Picture of the Day for 9/22/2010. It's been awhile since I've given a "book report" on my blog so I thought I would circle back to this topic. My niece Renee and her family are obsessed with Shannon Hale's books. Hale is an award-winning author of young adult fiction who is known for re-imagining classic fairy tales. "Book of a Thousand Days" is based on the Brothers Grimm tale of Maid Maleen.
Here's the gist of Hale's story - a princess falls in love with a prince who is deemed objectionable. Since she will have no other suitor, her father locks the princess and her lady's maid in a tower for seven years as punishment. After several years, they manage to escape only to find the kingdom has been utterly destroyed. The girls manage to make their way to the prince's kingdom where they find work in the royal kitchen and there learn the prince is betrothed to another. (Oh no!) I won't give away the ending (I couldn't even if I wanted to since I haven't finished the book yet), but since this story is told from the maid's point-of-view, I'm guessing things probably work out well for her in the end.
Renee gave me this book along with another Shannon Hale novel, "The Goose Girl." before I went in for surgery a couple of months ago. I liked "The Goose Girl" a lot, but I love "Book of a Thousand Days" since it's like nothing else I've ever read before. I think what makes it so unique is the setting- Hale places this fairy tale in the central Asian steppes. I really feel like I've been transported to another world.
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