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The wild swans
Kerr, Peg.
Adult Fiction KERR
From Publishers' Weekly:
Parallel tales of love and persecution give this multilayered fantasy added poignancy, although not the cohesion of a tightly plotted novel. One story strand, set in 1689, relates the labors of Eliza Grey, disowned daughter of the Earl of Exeter, to save her 11 brothers from a curse that transforms them into a flock of wild swans every dawn to dusk. Following their magical flight to the New World, Eliza, obeying the instructions of a fairy, applies herself to weaving enchanted shirts that will break the spell, and maintains the stoic vow of absolute silence imposed upon her by the fairy for the task's duration, even when her misunderstanding husband and their Salem-like village accuse her of witchcraft. Kerr (Emerald House Rising) alternates chapters from this tender fairy tale with episodes from the life of Elias Latham, a young gay man living in New York in the 1980s. Disowned by his family, he is saved from hustling on the city streets by Sean Donnelly, a gentle musician and writer who encourages Elias's talents as a photographer, introduces him to Manhattan's gay subculture and eventually becomes his lover. Elias reciprocates by helping Sean achieve reconciliation with his own estranged family when the pair are stricken with AIDS. Despite subtle correspondences between the two storiesÄincluding shared names, common images and mutual reflections on sibling and parental relationshipsÄthere is not enough synergy to fuse their themes or distinguish either as more than a simple parable. Nevertheless, Kerr's characters are sensitively rendered, and their plights make for a moving meditation on the ties that bind individuals to family and community. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Fantasy writer Kerr's (Emerald House Rising, Warner, 1997) second novel is a complex retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Kerr weaves together the parallel stories of two teenagers from different eras, 20th-century Elias and 17th-century Eliza. As the book alternates between their stories, both are rejected by their families, both persecuted for a difference they cannot helpÄand both learn the importance of love and loyalty. The acceptance and friendship Elias finds within the early 1980s gay community eventually enable him to accept himself, while Eliza's perseverance in her silence and toilÄeven when she is sentenced to burn at the stake for witchcraftÄenables her to reverse the spell set on her 11 brothers by her evil stepmother. The book should appeal to fans of authors such as Mercedes Lackey. Recommended for public libraries.ÄRachel Singer, Franklin Park P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kerr, Peg.
Adult Fiction KERR
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From Publishers' Weekly:
Parallel tales of love and persecution give this multilayered fantasy added poignancy, although not the cohesion of a tightly plotted novel. One story strand, set in 1689, relates the labors of Eliza Grey, disowned daughter of the Earl of Exeter, to save her 11 brothers from a curse that transforms them into a flock of wild swans every dawn to dusk. Following their magical flight to the New World, Eliza, obeying the instructions of a fairy, applies herself to weaving enchanted shirts that will break the spell, and maintains the stoic vow of absolute silence imposed upon her by the fairy for the task's duration, even when her misunderstanding husband and their Salem-like village accuse her of witchcraft. Kerr (Emerald House Rising) alternates chapters from this tender fairy tale with episodes from the life of Elias Latham, a young gay man living in New York in the 1980s. Disowned by his family, he is saved from hustling on the city streets by Sean Donnelly, a gentle musician and writer who encourages Elias's talents as a photographer, introduces him to Manhattan's gay subculture and eventually becomes his lover. Elias reciprocates by helping Sean achieve reconciliation with his own estranged family when the pair are stricken with AIDS. Despite subtle correspondences between the two storiesÄincluding shared names, common images and mutual reflections on sibling and parental relationshipsÄthere is not enough synergy to fuse their themes or distinguish either as more than a simple parable. Nevertheless, Kerr's characters are sensitively rendered, and their plights make for a moving meditation on the ties that bind individuals to family and community. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
From Library Journal:
Fantasy writer Kerr's (Emerald House Rising, Warner, 1997) second novel is a complex retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. Kerr weaves together the parallel stories of two teenagers from different eras, 20th-century Elias and 17th-century Eliza. As the book alternates between their stories, both are rejected by their families, both persecuted for a difference they cannot helpÄand both learn the importance of love and loyalty. The acceptance and friendship Elias finds within the early 1980s gay community eventually enable him to accept himself, while Eliza's perseverance in her silence and toilÄeven when she is sentenced to burn at the stake for witchcraftÄenables her to reverse the spell set on her 11 brothers by her evil stepmother. The book should appeal to fans of authors such as Mercedes Lackey. Recommended for public libraries.ÄRachel Singer, Franklin Park P.L., IL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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