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D: A Tale of Two Worlds
A stunning modern-day Dickensian fable and a celebration of friendship and bravery for freethinkers everywhere.
It all starts on the morning the letter D disappears from language. First, it vanishes from Dhikilo’s parents� conversation at breakfast, then from the road signs outside and from her school dinners. Soon the local dentist and the neighbor’s dalmatian are missing, and even the Donkey Derby has been called off.
Though she doesn’t know why, Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson. And this is where our story begins.
Set between England and the wintry land of Liminus, a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures, D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is told with simple beauty and warmth. Its celebration of moral courage and freethinking is a powerful reminder of our human capacity for strength, hope and justice.
It all starts on the morning the letter D disappears from language. First, it vanishes from Dhikilo’s parents� conversation at breakfast, then from the road signs outside and from her school dinners. Soon the local dentist and the neighbor’s dalmatian are missing, and even the Donkey Derby has been called off.
Though she doesn’t know why, Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson. And this is where our story begins.
Set between England and the wintry land of Liminus, a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures, D (A Tale of Two Worlds) is told with simple beauty and warmth. Its celebration of moral courage and freethinking is a powerful reminder of our human capacity for strength, hope and justice.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2020
380 people are currently reading
10.2k people want to read
About the author
Michel Faber
67books2,058followersMichel Faber (born 13 April 1960) is a Dutch writer of English-language fiction.
Faber was born in The Hague, The Netherlands. He and his parents emigrated to Australia in 1967. He attended primary and secondary school in the Melbourne suburbs of Boronia and Bayswater, then attended the University of Melbourne, studying Dutch, philosophy, rhetoric, English language (a course involving translation and criticism of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English texts) and English literature. He graduated in 1980. He worked as a cleaner and at various other casual jobs, before training as a nurse at Marrickville and Western Suburbs hospitals in Sydney. He nursed until the mid-1990s. In 1993 he, his second wife and family emigrated to Scotland, where they still reside.
Faber was born in The Hague, The Netherlands. He and his parents emigrated to Australia in 1967. He attended primary and secondary school in the Melbourne suburbs of Boronia and Bayswater, then attended the University of Melbourne, studying Dutch, philosophy, rhetoric, English language (a course involving translation and criticism of Anglo-Saxon and Middle English texts) and English literature. He graduated in 1980. He worked as a cleaner and at various other casual jobs, before training as a nurse at Marrickville and Western Suburbs hospitals in Sydney. He nursed until the mid-1990s. In 1993 he, his second wife and family emigrated to Scotland, where they still reside.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,054 reviews
August 10, 2020
A young girl wakes up to a world where the letter “D� suddenly doesn’t exist! Her journey to find out why begins after attending the funeral of her former history professor and sends her on a quest into another world - a world ruled over by a mysterious dictator called the Gamp.
I was surprised to see Michel Faber putting out another novel seeing as he claimed that his previous one, 2014’s The Book of Strange New Things, would be his last ever. But, in the afterword, he says that he started this story 35 years ago so I guess he felt he couldn’t end his writing career without finally completing it (and publishing it, of course)?
He also mentions his influences for the story: Dickens, Lewis� Narnia books, James Thurber’s The Wonderful O, and the Wonderland novels. Having read D, I would say the book has more in common with Roald Dahl, Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth and Walter Moers� The 13 and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear - and I would also say that D unfortunately isn’t half as good as any of them!
This is definitely a book for younger readers rather than Faber’s usual adult audience. The writing style, the child protagonist and the whimsical premise of the letter D disappearing put me in mind of Dahl’s The Witches, particularly the magical stuff that happened after the funeral. I liked most of the first act before Dhikilo, our main character, went into Liminus, the other world.
Almost everything in Liminus though was insufferably bad! The one exception was the episode in the Bleak House, a haunted hotel that tries to drive Dhikilo and her travelling companion, Mrs Robinson the shape-shifting sphinx, insane. That was interesting.
All the rest was awful. The story is just them meeting one group of annoying idiots after another with no consequences. Each group is defined by tediously irritating speech patterns. All don’t use the letter “D� but others talk as if they have mouths full of toffee so Dhikilo has to repeat back what they say and none of the dialogue is worthwhile.
What makes it worse is how contrived everything is. Why the letter “D�? Just ‘cos. How does the Gamp in this world affect the “real� world (though Dhikilo’s English home town of Cawber-on-Sands isn’t real either)? No idea. Why are there so many Dickens references (Magwitches, Droods, Bleak House, Nelly/Little Nell) - what’s the relevance? No point - Faber’s just a Dickens fanboy, it seems. Why do so many people go along with this weird arbitrary rule of not using the letter “D� when no-one enforces it and there’s no consequences to using it anyway? No idea. Just because this is essentially a book for kids doesn’t mean you can cut corners with sloppy storytelling.
The first act was decent, the Bleak House part was ok, but most of the novel is a dreary journey through the dullest, least imaginative “fantasy� landscape ever. I wouldn’t recommend D to either fantasy or Faber fans. It’s rare for a book to have its quality accurately stamped on the cover - I give D a D-grade! If you want to read something similar that’s actually good, Lewis Carroll’s Alice books are still the gold standard, closely followed by The Phantom Tollbooth and Walter Moers� Zamonia novels.
I was surprised to see Michel Faber putting out another novel seeing as he claimed that his previous one, 2014’s The Book of Strange New Things, would be his last ever. But, in the afterword, he says that he started this story 35 years ago so I guess he felt he couldn’t end his writing career without finally completing it (and publishing it, of course)?
He also mentions his influences for the story: Dickens, Lewis� Narnia books, James Thurber’s The Wonderful O, and the Wonderland novels. Having read D, I would say the book has more in common with Roald Dahl, Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth and Walter Moers� The 13 and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear - and I would also say that D unfortunately isn’t half as good as any of them!
This is definitely a book for younger readers rather than Faber’s usual adult audience. The writing style, the child protagonist and the whimsical premise of the letter D disappearing put me in mind of Dahl’s The Witches, particularly the magical stuff that happened after the funeral. I liked most of the first act before Dhikilo, our main character, went into Liminus, the other world.
