Naming is ‘taming’ and once she agrees to this her nature is contained much like the caged bird that she has become. At first this involves only small things, taking a maid to help her dress, modifying her ways, wearing shoes and jewels, but the final straw is the taking on of a name. Of course he makes many promises and believing his sweet words she eventually finds herself changing in order to please him. In spite of warnings she embarks on a relationship with this young man, who is intrigued by her unconventional beauty and wild demeanour. The main character, a wild young girl, one of the travelling/free folk who lives in the forest, finds herself in love with the laird of the manor. It’s beautifully written but more than that it’s evocative, the characters and the woodlands spring to life off the page, there’s a strange feeling of whimsy but the author has brought into focus that sense of menace and darkness that is the root of many fairytales and yet is so often lost in the pursuit of sugary sweetness. This is only a fairly short read, well approximately 250 pages or thereabouts, and so I practically devoured it in one day – and then deeply regretted it because I didn’t want the book to end (that’s what rereads are for you know). Joanne Harris is one of my favourite authors and I must say that this is probably one of my favourite pieces of work by her so far, perhaps not surprising in that I do love a dark fairytale, and I’m also rather partial to anything that Ms Harris writes, but, this piece of work is rather exceptional and I will definitely pick up a copy of the illustrated version once it becomes available. I loved A Pocketful of Crows, it’s a darkly woven fairy tale of love and revenge based on a poem called ‘The Child Ballads’.

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