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glass_hurricane
May 27, 2013glass_hurricane rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I was really impressed by Gail Carson Levine’s clever fairy-tale retellings, “Ella Enchanted” and “Fairest,” so I had great hopes for “Two Princesses of Bamarre.” Unfortunately, I was mostly disappointed by this book. It’s a perfectly serviceable tale, but Levine spends much of the book setting up the differences between the two Princesses (Meryl is brave and bold! Addie is meek and shy!). Neither princess really transcends stock characterdom – the brave one practices swordplay and plans heroic adventures whilst reciting some of the most heavy-handed epic poetry this side of Beowulf. The shy one does needlepoint and moons after the castle sorcerer. The clear character development of Ella Enchanted is entirely absent here. When the action finally gets going (Meryl is stricken with a fatal disease whose pathology dictates that she will die after a very specific number of days), I thought the pace of the story would pick up, but alas the reader is treated to many more pages of the narrator ruminating on possible courses of action. There are some excellent moments here, such as when Addie encounters the tricky spectres, when she is beset by ravenous gryphons, and when she is taken prisoner by a dragon desperate for entertainment. However, the story is constantly tripped up by the poor pacing. While interesting at first, I eventually got the feeling that Addie’s imprisonment by the dragon was more a device to run out the clock than an opportunity to advance the plot or help Addie grow as a character. It’s a predictable book – Addie changes as a result of the story, but she changes exactly the way you’d expect. The romantic subplot is underdeveloped and I never really got a sense of the sorcerer beyond his magic. I’m sorry to say that his most interesting moment as a character happened when he took his shoes off. The resolution to the climax smacks of deus ex machina – after all of Addie’s efforts, the Princesses’ problem is ultimately solved by a higher power. Not exactly empowering. Levine wraps up the loose ends we expect to be wrapped up, but I was left with a lot of questions. If the King (Addie and Meryl’s father) is as ineffectual a character as we are led to believe, why has he not yet been deposed? Why doesn’t Addie, educated as befits a princess, have a basic geographic knowledge of her kingdom? It would appear that all these girls have been taught is needlepoint, swordplay, and droning epic poetry. The kingdom seems to have a lot of different humanoid creatures (sorcerers, spectres, fairies, elves...). What is the political situation in regards to all of these different races in one kingdom? Why do the humans rule? This book isn’t a bad read, but it’s not Levine’s best. I suspect that kids are nowhere near as critical and nitpicky as I am plus they don’t tend to use pretentious terms such as “deus ex machina” when discussing a book written for younger readers. Ultimately, this book is for them and makes me long for the days before an evil curse turned me into the kind of curmudgeon who rates fairy tales based on literary analysis. It’s best read in the ferry lineup while ignoring your little brother who is trying to convince your parents that you’re on his side of the car.