Review: 'Nettle & Bone' by T. Kingfisher
Pub. Date: 4/26/2022
Publisher: Macmillan-Tor/Forge
This isn't the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince.
It's the one where she kills him.
Marra — a shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter — is relieved not to be married off for the sake of her parents’ throne. Her older sister wasn’t so fortunate though, and her royal husband is as abusive as he is powerful. From the safety of the convent, Marra wonders who will come to her sister’s rescue and put a stop to this. But after years of watching their families and kingdoms pretend all is well, Marra realizes if any hero is coming, it will have to be Marra herself.
If Marra can complete three impossible tasks, a witch will grant her the tools she needs. But, as is the way in stories of princes and the impossible, these tasks are only the beginning of Marra’s strange and enchanting journey to save her sister and topple a throne.
Fairy tales are a lovely thing to play with, aren't they? I loved fairy tales as a child, loved the slightly vague way in which they operated, which allowed me to fill in all the corners, all the gaps, all the questionmarks with my own ideas. I also liked that they felt open to questions, that you could dig into the why of things. While fairy tales seem obvious at the surface, they really represent a whole lot more. Adapting fairy tales has also become very popular and, I must admit, not all of them work for me equally. Perhaps that's because I started with Angela Carter and her imagination was quite simply stunning. Since then I've read many more fairy tale adaptations, most of which attempt to do something exciting and new with the material. While I appreciate the desire for new, when it is forced, then it also pushes the tale outside of its own border, if that makes sense. In Nettle & Bone, T. Kingfisher creates a fairytale world in which elements can be played with but in which the rules are existent. Rather than a world in which a woman can be a anything she wants, Kingfisher creates a world where women still have to find ways to covertly play the game, where they are in danger, and where they have to find allies. For me, that raises the stakes, makes me more interested, because that is how the world still is. So it's a world that makes sense, but within which Kingfisher can play with all the grey areas, talk about violence and pain, and create joy.
Marra is in a pickle at the start of Nettle & Bone. In the midst of her second impossible task, she finds herself constructing a dog out of bones. But it will be worth it, if it will help her kill a prince. Marra is the third daughter of a king and queen and has called a convent home for the last decade or more. Her older sisters have been married to the prince and have definitely gotten the worse end of the stick. Although shy and hesitant about the wider world, Marra decides something has to be done and so sets out. Along the way she encounters a dust-wife, a possessed chicken, goblins, a killer, and more. What I absolutely adored about this book is that T. Kingfisher never forces Marra to be anything she isn't. While she does sometimes mourn her own hesitancy and unknowing, Marra never has to become more than she is. Rather, throughout the book, she comes to realise the various skills she already has, even if they are mostly human. For example, there are some scenes in which there is a focus on her knowledge about knitting, her skill in that handiwork, and how it doesn't seem very important in the grand scheme of things, and yet it is a real skill she has which can be useful. I just really enjoyed how Kingfisher builds up Marra into a character that feels like an adult and feels well-rounded and solid in a fantasy world.
Like I said above, I really enjoyed how T. Kingfisher built her storyworld here. The opening scene drops you right into the heart of the matter, with Marra's trials already halfover and with the mission already underway. Throughout the rest of Nettle & Bone Kingfisher continues to play with the expectations of readers. Importantly, it is only our interpretations which are undermined, never the coherence of the storyworld itself. In that sense Kingfisher reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones. If we expect one thing, it's on us for underestimating the way in which this world can support multiple other solutions. Kingfisher also populates her world with a delightful set of characters, from the dust-wife, to a fairy godmother, and a man who provides some lovely tension. Each of these characters is surprising in their own way and I genuinely came to care for all of them. I also enjoyed the settings of the story, from a poisoned land to a gleaming city, deserted stretches to bustling streets, each ofwhich is described with glorious and odd detail. All in all, I had an absolutely delightful time reading Nettle & Bone and raced through it. And now I am on the hunt for more books by T. Kingfisher so the joy does not end.
I give this novel...
4 Universes!
Nettle & Bone is a gloriously fun fantasy read, which plays with readers' expectations about how a fairy tale is allowed to take shape. With a solid storyworld and a delightful set of characters, Kingfisher finds a way of highlighting both the danger and the reward inherent to the fairy tale and I can't wait to read more by her.
Glad you enjoyed! I like your comments on telling a new story within fairytale conventions. This was also the first Kingfisher book I read and, as with you, it's prompted me to seek out her other works.
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