The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander

 

 

The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander

Fantasy, Adventure

ages - 9-12

grades -4-7

206 pages, paperback

c. 1966

              The Castle of Llyr is a change of pace from the dramatic tension that ended The Black Cauldron. It deals with Princess Eilonwy’s background, introduces some new characters, and continues to show Taran’s growing maturity and self-awareness.  

            The story begins as Eilonwy is reluctantly preparing to travel to the Island of Mona to be trained as a proper princess by the king and queen there. Unbeknown to Eilonwy they also expect her to marry their son, prince Rhun. Taran is unhappy about her departure as he begins to realize how much he cares for her. Shortly after her arrival she is kidnapped with the help of the evil Chief Steward Magg and delivered into the hands of the evil enchantress Achren. Eilonwy is from the ancient and powerful house of Llyr whose women were powerful sorceresses. Achren hopes to use her powers to restore herself to a position of power.

            Much of the book describes the attempts of Taran, Gurgi, Fflewddur, Gwydion, and Prince Rhun to rescue Eilonwy. Prince Rhun is an interesting combination of a cheerful, good natured person and clumsy and naïve bungler who is often the cause of more problems. Taran’s relationship with him is further complicated by the fact that he is jealous of his potential relationship with Eilonwy and has promised his father, the king, to look after him and bring him back safely.  During their adventures the companions, except Gwydion, are trapped in a hut by a gigantic cat, Llyan, who has a great liking for Fflewddur’s harp playing and in a cave occupied by a depressed giant named Glew. When they finally reach Eilonwy they discover she is under an enchantment and does not recognize any of them.

            Though there is plenty of adventure I feel the real focus of the book is the growth of the characters Rhun, Taran and Eilonwy. Through his adventures, failures, and successes Rhun grows in self awareness and in the end is capable of great love and self - sacrifice. As Taran sees this he can put aside his jealousy and impatience with Rhun and accept him as a friend and companion. Perhaps the greatest change occurs in Eilonwy. At the start of the story she is the same strong willed, opinionated girl who likes getting her own way. At the end she is still strong willed but is using her will to save herself, her friends, and all Prydain at great personal cost. Again, without being didactic, Lloyd Alexander shows the superiority of humble self-sacrifice over the quest for power and glory.

           

 

            

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

Adventure, Fantasy

Grades 4-7

Ages 9-12

229 pages, paperback

c. 1965

        The Black Cauldron is a Newbery Honor Book and the second book in the Chronicles of Prydain series. This is a darker, more serious book than The Book of Three but there is also much humor which keeps it for being too heavy. This time Taran and his companions are facing a greater evil and the stakes are higher. It is decided that the Black Cauldron, which Arawn uses to create his deathless warriors, must be destroyed. To accomplish this the band, along with Gwydion and other strong warriors, must travel deep into Arawn's domain. Once there they discover someone else has already taken the Cauldron. Then begins the long quest to find the Cauldron and destroy it.

          All the main characters from the first book return and several new characters are added. Adaron, the son of the Chief Bard, is a noble young man full of wisdom and can see things in dreams. Prince Ellidry, the youngest son of his family and thus without much of an inheritance, is arrogant and prideful. There is constant tension between him and Taran for most of the book. King Morgant and King Smoit are renowned warriors, but where Smoit is good-natured Morgant is vain and tends to keep his own counsel.

As the company retreats, they are chased by Arawn’s guards as well as the dreaded Huntsmen of Annuvin, ruthless warriors who grow stronger when one of their company is killed. They escape but are separated from the rest of the warriors.  Eventually they learn that the Cauldron has been taken by three mysterious women and is now hidden in the dangerous Marshes of Morva. The choice to seek the Cauldron themselves is a difficult one and it is surprising that Adaon, who was put in charge of the band, defers to Taran who decides to go forward. On their way to the marshes Adaon asks Taran to take care of his few precious possessions should harm befall him. The most precious is a brooch he wears that helps him see things clearly and gives him wisdom in dreams. When Adaon saves Taran’s life from the Huntsmen and is mortally wounded and Taran wears the brooch he realizes just how precious it is. With his new wisdom Taran can lead the band safely through the dangerous marshes but is forced to make the difficult decision to give the brooch to the three enchantresses in return for the Cauldron. He then learns the only way to destroy the Cauldron, which was the intention from the start, is for a living person to willingly enter it to die. Devastated by this news they decide to bring the Cauldron back to Caer Dallben and hope the old enchanter Dallben has some wisdom about what to do with it.

