A Sudden Swirl of Icy Wind

Genie Trilogy #2

by Anne Fine, David Higham (Illustrator)

It's the day after Christmas and William is in trouble, but he doesn't know what he's done wrong.

Banished to the storeroom, he accidentally releases Mustapha, the genie of the bottle.

Paperback

First published July 4, 1991

About the author

Though readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.

Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)

Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.

Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lot of punch a 3 chapter book can hold!
Who would have thought?
I just read this book to my 6-year-old son, who missed a great deal of the messages contained herein--thought I tried to explain them as best I could--and promised we would read it again in future, and that he would understand more and more each time.
At its most basic, it's the story of a boy being shut in a storage room by his angry grandmother, where he discovers a genie. The genie tells him the story of his great-great-great-(many greats) grandfather.
Dig a little further and it is a tale of tolerance, of wisdom.

[vvanyaa1234 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

When you read a lot of books by an author who isn’t afraid to tackle complex topics, you’re bound to find a book you don’t agree with.
As a story, this is another good book, and the central message (respect other people’s faiths) is a good one.
I’m just not a fan of the “every religion is basically the same” idea.