Turnoff though it may be to read something described as a postmodern fairy tale, that really is the handiest label for Audrey Niffenegger’s latest, Raven Girl, an illustrated novella about a mixed-species brood. It’s a lovely story. A postman in the electronic era lives on the outskirts of a city—perhaps London. From his house, Niffenegger (Her Fearful Symmetry, The Time Traveler’s Wife) writes, the postman can see “the skyscrapers of the city of which his suburb was the outermost appendage.” That’s the third sentence of the book, establishing its audience: not children, necessarily. Or, at the very least, children with parents who can translate prose that’s slightly elevated, yet still well within the fairy-tale vernacular.
Niffenegger produced this book at the urging of the Royal Ballet in London, which needed a story to dance to. You won’t see that here, but you will see the author’s moody, Gorey-esque illustrations, which are more than sufficient.
By Audrey Niffenegger
Reading Tue 5/14, 7:30 PM
Swedish American Museum
5211 N. Clark
womenandchildrenfirst.com
free