Almost everything in Liminus though was insufferably bad! The one exception was the episode in the Bleak House, a haunted hotel that tries to drive Dhikilo and her travelling companion, Mrs Robinson the shape-shifting sphinx, insane. That was interesting.
All the rest was awful. The story is just them meeting one group of annoying idiots after another with no consequences. Each group is defined by tediously irritating speech patterns. All don’t use the letter “D� but others talk as if they have mouths full of toffee so Dhikilo has to repeat back what they say and none of the dialogue is worthwhile.
What makes it worse is how contrived everything is. Why the letter “D�? Just ‘cos. How does the Gamp in this world affect the “real� world (though Dhikilo’s English home town of Cawber-on-Sands isn’t real either)? No idea. Why are there so many Dickens references (Magwitches, Droods, Bleak House, Nelly/Little Nell) - what’s the relevance? No point - Faber’s just a Dickens fanboy, it seems. Why do so many people go along with this weird arbitrary rule of not using the letter “D� when no-one enforces it and there’s no consequences to using it anyway? No idea. Just because this is essentially a book for kids doesn’t mean you can cut corners with sloppy storytelling.
The first act was decent, the Bleak House part was ok, but most of the novel is a dreary journey through the dullest, least imaginative “fantasy� landscape ever. I wouldn’t recommend D to either fantasy or Faber fans. It’s rare for a book to have its quality accurately stamped on the cover - I give D a D-grade! If you want to read something similar that’s actually good, Lewis Carroll’s Alice books are still the gold standard, closely followed by The Phantom Tollbooth and Walter Moers� Zamonia novels.
December 15, 2020
In this year of unspeakable loss, it feels uncouth to recommend the story of a loss that is literally unspeakable. But hear me out, because Michel Faber’s new novel is a strange delight � particularly if you have a child around to share it with.
There has always been an element of innocence in Faber’s work, though it has often felt overwhelmed by horror and suffering. Now, though, he has made good on his vow to give up writing for adults and published “D (A Tale of Two Worlds),� which gives full voice to his gentle wit and mischievous spirit. With its buoyant sense of wonder, “D� is a novel graciously indebted to the fantasies of C.S. Lewis, James Thurber and Norton Juster, along with the characters of Charles Dickens. The result is a rare book that mature readers will appreciate on one level while younger readers enjoy on another.
Our heroine is Dhikilo, an observant 13-year-old girl living with her adopted family in an English town. There are other immigrants around, but she’s the only one from Somaliland. Dhikilo knows almost nothing of her war-torn birthplace, except that it’s an actual region and not, as so many kindly White people keep telling her, a mispronunciation of Somalia. She bears this and other racial microaggressions politely, but she’s determined to learn more about her origins, which is Faber’s subtle way of blending an ancient quest tale with co. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
There has always been an element of innocence in Faber’s work, though it has often felt overwhelmed by horror and suffering. Now, though, he has made good on his vow to give up writing for adults and published “D (A Tale of Two Worlds),� which gives full voice to his gentle wit and mischievous spirit. With its buoyant sense of wonder, “D� is a novel graciously indebted to the fantasies of C.S. Lewis, James Thurber and Norton Juster, along with the characters of Charles Dickens. The result is a rare book that mature readers will appreciate on one level while younger readers enjoy on another.
Our heroine is Dhikilo, an observant 13-year-old girl living with her adopted family in an English town. There are other immigrants around, but she’s the only one from Somaliland. Dhikilo knows almost nothing of her war-torn birthplace, except that it’s an actual region and not, as so many kindly White people keep telling her, a mispronunciation of Somalia. She bears this and other racial microaggressions politely, but she’s determined to learn more about her origins, which is Faber’s subtle way of blending an ancient quest tale with co. . . .
To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
August 4, 2020
This was immensely weird and hugely enjoyable. I have no idea who we’re going to sell it to because I have no idea if it’s a kids book or an adult book, but that said, half my colleagues want to read it already based on the cover and my enthusiasm alone so perhaps it doesn’t matter all that much.
This is the closest I’ve come, as an adult, to reading a book that feels like a fairytale I somehow missed as a child. Which, I suppose, is exactly what writers like C S Lewis managed to achieve. D is comparable to the Narnia series and, as it states, Dickens, but it’s a sort of mash between the two. It reads as a sort of modern fable - despite a very predictable layout and recognisable elements, it draws on more recent ideas of what fantasy writing can be and uses as current events to shape its villain, and as a result of that and Michel Faber’s wild imagination, feels completely original. He’s one of those writers who will do a better job at a genre he’s never written before than most authors do in the genre they’ve spent half their life writing. The one thing that puts it more seriously in the ‘children’s fiction� category for me was the ending. It tied up very neatly and with no bloodshed - and as an adult, that was vaguely unsatisfying.
This is the closest I’ve come, as an adult, to reading a book that feels like a fairytale I somehow missed as a child. Which, I suppose, is exactly what writers like C S Lewis managed to achieve. D is comparable to the Narnia series and, as it states, Dickens, but it’s a sort of mash between the two. It reads as a sort of modern fable - despite a very predictable layout and recognisable elements, it draws on more recent ideas of what fantasy writing can be and uses as current events to shape its villain, and as a result of that and Michel Faber’s wild imagination, feels completely original. He’s one of those writers who will do a better job at a genre he’s never written before than most authors do in the genre they’ve spent half their life writing. The one thing that puts it more seriously in the ‘children’s fiction� category for me was the ending. It tied up very neatly and with no bloodshed - and as an adult, that was vaguely unsatisfying.
October 4, 2020
A brilliant writer, a superb novelist for adults, and I pray he never writes another children's fantasy book again.
October 22, 2020
“With twenty-six letters in the alphabet you’d think that losing one of them wouldn’t be so bad, but it was very bad indeed (or very ba inee, as everyone around her would put it).�
D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michel Faber has an interesting premise: A girl named Dhikilo wakes up in the morning to find the letter D is missing. It disappears from people’s conversations, then from newspapers and road signs and the situation becomes worse when things in letter D in them starts to vanish too (eg: dog, red paint and local dentist)!
