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Book Reviewed by:The beloved author of Holes presents his first adult novel, a modern fantasy classic of forbidden love, a crumbling kingdom, and the unexpected magic all around us.
Long ago and far away (and somewhere south of France) lies the kingdom of Esquaveta. There, Princess Tullia is in nearly as much peril as her struggling kingdom. Esquaveta desperately needs to forge an alliance, and to that end, Tullia's father has arranged a marriage between her and an odious prince. However, one month before the "wedding of the century," Tullia falls in love with a lowly apprentice scribe.
The king turns to Anatole, his much-maligned magician. Seventeen years earlier, when Anatole first came to the castle, he was regarded as something of a prodigy. But after a long series of failures—the latest being an attempt to transform sand into gold—he has become the object of contempt and ridicule. The only one who still believes in him is the princess.
When the king orders Anatole to brew a potion that will ensure Tullia agrees to the wedding, Anatole is faced with an impossible choice. With one chance to save the marriage, the kingdom, and, of most importance to him, his reputation, will he betray the princess—or risk ruin?
1
Homecoming
So here I sit, dressed like a typical American tourist, sipping a cappuccino at an outdoor table in an authentic medieval village. I can see the turrets of Tiger Castle in the distance, silhouetted against the red morning sky. I break off a piece of my almond croissant and place it inside the front pouch of my hoodie.
My hands are bruised, and I think I may have sprained my left wrist. The street here is paved with cobblestones, all of different shapes and sizes. In places, there are significant gaps between the stones. I doubt I was the first person to stumble and fall. My dignity suffered the greatest harm.
I suppose the street is kept like this for authenticity, but five hundred years ago there wouldn't have been coffee, or chocolate. Only the popolo grasso, or "fat people," could afford such luxuries. The popolo minuto-"little people"-ate mostly bread, ale, and whatever greens they managed to grow.
Also, a shop wasn't a separate entity then, but part of the craftsman's home...
What are you reading this week? (4/17/2025)
The Magician of Tiger Castle by Louis Sachar, which is a requested book from BookBrowse, thank you very much :wink:
-Ann_Beman
The Magician of Tiger Castle is billed as Sachar's first book for adult readers, but in all honesty there isn't that much to scare off precocious young readers. In fact, the general contours of the plot—frustrated young royalty, star-crossed lovers, et cetera, et cetera—pretty much are a young adult novel. It's bald, beleaguered Anatole, with his immortal mouse and his array of urine cups (a necessity for any self-respecting magician in those days), who lends the novel its wry, mature tone...continued
Full Review
(622 words)
(Reviewed by Joe Hoeffner).
The first tiger gets introduced just a few pages into The Magician of Tiger Castle as part of the wedding dowry for Princess Tullia, who is set to marry Prince Dalrympl of Oxatania. (Tigers aren't native to Oxatania, a fictional kingdom in what is now France, which makes the dowry an act of olden time regifting.) The tigers are put to use in the castle's moats, where they defend the castle's occupants from invaders and gobble up unfortunate prisoners.
Both Oxatania and Esquaveta, Tullia's kingdom, are, of course, fictional—but other, very real countries and empires in Europe have captured and kept tigers throughout history.
The Roman Empire made use of their tigers in much the same way Dalrympl did: by using them for ...
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