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What Members Thought
I am a little hesitant to give this a 3, for Dunsany writes wonderfully. His prose is by turns lyrical, clever, humorous, insightful, and moving. However, I don't so much enjoy reading long descriptive passages with very little action or even plot. Although the plot elements were solidly put into place, they then don't do much for the bulk of the book, and by halfway through I mostly stopped caring. Dunsany seemed far more interested in landscape and atmosphere than characters.
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A truly beautiful book. The story is a familiar one; it's the lyrical language that makes this special.
2021 re-read: Still loved it. It's definitely a meditative book, although the plot is not as formulaic as one might expect. I enjoyed the touches of humor, and the beautiful prose, and the chance to ponder the benefits and challenges of constant change vs. perfect and eternal beauty. ...more
2021 re-read: Still loved it. It's definitely a meditative book, although the plot is not as formulaic as one might expect. I enjoyed the touches of humor, and the beautiful prose, and the chance to ponder the benefits and challenges of constant change vs. perfect and eternal beauty. ...more
Beautiful and lyrical fantasty written by what must be one of the few of the English nobility to be able to write (one wonders about all those myths of Shakespeare's plays being ghostwritten by a Duke or Earl). Dunsany helped to make fantasy writing an art.
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A beautiful, poetic journey into the lands of the Elf. The whole thing reads like a dream, and I loved it.
Aug 05, 2008
Terri
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Nov 11, 2008
Pam
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Apr 10, 2010
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Heather
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Aug 19, 2012
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Jun 14, 2015
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Feb 06, 2019
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