My Swordhand is Singing
Marcus Sedgwick
London: Orion Books, 2006
Genre: Horror/Folktale
Read if: You are interested in the origins of vampire stories, and like eerie mysteries.
Best for: Middle school students who are interested in dark, moody mysteries with a historic setting. Because the story is straightforward and gripping, this is a great book for many levels of reader.
If you like it, try:
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
Rating: 3.5/5
"I was living in a devil town
Didn't know it was a devil town
Oh lord it really brings me down about the devil town
All my friends were vampires
Didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
in the devil town"
-Devil Town lyrics by Daniel Johnston
His whole life, Peter has lived like a nomad. Roaming the countryside with his father Tomas, taking odd jobs in small towns and never staying long, Peter has never found a place to call home. Then Peter and Tomas come to Chust. Settling down on an island at the edge of the forest, Peter spends his days cutting wood for the villagers and nursing his often-drunk father. Slowly, Peter builds a life for himself in Chust, with a job and a sweetheart named Agnes.
But Peter's peace begins to break with the death of one of the villagers. Witnessing the burial himself, Peter does not know what to make of reports that Radu is being seen at night, apparently alive.
When other deaths follow, Peter finds himself caught in a mystery involving gypsies, his father's past, a sword, and a legend of the deadly Shadow Queen. The undead are haunting Chust, and it is up to Peter protect the only place he knows as home.
My Swordhand Is Singing is a contemporary vampire folk tale. Drawing on sixteenth and seventeenth century vampire traditions, Sedgwick writes in his Author's Note at the back of the novel that he "sought to capture the flavour of the early reports of vampirism." Sedgwick goes on to say that "the suave, sometimes overtly attractive vampire of modern myth is very far from the original revenants of the folklore where these creatures originated."
With My Swordhand is Singing, Sedgwick de-Cullenizes the vampire tale. The vampires of Chust are frightening, unglamorous and unstoppable. Almost zombie-like in their pursuit of prey, the nosferatu, vrykolakoi, or hostages, as they are alternately called (the word vampire never actually appears in the novel), are possessed of a disease that causes their state. Death, and the acceptance of its presence in our lives, is a running thread in this cleverly constructed vampire story.
The biggest strength of this novel is the setting and tone Sedgewick establishes. Using the folklore framework, Sedgwick is able to create a moody, gripping world very quickly. The deep Transalvanian winter is so clearly depicted readers will find themselves immediately immersed in the novels world.
The story itself is simple and straightforward. More hesitant readers will find it easily accessible. Although the book is a return to vampire-tale roots, it contains very light horror. Readers looking for a true scare won't find one here. There is also more mystery than action, so some readers looking for violent vampire fight sequences may be dissapointed (that's not to say there's NO vampire fighting though, because there definitely is). This book will probably appeal most to early junior high students (ages 11-13), although older readers may find the folk tale angle interesting and appealing.
My Swordhand is Singing is a well written book that takes the vampire back to where it started. If you're looking for a different kind of vampire novel, this book is a great start.
No comments:
Post a Comment