Dhikilo soon begins the quest to find out the reasons behind all this madness in the wintery land of Liminus, a world inhabited by chained, bedraggled Magwitches; a group of dwarfishly short men called the Quilps; tall creatures with glossy-furred black hides and feline heads called the Drood; and they are all enslaved by the Great Gamp, a monstrous dictator and oppressor whom I strangely imagined as Donald Trump.
However, despite the interesting premise and the inventive characters, I don’t really enjoy this book for one very simple reason: the book is just so…easy. It has a lot of potential but suffers from underdeveloped characters and driving force. Like for example: What is the significance of the letter D? How are the real world and Liminus connected? Lastly, why is Dhikilo the only one noticing the missing D - because she is a very plain character, to be honest.
That said, this is not a bad book. It’s just not for me. Maybe if I read it as a child I would have enjoyed it more. Actual rating: 2.5/5 stars.
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.<3
D: A Tale of Two Worlds by Michel Faber has an interesting premise: A girl named Dhikilo wakes up in the morning to find the letter D is missing. It disappears from people’s conversations, then from newspapers and road signs and the situation becomes worse when things in letter D in them starts to vanish too (eg: dog, red paint and local dentist)!
Dhikilo soon begins the quest to find out the reasons behind all this madness in the wintery land of Liminus, a world inhabited by chained, bedraggled Magwitches; a group of dwarfishly short men called the Quilps; tall creatures with glossy-furred black hides and feline heads called the Drood; and they are all enslaved by the Great Gamp, a monstrous dictator and oppressor whom I strangely imagined as Donald Trump.
However, despite the interesting premise and the inventive characters, I don’t really enjoy this book for one very simple reason: the book is just so…easy. It has a lot of potential but suffers from underdeveloped characters and driving force. Like for example: What is the significance of the letter D? How are the real world and Liminus connected? Lastly, why is Dhikilo the only one noticing the missing D - because she is a very plain character, to be honest.
That said, this is not a bad book. It’s just not for me. Maybe if I read it as a child I would have enjoyed it more. Actual rating: 2.5/5 stars.
Thank you Times Reads for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.<3
October 3, 2020
Dhikilo is a young orphan from Somaliland (not to be confused with Somalia, which everyone she meets does) growing up in a very English home in a very English town, Cawber-by-Sands, on the coast. Already something of an outsider with few real memories of her real parents, casualties of war, she is the only person unaffected by the sudden disappearance of the letter D. She is the only person who remembers that there is one, and the only person still using it. Something very strange is going on. When things that begin with the letter D start disappearing - dogs, the dentist - it feels more than strange, it feels ominous. But it's when she decides to go to the funeral for Professor Dodderfield, who used to teach history at her school, that her adventure really begins and 'strange' starts to be her new normal.
What a delightful read this was! In the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, the Narnia chronicles, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and any other portal-travelling, child-protagonist novel you've read I'm sure), and in time for the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens' death, Faber has crafted one of the most engaging, enjoyable, fun stories I've read in a long time.
It helps that he's such an effortlessly good writer. The words and sentences just flow. There's no stumbling, there's no hesitation, there's no moment when your mind drifts. It's not a long book and the chapters are short, episodic, but each one rolls into the next and I just didn't want to put it down.
Some readers may decry a lack of originality. There's plenty here that's original - Dhikilo's travelling companion is a sphinx called Mrs Robinson who can transform into a brown Labrador, for instance - and other details that feel familiar are given new twists so that they become fresh and new again. I've got nothing to whinge or quibble over. Sometimes, a book comes along that you enjoy so thoroughly you just aren't interested in looking for flaws. Because I'd have to really look to find any.
Dhikilo is a great child protagonist in a long tradition of them. I lost track of exactly how old she is but I think twelve or thirteen. She loves to experiment in the kitchen - much to her English mum Ruth's dismay - and is curious and observant. There is something about young people that make them excellent portal-travellers and adventurers, which I remember talking about in my review of Lev Grossman's deplorable The Magicians - unbent by weary cynicism, perhaps, or crippled with the insecurities and responsibilities of adults, they perform their coming-of-age journeys with admirable integrity and perseverance.
What D had that many other, similar stories tend to lack is humour. The novel carries that rich thread of tongue-in-cheek, slightly silly and definitely irreverent humour that the British are so well known for. (It's what captured me from the opening pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, transporting me back to my childhood love for Roald Dahl books.) When Dhikilo finally meets the Gamp, that dreadful despot dictator, he is rendered ridiculous. It is a nice counterbalance to the power he wields, and a good antidote to fear (remember the spell in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, for getting rid of a Boggart when it takes the shape of your greatest fear?).
There is a hardback edition of this book which sadly wasn't available in our bookshops, but if you were going to splurge on one, this would be the book to get in hardback, especially with its gold-embossed cover and glittering dragonflies. If it wasn't clear by now: I highly recommend D, especially if you're in the mood for a rollicking good adventure. (But if you're in a nit-picky mood, definitely save this for later or you'll ruin the pleasure of reading it!) I read it as an adult novel (and it's been published as one in Australia, judging by the large format) mostly because I was expecting an adult novel, but it is definitely a child-friendly story, and I'd love to read it to my kids.
What a delightful read this was! In the tradition of The Wizard of Oz, the Narnia chronicles, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (and any other portal-travelling, child-protagonist novel you've read I'm sure), and in time for the 150th anniversary of Charles Dickens' death, Faber has crafted one of the most engaging, enjoyable, fun stories I've read in a long time.
It helps that he's such an effortlessly good writer. The words and sentences just flow. There's no stumbling, there's no hesitation, there's no moment when your mind drifts. It's not a long book and the chapters are short, episodic, but each one rolls into the next and I just didn't want to put it down.
Some readers may decry a lack of originality. There's plenty here that's original - Dhikilo's travelling companion is a sphinx called Mrs Robinson who can transform into a brown Labrador, for instance - and other details that feel familiar are given new twists so that they become fresh and new again. I've got nothing to whinge or quibble over. Sometimes, a book comes along that you enjoy so thoroughly you just aren't interested in looking for flaws. Because I'd have to really look to find any.
Dhikilo is a great child protagonist in a long tradition of them. I lost track of exactly how old she is but I think twelve or thirteen. She loves to experiment in the kitchen - much to her English mum Ruth's dismay - and is curious and observant. There is something about young people that make them excellent portal-travellers and adventurers, which I remember talking about in my review of Lev Grossman's deplorable The Magicians - unbent by weary cynicism, perhaps, or crippled with the insecurities and responsibilities of adults, they perform their coming-of-age journeys with admirable integrity and perseverance.
