Owl's Tale of Requital

Author: Alan Garner
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: A rare feast for the imagination, with a lingering aftertaste. —Observer
In his earlier works, Alan Garner successfully brought the chaotic and ambiguous world of ancient legends into the present. In this book, the same technique is employed once again, deepened, and presented with a more compelling, unsettling beauty. It all begins with an accidental discovery: one day, the young girl Gwenllian finds a pile of incredible dishes in the attic. Soon, strange things start happening—the patterns on the plates not only vanish on their own but also fly up into the air, shattering into pieces! Meanwhile, another boy, Roger, discovers a strange stone with a circular hole by the river. All of this infuriates the housekeeper, Nancy, who is secretly trying to hide something, and the villagers begin to panic, as it seems there is a well-guarded secret buried among these Welsh people. Thus, three modern children gradually connect with the distant era of Welsh mythology, drawn into a whirlwind of love and hate. A classic work of British fantasy fiction by Alan Garner, winner of the 1967 Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature in the UK and the 1968 Guardian Children's Fiction Award.