Thomas the Rhymer (1990)

It took me a while to get into this version of Thomas the Rhymer. The story is told in four voices: the voice of an old man who takes Thomas in almost as his own son, Gavin; the voice of Thomas himself; the voice of Gavin's wife, Meg; and the voice of the mortal woman who loves Thomas, Elspeth. The part in Gavin's voice didn't grip me so much, but when I came to Thomas's part, I could barely put the book down. It's not full of action, and Elspeth doesn't play a part in Thomas coming back from Faerieland. Instead, it's full of emotion, which builds right through the story until the final line -- so innocuous on its own -- makes my heart ache. Without saying any more about it, I love the end.

There are some beautiful passages in the book, and some smaller lovely stories -- the story of the dove, for one, and the story of Thomas' invisible servant, for another. And some of the characters are really wonderful, particularly saucy Elspeth.

It's an interesting take on the story of True Thomas, Thomas the Rhymer, and I'm glad I kept on with it, after not really getting into Gavin's part of the story. I thought it was rather magical, really. ( )

I loved this book when I read it years ago. I haven't thought of it in years, but as soon as I saw it sweeping by on my friends list I grinned. ( )

Not as mindblowingly awesome as Swordspoint, but then, what is? Thomas is kind of an appealing asshole; Meg is awesome and I would read an entire book about her; the Queen of Faery wasn't quite weird/inhuman enough for my taste, but I have high standards there. ( )

I bought a second copy by mistake at the used book store but still read it. :) I like how we get four sections told from four points of view, the farmer couple that Thomas stays with before and after his 7 years in Elfland, Thomas's view on his 7 years, and Elspeth's view of the last years of his life. Thomas is probably the least sympathetic, but it's still an enjoyable read. ( )

Ellen Kushner justly deserves her reputation as a wonderful, if not particularly prolific writer. This one takes the familiar tale of True Thomas, and tells it from a variety of viewpoints, building on each other nicely. Emotionally real, smartly written, and often funny, highly recommended. ( )