Dan'l answers “I have been struggling with reading this...”

A Goodreads user asked this question about Little, Big:

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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Kevin Yep. I would only add that if you do not believe Snake-Hands are the best part of a novel, this book is not for you.
Mar 31, 2015 11:07AM · flag

Cheryl thank you. That makes me understand it better
Mar 31, 2021 10:29AM · flag

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