4 1/2 Stars
Woohoo! Mr. Van Wey did it again! I read Forsaken and loved it so I decided to give this one a try too. I’m glad I did. This story, or stories within the story, was twisted, imaginative and entertaining.
First, I love the titles of these books. They give me a chuckle and I get excited to read the book. When I was a little girl I would watch westerns with my Dad. I still like the themes of lone characters finding their way through danger and make it through the world. This may be part of the appeal of this book for me.
The main story starts describing “a traveler”. A bit odd, since the character isn’t even given a name; makes it a bit difficult to grow attached to a character without a name, right? I felt some sort of benevolence toward the Traveler for some unknown reason. The story continues to describe the Traveler as he struggles through the elements with a horse. He is trying to cross a river bank and the efforts are taking their toll. It seemed to be a Western setting to me but something was wrong with it. Fog was mentioned but I found myself picturing fog, it being dusk and the Traveler being weary. The Traveler describes the river as “…autumn branches grasping above the torrent like fingers, desperate and dying”. Not too spooky but kind of Alfred Hitchcockish.
The Traveler comes to an Inn where he hopes for lodging and a meal and perhaps a prostitute. After washing up and being served dinner, the Traveler and the head of the Inn begin to discuss payment. In return for the lodging and the meal the traveler is to tell three stories to the people that live and run the Inn. Though the residents are a bit odd, an old woman without teeth and a sloped back, a young woman with dirty hair that hides her eyes and a simpleton that mutters and laughs to himself; the Traveler is happy to agree to the small payment. The short stories now begin.
The Hag’s Reckoning is a story of a witch in cahoots with the devil. Young boys are caught stealing vegetables from the witch’s garden and she scares the dickens out of them. To get her back the boys come up with an idea to frame her with jaw bones that they are going to dig up from the cemetery.
Another odd point, I never thought of witches having a green thumb nor have I thought that kids would willingly steal vegetables. Obviously, it is taken place in a different time since young boys are allowed out late at night and able to dig up corpses without a blink of an eye.
The Elder of Aldritch, my favorite, is about Vineyard Owner that is going bankrupt. The Elder comes upon the Traveler stealing from him but ends up employing him to rebuild the stone fence around the grapevines. The son of the vineyard owner is lazy, arrogant and doesn’t like the Traveler sleeping in the barn or being at the house. The son is spending all the money and not contributing to the vineyard.
This was my favorite because of the themes. The son’s feeling of entitlement, the Elder being kind, intelligent but incapable of influencing his child. Greed, violence and the power of money all play a role but I won’t give away the end.
The Tiberman’s Daughter is about love lost. It is a common love tragedy. Rich versus poor; the righteous versus immoral but you don’t know which characters hold which attributes.
There are conversations between the stories that the Traveler tells. The residents ask questions and the Traveler gives explanations about the stories themselves and tidbits about his life. Each short story is a part of the Traveler’s life with a bit of exaggeration to make the story better, he says. Again, I won’t say ore so I don’t give away the end which I started to figure out but was still surprised by most.
Read the book on a rainy night with a glass of wine, red wine, of course.