The task of carrying the Cauldron is nearly impossible and requires Taran to give up all hope of being a hero as he must promise to Ellidyr, whose help and strength is needed when the Cauldron gets stuck in the mud, to say that it was Ellidyr who found the Cauldron. Ellidyr had earlier abandoned the group to seek the Cauldron himself. Another significant betrayal occurs as they near the end of their journey, illustrating the power of the Cauldron to tempt good men to evil in their quest for power.  Just as good men can turn to evil so an evil man can repent and from an unexpected source comes a willing victim to enter the Cauldron and destroy it.

There is much action in this story but what really drives the story is the characters and the difficult choices they must make. Alexander presents issues of friendship, loyalty, honor, and self-sacrifice in compelling but not didactic ways. He raises questions of what is heroic, good leadership and how to judge those who turn from good to evil and evil to good. Taran began the quest for the Cauldron with his new sword, given by Dallben, full of excitement and hope for glory. He returns much sobered and wiser from the adventure. He comments to Gwydion, “I had longed to enter the world of men. Now I see it filled with sorrow, with cruelty and treachery, with those who would destroy all around them.” Gwydion also reminds him “but there are equal parts of love and joy. Think of Adaron and believe this. Think , too, of your companions. Out of friendship for you, they would have given up all they valued; indeed all they possessed.”

 

 

Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Words on Fire by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Historical Fiction, Adventure

ages 11-14

grades 6-9

336 pages, hardcover

c. 2019

            Words on Fire is a thought- provoking story about a little- known period in Lithuanian history. Russia occupied Lithuania from 1795-1918. After an uprising in 1863 – 1864 there was a 40-year ban on the Lithuanian language, press and books. This was the Tsar’s attempt to make the people adopt a Russian identity, but the people resisted. Some of the most courageous people were the book smugglers who risked their lives to bring people books in their own language and about their culture.

            This story begins in 1893 when 12-year-old Audra’s peaceful and sheltered life on the family farm is violently disrupted by the arrival of Cossack soldiers who arrest her parents. She barely manages to escape to the forest with a package her mother begged her to bring to a lady in a near-by village. Audra, whose name means storm, has chosen not to learn to read or write and is deeply troubled to learn that both her parents have chosen to risk their lives to smuggle books. She decides to deliver the book but has no plans to become involved in book smuggling. However, as she meets the individual book smugglers and does learn how to read and write, she becomes an enthusiastic, and skillful book smuggler.

            The story is told from Audra’s perspective and it is interesting to watch how her thought processing changes over time. At the beginning of the book she describes herself as “the girl who watched life from afar but rarely participated.” After she has learned to read and begins to understand the importance of the books in preserving the identity and culture of her people, she looks at herself differently. “I’d seen a glimpse of myself as I wished to be, a reflection of who I might become if I allowed courage to enter my heart, or ideas to enter my head…. When I imagined the girl I wanted to be, it was the girl who smuggled books.” This transition requires a lot of painful decisions. She desperately wishes to save her parents from being sent to the labor camps in Siberia and is given the opportunity if she will betray her new friend Lukas to Officer Rusakov.

            Lukas, another young book smuggler, Milda, the woman Audra brings the first book to, and Ben, an older book smuggler, are well drawn, courageous and self-sacrificing characters. Shortly after Lukas meets Audra he tells her a version of a Lithuanian folktale involving a brave girl and an evil snake trying to steal her family farm. While telling the story Lukas comments, “we’re all at risk of becoming the snake one day. The moment we start to choose what’s easy or safe, instead of what’s right, we start to become the snake.” This is the challenge the book smugglers face every day.

            This is a book that illustrates the importance of ideas and ideals and the sacrifices that are often necessary to protect them. It shows the importance of loyalty in friendship and the costly personal sacrifices that are sometimes required to keep them. There is also a moment of humor as Audra uses magic tricks, she learned from her father to trick Cossack soldiers. An inspiring, thought provoking, beautifully written book that I would recommend.