Little, Big

Questions About Little, Big

by John Crowley

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Answered Questions (13)

I have been struggling with reading this book for two years now. I just don't get it. It has been rated as one of the best 'fantasy' book ever and even one of the best 'sci-fi' books ever (according to the Guardian). But 100 pages in and all you get is a fish that 'might' be able to talk out in a pond somewhere. What is the appeal? I finally gave up reading it. Why the rage?
Dan'l This is a family chronicle, like Joyce Carol Oates' _Bellefleur_. It is intentionally expansive, echoing the architecture of the house, Edgewood, in i…moreThis is a family chronicle, like Joyce Carol Oates' _Bellefleur_. It is intentionally expansive, echoing the architecture of the house, Edgewood, in its intricately interwoven sprawl.

In fact, it is many stories, all tied up in the ongoing Tale. It's about people and relationships and the impossibility of sharing personal truths even - perhaps especially - with those one most loves.

The magic intrudes so oddly, and seamlessly, that the realism is able to persist undiminished. The joy of the book is in the familiar detail that allows these extraordinary characters to be instantly familiar, only growing moreso as the story unfolds.

This is not a book to read in a hurry to reach a resolution. The pleasure is in savoring each turn, each new scene unfolding as if turning an unexpected corner inside or outside Edgewood, and taking the time to let that sink in, to take one's bearings before moving on.(less)
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Why does George Mouse laugh at the name of "The Noisy Bridge Rod and Gun Club"? Is this some pun I don't get?
Sheherazahde I believe the book explicitly says that he was amused at how apropo the name was. The bridge would be noisy if a gun club was meeting there.
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Tim Ferris created a family tree for this - 3rd picture on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAtQO8InRVX/ here is a question mark?
Dan'l That family tree was created by John Crowley, and has always been included in every print edition I have read. I imagine some ebook formats may not su…moreThat family tree was created by John Crowley, and has always been included in every print edition I have read. I imagine some ebook formats may not support it.(less)
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Just finished the book and something is bothering me. Right before Cloud dies, she thinks about the house, she says it has 4 floors, 7 chimneys, 52 doors, 365 stairs and 12 she doesn't remember what. Does anyone know what 12 things in the house she is referring to? Also while on the subject, all those numbers seem to relate to a year, 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, 4 seasons. But what is there 7 of in a year?
Dan'l Seven is plainly the days in a week.

And as Nora Cloud has lived there her whole life long, what she at that moment what she is failing to remember is…moreSeven is plainly the days in a week.

And as Nora Cloud has lived there her whole life long, what she at that moment what she is failing to remember is that Edgewood is a composite: it is twelve houses.(less)
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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)
Dan'l The Fairies engineered Eigenblick's rise to create disorder, confusion, and - for them, the mice under the kitchen table - opportunity. He serves to d…moreThe Fairies engineered Eigenblick's rise to create disorder, confusion, and - for them, the mice under the kitchen table - opportunity. He serves to demonstrate that all the supposed power and stability of institutions is in fact as empty as a bag of fairy gold, when seen for what it is. The world that the Drinkwaters leave behind (just as Eigenblick himself again vanishes into legendary history) is no more substantial than that they depart to.

No, it's not death. It's just the end of the book. Remember, the spiritual secret that Violet perceived and imperfectly imparted to her family and friends, was that she - and they - are characters in a story. John and Violet, and Rev. Bramble, and Auberon the elder, and Timmy-Willie and Aunt Cloud and finally Smokey all do die, in the course of the tale.

But if the place that the rest retreat to for the "parliament" is death, one would expect them to be there, and they are not.

The Fairies are in retreat because they are no longer effective archetypes. They are worn out. But for them to be able to retire and withdraw, something else must take their place. (less)
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