November 20, 2022
Eustace is a servant to Mr. Crowe, a mysterious man with a magical literary talent. Crowe shares his home with his ward, Clara, a mute girl who is extremely intelligent, and writes and draws. But when Mr. Crowe commits a violation of the rules that govern his magic and is set a task to atone for his offense, Clara is abducted until Mr. Crowe completes his punishment.
This is a difficult book to review. The writing is gorgeous and lush, and I really enjoyed listening to the story. Also, the characters are fascinating and I wanted to learn more about them. The book has two parts: the first part has very little magic in it and is just a good story about a reclusive man, his faithful servant who cleans up his messes, and the child who lives with them. The second part is about Eustace descending into despair after Clara is abducted, and also about Clara's imprisonment.
One of the novel's problems is that Mr. Crowe's magical power is referred to in only the vaguest of terms, so vague that the reader isn't sure what it is that he can do. It sounds like he might be a writer's muse of some sort, but it isn't clear. Another problem is that the book ends quite abruptly. Some people loved it, but I'm ambivalent.
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