 Runemarks
By Joanne Harris
Reviewed by Kenny Brechner
Just as there are posh eateries,
places for the wealthy and famous to see and be seen, literary genres become
hot, become the place to be. If anyone doubts that Young Adult (YA) is the
literary equivalent of Le Bernadin, Les Halles, or Per Se, just look at the
parade of big time adult authors who have tried their hand at YA books in the
past year, Carl Hiassan, Cristina Garcia, Jack Higgins, Robert Parker, Dave
Barry, Mike Lupica, and Sherman Alexie, to name a few. And now, into the eatery,
strolls Joanne Harris, the fine adult novelist, author of Chocolat,
Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, and others.
For some adult authors the foray in the YA has been a
logical extension of their adult work. Jack Higgins' Surefire, for
example is an espionage thriller similar in concept to his adult espionage
thrillers. Joanne Harris' Runemarks is a true departure, however, as it is a YA
fantasy set in the world of Norse Mythology, while her previous work has all
been traditional fiction, with perhaps a touch of magical realism. Mythology has
been a rich fantasy lode of late, most notably in the Percy Jackson series
by Rick Riordan. Runemarks is not at all The Lightning Thief with
Norse Gods however. Where Riordan sets his books very much in our world, using
the Gods to jazz things up, Harris sets Runemarks firmly inside the realm
of Norse Mythology. Surt has had his way with the nine worlds, Thor and a
few surviving Aesir are imprisoned in a black fortress beneath Hel, and Odin
walks the world as a one eyed sage seeking a more favorable ending to the next
looming Armageddon . We're post Ragnarok, I mean to say, which is an interesting
place to be.
Harris' command of her material is impressive, as is
her ability to write for a younger audience. The story's central character,
Maddy, is marked for magical ability by a rune on her skin. These marks are
called ruinmarks, and the repressive government takes a dim view of them.
Runemarks give power, and Maddy's is a new mark, an oracle's mark, and the
traveling, one eyed wanderer recognizes it as such.
Maddy is imaginatively cast as the second coming of the
seeress, the oracular poet of the Elder Edda who is credited with pronouncing
its vision of the end of the nine worlds, The Volupsa. She is also the child of
Thor and Sif. Odin, One Eye, makes for a very compelling and authentic
Gandolfesque sage, and Harris' command of the dramatic tone and resonance of the
Volupsa gives the book a satisfying quality. Runemarks is not as fast
paced, light hearted, nor as immediately accessible as the Percy Jackson books,
but, as when Gandalf stared down Denthor, one senses that it has "the
greater power."
|
| |
