Eric P. Kelly (1884–1960)

This one threw me a bit. I found it a bit boring at first, and then the introduction of magic and other seemingly random elements was unexpected and kind of crazy. It seemed to spiral to strange places. Like, did the author have everything planned, or did he just write as his whimsy directed? Either way, I liked it. I think.
I did really like whole ‘unfinished note’ aspect, and how that played out (my puns need work). The trumpeter scenes were the most charming parts of the trumpeter book, go figure, but they seemed to begging for a larger role. Overall, it's worth a read.… (more)

I read this for the first time since I was in my teens. It is very much a book of the period it was written, being the 1920s. The villains are all disabled and/or disfigured, the women and girls shallow props to bolster the roles of the valiant leading males. That said, the voice of the book is eloquent and beautiful, and the author's deep love of the city of Krakow is evident on most every page. It's easy to see why this was the Newberry Award winner in 1929.

The adventure story is a rollicking one, cozy in its predictability, but hey--sometimes it's nice to know the bad guys are certain to know justice, with the good guys eventually rewarded for their stalwart suffering. This isn't a book I would re-read because it is so painfully dated, but it made for an interesting choice for my classic book for the month.… (more)