Ultimately, I have no idea what this book is about. It involves a multi-generational family, many of whom live in a large and mysterious house in what I think is rural New England somewhere in the 20th century.There is an unspoken and unconscious awareness that they live in the presence in faeries, and there is some sort of pact amongst them, but nothing concrete is ever revealed. A newborn child is stolen from the arms of her sleeping mother; nobody in the family ever speaks of it or acts like the daughter exists, until she returns 25 years later–looking no older than 10–to lead them all into the faery realm for eternity.
For the entire book, I felt like I was on the outside of a secret that ultimately was never revealed, an understanding never explained, a truth hinted at but never fully developed. I felt constantly on the cusp of “getting it,” and it never delivered. The prose was elegant and archaic (I’ve never had to look up so many words in my life), but never exciting, and never about anything. The story read like what someone else’s dream would look like to an outsider: totally coherent to the person dreaming, but everything contextually important is assumed and never explained; as the reader I was left confused and dissatisfied. A total disappointment.
Also, what this guy says.
Little, Big by John Crowley Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook, Audiobook is discounted to $3.99 with purchase of Kindle Book