Define Books Toward The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3)
| Original Title: | The Spellcoats |
| ISBN: | 0064473155 (ISBN13: 9780064473156) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Dalemark Quartet #3 |
| Characters: | Tanaqui |
Diana Wynne Jones
Paperback | Pages: 304 pages Rating: 3.96 | 3222 Users | 146 Reviews
List Based On Books The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3)
| Title | : | The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3) |
| Author | : | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 304 pages |
| Published | : | April 1st 2001 by HarperTrophy (first published 1979) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Young Adult. Fiction. Childrens |
Interpretation In Favor Of Books The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3)
The Spellcoats is one of the first books I ever read by Diana Wynne Jones and is still one of my favorites. With her tenth published novel, she demonstrates a maturity that marks the rest of her career; as good as her previous works are, with The Spellcoats she plays with first person limited POV and the clash of cultures to create Dalemark's history in a way that perfectly fits what she's already established with Cart and Cwidder and the more complex Drowned Ammet.I didn't realize, back in the day, that this book was part of a series. I didn't have access to Drowned Ammet, and as The Spellcoats happens in pre-historic Dalemark, it wasn't obvious to me that it was set in the same world as Cart and Cwidder. Reading DWJ's novels in chronological order makes a huge difference. The Spellcoats is good on its own, but so much better read as a prequel (and I am very fond of prequels).
As usual, DWJ depends on the family structure to drive her plot. In this case, it's Tanaqui and her four siblings at the story's center; their blondness and mysterious dead mother setting them apart from the dark-haired villagers, and worse, they look like the invading Heathens their people are at war with. Driven out of their home, they travel down the River to whatever lies at its mouth near the ocean, find a great evil, and travel back to the River's source to find a way to stop it. They're not a perfect family--this would not be a book by DWJ if they were. Tanaqui gets impatient with her siblings, especially her sister Robin; Hern is a rationalist who doesn't believe in magic (unfortunate, because it seems to surround them) and Duck gets all vague whenever trouble threatens. But this is exactly what makes the story work, because it's the conflicts between them that create the conflict that drives the story. Their encounter with the evil Kankredin at the River's mouth goes both well and poorly because of who the children are and how they interact with each other.
The main conceit of this book is that Tanaqui, a master weaver, is telling the story through weaving it into a giant "rugcoat"; those who know how can read it. DWJ's skill makes this conceit hold together, as Tanaqui tells the story as if it's all already happened (which it has) and the "coats" end and begin in places where Tanaqui would have the ability to weave--not a small thing.
Tanaqui gets most of my sympathy because, as the POV character, she can put herself in the best light, but usually doesn't. Or, more accurately, she'll admit later in her weaving things that she left out earlier. She sketches the others fairly but accurately, and I especially like how she admits to getting impatient with her sister when Robin is ill. Tanaqui also ends up having the most important role to play, even though it's a role that leaves her ignored by history. (view spoiler)[The postscript, which describes archaeologists discovering her two rugcoats/spellcoats, is written centuries later and makes speculations about what the story might have meant. Of the five children, the girls are the ones who are overlooked: Robin disappears entirely, probably because she runs off with Tanamil, and Tanaqui is identified with a mythical figure that doesn't even have her name. History does tend to forget about its women. (hide spoiler)]
I'm tempted, just a little, to ignore my chronological reading project and move immediately to The Crown of Dalemark, which finishes the Dalemark Quartet--but it was written 14 years later, so I'll just have to be patient a little longer.
Rating Based On Books The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3)
Ratings: 3.96 From 3222 Users | 146 ReviewsCriticism Based On Books The Spellcoats (The Dalemark Quartet #3)
For that post-Harry, pre-something heavy and involved time.Recommended to me by my genetics prof (who saw me finishing a Harry Potter book one day on campus). The Dalemark Quartet is more advanced reading than the Harry Potter books, but the same type of fanstasy and contains a long and interwoven story line that fully comes together in The Crown of Dalemark. Characters and items in each previous book play a main role in this last installment so the quartet must be read in order and closeAgain with the absolutely astoundingly gorgeous covers. This one is for The Spellcoats really, which makes me a bit sad. I want this style for all four! Anyway. If the jump between Cart and Cwidder and Drowned Ammet is disconcerting, the jump to The Spellcoats is even more so. Mitt and Moril might be only distantly aware of each other, but they are clearly in the same time. Tanaqui's story clearly is not. In fact, it's set in a sort of prehistoric Dalemark. Also, unlike the first two, it's in
A really odd novel by Diana Wynne Jones - and my appreciation of it is surely not helped by the fact it has been years since I read the first two books. It is an archaic mythic sort of YA fantasy, and it stands on its own almost, apart from the ending where resolution is projected to the final book in the quartet. It reminded me a bit of Red Shift, though less cryptic and less despairing. But it is odd indeed. And I did not like Spellcoats nor respect it much. The almost trademarked mythic plot
I read this recently -- I always hesitate to revisit favorite authors from my youth, but this didn't let me down. To be sure, the plot is both elementary in fantasy terms and standard for Jones (it seems like almost every single one of her early books involved the main character discovering the hidden magical talents they were born with), but it's really well told. The four main characters (Tanaqui and her siblings Hern, Duck, and Robin) all have distinct personalities, they interact with each
reading this was like treading on pitch-i don't think i would have had the persistence, had i been 12 years old, to finish this to the end. so far, the dalemark books are characterized by a slow first half, followed by a significant change in circumstances with reverberations that reach the end of the book. the first half of "spellcoats" was dragging, and had this not been part of a quartet, or had i not been looking for clues to link this to the earlier books, i would have dropped it.Cart and
A beautifully weird and satisfying story, the third in the Dalemark Quartet (8+)*Please note: this review is meant as a recommendation only. If you use it in any marketing material, online or anywhere on a published book without asking permission from me first, I will ask you to remove that use immediately. Thank you!*
Sometimes, immortal creatures who claim they aren't gods sure seem to be gods.
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