East

Rating:
Summary: "She is Clever, More So than I Gave Her Credit For..."
Review: "East" is Edith Pattou's retold and fleshed-out retelling of the folktale "East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon", a tale that most cultures and countries have incorporated into their mythology throughout history. Motifs such as the animalistic husband, the vengeful sorceress, an interfering mother who gives dangerous advice, the taboo upon seeing the mystery-man's face, the task that only the "true bride" can perform, and the young woman's quest to reclaim her husband can be found in everything from the Greek/Roman "Cupid and Psyche" to France's "Beauty and the Beast." Details change in every version, but the core of the tale is the same each time.

Edith Pattou uses the Norwegian version as her template, which has the prince changed into a polar bear through the designs of an enamoured troll-queen. In order to break the curse the bear must take a human companion, who is forbidden to see his face for an entire year. Of course, the young heroine Rose breaks this rule; she must do this of course, or else the reader would be deprived of the quest to undo her wrong and save her beloved.

Pattou puts her personal slant on the tale by adding in the superstition concerning "birth-direction." Rose's mother Eugenia lives strictly in the belief that the direction in which an infant is brought into the world has a bearing on the personality and fate of that child. She plans to have only seven children, one for each direction (beginning at north-east and ending at north-west), and missing out on the final compass point: north. The reason for this is that north-born children are wild and reckless, liable to go wandering far and wide. But when her east-born daughter (east-borns being the most sturdy and reliable characters) dies, Eugenia bears another child to take her place. But you guessed it, Rose is a north-born child and so struck with wanderlust.

From here come the typical elements of any fairytale: Rose is a free spirit and comes into contact with a strange white bear, who offers the family wealth in exchange for their youngest daughter. With another child deathly ill and the family set for eviction from their home, Rose takes up the bear's offer and is carried to his underground mountain home. Here she keeps company with the bear and his two strange servants, and each night is visited by an unseen bed-fellow that is gone before the morning light. Curiosity gets the best of her, and with the aid of an ill-favoured gift from her mother, she steals a glance at the person beside her...resulting in him being whisked away by the troll-queen. Needless to say, Rose heads off on a rescue mission.

Pattou saves us from a dull, predictable retelling by telling the story through the points of view of several characters. Thus the tale is told in first-person narrative by Rose, the white bear, the troll-queen, Rose's father and Rose's brother Neddy throughout the book, forming a story that must be pieced together from several different lives and viewpoints. Perhaps most interesting of all is Pattou's take on the troll-queen; not just a vicious creature out for power, but someone who genuinely loves the bewitched young man for himself alone. Likewise, her young heroine Rose is a fine example of a strong, realistic protagonist, who has to *work* for her heart's desire.

However, there are some elements that simply don't work. Often the narrative is plodding and inevitably predictable, and the fairytale plot element in which Rose and the troll-queen were forced to test their sincerity by attempting to remove a stain from the young man's shirt was handled awkwardly and confusingly. The fate of the troll-queen and the ice-palace was quite abrupt, and if one reads carefully, the turning point of the story (when Rose looks at the young man's face) doesn't make a lot of sense. The conditions of the bear's curse are that he mustn't let anyone see his human face. And since he and Rose are not married (his nocturnal visits are strictly rated G), then why does he even sleep in the same bed with her in the first place? In the original folktales, the man and woman are wed, and thus have a very good reason to share a bed, but without this rather crucial plot development both the bear's and Rose's actions before and after the event have no reason to them. Pattou's desire to draw out the love-story, with marriage at its end rather than at its middle makes it somewhat unconvincing overall.

Yet despite this, "East" is still a fine example of a well structured and re-interpreted folktale. The old myths and legends of the world are always fascinating, and therefore in the hands of an adept author nothing major can go wrong.

Rating:
Summary: it was only ok
Review: A very fairy tale kind of book. You basically know what is going to happen, what the ending will be.
It was some what enjoyable, although so long winded at times that I felt like screaming.

Not a memorable book but sufficently entertaining.

The conclusion was dissapointing.

Rating:
Summary: East
Review: A woman named Eugenia believes the birth direction of a person determines his/her characteristics. The youngest daughter, Rose, is intended to replace the "East" child that has died, but she is born facing North, to the dismay of Eugenia. It is prophesized that the North born child will travel far away and be lost in the snow.

Rose's sister falls ill, and a white bear appears. To save the girl, Rose travels with the white bear to faraway lands to his castle in the mountain. There, she discovers an enchantment and through trials, hardships, and many miles in the Arctic Circle, plays an important role in the white bear's fate.

This touching story has elements of Beauty and the Beast. Both women discover the humanity within the beasts and do all they can to save them. There are many narrators, and the most poignant is the white bear who is so lost within himself. He tries to discover who he is, and with Rose's aid, he eventually finds himself. Edith Pattou is good with page-turners in the novel: just when the story is reaching a critical point, the next page has something else. East is heart-warming and magical, and I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Flawed fairy tale
Review: After a while, the reading gets mundane. There were many passages that read:

'I walked through the darkly lit hallways. It was cold. I pulled the lamp in front of me to see better. The wind died down. I shivered..."

Much of the story was in 'essay-speak' form and didn't read like a story at all. The plot itself is interesting which is why I gave it 1 star.

I think the story would have been better written in third person rather than from the many viewpoints of the characters in the story. This format would have been fine if each character had a distinct voice but all of them sounded the same. Really, it almost seems like Pattou made more of a book-mache of journal entries or even drafts and just put them together. The characters were only two dimensional and the writing with no feeling or character.

