What the Dickens

Gregory Maguire (author)

Walker Books, UK: 2008; 323pp

ISBN: 9781406316018

Genres: adventure, fantasy

Issues: differences, family, friendship, personal development, survival

If you've never believed in the tooth fairy before, think again. Set, as many great stories are, on a dark and dangerously stormy, What the Dickens is about the power of story. About how we need stories - to teach, to learn, but mostly to create an imaginary and comforting fire to huddle around when reality is harsh and hurtful.

Dinah and her older brother, Zeke, are trapped in their house during a severe storm. Their only company is their two year old sister and Gage, a cousin in his twenties. The electricity is out, they are virtually without food and there are looters on the prowl. Dinah's parents are absent due to a medical crisis. Fear poisons the air and begins to drive the characters apart. In desperation, Gage seeks to distract them with a story of a tribe of skibareen or tooth fairies that he encountered as a child. Skeptical at first, Dinah and Zeke gradually feel the pull of the story - the need to believe in a different world from the one they're currently experiencing.

Best known for his retelling of the Oz story in Wicked, Maguire loves to take familiar characters and storylines and turn them on their head; to change the reader's perspective and challenge their assumptions. His strength lies in creating flawed characters that are far more believable than the picture perfect versions more familiar to readers. In this very readable novel, Maguire constructs a hive-like clan system of fairies who are nervous, intolerant, rule-driven beings, each with their allotted role in life. Very much a meta-narrative, Maguire repositions the reader's beliefs and reactions, all the time showing them exactly what he's doing. This is magic indeed; the old magic. The ancient art of storytelling as crafted by a master writer. A book to be enjoyed by many ages - and great to read aloud - especially on a dark and stormy night!