There are thousands of ways I could begin this review of Uprooted by Naomi Novik and many ways in
which to present it, but to start it must be simple.
I love this book – it is a wondrous read with a surprise around
every page. As I read, I could never get enough – I lost sleep, reading ‘just
one more chapter’ five or six times a night. I guessed at what would come next
and was always surprised…until I simply stopped and just let the story flow. It’s
timeless, evocative and every bit the modern fairy tale others proclaim it to
be. It is a must read.
But of course Uprooted
isn’t only simple as it’s as deeply layered as the best fairy tales always are.
And so must my review be more than a statement or two about how much I love the
book.
Voice. It can so often be overlooked in its importance, but
particularly for first person, it dominates a story’s ultimate success. For Uprooted this voice is Agnieszka
(Nieshka to her friends), a young woman who will find who she is and her place in
the world through the growth of Uprooted.
She is ignorant to the world yet rooted to her past, devoted to her loved ones,
and contains a will strong enough to endure and shatter convention. Uprooted is certainly the fairy tale it’s
proclaimed to be, though more so, it’s the story at the root of that timeless
tale – the origin and the seed from which a magnificent collection of truths
will descend. It is the tale of Nieshka and how she saves her homeland, a
kingdom, a wizard, and a friend. And so much more.
One aspect of Uprooted
that made it an absolute joy to read is that I began reading it with very few
expectations, and the few I did have mostly turned out to be wrong. The jacket
description of the book is all over and done with in a just a few pages.
Afterwards is a blank slate. First one path forward emerges, then another, then
another, and eventually the journey is simply enjoyed.
It took some help for me to see it*, but the ultimate theme
guiding Uprooted is friendship. Every
single significant moment in this book is rooted in Nieshka’s friendship with
Kasia. Yes, there is a beautifully drawn out romance, and there is the ever
present corruption of the Wood and the evil it brings, and politics of kingdoms
and such as well. But it’s the simple, mundane (yet clearly so much more than
mundane) value of friendship that Uprooted
grows from.
For this reason (among others), I would propose that Uprooted should be thought of as an ideal
‘entry-level’ fantasy. Typically when that term is thrown about there are
spaceships, aliens, battles, or dragons, swords and other battles. Probably an
orphan or a soldier, likely magic or faster-than-light travel. But of course
that view is from one (particularly loud) tradition, and Uprooted nurtures another tradition.
Fear not, if you feel that your fantasy needs swords and bravery,
evil beasts to be defeated, battle and betrayal, you will find this. But let’s
move on.
As with the best fairy tales, Uprooted
has many layers, and many conversations that can sprout forth. Be it friendship
as I indicate above, or the blooming of a love and the opening of a dead heart,
or even the mundane conversations of genre.
Yes, for those of us who have delved into the ‘community’ of
fandom, there is conversation to be had. In fact, one could choose their own
metaphor if they were so inclined. There is the prescriptive, rigid magic of
the Dragon, complete with its long history and devote adherents. The precise
requirements of diction, pronunciation and the corresponding expectations of
courtly sorcerers. Nieshka’s corresponding magic of intuition and song,
containing no prescription or predictive path is a foil to whatever
establishment you choose. The corruption of the Wood, its pure evil and malice
and the resulting lack of hope presents another opportunity for conversation.
For all the overwhelming evil and corruptive power, there is redemption. Hope
prevails though the indomitable spirit of Nieshka. The conversation is changed
and the future rewritten**. And hell, I just know there’s a good ‘can’t see the
forest for all the trees’ message wandering the Wood somewhere.
Of course it can be any community that takes a lesson from Uprooted, I merely chose the one closest
to me as I write.
As many a review that I write grows from a beginning into a wild
bramble of mixed thoughts and metaphor, eventually it comes back to the
beginning. And so it ends in the simplicity of earned embellishment.
Uprooted is the seed that spawns a thousand generations of a tale and
Novik has cultivated a magnificent, timeless beauty to enjoy***.
Uprooted: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon
* The reasons why are probably several essays worth of material.
**Leaving grimdark for dead in ditch? This reviewer can only hope.
***Over and over again.