What D had that many other, similar stories tend to lack is humour. The novel carries that rich thread of tongue-in-cheek, slightly silly and definitely irreverent humour that the British are so well known for. (It's what captured me from the opening pages of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, transporting me back to my childhood love for Roald Dahl books.) When Dhikilo finally meets the Gamp, that dreadful despot dictator, he is rendered ridiculous. It is a nice counterbalance to the power he wields, and a good antidote to fear (remember the spell in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, for getting rid of a Boggart when it takes the shape of your greatest fear?).
There is a hardback edition of this book which sadly wasn't available in our bookshops, but if you were going to splurge on one, this would be the book to get in hardback, especially with its gold-embossed cover and glittering dragonflies. If it wasn't clear by now: I highly recommend D, especially if you're in the mood for a rollicking good adventure. (But if you're in a nit-picky mood, definitely save this for later or you'll ruin the pleasure of reading it!) I read it as an adult novel (and it's been published as one in Australia, judging by the large format) mostly because I was expecting an adult novel, but it is definitely a child-friendly story, and I'd love to read it to my kids.
November 13, 2020
Dit is.. hoe zal ik het zeggen? Een vreemd boek. Een vreemd boek dat op de ene moment goed vreemd voelde maar op het andere moment slecht vreemd.
Zeker weten is dit een uniek verhaal, maar mij kon het niet echt bekoren. Een volledige recensie kan je op volgende link vinden:
Zeker weten is dit een uniek verhaal, maar mij kon het niet echt bekoren. Een volledige recensie kan je op volgende link vinden:
April 22, 2020
I rather enjoyed this book, with it’s whimsical and adventurous nature. It borrows from a variety of children’s book tropes, a character finding themselves through adventure, a feeling of abandonment, a saving figure that propels the story onwards... and yet Faber twists them and makes them different, his own, so that you feel like you are reading something fresh and new.
The authors voice throughout the book was a brilliant addition as well!
At times it was difficult to read due to the loss of the letter ‘D� but I guess that works to Faber’s purpose and really cements how terrible the world would be without them.
There were wonderful phrases of Faber’s throughout the book that just resonates with me. Points of insightful observation that just makes the world around you that little bit clearer.
All in all, excellent!
The authors voice throughout the book was a brilliant addition as well!
At times it was difficult to read due to the loss of the letter ‘D� but I guess that works to Faber’s purpose and really cements how terrible the world would be without them.
There were wonderful phrases of Faber’s throughout the book that just resonates with me. Points of insightful observation that just makes the world around you that little bit clearer.
All in all, excellent!
November 26, 2020
This was an enjoyable read, but I struggled to find its....originality? Every encounter and setting made me think of other stories, whether it was Narnia or The Wizard of Oz. And I found it odd that it was mainly a story that came to it's own resolution, without the 'Heroine' really doing much of anything. Did she help?
I'm unsure.
Still, a quirky story about moral courage and self determination I can see being loved in years to come.
I'm unsure.
Still, a quirky story about moral courage and self determination I can see being loved in years to come.
Read
November 4, 2020[Gifted]
An interesting set-up, but I think I spent too much time trying to understand the logistics and reason for the loss of the letter D, and not enough time just enjoying the story.
An interesting set-up, but I think I spent too much time trying to understand the logistics and reason for the loss of the letter D, and not enough time just enjoying the story.
February 17, 2023
D: A Tale of Two Worlds is a very unique story that also pays homage to multiple classic works of literature. This story imagines a world where every D suddenly goes missing, from print and from speech. Dhikilo, our protagonist, seems to be the only person in the world who notices the disappearance and remembers that Ds ever existed. She goes on a fantastical adventure to find out what has happened to this letter of the alphabet, and to do everything in her power to return it to its rightful places in mankind’s vocabulary. Dhikilo experiences some wacky things and meets some even wackier characters along the way.
Evidently this is considered by many to be a middle-grade novel, though I didn’t see it marketed as such. I saw it described as a “quirky adventure for readers young and old,� and that description rings very true. It was wild and madcap and just tremendous fun overall. There was a tongue-in-cheek sensibility that reminded me a bit of The Phantom Tollbooth, which is one of my favorite children’s books. However, there were a number of literary references and something to the writing that still led me to believe that this is an adult novel instead of a middle grade one.
There are a lot of Dickens references, great and small. As this book was written in part to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Dickens� death, that makes total sense. But The Wizard of Oz was also obviously a great source of inspiration for the plot itself. There are also multiple nods to Lewis’s Narnia, which I found delightful. These tips of the hat to tales that I’m so familiar with and have loved for so much of my life were definitely my favorite element of the book.
While I loved the tone and the references, I had a couple of qualms with this book. The characters were entertaining, but all of them, even Dhikilo, felt like they had they little depth. Every character felt like a mere prop to the story Faber wanted to tell instead of their own independent personage. I was also disappointed by the resolution. Even though it was the ending the story needed, the way Faber got us there felt like a cop out in some way. There was this big build up and then� nothing. The end just happened. It was a bit of a let down, at least for me personally.
D: A Tale of Two Worlds is not a perfect book, but it is a fun one. Quirky is the best description I can think of to give it. This is a story that could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. If you have some familiarity with the works of Dickens, so much the better, as you will pick up on a lot of little nods and references. But if you don’t, that won’t at all hinder your enjoyment of the book. I might have been disappointed in how the ending was handled, but it was as happy a resolution as could be hoped for. If you want something unique and cozy that you know will end well, pick this one up.
Evidently this is considered by many to be a middle-grade novel, though I didn’t see it marketed as such. I saw it described as a “quirky adventure for readers young and old,� and that description rings very true. It was wild and madcap and just tremendous fun overall. There was a tongue-in-cheek sensibility that reminded me a bit of The Phantom Tollbooth, which is one of my favorite children’s books. However, there were a number of literary references and something to the writing that still led me to believe that this is an adult novel instead of a middle grade one.
