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Mirroring ancient folklore [ Persephone and Hades ] the Christian Grimm consoles his young penpal with a tale of grief observed for one too immature to grasp the inexorable. Death is inevitable, war is fearful, mothers' hearts suffer lovingly for a lifetime: the gift of mysterious transcencence reunites broken hearts. While the droll lugubrious moonlit illustrations may seem a first glance trivial, they hide a deep, insurmountable fear verging on despair cushioned in a tender fantasy. Sadly the images lack the hope of a Christian interpretion but are repleat with foreboding of agnostic dread (psychologically ephemeralizing the Guardian Angel trope as simply an alter-ego imaginary friend). This book needs an adult to pass on the memory of the Holocaust the young readers, to explain the falcon preying on the raven, skeletal tree roots, the concentration camp towers, the hidden hunting hounds (German Shepherd pets that more resemble wolves)` that haunt the pages. It could also work as a modern-day anti-abortion fable if one interpreted the wee cherub ensconced in the foetal position in his tree bower like an unborn infant, but here's the rub: while the sombre tale concludes in the sun-drenched hues of Heaven, following the convention of the biblio pauperum of medieval times, IMHO the attempt fails, echoing a hollow "illuminati" mind-over-matter gnosticism (prevalent among freemasons such as the painter Sendak most admired, Blake). The grapevine appears to be strangling the fruit tree rather participating in renewing the face of the earth as a traditional liturgical reference to wine would suggest. The senescent vitality of a Libera deity is all that is on offer, mother's home is vacant of the friendly domesticated golden retriever (the paternal deity a vague memory from the morbid dreamscape of the Fu dog's right paw clawing the orb.) The secular despair inherent in the images jars with the religious message of the text, offering little solace for the ultimate question at life's end: what is life for? This book is absent an imagery of that Love that has the power to unite us post mortem, perhaps because the illustrator could not bring himself to believe that such love exists?Read full review
Book's got archetypal appeal & a vital message. Enjoy it!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Sweet tale of child trusting and following guidlines along her perilous way. Illustrations indicate period tale is written. Sendak a master at his trade. Will fit in collection well. Good quality binding. Great collectable by yet another Grimm.
As in all Sendak books, the pictures are AMAZING. This story is a bit too wordy though. Not a favorite of mine, or my class of 20. None of the students cared for it. Might be geared toward a slightly higher age than i have, but still, don't buy it! Go to the libray if you want to read it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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