The unofficial website i dont consciously think of children when writing. Alan garner, the stone book quartet, red shift, and boneland. This first book in the series sets the standard for the others. The stone book, tom fobbles day, granny reardun and the aimer gate. It came to me that i had read glowing mentions of his work for quite some time. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of cheshire, north west england, being set in the region and making use of the native cheshire dialect. Alan garner was born in congleton in cheshire in october 1934. There is a finely judged contempt in asking for the governor of this gang. So, basically i think alan garner is the finest novelist in britain on the basis of one, 172page. Since i interviewed alan garner the day after my arrival in britain from canada, i was suffering from jet lag. The stone book quartet made a massive impression on me when i first read it some fifteen years ago, and ive always meant to reread it. Alan garner is, for my money, the finest novelist in britain although, in truth, only two of his books really do it for me, and only the stone book quartet remains in my mind, pure, without the slightest doubt or misgiving. Set in eastern cheshire, they feature one day each in the life of four generations of garner s family and they span more than a century in a 1989 interview he called them four very short novels which hang together as one work, called the stone. Interview with alan garner robbins library digital projects.
It came from cheshire, alan garners ancestral county, and the allman. Alan garner, at the heart of a golden age of childrens literature. Economical to the point of obscurity on occasion, but 100 times worth the reread. The stone book quartet by alan garner, 9780007204946, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Whilst reading rovellis book i was reminded of garners stone book quartet. The stone book quartet by alan garner museum of thin objects.
This is purportedly a childrensyoung adult novel but the writing is so fine, thoughtful and economical that it. Alan garner, obe born 17 october 1934 is an english novelist who is best known for his work in childrens fantasy and his retellings of traditional british folk tales. The stone book quartet by alan garner magic realism. For my own part, i learned about the series through a hoitytoity british literary periodical entitled, childrens. I have read the stone book quartet three times and expect to read it again. The stone book quartet by garner, alan and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A beautifully written elegy for a time long gone, the stone book quartet features four interlinked stories, spanning more than a century, about one day in the life of four generations of garner s family. This is a group created to honour cheshire author alan garner. Sep 08, 2018 whilst reading rovellis book i was reminded of garners stone book quartet. Nov 29, 2011 richard nunemaker, clarinet trio oriens johnny chang, violin olive chen, cello iling chen, piano st. He has berserker fits in which he fights like ten men, using an old stone axe.
Alan garner obe born 17 october 1934 is an english novelist best known for his childrens fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional british folk tales. Alan garner obe frsl born 17 october 1934 is an english novelist best known for his childrens fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional british folk tales. The aimer gate the title is never fully explained is set in the years of the first world war. The stone quartet is a history of a family and a place. The stone book, granny reardun, aimers gate, and tom fobbles day are short stories that make up the stone book quartet.
My continued project to procrastinate over reading boneland i reread the stone book quartet and red shift instead. Instead, it feels closer to garner s stone book quartet 197678, in its terse, poetic, vivid, elliptical, and challenging style and narrative technique and its emphasis on the persisting power of place and craft and stone and stars. As the books progress there are constant reminders of the ongoing movement of. I think one can describe the stone book quartet as a single work. Together they span a century and offer a glimpse into life in northern england at various points in history. After red shift, alan garner published four novellas between 1976 and 1978, which were grouped together as the stone book quartet. Alan garner books list of books by author alan garner. A moment ago his features had been drawn into the kind of expression id more expect to see on a cross tenyearold than on a man who, 30 years ago, had a hand in deciphering the linear b script of minoan crete. In those four very short books the stone book, granny reardun, the aimer gate and tom fobbles day we see small vignettes of successive generations of garners own artisan family. It isnt a book for those who like all their loose ends tied up when the story finishes. His work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of cheshire, north west england, being set in the region and making use of the native cheshire dialect. Apr 09, 2016 the stone book quartet by alan garner. This wholly adult novelamusingly for older readers 10 was the logical development of themes first mooted in his early childrens fantasies. Escaping from a local tribe, the cats at rudheath, the soldiers find a stockaded cat village at barthomley, which they pillage, killing the inhabitants except for a young girl, whom they take as a slave.
Alan garner was the first in his family to attend secondary school, but later. As the books progress there are constant reminders of the ongoing movement of time, and time itself is a recurrent theme of the books. In those four very short books the stone book, granny reardun, the aimer gate and tom fobbles day we see small vignettes of successive generations of garner s own artisan family. But boneland is much more openly interested in psychology and psychiatry than his earlier cheshire books. His latest novel will bring it to a longawaited but notnecessarilyexpected end. Alan garner, english writer whose works, noted for their idiosyncratic style, were rooted in the myth and legend of the british isles. From 1976 to 1978, garner published a series of four novellas, which have come to be collectively known as the stone book quartet. Set in eastern cheshire, they feature one day each in the life of four generations of garner s family and they span more than a century.