Your better off reading the actual fairy tale itself, with all it's loopholes and consider that a satisfying read versus 400 or so pages of this.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful retelling of a classic....
Review: As a K-6 librarian I am always looking for new authors to recommend to students. I will easily be able to recommend this book. Combining elements of Beauty and the Beast, Norse mythology, and East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Pattou tells an enchanting story of Rose and the Great White Bear. The story is told from several "voices" as not only Rose and the Bear tell the story but also her brother Neddy, the Troll Queen, and Rose's father. A definite "good read."

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Summary: I actually liked it a lot...
Review: Contrary to what most of the reviewers seem to think, I really enjoyed the book. I love the way Pattou lets us see through the Troll Queen's eyes as well, and thus, she becomes less of a villain, and more of a character you can sympathize with, while recognizing she was wrong. It was great how Pattou put little snippets of the bear-man's memories in the beginning and then we get to see how it all ties together.

A lot of people don't seem to have picked this up, but I felt this was a compilation of three fairy tales: East of the Sun and West of the Moon [which I've always wanted to read, but haven't had a chance to yet], Beauty and the Beast, but also, Psyche and Eros, the greek myth in which a young girl is whisked away to live unknowingly with the goddess of love's son, Eros, who's been smitten with her through his own arrow. The girl becomes curious and gazes upon his face one night and as the hot wax drips on the young god and wakes him, all is thrown into turmoil.

Anyhow, I liked East, and I would recommend reading the Psyche and Eros myth as well. I'm sure the link is quite obvious.

Rating:
Summary: Chilly "East"
Review: Edith Pattou shifts from generic Celtic fantasy to an old favorite fairy tale in "East." It's a retelling of the old "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" story, set in Norway, with insights into plenty of supporting characters (including the villain). While fresh at the start, it goes too fast and too choppily.

Rose was an "East" baby (her mom believes that what direction a baby is born facing will determine its personality). Or so she thought. Actually, she was born facing North, but her superstitious mother brainwashes everyone into believing that she's an East baby. Her family is poor and rapidly decaying, since her sister is very ill and they're about to be evicted from their farmhouse.

Then a white bear appears at their door and informs them (very painfully) that if Rose comes with him, the sister will be cured and the family will be well-off. Rose comes with him, to a palatial lodge full of everything she could need, including a strange servant, and something that sleeps near her every night. But a trip home ends in disaster, when she accidently discovers a curse on the bear -- and learns of a troll princess's magical plot.

There isn't much that's new in "East," except for minor details like the wind roses (whatever those are), "birth direction" superstitions, the dresses that Rose weaves, or the presence of Neddy. Overall it begins and ends more or less as you'd expect. It's prettily written in many places, with plenty of descriptions of nature and the outdoors.

The multiple points-of-view are what make and break this book. On one hand, it's interesting to see the same events from the points-of-view of Rose, her father, her brother Neddy, and the bear (the troll princess's thoughts serve mainly as backstory). On the other hand, most of the humans sound alike, and the transitions from one chapter to another are painfully choppy. It also goes by too fast. The book starts at a leisurely pace, then suddenly speeds up (the months Rose spends in the bear's castle seem more like a few days).

Rose is a good enough heroine, although she doesn't seem as freaked-out as you'd expect. Her father is wonderful, a man who is haunted by a vague sense of guilt that he has lied to his daughter. And considering that most of the bear's thoughts are rendered in very short sentences, they're very evocative. What's even better, the bear (unlike in many stories) had already encountered Rose before asking her to come with him.

Fans of fairy-tale retellings will eat up "East," but many readers might be put off by the abrupt pacing. Flawed, but worth checking out.

Rating:
Summary: East of East
Review: I always love the 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' story and was curious to read this one. It turned out like reading a fairytale put into the real world, with places and time in history. It was so amazing :) and the heroine not just win the white bear then married him, happily ever after. This book gave a more believable start, process, climax and ending with help from magic since the cursed bear was born out of magic (the goblin's) too so it was only fair.

I only have small problems in reading it. There were some dialog/thought not properly put into a character and they sometimes made me stop for a while to think it over. I also feel the start was kinda slow. But overall, I enjoy this story of Rose and her White Bear, specially about the birth-direction myth.

A fairytale came to life :)

Rating:
Summary: A Budding Fan
Review: I have read all the books out by Edith Pattou. I have to say my favorite is either this latest one "East" or "Fire Arrow". I love the way she portrays the female heroines. They are completely believable: strong, determined yet not without fault. It is easy to identify with them. Her writing has this uncanny quality to me: I know it is fantasy but it seems so utterly believable.

As soon as I heard "East" was coming out I asked for a copy of it for Christmas and read it right away. For the first 70 pages or so I was a little confused with the character point of view switching so quickly but as soon as it settled into the meat of the story I was absolutely drawn in.

Edith Pattou is one of very best young adult fantasy writers I have read. The only problem I have is waiting for her next book to be released but I understand that it takes time to create a high quality story and I appreciate all the research and work she does to make each one of her stories so satisfying, unique and beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: Really Great
Review: I have read this book about 8 times and i have to say that i can never get enough of it! its a really great story about a young girl named Rose who is taken from her family by a white bear and is to live with him for two full moon phrases. I absoulty loved this book and recomended for people of all ages!