There are a lot of Dickens references, great and small. As this book was written in part to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Dickens� death, that makes total sense. But The Wizard of Oz was also obviously a great source of inspiration for the plot itself. There are also multiple nods to Lewis’s Narnia, which I found delightful. These tips of the hat to tales that I’m so familiar with and have loved for so much of my life were definitely my favorite element of the book.
While I loved the tone and the references, I had a couple of qualms with this book. The characters were entertaining, but all of them, even Dhikilo, felt like they had they little depth. Every character felt like a mere prop to the story Faber wanted to tell instead of their own independent personage. I was also disappointed by the resolution. Even though it was the ending the story needed, the way Faber got us there felt like a cop out in some way. There was this big build up and then� nothing. The end just happened. It was a bit of a let down, at least for me personally.
D: A Tale of Two Worlds is not a perfect book, but it is a fun one. Quirky is the best description I can think of to give it. This is a story that could be enjoyed by anyone of any age. If you have some familiarity with the works of Dickens, so much the better, as you will pick up on a lot of little nods and references. But if you don’t, that won’t at all hinder your enjoyment of the book. I might have been disappointed in how the ending was handled, but it was as happy a resolution as could be hoped for. If you want something unique and cozy that you know will end well, pick this one up.
October 31, 2020
When I got this book I was quite sure that this was one of the prettiest and most beautiful books I had ever seen and since it seemed to be quite a fairytale I was quite excited to get started. However, since this is a Book Box Club book I had to wait patiently until it was time for our buddy read to get started. Since the author chat with the previous author was last week however, this week we could finally open the book and see if the story was as beautiful as its cover.
And now I've finished this book I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. This story should have been my thing. I'm a huge lover of Alice in Wonderland. I love middle grades. I love fantasy worlds and weirdness. But somehow this story never really grabbed me. I was reading it, I was making progress and I wasn't hating it or disliking it, but I was not really looking forward to picking it back up and I wasn't really enjoying it either.
I just can't really say why. Something was missing. Something that I had expected to be there. I think partly it might be magic. Although our heroine was in a lot of weird situations, none of them really seemed enchanting or magical. I actually think that only two things really were magical. Another thing that might not have helped, is that it somehow seems like our heroine is on an important journey to save the world, but it feels like eventually she's not really doing much. It's very much simply some sort of luck that everything works out?
I'm also asking myself, what kind of person is our main heroine actually? And I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure? She seems kind, she's young (only 13, which also didn't help because I was expecting a YA when I started, my fault) and there are moments she seems highly intelligent, coming with quite nice solutions for her issues and problems. But I never really connected with her and I also had some trouble really caring about her.
I guess that it's a case of me being the wrong reader for this book?
And now I've finished this book I'm not entirely sure what to think of it. This story should have been my thing. I'm a huge lover of Alice in Wonderland. I love middle grades. I love fantasy worlds and weirdness. But somehow this story never really grabbed me. I was reading it, I was making progress and I wasn't hating it or disliking it, but I was not really looking forward to picking it back up and I wasn't really enjoying it either.
I just can't really say why. Something was missing. Something that I had expected to be there. I think partly it might be magic. Although our heroine was in a lot of weird situations, none of them really seemed enchanting or magical. I actually think that only two things really were magical. Another thing that might not have helped, is that it somehow seems like our heroine is on an important journey to save the world, but it feels like eventually she's not really doing much. It's very much simply some sort of luck that everything works out?
I'm also asking myself, what kind of person is our main heroine actually? And I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure? She seems kind, she's young (only 13, which also didn't help because I was expecting a YA when I started, my fault) and there are moments she seems highly intelligent, coming with quite nice solutions for her issues and problems. But I never really connected with her and I also had some trouble really caring about her.
I guess that it's a case of me being the wrong reader for this book?
July 26, 2020
3.5 stars. Like other reviewers, I was surprised to find that this is a children's book. Faber is so often a writer who considers the darkest realms of human nature that it was a surprise. But then again, Faber said he was quitting writing for good a few years ago, so I suppose returning with something entirely different shouldn't be so unexpected.
I saw someone else say this is a book similar to ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND or THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and I think they're right on. (Though Faber himself credits Dickens, C.S. Lewis, and others.) It is a journey book, a story of one girl who must save the world, as these books often are. I can definitely see it as the kind of book that would work well being read aloud, especially to a classroom, for people who are willing to undergo the challenge. For most of the book, the dialogue is missing the letter D--hence the title--and it takes your brain a couple tries sometimes to figure out what the word is supposed to be.
The D bits are enjoyable and fun, and there are some parts of the world Faber creates that are particularly sly. But despite its big imagination, in a lot of ways it is quite standard in the model of this type of story.
I will add a note: our protagonist lives in England with white parents, but was adopted from Somaliland. Race comes up occasionally, mostly as a way in which Dhikilo understands being different. But near the very end, there are some villainous characters who refer to her with racist nicknames, one more mild but one with a more loaded history. Children may not recognize these terms as racist, but I think it's worth pointing out, or replacing for kids who may have some trauma around it.
I saw someone else say this is a book similar to ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND or THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH and I think they're right on. (Though Faber himself credits Dickens, C.S. Lewis, and others.) It is a journey book, a story of one girl who must save the world, as these books often are. I can definitely see it as the kind of book that would work well being read aloud, especially to a classroom, for people who are willing to undergo the challenge. For most of the book, the dialogue is missing the letter D--hence the title--and it takes your brain a couple tries sometimes to figure out what the word is supposed to be.
The D bits are enjoyable and fun, and there are some parts of the world Faber creates that are particularly sly. But despite its big imagination, in a lot of ways it is quite standard in the model of this type of story.
I will add a note: our protagonist lives in England with white parents, but was adopted from Somaliland. Race comes up occasionally, mostly as a way in which Dhikilo understands being different. But near the very end, there are some villainous characters who refer to her with racist nicknames, one more mild but one with a more loaded history. Children may not recognize these terms as racist, but I think it's worth pointing out, or replacing for kids who may have some trauma around it.
January 25, 2021
I really loved “The Book of Strange New Things�, which the author said would be his last book. I don’t know why he changed his mind and published this new book. I do know that it was not for me - it is for 8 year olds and I didn’t enjoy it at all. Abandoned.
