The Weirdstone of Brisingamen

One of the most magical and influential books of my childhood, this is Garner's early masterpiece (however sniffy you may choose to get about the hodgepodge of mythologies).

Two children are sent to live in the myth-stalked landscape of Alderley Edge. Searching for the Wizard of legend, they find themselves threatened by goblins at dusk - and are rescued by the wizard and his allies. The children soon discover that not all walking legends are pleasant as they become the object of the Morrigan's attentions and must join the ongoing battle to keep Britain safe from the morthbrood.

It is the language and the sense of place that makes this a real gem. Garner knows every byway he describes, and the setting is inextricably part of the drama, show more even more so than the various mythological borrowings that propel the plot. The characters - especially down-to-earth farmer Gowther Mossock and direct dwarf Fenodyree - are unforgettable.

In many ways this is underdrawn, with much suggested rather than shown or told (unusually so for a children's book), which is part of its eternal appeal. This book sparks the imagination, opening up dreams and nightmares at any age.

Speaking of evocative description - I blame this novel specifically for my discomfort with tight spaces. Claustrophobics beware - the Earldelving leaves its mark! show less

This cover was the sole reason I purchased this book. Pages 1-97 were why I fell in love with it. Pages 98-155 killed the momentum. And the remaining ~100 pages were the reason I will never crack it open again.

The first third of this story is amazing. Delightfully crafted and appropriately paced. Then the next 25% of the book is a single setting with 2 characters then 4 characters and it is so mundane. Finally things move on but it lost all its magic already. Incredibly disappointing.

I haven't read this in a long, long time, but it was very much a favourite of mine, and I think I'm beginning to really appreciate why. Actually, it's almost shocking: I was not prepared for how Tolkeiny it is. You have dwarves, you have elves (unseen), you have orcish monsters and trolls, a piece of jewelry as plot-token and a wise old wizard in a beard and robes; there are woods and mines and lakes and aid from a mysterious lady of great beauty and power. In other words, tons of Northern European legends and folklore driving an adventure narrative; but instead of Lord Of The Ring's epic sprawl - or even The Hobbits long wayward quest, we get an astonishingly tight, short, fast paced tale that seems to deliver it all in a concentrated show more dose.

Garner has expressed a certain dislike for the books, particularly the main characters and, sadly, it's easy to see why. Colin and Susan are standard English children's book children. Most of the time they fail to differ appreciably from anyone from, say, the Famous Five or Secret Seven, only rarely showing flashes of personality, usually in brief bits of dialogue. They certainly pale in comparison to the dwarves and even Cadellin (though Cadellin proves that Ian McKellan has firmly set his stamp on the cultural image of the bearded wise wizard with both his appearance and voice), who are at least built upon sturdy heroic archetypes and through their dialogues, voices, language and cadences, Garner brings them to mythic life. Difficult enough for virtual blank slates like Colin and Susan to flourish in such company, but they also have to contend with the incomparable Gowther Mossock, in whom Garner's gift for voice and dialect show themselves in all their glory, but also his concerns with people in landscapes and embedded in the history of that landscape. Colin and Susan didn't have a chance.

The book is also notable for what may well be one of the most terrifying sequences in children's literature: the Earldelving. Nothing magical or supernatural, either; just our, ahem, fellowship squirming their way through a system of pitch-black tunnels that makes the reader squirm with horror. show less

A classic British work of children's fantasy which owes something to Arthur Machen and something to Tolkien but has a quality all of its own. It is written for intelligent children and young adults without in any way patronising or preaching at them. This was possible in 1960.

The book layers the most uncompromising fantasy over a real place in the world - Alderley Edge in Cheshire, a dramatic red stone escarpment now under the protection of the National Trust - creating a sensibility close to that of an intelligent child's own imaginative play.

Being close to the border of Wales, it mashes up Nordic-Germanic and Celtic memes in a way that speaks to the very mythological nature of South Britain (Anglo-Wales) and pulls in almost every form show more of magical life (such as dwarves, elves, evil ones, witches and so forth) in subtly new ways.

But what is most remarkable - and something that was part of the childhood experience in the 1960s and 1970s in a way unthinkable today - Garner (his first book) refused to patronise his audience on the subject of emotional discomfort and physical terror.

It is beautifully paced in this respect with a central section of the children, led by two dwarves and chased by small evil goblin-like creatures, on a journey through a terrifying maze of increasingly narrow tunnels where we feel the possibility of being 'stuck' underground beyond any adult help.

Similarly, Garner later gives us an extended journey across the countryside (the most Tolkien-esque part of the book based on a quest with a battle in which the death of a loved character is not shied from) that is not only terrible but risks life in quasi-polar conditions.

