Yelchin, Eugene.
The Haunting of Falcon
House. Henry
Holt/Macmillan 2016 310p $15.99
ISBN 978-0-8050-9845-7 elem/ms
Fantasy
VG-BN
In this tale-within-a-tale, Lev, a young Russian nobleman of
the early 20th century, aged about twelve, is sent to live with his eccentric
aunt in St. Petersburg, where he encounters the ghost of a
servant boy who served his grandfather. Only by breaking a curse put on the
ghostly serf can Lev resolve the story’s mystery, finish a drawing he had
started with his mother, and release the ghost from its misery. The story
brings to mind some classics of Russian literature, such as the stories of
Gogol and Tolstoy, with its descriptions of Tsarist Russian life and its wry
humor. The characters are interesting and quaint, the sentences old-fashioned
and eloquent, and the plot twisted and fanciful. The author sprinkles his own
wonderful drawings throughout, giving them the look of old documents that have
been slightly damaged by age. In the back, there are footnotes pertaining to
Russian history which will be helpful to the young readers who get into the
novel. The novel, like Yelchin’s previous work, will appeal to readers who are
intellectually open to immersing themselves in Russian culture. Recommended for upper-elementary and
middle-school students who are into multicultural stories and fantasy.
Summary: A young nobleman in Tsarist Russia is
sent to live with his aunt in an old gothic mansion, where he encounters ghosts
and learns about his family’s secrets from the past.
No comments:
Post a Comment