A Knot in the Grain by Robin McKinley
A Knot in the Grain is a collection of five stories--four are fantasy stories that take place in faraway lands, and one is a modern-day fairy tale of sorts. The Healer tells the story of Lily, a girl who cannot speak, until she meets a mysterious man who can communicate with her through his mind. In The Stagman, the princess Ruen is left by her evil uncle to die in a cave, until a brutish stagman saves her life. Touk's House is the story of Erana, taken from her parents as an infant and raised by a witch (a similar plot to Rapunzel). After she runs away, Erana discovers the virtue of family. In Buttercups, an old farmer brings his new wife to his farm, but cannot escape the curse put on her family that could rob him of everything he has. And A Knot in the Grain tells of teenage Annabelle--lonely after her family moves, Annabelle discovers the secret world in her attic room that takes her on a life-changing mission.
This book is really a mixed bag. My two favorite stories from this collection are The Healer and Buttercups--both are beautiful, richly epic stories filled with intrigue, the kind of story that almost forces you to read until the end. The Stagman is also good, but confusing, and the ending is very vague. Call me unromantic, but I failed to see the romantic nature of Touk's House. McKinley describes the pseudo-affair between Erana and her foster brother in a rather simplistic way that's just not romantic at all. As for A Knot in the Grain, if you've read it and understood it, please feel free to explain it to me! This story, which takes place in a suburban neighborhood in the 1980s, is jarring after the four long-ago-and-far-away tales. I found it really difficult to get into the right mindset to think about modern things after reading about trolls, witches, magic, and other fantasy elements. I think the problem, at least for me, was that I just couldn't imagine the situations that McKinley was describing. The secret world wasn't all that interesting and the interactions between characters seemed stilted and false. Unfortunately, this story comes at the end of the book, so it left a bad taste in my mouth when I was done.
A Knot in the Grain is beautifully written, but uneven. The Healer and Buttercups alone are enough to recommend this book, so I do recommend it, even if I can't give it a very high rating. If you like well-written fantasy books with lots of magic and strange creatures, this is definitely a great book to read.
