Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
In a Nutshell: Russian folklore, fairytale
Would suit fans of: Alex Flinn
Egg & Spoon by Gregory MaguireMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Maguire is best known for Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West which I haven't read, but I was unlucky enough to read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister for a bookclub which was just awful.
I give you this as an insight to my frame of mind starting this book! So why did I? Well, it was a free download from www.audiobooksync.com and I needed a book with a tree on the cover for a reading challenge. I know, pathetic. haha.
I also adore Russian folklore, and I'm generally interested in Russia and Russian history, plus the audiobook narrator is the amazing Michael Page (from the Gentlemen Bastard series), so there were a few positives there. And to start, I did really enjoy this book. It was a little bit The Prince and the Pauper mixed in with Baba Yaga and quite a bit of humour. Despite this being a big fairytale, it is not a children's story. I think it is fine for a YA audience, and works just as well for adults who may pick up on a few more of the nuances.
Unfortunately, the book is just far too long. At one point towards the end the MC refers to this "never ending journey" and I have to say, that is how I felt. At least 3 hours of the audio was tedious, so that is about 100 pages that should have been edited out. And what a shame that is, because it could have been a really great book.
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