December 14, 2024
This author doesn't have much experience writing middle grade, and it really shows here. The story has it's high moments, when Dhikilo finally travels to a fantasy world and meets the unusual creatures there it kept me reading, but that wasn't quite enough to save just how slow the first half and the last few chapters were. By the end I felt myself forcing myself to keep reading just to finish it.
September 23, 2020
I'm afraid the best thing about this book is its cover - which really is gorgeous. The story, unfortunately, falls flat. Part of the problem is the marketing - I received the book in a YA book box, but this book is clearly aimed at children aged 9-12 - but also, it just wasn't that great. The driving force of the plot was weak and felt pointless for the most part, none of the characters stood out, and the latter third or so with the Gamp seemed like a poorly-disguised Trump imitation, which pulled me out of the story and annoyed me.
November 2, 2020
Very exciting premise. One fine day the letter 'D' disappears from the world. And young girl, Dhikilo travels through portals to save the letter and bring it back.
The story:
Dhikilo notices that one day at breakfast, her parents are no longer pronouncing 'd'. Then the signboards have lost the letter 'd'. Soon things that start with 'd' disappear � dalmations, dogs, daffodils, dentist, etc. Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson —who might not be a simple dog after all � and the adventure begins. In the other world they see many 'd' (s) being carried away by dragonflies. They want to know who masterminded this theft with the minions/dragonflies and bring the letter back.
Setting : England and the wintery land of Liminus. Liminus, like the Oz's world is a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures
Inspired by : Alice in wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Dickens (Bleak House, Great Expectations characters)
What you'll love:
- V imaginative.
- I loved the team of Nelly Robinson and Dhikilo. They are perfect for the adventure
- The Bleak House - a spooky hotel where you literally cannot exit. Dhikilo and Nelly Robinson sat here. Signs appear everywhere, rooms look similar, the wallpaper is alive. It is like a haunted maze.
PS: even though it is a middle grade book, i think some references like Mr. Pumblechook and Bleak House might be lost on children.
What bothered me :
- I did expect more because of the fantastic premise.
- I did not understand why 'Somaliland' was part of the plot. Dhikilo is said to be from Somaliland, not Somalia, and there are some dry descriptions about what Somaliland could 'look like' and then we see nothing more of it. Towards the end it crops up again, almost as if Faber thought 'Oh no, the book is ending, maybe I should mention Somaliland again'. It stuck put like a sore thumb, like a weak diversity point.
Thanks for Translworld for an e-copy. All opinions my own
The story:
Dhikilo notices that one day at breakfast, her parents are no longer pronouncing 'd'. Then the signboards have lost the letter 'd'. Soon things that start with 'd' disappear � dalmations, dogs, daffodils, dentist, etc. Dhikilo is summoned to the home of her old history teacher Professor Dodderfield and his faithful Labrador, Nelly Robinson —who might not be a simple dog after all � and the adventure begins. In the other world they see many 'd' (s) being carried away by dragonflies. They want to know who masterminded this theft with the minions/dragonflies and bring the letter back.
Setting : England and the wintery land of Liminus. Liminus, like the Oz's world is a world enslaved by the monstrous Gamp and populated by fearsome, enchanting creatures
Inspired by : Alice in wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Dickens (Bleak House, Great Expectations characters)
What you'll love:
- V imaginative.
- I loved the team of Nelly Robinson and Dhikilo. They are perfect for the adventure
- The Bleak House - a spooky hotel where you literally cannot exit. Dhikilo and Nelly Robinson sat here. Signs appear everywhere, rooms look similar, the wallpaper is alive. It is like a haunted maze.
PS: even though it is a middle grade book, i think some references like Mr. Pumblechook and Bleak House might be lost on children.
What bothered me :
- I did expect more because of the fantastic premise.
- I did not understand why 'Somaliland' was part of the plot. Dhikilo is said to be from Somaliland, not Somalia, and there are some dry descriptions about what Somaliland could 'look like' and then we see nothing more of it. Towards the end it crops up again, almost as if Faber thought 'Oh no, the book is ending, maybe I should mention Somaliland again'. It stuck put like a sore thumb, like a weak diversity point.
Thanks for Translworld for an e-copy. All opinions my own
March 7, 2021
One day, the letter D suddenly went missing mysteriously everywhere; street signs, daily used words, people's names, objects and animals too! Not just that, dentistry is no longer exists, and dogs are vanishing. As the smart girl Dhikilo went on her way to school, thats when she noticed the difference along the way. When the teachers are teaching, everybody seems to act as the letter D had never existed at all. Dhilkilo's blind professor sent her and a dog that can turned into sphinx with snakes tail to embark on a journey to find and get all the missing letters back to make the world normal again.
What I like about it? The premise, main characters, conflicts and the main character's personality. The whole idea of a missing letter intrigued me so much.
What I don't like about it? The ending. It is rushed and lacking of structure. One think I couldn't fathom is, on page 289, its stated about the kitchen messy and the professor unkempt condition is due to his blindness and no one to help around. But on page 69, the dog/spinx can create some sort of human-shaped balloons to do groceries shopping. 🤷🏻♀� the biggest issue for me is the main character is supposed to be the hero in this story. But the villains empire suddenly got crushed just like that by a bunch of angry mob.
3.8⭐️ because I genuinely love the idea of the book and I think it would be better if the ending was written more thoroughly.
What I like about it? The premise, main characters, conflicts and the main character's personality. The whole idea of a missing letter intrigued me so much.
What I don't like about it? The ending. It is rushed and lacking of structure. One think I couldn't fathom is, on page 289, its stated about the kitchen messy and the professor unkempt condition is due to his blindness and no one to help around. But on page 69, the dog/spinx can create some sort of human-shaped balloons to do groceries shopping. 🤷🏻♀� the biggest issue for me is the main character is supposed to be the hero in this story. But the villains empire suddenly got crushed just like that by a bunch of angry mob.
3.8⭐️ because I genuinely love the idea of the book and I think it would be better if the ending was written more thoroughly.
