic to spark the basic imaginations of younger ones. Lucy Boston is a talented writer, and I *highly* recommend the "Green Knowe" books, but "Castle of Yew" seemed to come across as an idea left over from her more popular books. If you are interested in Boston's writing career or a collector, then by all means read it, but I found it ironic that the old woman described her garden as being "like a long book - you never know what you will find on the other side of the page" - a most unsuited comparison for the garden *and* the book. As a matter of interest, the illustrator is Margery Gill, more famously known for her illustrations in Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series. Usually Peter Boston, Lucy's son illustrates her books, but Gill does a nice job in his place.
|
