The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow - my Review
I absolutely adored this beautiful new book.
You know when you read a book then struggle to find the words to do it justice in a review? When you finish a book feeling bereft that its over and all you really want to do is hug the Author and say a heartfelt Thank You.
Well, this is one such novel. I am one VERY fortunate person to have early access to this book and as such, I feel like a privileged explorer who has visited a world where few people have ever trodden.
From page one, I was spellbound with this wonderful debut novel, rapt in the story and utterly invested in the main character, January. The book is possibly best described as a young adult/ coming of age fantasy for ALL ages (I'm 63 and loved it) and as soon as I started it, I slipped into a world where Doors to other worlds exist. The storytelling is so convincing it had me looking behind every tree and at every old building with new eyes just in case it was hiding a Door (with a capital D)
Set around the turn of the century, in a world which is our world but with a few idiosyncrasies which include a touch of magic and a lot of legends. The first third of the book really just sets the scene, we get to know January, who at first is a little girl and we watch her grow up as we share her life. It is a sheltered and pretty strange life. She lives with her Guardian, William Locke in a large and rambling old Mansion filled with his collection of dubiously acquired, antiquities and curiosities, of which January herself feels like she is one, kept hidden away and only taken out on occasion to be observed and stared at. She doesn't quite fit into stuffy 1900's Vermont, where little girls, she is told, should be seen and not heard, obedient and unquestioning and to be acceptable in polite society, they should also, like her guardian, be white. Yes, racism is rife in the good ole' US of A in the early 1900s and Januarys skin, like her dear Papa's is darker than most. Not that she meets many people to compare. She is a lonely little girl. Her beloved father is away on his travels, off around the world tracking down and gathering artefacts for Mr Locke's collection whilst he leaves his daughter to be cared for by the obsessive Mr Locke, who is the Chairman of the enigmatic Archaeological society.
Her childhood companions are a strict nanny, whom she despises and infrequent but longed for interludes of companionship and surreptitious games with her one true friend, Samuel Zappia a merchants boy who delivers goods to the house and befriends her. He is to provide the one thing which sustains January throughout her solitary childhood, the surprise gift of a dog, who she names Sinbad, abbreviated to Bad, who comes to be her devoted and most loyal companion.
As she grows older Mr Locke occasionally allows her to accompany him on an occasional "business" trip, these are exciting events for a youngster, whos only adventures so far have been in the books she loves to read and she grabs every chance to escape and explore.
On one such trip, to Kentucky, she catches a glimpse of something which she can't really understand, a fleeting glimpse of another world, seen through a door, which may not even exist, which holds the promise of adventure and spawns a longing in her, to escape, to discover and to travel.
One day a breath of fresh air enters her life in the form of an unusual new nanny sent by her father to protect January and into the stuffy mansion comes Jane, bringing with her a whiff of her native Amazonian jungle and a brusque form of affection and around the same time January begins to read a new book entitled The Ten Thousand Doors, a handwritten and lengthy journal a love story and adventure about two people Adelaide (Ade) and Julian (Yule Ian), which is about to completely change her life.
It is in the remaining 2/3 of our book where the story gathers pace, we begin to realise the enormity of January's discoveries and to journey with her into strange and wonderous places as she sets out to uncover the truth of her own past, build her own future and break apart the myths and mysteries of the enigmatic couple in her book as she works out whether the ten thousand doors contained within the pages are much more real than any fiction she has read.
This is when everything becomes satisfyingly complex, spellbindingly mysterious and evolves into a gripping adventure, which created in me the deep inner joy which I used to feel when I read magical books when I was a child.
Evocative and mesmerising, this fable is threaded with possibilities and woven with a magical lyrical astuteness which I feel is going to earn it a place alongside such timeless classics as His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (and January is most definitely a heroine to equal Lyra), the Abhorsen books by Garth Nix and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, if you enjoyed any of these, I'm certain you will love The Ten Thousand doors of January.
It explores grief, loss, love, acceptance and prejudice and will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever felt they don't fit in. It is entrancing and emotional, I won't deny I shed a tear. Stunning.
The Blurb
In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
I absolutely adored this beautiful new book.