January 12, 2021
I enjoyed this! Nice easy read
November 30, 2020
2.5 / 3 stars
It was just not the right book for me to be honest
Oké, ik weet niet zo goed hoe ik mijn mening over dit boek moet vormgeven. Ik vond het geen slecht boek, maar ik kwam er ook absoluut niet in. Heb af en toe echt op het randje gezeten om hem dicht te doen en te stoppen met lezen. Maar stiekem, toch ergens, was ik nieuwsgierig naar wat er met de letter D was gebeurd.
Ik zeg er ook meteen bij, ik lees nooit Fantasy. Dus dit boek kan dan niks voor mij zijn geweest, misschien is het juist wel iets voor jou!
De letter D verdwijnt uit het alfabet en Dhikilo krijgt de opdracht om uit te zoeken hoe dat gebeurd en moet het proberen op te lossen. Ze gaat samen met Mrs. Robinson, half labrador, half sfinx, op pad in een andere wereld. In die wereld komen ze allerlei figuren tegen die ze of slim moeten verslaan, of waar ze juist van harte welkom zijn. Ik ben zelf wel erg benieuwd geworden naar de Drood, maar de rest trok mij niet zo om over te lezen. Het voelde soms alsof het een eindeloze herhalende nachtmerrie was
Uiteindelijk vond ik het einde van het verhaal nogal slapjes. Ze kwamen erachter wat er gebeurde met de letter D, er gebeurden wat dingen en opeens waren ze weer richting huis aan het gaan. Vond ik erg jammer, aangezien de rest van het boek wel behoorlijk gedetailleerd was.
Dan een aantal goede dingen, want die zijn er ook echt wel!
+ Michel Faber heeft een onwijs fijne schrijfstijl. Het boek las vlot
+ De beide werelden waren mega goed uitgewerkt
+ Mrs. Robinson heb ik in mijn hart gesloten
+ Heel leuk element dat de letter D ook letterlijk is verdwenen in de conversaties!
+ mooie cover, plus mooie illustraties op de pagina’s
Ik zal dit boek bewaren, alleen omdat ik de cover zo prachtig vind. En ben je echt fan van Fantasy, dan zou ik je dit boek ook zeker aanraden 👏
It was just not the right book for me to be honest
Oké, ik weet niet zo goed hoe ik mijn mening over dit boek moet vormgeven. Ik vond het geen slecht boek, maar ik kwam er ook absoluut niet in. Heb af en toe echt op het randje gezeten om hem dicht te doen en te stoppen met lezen. Maar stiekem, toch ergens, was ik nieuwsgierig naar wat er met de letter D was gebeurd.
Ik zeg er ook meteen bij, ik lees nooit Fantasy. Dus dit boek kan dan niks voor mij zijn geweest, misschien is het juist wel iets voor jou!
De letter D verdwijnt uit het alfabet en Dhikilo krijgt de opdracht om uit te zoeken hoe dat gebeurd en moet het proberen op te lossen. Ze gaat samen met Mrs. Robinson, half labrador, half sfinx, op pad in een andere wereld. In die wereld komen ze allerlei figuren tegen die ze of slim moeten verslaan, of waar ze juist van harte welkom zijn. Ik ben zelf wel erg benieuwd geworden naar de Drood, maar de rest trok mij niet zo om over te lezen. Het voelde soms alsof het een eindeloze herhalende nachtmerrie was
Uiteindelijk vond ik het einde van het verhaal nogal slapjes. Ze kwamen erachter wat er gebeurde met de letter D, er gebeurden wat dingen en opeens waren ze weer richting huis aan het gaan. Vond ik erg jammer, aangezien de rest van het boek wel behoorlijk gedetailleerd was.
Dan een aantal goede dingen, want die zijn er ook echt wel!
+ Michel Faber heeft een onwijs fijne schrijfstijl. Het boek las vlot
+ De beide werelden waren mega goed uitgewerkt
+ Mrs. Robinson heb ik in mijn hart gesloten
+ Heel leuk element dat de letter D ook letterlijk is verdwenen in de conversaties!
+ mooie cover, plus mooie illustraties op de pagina’s
Ik zal dit boek bewaren, alleen omdat ik de cover zo prachtig vind. En ben je echt fan van Fantasy, dan zou ik je dit boek ook zeker aanraden 👏
March 18, 2021
Hella underrated. Like a British Kurt Vonnegut clone in the 20th century wrote a 19th century style YA novel and buried it in a time-capsule to be published in the 21st century. The only problem here is that the book ends too soon, which is why i docked it a star. Bad form, Faber- you're too clever by twenty percent, and no one knows who Charles Dickens is anymore, anyway. Go back to writing books about aliens that look like Scarlett Johansson and maybe someone will make a comic book movie about it and you won't have to write really fantastic literate novels anymore that people will rate poorly because Chris Hemsworth doesn't swing a Hammer in it anywhere.
But who am I kidding, I love all the Marvel movies, don't at me ;)
But who am I kidding, I love all the Marvel movies, don't at me ;)
September 7, 2021
Read- August 2021 for Bookopalathon (Mood Read) and Magical Readathon (Read a Standalone)
- I can't even begin to describe how excited I was for this book before it came out. A retelling of Charles Dickens work? Yes please, love a classic retelling. However, this is not it. I honestly picked out about 4 references to Charles Dickens works and that was it so it was absolutely not a retelling in any sense of the word. It was just so nonsensical and didn't make any sense any of the time. Probably my least favourite read of all time aside from dnfs.
- I can't even begin to describe how excited I was for this book before it came out. A retelling of Charles Dickens work? Yes please, love a classic retelling. However, this is not it. I honestly picked out about 4 references to Charles Dickens works and that was it so it was absolutely not a retelling in any sense of the word. It was just so nonsensical and didn't make any sense any of the time. Probably my least favourite read of all time aside from dnfs.
November 30, 2021
Meh, just meh. This read more like a book geared to a younger audience. A child protagonist and lots of annoying encounters that had me yawning. Really disappointed because I loved Faber’s The Book of Strange New Things and so I had hopes for this novel.
November 7, 2020
This is a really fun and well paced adventure story, written to mark the 150 year anniversary of Dickens' death.
The book takes inspiration from the Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, both of which come through in the storytelling. However, I can't really say the same for the Dickens inspiration as, beyond the title and use of the name Magwitch, I don't really see that influence within the story.