A lot is packed into this book. It could all have been too much if Garner had not grounded it in a place and not allowed it to unfold less as 'literary' fantasy and more as imaginative play where everything can be thrown in so long as the universe it creates is internally consistent.

Nor is it shy of having a clear idea of who is good and who is evil. Evil svarts are not interrogated on the social conditions that led to their condition but are despatched into dust by Durathror's sword Dyrnwin without regret and with a warrior's enthusiasm for battle.

Garner got a bit snobby about his first book in later life, referring to it as "a fairly bad book" but that is perhaps just a man wanting to be taken more seriously by posh people. It could be argued that it is a bit over the top with a lack of characterisation and subtlety but that misses its point.

He was far too hard on himself. The book stands up well compared to most first novels by anyone else. He tapped into the excitable and playful mentality of the child or young adult whether he intended to or not. It is much better from that perspective than he seemed to realise.

Perhaps the only point of criticism is that Charles Green's hand-drawn maps to illustrate the action don't always seem to tie-in with the story and are far less useful than those used by, say, Tolkien. However, that is a small point.

Another point to bear in mind is that Garner was a genuinely working class writer from an illiterate family background, raised on the verbal lore of the territory, so the book may not be 'high literature' but it retains an imaginative authenticity that shines through the fantasy.

A sense of English 'place' (now lost in our cities most certainly and increasingly so in our towns) is also present. I, for one, welcome this as so many English towns and villages collapse into museum memorialisation and cottages for middle class city people with labradoodles and chichi tastes.

Taken in the round, I do not give a damn about the 'poor characterisation' precisely because Garner has allowed himself and us to be entranced by the imagery of local landscape, weather, folklore and traditional relationships on the land. It is popular because it is good. show less

The first hundred pages are wonderful. The description of the children arriving in Alderley Edge and discovering its strange landscape see Garner blend natural imagery with supernatural events and characters in a manner that feels highly original. The description of the darkness descending on the village and Gowther's night time brush with evil was terrifying. But from the moment that the children get lost in the tunnels, it becomes a series of largely forgettable scenes in which the children are chased and pursued through tunnels, woods and hills, always "just" getting away. I found it almost impossible to get to the end of the book. It doesn't help that more characters are introduced without being properly established and those that show more are introduced remain poorly developed. Garner has disavowed this book as being poorly done and I can see why. show less

The first half of the book is full of delightful details as it interweaves local legends and geography of Alderly Edge (a real place in England), high-fantasy elements like wizards, goblins, and dwarfs, and allusions to ancient Norse and Celtic mythology. The Earldelving chapter was a brilliantly intense and horrifying piece of descriptive writing that had me literally gasping for breath by the end.

Unfortunately, the story really drags in the latter half of the book as the protagonists undertake a slow and tedious crawl across a few miles of English countryside while trying to remain hidden. Finally they reach their destination and the intensity suddenly shoots up to 11 for a few pages in an all-out battle with the forces of evil and show more then wham, book over.

Still, flawed though it was, I enjoyed reading it. show less

[b:The Weirdstone of Brisingamen|694997|The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (Tales of Alderley, #1)|Alan Garner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177345171s/694997.jpg|279305] by Alan Garner, is one of my all time favourite children's books, together with the sequel, [b:The Moon of Gomrath|694942|The Moon of Gomrath (Tales of Alderley, #2)|Alan Garner|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177344653s/694942.jpg|1219230]. They had a profound impact on me, such that when we holidayed in the Peak District, and I was an adult, I had an overwhelming desire to visit Alderley Edge (which sadly never happened). The adventures of Colin and Susan - sometimes frightening - are told at the perfect pace for younger readers. The connections to fairy tales, legends and show more the ancient "Matter of Britain" give the tales a depth that will infect the imagination. I can still read and enjoy them now, as a (very) mature adult. There are, indeed, times when these tales appear as faint echoes in my own writing.

If you're not inclined to wrap your children's imaginations in cotton wool to protect them from frights, then let them read these books - or (better still) read them to them! And no, I don't mean get audio books or radio/TV dramatisations! Part of the magic is in knowing that so many of the locations are very real, but seeing TV images of them destroys it all - the imagination has to have room to work. And the same applies to voices - let the imagination create those, not actors. A parent reading aloud is different, because the voice is familiar, and that allows free reign to the child's imagination, rather like that odd phenomenon of always remembering, or dreaming about, black and white movies in colour!

Both books are 5 star reads! (I'd give them 10 out 5 if I could.) show less