Tuesday August 22

Abarat: Clive Barker's Other World

Categories: Movies & Books , Science Fiction & Fantasy , Staff Picks , Fiction

Abarat (2002) is one of the most engaging books I have ever had the pleasure to experience. It is one of Clive Barker's young adult fantasies that takes the heroine, Candy Quackenbush, to a strange and unexpected world that somehow stands up to logic, in spite of being constructed completely out of Barker's imagination.

The books are filled with Barker's paintings, which were apparently his basis for the books. He says he was inspired by the movies The Wizard of Oz and Fantasia, CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and by Cirque du Soleil. (information from the Abarat web site)

The sequel, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War (2004), is every bit as wonderful as the first book. The best news is: This will be a quartet of books. We have two more to look forward to reading!!

Immerse yourself in the world of Abarat. You will never go anywhere like it again.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis are classics of fantasy fiction, and are not just for kids. The series:

I read them in publication order, which worked out fine too. Many consider The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to be the first book, and it was indeed the first one written.

Along these lines, I would also recommend Madeline L'Engel's Wrinkle In Time, Wind In The Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet.

L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the first in a series of amazing books, too, all about a journey and a faraway land, not entirely unlike Narnia. Look for a future post about Oz!

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll are more classic books about fantastic journeys, also sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by adults.

Happy Travels!

Permalink Posted by Mary Ann

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