The book follows a young girl called Dhikilo, born in Somaliland but growing up in the UK after being adopted by a British couple. One morning Dhikilo wakes up to find the letter D has dropped out of all speech and text and no one except her appears to have noticed. With the help of an ex-professor from her school she sets off on an adventure to solve the mystery and bring back D.
The plot is a fantastic premise for a middle grade fiction book although, inevitably and perhaps unavoidably, it did have a lot of holes. This did not spoil my enjoyment of the story though and I found it to be a creative and exciting adventure which children would love with a smart, resourceful and witty heroine.
The book takes inspiration from the Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, both of which come through in the storytelling. However, I can't really say the same for the Dickens inspiration as, beyond the title and use of the name Magwitch, I don't really see that influence within the story.
The book follows a young girl called Dhikilo, born in Somaliland but growing up in the UK after being adopted by a British couple. One morning Dhikilo wakes up to find the letter D has dropped out of all speech and text and no one except her appears to have noticed. With the help of an ex-professor from her school she sets off on an adventure to solve the mystery and bring back D.
The plot is a fantastic premise for a middle grade fiction book although, inevitably and perhaps unavoidably, it did have a lot of holes. This did not spoil my enjoyment of the story though and I found it to be a creative and exciting adventure which children would love with a smart, resourceful and witty heroine.
November 13, 2020
Of D: een geschiedenis van twee werelden nu ronduit gestoord of geniaal is, daar ben ik nog steeds niet uit.
Ik verwachtte een ludiek verhaal, waarbij de 'D' creatief uit het boek zou verdwijnen. Dialogen die zouden worden omgebogen zodat er geen 'D' in voorkomt.
In sommige dialogen gebeurde dit, maar in de meeste verdween de 'D' gewoon, wat zorgde voor een niet echt ontspannende leeservaring.
Michel Faber heeft bovendien een erg speciale schrijfstijl, waar je voor moet zijn. Het verhaal springt af en toe van de hak op de tak, waardoor ik ook het 'ah zo zit dat'-momentje niet volledig heb mee gehad.
Wel moet ik zeggen dat ik écht het beloofde Narnia-gevoel kreeg met een tikkeltje gekkigheid van Alice In Wonderland. Faber heeft een unieke wereld weten neer te zetten, een wereld waar ik graag naar zou terugkeren maar dan met een ander avontuur en liefst met alle letters van het alfabet.
Ondanks de struikelblokken is D een uniek verhaal met geweldige personages dat zeker en vast potentieel heeft. De schrijver heeft een prachtige wereld neergezet, maar helaas kon ik er niet voldoende van genieten door de ontbrekende dialoog.
- Ik ontving dit boek als recensie exemplaar.
Ik verwachtte een ludiek verhaal, waarbij de 'D' creatief uit het boek zou verdwijnen. Dialogen die zouden worden omgebogen zodat er geen 'D' in voorkomt.
In sommige dialogen gebeurde dit, maar in de meeste verdween de 'D' gewoon, wat zorgde voor een niet echt ontspannende leeservaring.
Michel Faber heeft bovendien een erg speciale schrijfstijl, waar je voor moet zijn. Het verhaal springt af en toe van de hak op de tak, waardoor ik ook het 'ah zo zit dat'-momentje niet volledig heb mee gehad.
Wel moet ik zeggen dat ik écht het beloofde Narnia-gevoel kreeg met een tikkeltje gekkigheid van Alice In Wonderland. Faber heeft een unieke wereld weten neer te zetten, een wereld waar ik graag naar zou terugkeren maar dan met een ander avontuur en liefst met alle letters van het alfabet.
Ondanks de struikelblokken is D een uniek verhaal met geweldige personages dat zeker en vast potentieel heeft. De schrijver heeft een prachtige wereld neergezet, maar helaas kon ik er niet voldoende van genieten door de ontbrekende dialoog.
- Ik ontving dit boek als recensie exemplaar.
December 29, 2020
I'm a hard customer for kids novels - their charm needs be cut with a cheeky edge to hook me, like or the fabulous graphic novel . This book doesn't have cheek, but it does have charm in its imaginative fantasy world filled with some mildly Dickensian characters, and a heroine who feels like a genuine 13 year old to me. A good book to read aloud to the kids and grandkids while enjoying it yourself, in a mildly nice kind of way.
I've read and loved all of Faber's adult novels. I read in a recent interview that since the death of his wife he no longer wants to write adult fiction. I can understand that, but I hope with time he may feel differently. In any case, I will read whatever he writes.
I've read and loved all of Faber's adult novels. I read in a recent interview that since the death of his wife he no longer wants to write adult fiction. I can understand that, but I hope with time he may feel differently. In any case, I will read whatever he writes.
January 31, 2022
Ergens tussen de magische werelden van De tovenaar van Oz en Alice in Wonderland en de klassieke en gevatte vertellingen van Dickens, vind je dit rare maar fijne en charmante verhaal.
“Ik ben op avontuur geweest, zou ze kunnen zeggen, maar dat zou niet genoeg zijn.�
“Ik ben op avontuur geweest, zou ze kunnen zeggen, maar dat zou niet genoeg zijn.�
August 19, 2022
I’m really not sure what to say about this story.
I almost quit reading it at first, but after the “d”s started going, I enjoyed it for quite some time. By the end, I was just waiting for it to be over. It is pure nonsense, but it was fun to see my mind “filling in� the missing letters in the dialogue. Maybe I was only attracted to the Sphinx/dog, Mrs. Robinson because that is my last name too. Maybe it was the dragonflies - I like those too.
Given the author’s body of work, I really need to give him another try.
I almost quit reading it at first, but after the “d”s started going, I enjoyed it for quite some time. By the end, I was just waiting for it to be over. It is pure nonsense, but it was fun to see my mind “filling in� the missing letters in the dialogue. Maybe I was only attracted to the Sphinx/dog, Mrs. Robinson because that is my last name too. Maybe it was the dragonflies - I like those too.
Given the author’s body of work, I really need to give him another try.
February 27, 2023
A very particular story with a heroine who does not stop in the face of adversity.
It's one of those rare books that you end up either loving or hating and I really enjoyed it.
It's one of those rare books that you end up either loving or hating and I really enjoyed it.
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