The COVER, look at the beautiful cover!!
You know when you read a book then struggle to find the words to do it justice in a review? When you finish a book feeling bereft that its over and all you really want to do is hug the Author and say a heartfelt Thank You.
Well, this is one such novel. I am one VERY fortunate person to have early access to this book and as such, I feel like a privileged explorer who has visited a world where few people have ever trodden.
From page one, I was spellbound with this wonderful debut novel, rapt in the story and utterly invested in the main character, January. The book is possibly best described as a young adult/ coming of age fantasy for ALL ages (I'm 63 and loved it) and as soon as I started it, I slipped into a world where Doors to other worlds exist. The storytelling is so convincing it had me looking behind every tree and at every old building with new eyes just in case it was hiding a Door (with a capital D)
Set around the turn of the century, in a world which is our world but with a few idiosyncrasies which include a touch of magic and a lot of legends. The first third of the book really just sets the scene, we get to know January, who at first is a little girl and we watch her grow up as we share her life. It is a sheltered and pretty strange life. She lives with her Guardian, William Locke in a large and rambling old Mansion filled with his collection of dubiously acquired, antiquities and curiosities, of which January herself feels like she is one, kept hidden away and only taken out on occasion to be observed and stared at. She doesn't quite fit into stuffy 1900's Vermont, where little girls, she is told, should be seen and not heard, obedient and unquestioning and to be acceptable in polite society, they should also, like her guardian, be white. Yes, racism is rife in the good ole' US of A in the early 1900s and Januarys skin, like her dear Papa's is darker than most. Not that she meets many people to compare. She is a lonely little girl. Her beloved father is away on his travels, off around the world tracking down and gathering artefacts for Mr Locke's collection whilst he leaves his daughter to be cared for by the obsessive Mr Locke, who is the Chairman of the enigmatic Archaeological society.
Her childhood companions are a strict nanny, whom she despises and infrequent but longed for interludes of companionship and surreptitious games with her one true friend, Samuel Zappia a merchants boy who delivers goods to the house and befriends her. He is to provide the one thing which sustains January throughout her solitary childhood, the surprise gift of a dog, who she names Sinbad, abbreviated to Bad, who comes to be her devoted and most loyal companion.
As she grows older Mr Locke occasionally allows her to accompany him on an occasional "business" trip, these are exciting events for a youngster, whos only adventures so far have been in the books she loves to read and she grabs every chance to escape and explore.
On one such trip, to Kentucky, she catches a glimpse of something which she can't really understand, a fleeting glimpse of another world, seen through a door, which may not even exist, which holds the promise of adventure and spawns a longing in her, to escape, to discover and to travel.
One day a breath of fresh air enters her life in the form of an unusual new nanny sent by her father to protect January and into the stuffy mansion comes Jane, bringing with her a whiff of her native Amazonian jungle and a brusque form of affection and around the same time January begins to read a new book entitled The Ten Thousand Doors, a handwritten and lengthy journal a love story and adventure about two people Adelaide (Ade) and Julian (Yule Ian), which is about to completely change her life.
It is in the remaining 2/3 of our book where the story gathers pace, we begin to realise the enormity of January's discoveries and to journey with her into strange and wonderous places as she sets out to uncover the truth of her own past, build her own future and break apart the myths and mysteries of the enigmatic couple in her book as she works out whether the ten thousand doors contained within the pages are much more real than any fiction she has read.
This is when everything becomes satisfyingly complex, spellbindingly mysterious and evolves into a gripping adventure, which created in me the deep inner joy which I used to feel when I read magical books when I was a child.
Evocative and mesmerising, this fable is threaded with possibilities and woven with a magical lyrical astuteness which I feel is going to earn it a place alongside such timeless classics as His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (and January is most definitely a heroine to equal Lyra), the Abhorsen books by Garth Nix and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, if you enjoyed any of these, I'm certain you will love The Ten Thousand doors of January.
It explores grief, loss, love, acceptance and prejudice and will resonate deeply with anyone who has ever felt they don't fit in. It is entrancing and emotional, I won't deny I shed a tear. Stunning.
The Blurb
In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
