One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

Rating:
Summary: One sorrowful piece of writing
Review: "Lousy writing and a shameless rip off of Kathryn Lasky's series the Guardians of Ga'Hoole. I am surprised that either the cover artist or Lasky hasn't sued this author- though the writing is so poor, it probably isn't worth their time."

Rating:
Summary: Cross Watership Down with Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Review: Kirrick the last of the robins saw his whole species, including his mate die at the hands of the magpies. The leader of the magpies, Slyekin, ordered his followers to kill all the small species of birds and he sent his second in command Traska to murder Kirrick. The little robin asks the wise owl Tomar what to do about the genocide being practiced on the small avians; the wise owl has a plan to stop the magpies from killing their little brethren.

Kirrick is sent to Darreal, the leader of the Falcons, Storne of the Eagles and Kraken of the Seabirds to gather their brethren to help them fight the magpie. During his journey, Traska, Kirric's second-in-command enlists the aids of the magpies to help him find Kirrick but along the way the robin finds allies who help him out with the evil, sadistic magpie. After the war is over in Birddom, a new one breaks out in Wingland with Traska and his new allies trying to take Slyekin's place as leader of the magpies who must fight his son brought up to hate him.

Cross Watership Down with Jonathan Livingston Seagull and readers will have some idea what the allegorical ONE FOR SORROW TWO FOR JOY is like. For such a little bird Kirrick has a big heart because he risks his life several times to find allies for his cause. With just one book, Clive Woodall established himself as a budding superstar telling a symbolic morality tale of courage.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: nice idea, weakly and palely executed
Review: One for Sorrow is one more in the vein of animal kingdom books, the classic one of course being Watership Down. Sorrow doesn't approach the skill, majesty, or emotion of Watership Down but that's hard to fault it for as few books do. The problem is not that it doesn't hold up well against a classic but that it doesn't hold up well against your average book either.
The story's premise is sound enough. Birdom is threatened by a great evil in the form of marauding magpies committing genocide against the other species. One lone robin, seemingly the last of his kind, is sent by a Great Wise Owl, part of the Great Council, on a quest to enlist the aid of three other Bird families. The second half of the book continues the story, though on a smaller, less epic framework (to say more would be to give away too much of the first plot).
The book has its stock characters: the heroic against the odds robin (Kirrick), the wise old mentor willing to sacrifice himself if necessary (Tomar the owl), the just-as-plucky-as-the hero female (Portia, Kirrick's mate), the roguish ally cracking wise (a goldfinch), the evil overlord (Slyekin) and his as-evil aide (Traska), as well as the usual crew of unexpected allies in strange places who pop up as needed.
The plot too is pretty as expected, with the journeys (three of course) coming one after the other, the lone small hero against a more numerous, more vicious group, the falling in love, and so on. The moral is worthwhile (aren't they all) but pretty clearly Meant To Be Learned. The most unexpected plot points are also the most graphic and most violent (including a brutal rape scene), and seem out of place in comparison to the rest of the tone. Other minor surprises are more the product of contrivance than a natural outgrowth of story or character.
The premise and characters have potential, if predictably so, but the whole thing is so shallowly and predictably presented as to bleach the book of any true impact. Characters do not grow, we are told way too much as opposed to being shown, and events, especially in Book 2, are often anti-climatic for their build up. The biggest downfall, however, is that one just doesn't care much for the characters; they're just too sketchily drawn, too stock, too predictable. Add that to little spark in either language or narrative and the book as a whole is disappointing and at times dully so. If one is interested in reading animal world books such as this one, try Watership Down if you haven't already done so (even re-reading it would be a better use of time) or Rabbit Hill or Duncton Wood ). Not recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Skyride with our Aviary Friends!
Review: The good guys here include about every bird group except crows and magpies. We meet some wise old owls, fearsome eagles, salty seagulls, and heroic robins, among many others. In Birddom, alliances must be made to stop the predatory, genocidal magpies and their two charismatic and murdurous leaders. So for some nice skyward journeys, and even meetings with Man, this nifty,surreal, but realistic fantasy is tough to beat. Two criticisms (1) the rape and oedipus complex action should have been eliminated, to make this book a real family undertaking, (2) the title should be more bird-like, less like a soap opera...Still, a real fun book, and I'm not usually one to read animal fantasies!

Rating:
Summary: A startling human story about birds
Review: The idea of a book about a bird war seemed more than a little cheesy to me when I picked up One for Sorrow Two for Joy, but I am glad I gave it a chance.
This is an exciting, emotional and violent novel of bravery, cruelty and what can warp a creature to acts of unspeakable evil. If, like me, you've never been tempted to read a book told from the point of view of animals, I urge you to give this one a chance. It won't let you down!

Rating:
Summary: I'd give it zero stars if I could
Review: This badly written, poorly imagined, unresearched mess of a book is one of the worst things I've read in years. Woodall's characterization of birds could have used a little actual birdwatching; these cardboard creations are nothing like actual avians. The storyline is predictable. The violence is at times horrific, and often gratuitous. If you liked "Watership Down," you should avoid Woodall's ripoff like the plague.