Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic and menace in mountainous village, 18 Sep 2007
At last here is a novel for younger children that does them full justice, conveying an intensely imagined world in which they will be totally absorbed. Luka lives with his older brother Jez in a village in the mountains somewhere in Eastern Europe. His country, like others we read about in the newspapers or see on television, is war-torn and occupied, villages shelled, children orphaned. Then Luka discovers he has a gift. He can shape-shift into wild animals, and though he is blind as a boy, he is able to see with each creature's eyes. In time he will become a Shaman Boy, with the power to protect and rescue his village through his shape-changing. Rich in its descriptions of the sights, sounds and smells of the village and the countryside and in its deep feeling for nature, the novel's beautiful imagery is balanced by the robust characters that people the story - among them Dimitri, the fat baker; Aidan, the boy with no legs; and above all, the grotesque Baba Yaga-like ogress, Vaskalia, whom Luka has finally to defeat before malice, jealousy and superstition can be banished from the village. The book ends with a joyful reaffirmation of life and love. Ultimately it is only nature that can put man's folly to rights.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Powerfully original and inspiring, 9 Sep 2007
I originally produced this review for www.writeaway.org.uk and am reproducing it here with kind permission of WriteAway.
Berlie Doherty describes this as "a feast of a book" and it is a perfect description. Two things immediately stand out: the warmth and originality of the characters, and the richness of the imaginative description. Reading the book is a sensual experience of shape, colour and texture. At first you delight in the startling use of imagery and then it becomes evident that this is much more than an imaginative use of language; the imagery, and the language itself, is pointing to the fluid and unsettled nature of reality, throwing up questions about how we see the world and what our choices really are.
A fascinating tension exists between the "real" and the "possible." Luka, a blind boy, discovers that he has the power to transfer his spirit to move with an animal, allowing him to move, see and experience the world from a stunning variety of perspectives. And yet it would be hard to describe this book as fantasy. As Luka experiences the world, we are reminded again and again that our perspective is limited and that what we see as reality is only what our circumstances make us capable of seeing; as Jez (Luka's brother) describes an eagle as "a black angel edged in gold" it becomes impossible not to wonder at the degree to which our thoughts shape our understanding, and to marvel at the miracle of the universe. Sharply contrasted against this dizzying world of possibility is the harsh and inescapable reality of a village suffering the trauma of recent war and destruction. The orphan children of the village love to hear Luka's stories but it is perhaps small wonder that Florin's ability to process any story or information is reduced starkly to "bang bang dead."
Ultimately, "The Shaman Boy" is a book about power. Luka must move between the powerlessness of fear and the power of imagination, love and infinity. There is power equally in malice and in friendship, and even inanimate objects become invested with the power of intent and symbolism. There are no simple answers, but much celebration of the power and gifts of each uniquely precious individual.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sheer magic!, 10 Sep 2008
Caroline Pitcher's Year of Changes quartet of short novels for children aged 8 or 9 years plus has now been published by Egmont in a single volume titled Shaman Boy. Over the four seasons of a single year, Luka discovers his power to meld his mind with those of animals in the countryside surrounding his war-torn village. The cloud cat or snow leopard is the first and most powerful. An eagle, a swallow, an otter and a wolf - all help Luka fight the black magic of the evil Vaskalia and her unhappy son Simlin. The shaman boy brings new hope to the orphans in his village, but will he find his own long-lost mother? This is classic story-telling in great style. The characters are engaging. The action is exciting. You won't want it to stop.
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by Caroline Pitcher
by Caroline Pitcher
by Julia Golding
by Tony DiTerlizzi