The stone book is the first in a quartet of stories following a family throughout several generations. Then i wrote four very short novels which hang together as one work, called the stone book quartet, where again i write about alderley edge, luminously but not magically. In the end my teacher would ask me only to put up my hand if i didnt. Alan garner on boneland, the end of a beloved trilogy alan garner cast a spell 50 years ago. May 15, 2006 beautifully crafted, like the work it describes, the writing resembles a perfectly executed piece of stone carving. He was educated at manchester grammar school and at magdelen college, oxford, after which he began writing his first novel, the weirdstone of brisingamen, at the age of twentytwo. I have read the stone book quartet three times and. In the aimer gate, the chronological third volume in the quartet that began with the stone book p. Of course the story of the familys craftsmanship does not end with william, alan garner is. That was a tension within me that i did not resolve until i was well into my forties. Turning away from fantasy as a genre, garner produced the stone book quartet 1979, a series of four short novellas detailing a day in the life of four generations of his family. I have been familiar with the name alan garner for years but never got round to. To ask other readers questions about the stone book quartet, please sign up.
Thomas university, houston, november 15, 2011 mark chen, audiovideo productions. Alan garners the stone book quartet kate macdonald. It has been home for alan garners family for time immemorial and it is where he still lives. So at the end of the first book, there was a lot that was unresolved. In the story, tom and jan write letters to each other in ciphertext, using a method they find in works by lewis carroll. Beautifully crafted, like the work it describes, the writing resembles a perfectly executed piece of stone carving. Instead, it feels closer to garners stone book quartet 197678, in its terse, poetic, vivid, elliptical, and challenging style and narrative technique and its emphasis on the persisting power of place and craft and stone and stars. The figure of the trickster appears to appeal particularly to garner, and he writes of him brilliantly and at times quite disconcertingly. May 24, 2018 the stone book series and folkloric collections. I wrote about red shift here, and at some point in the unspecified future id like to think through the failed relationships in this book and in the owl service. The several snatches of traditional songs found throughout the quartet bring to life the culture of the characters but also are tied to the conflicts. One of the most beautifully crafted books of all time. Oct 16, 2004 garner subsequently agreed to produce next a recognisable childrens book but the fourvolume stone book quartet, published from 197680, was not quite what his publisher was expecting.
Garner attended local schools before spending two years in the royal artillery and studying at magdalen college, oxford. See more ideas about alan garner, childrens books and this or that questions. Alan garner obe born 17 october 1934 is an english novelist who is best known for his work in childrens fantasy and his retellings of traditional british folk tales. The several snatches of traditional songs found throughout the quartet bring to life the culture of the characters but also are tied to the conflicts that occur within the stories. Reviewed in the united kingdom on 14 december 2010. It is harvest time and although the rhythm of rural life has been barely disturbed by although the aimer gate is the third volume of the stone book quartet i ended up reading it fourth due to a misunderstanding on my part of its publishing history. Garner subsequently agreed to produce next a recognisable childrens book but the fourvolume stone book quartet, published from 197680, was not quite what his publisher was expecting. Alan garner s the stone book quartetis an example of four texts for children in which music plays a vital role.
The phrase surfaces in the stone book quartet a number of times, always spoken by members of the garner family, members of the socalled subordinate classes, underlying a respect for the older ways, and also the. Mar 01, 20 alan garner, the stone book quartet, red shift, and boneland. Jun 17, 2006 the stone book quartet by alan garner, 9780007204946, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Alan garner is the awardwinning author of elidor, the owl service, and the stone book quartet. He also published a series of british folk tales which he had rewritten in a series of books entitled alan garner s fairy tales of gold 1979, alan garner s book of. The combined work has a lot in common with red shift for instance, each story takes place in the same geographical location but at widely separated times 1864, 1886, 1914 and 1941 but in tone and effect, the two are as different as the stinging nettle and. The stone book, granny reardun, the aimer gate, and tom fobbles day. The end papers of the book are covered with a coded message. His work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of cheshire, north west england, being set in the region and making use of the native. Alan garner was born in congleton, cheshire, in 1934 and grew up in alderly edge, where his fathers family had lived for more than three hundred years. Red shift represents the culmination of alan garners early writing career, after which he went on to compile collections of folk stories and to write the stone book quartet 9 for younger readers.
In garners work the past, present and future meld and theres little time for linear time. Alan garners the stone book quartet kate 20thc, alan garner, architecture, art, bildungsroman, community life, family saga, history, nature, passion and secrets, the life of the times, the world of work, wartime may 25, 2017 august 15, 2017. Aug 18, 2009 alan garners red shift is a book i have practically memorised, which makes rereading it weirdits more like reading poetry than prose, because my brain keeps filling in the whole line. I do know that children read me more intelligently than adults do. Alan garner s books, though few, have had an extraordinarily powerful impact. In roman times, macey is a soldier with a group of deserters. Although song and music are often elements in childrens books, little critical attention has gone into examining their literary uses.
929 394 1306 1115 69 1278 1410 1303 807 816 49 61 687 1354 463 718 1027 1404 1605 1355 529 18 1214 954 1192 1397 748 219 746 1001 1407 36 69 1236 551 118 1314 1454 596 655