Book - Travel light

 Book - Travel light

By: Naomi Mitchison

Score: 6/10

Year: 1952 (original) ; 2005 (this edition)

Publisher: Peapod Classics

ISBN 9781931520140  (digital edition) 

based on (print edition)

Pages : 135 (digital)

Language: English

Before reading this novella, I should've known two crucial elements for my appreciation :

The first is that I've read too many fantasy stories within a short time frame. The second is that this story was too hyped - some promised a Tolkeinesque saga with a female lead ; that it has incredible dragons and an excellent magic.

However, the commercial description of the novel would've inclined me towards a more cautious approach, and I'll highlight the portions that, on retrospect, explain why I feel let down and might've guessed :  

From the dark ages to modern times, from the dragons of medieval forests to Constantinople, this is a fantastic and philosophical fairy-tale journey that will appeal to fans of Harry Potter, Diana Wynne Jones, and T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone.

The bit about modern times is confusing and doesn't actually really occur within the story's timespan. Indeed, Travel Light focuses on Halla, born to a king, who listens blindly to his newest queen's wishes to kill the girl. Her nurse overhears the sentence and saves Halla before the king's knights can execute their order. This isn't a spoiler, it's what you'll read at the start of this tale.

Halla is raised by bears and dragons, learns some of their magic - which brings me to disentangle the 'excellent magic' comment, because it's never truly detailed. Halla learns magic, history (with a wonderful twist : from the point of view of her non human teacher), and speaking with animals. The most we get are a shape-shifting character ; and some dragon magic. After that, Halla's own magic isn't explored. Here, contrary to Harry Potter, we have no named spells or anything, merely mentions that Halla performs her magic, as if the author simply didn't know what to invent. 

The novella is divided into 3 parts of 5 chapters each ; however, I feel it's more of a two-portioned story : the first part's 5 chapters follow Halla until a fork of the roads, and followed by the next 10 chapters, until the next fork and ultimate conclusion. The narrative style is also distinctive in my division, as the first has more prose and fantastic as it discusses Hala's first life stage, the formative one. Whereas the second portion, which are the 10 chapters forming parts 2 and 3 in the book are the resulting adventures, choices and growth, are told with a drier narrative style, and returns to the real world so abruptly, that I felt out of fantasy. Thus, the flow changes radically in the narrative when part two begins, forcing me to disagree with the official division. 

The Tolkienesque aspect is merely a fake-hype ; not only the tragic and socio-ecological bits which characterize his stories, even the shorter ones, are totally missing here, but the fantasy realm is broken as soon as we return to the human world, with real named placed, such as Constantinople. Those who announced Tolkienesque really push people to err in their suppositions for this novella.

I loved Travel light's comments against crooked princes and governors, duplicitous clerics and the limits of faith's blindness, in both religions focused upon within this : christianity, and norse, present from the clerics, royal figures and most humans on the one side, but Odin and a Valkyrie on the other. Truths about the lies each group believes, and what their costs might be, are both told in an eloquent way. 

I equally find the question of identity and the sentiment of belonging to a group, to a nation, a family and so on are well written and intertwined ; first, from Halla's name changes, based on her evolution as a character. Second, by the various groups of people or creatures that she encounters bring her new data, new visions of the world around her, in a multi-cultural growth. 

Mirroring the author's feminism, Halla's choices help her creating distance with  the usual male desire to tie her to home and hearth. 

Because of my expectations, as well as fantasy snapped back into reality, and the narration shifting away from its initial prose, I felt letdown by this story. Perhaps a future reread may alter my overall appreciation - but for the time being, I score it at 6/10.