logisticslad

I finally finished reading Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier and I highly recommend it! It's a retelling of the fairy tale of The Six Swans, where six brothers are turned into swans by their wicked stepmother, and their sister must break the curse by sewing them each a shirt out of nettles and remaining silent the entire time. In this version, it is set in Celtic Ireland and the sister, Sorcha, is a wonderful character who passes many tests of endurance to achieve her goal. The writing is equisite and lyrical. The novel feels very feminist and feminine at the same time, as Sorcha's life as a young woman is revealed. Complications ensue as she falls in love with a Briton, but her encounters with the Fey Folk help set everything on course for a reasonably happy ending. It turns out that this is the first of a trilogy, but it is a complete story in and of itself. We had just done this book in my SF Book Club and it was very well received, even by the folks who don't particularly enjoy fantasy. This was because of the quality of the writing and the strength of the characters. I'm delighted to have discovered this author and look forward to reading more by her!