Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Mar 2005, 377 pages
Paperback:
May 2006, 400 pages
Michael Gruber has created a world that is at once deceptively familiar and stunningly original, a world of cruelty, beauty, legend, truth, and above all, wonder. Readers will delight in the author's ingenious retelling of classic fairy tales and will marvel at the stunning new tale of a boy raised by a witch, a cat, a bear, and a demon. Ages 11+.
A wondrous journey through the realms of magic
They call him Lump. Ugly, misshapen -- more goblin than human child --
abandoned as an infant and taken in by a witch, he is nursed by a bear,
tutored by a djinn; his only playmates are the creatures of the forest,
whose language he learns to speak.
But when Lump inevitably stumbles into the human world, his innocence
is
no match for the depths of people's cruelty, which turns his heart to stone,
and fuels a vengeance that places him and his witch mother in deadly peril.
Yet these disasters also send Lump on a journey of self-discovery, to realms
deep within the earth and far beyond mortal imagination.
In this stunning fantasy debut, Michael Gruber has created a world that
is at once deceptively familiar and stunningly original, a world of cruelty,
beauty, legend, truth, and above all, wonder. Readers will delight in the
author's ingenious retelling of classic fairy tales and will marvel at the
stunning new tale of a boy raised by a witch, a cat, a bear, and a demon.
Witch
Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there was a woman who
lived by herself in the middle of a great forest. She had a little cottage and
kept a garden and a large gray cat. In appearance, she was neither fair nor
ugly, neither young nor old, and she dressed herself modestly in the colors of
stones. None of the folk who lived nearby (not the oldest of them) could tell
how long she had dwelt in that place.
One spring morning, the woman set off to collect some plants she
needed. As she glided silently along, she studied a list she had made, for she
tended to be absentminded about small things. She passed the old oak tree,
lightning killed and half hollow, where the local people were accustomed to
leave things for her, and there she heard an odd little cry. She stopped and
looked, and saw that in the hollow was a wicker basket. Have they left me a
piglet? she wondered. But when she came closer, the basket shook and she heard
the unmistakable cry of a...
Although Tropic of Night was his
first book in his own name, Gruber was
Robert Tanenbaum's ghost-writer for many
years (they are cousins). However, his credit was limited to a thank you
on the acknowledgements page so eventually the relationship
dissolved - Resolve (2003) was the last Tanebaum book
Gruber wrote.
In 1996 he started to write The Witch's Boy but was
unable to find a publisher, so he turned to adult fiction,
publishing
Tropic of Night and
...
This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.
More books by Michael Gruber
If you liked The Witch's Boy, try these:
The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean
by David Almond
Published 2015
From master storyteller David Almond comes a gripping, exquisitely written novel about a hidden-away child who emerges into a broken world.
by Alethea Kontis
Published 2013
It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday's only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true...
A People's History of Heaven
by Mathangi Subramanian
A story of love and friendship, and fighting for the places we love.
Reader Reviews
American Princess
by Stephanie Marie Thornton
Rated 4.9 stars by BookBrowse members - one of the highest scores of all time!
Reader Reviews
An extraordinary and heart-rending tale of two girls with all the odds against them.
About the book
Win up to 12 copies to share with friends or your book club!
A sweeping epic of lost love, lies, jealousy, and rebellion set in colonial Barbados.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
