The Book of Three (1964) is a high fantasy novel by American writer Lloyd Alexander, the first of five volumes in The Chronicles of Prydain. The series follows the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper, a youth raised by Dallben the enchanter, as he nears manhood while helping to resist the forces of Arawn Death-Lord.
The book provided many elements of plot for the 1985 Disney animated feature The Black Cauldron.
O primeiro livro de uma série que inspirou o mal falado filme da Disney, O Caldeirão Mágico. Como eu não lembro do filme (eu devo ter assistido com uns três anos de idade), não posso comparar as versões.
Gostei muito do livro! Me lembra muito a série do Castelo Animado de Diana Wynne Jones. Não que as histórias sejam semelhantes, mas a ótima narrativa e personagens que você se importa.
Ele é um livro infanto-juvenil ótimo para introduzir às tropes do gênero fantasia, em especial histórias de cavalaria. É como um Senhor dos Anéis juvenil, mas um tanto mais direto ao ponto.
I had good memories of reading this as a child, but rereading now, boy, it's definitely a children's book. Super short, super simple and things just happen without a ton of explanation or detail. And Elionwy's spoiled brattiness, which was irritating to start with, hasn't aged well.
In short: it's the story of Taran, an assistant pig keeper in a small kingdom in a place very much like Wales who is sucked up into mythic conflicts involving Arawn, the Big Bad who creates a zombie army to rule the world by cooking corpses in the Black Cauldron (see book 2), and an evil witch who is trying to take his place. Also heroic Princes, wise war heroes and wizards, and various creatures of myth and legend.
Recommended for kids maybe 10 at most, pretty simple going for anyone older than that.
This book (and the entire series) was a real favorite of my college roommate in her childhood. I had never read it, but I was impressed that she had written a letter to Lloyd Alexander and he had written a letter to her in reply. That is a good author, I thought.
I decided to make up for lost time. I don't shy away from young adult books. If well-written, I can enjoy them, too. And I did.
I thought the language was very good, which I like in a book for young readers. They are, after all, still developing their own language, so why not give them some quality writing. I saw another reviewer complain about the language, but I believe it was more the themes. I did think there were some gender issues, but this was written in 1961. Eilonwy, the girl, did her best to fight some …
This book (and the entire series) was a real favorite of my college roommate in her childhood. I had never read it, but I was impressed that she had written a letter to Lloyd Alexander and he had written a letter to her in reply. That is a good author, I thought.
I decided to make up for lost time. I don't shy away from young adult books. If well-written, I can enjoy them, too. And I did.
I thought the language was very good, which I like in a book for young readers. They are, after all, still developing their own language, so why not give them some quality writing. I saw another reviewer complain about the language, but I believe it was more the themes. I did think there were some gender issues, but this was written in 1961. Eilonwy, the girl, did her best to fight some of those stereotypes. A kind of Hermione from Harry Potter, you could say.
This is a classic adventure. The main character charges after a runaway pig and soon ends up on a journey with companions that he runs into. There are classic lessons to be learned - often the painful way. Sometimes Taran, the main character, can be annoying with his blustering. If there was a turn of phrase that was cringeworthy, I made myself think as a 12-year-old. I felt that my 12-year-old self would accept certain actions where my adult self thought "oh, shut up, you fool".
An easy read for this adult, I recommend it to young people and possibly as a read-aloud book to even slightly younger who can stomach some of the reality of death and gore that Alexander includes in the story (because they are true to the plot).
It was very interesting reading this book again after so long. When I read it as a child it was one story, and now it is another. Both are good - when I was a kid it was more of an adventure story. As an adult it is the story about the world changing when you learn and how that can be a mixed blessing.
I was charmed at the independence and intelligence of E, who was cocky and high handed but usually right and usually wise. For her to be written in the 70’s, makes me feel we have both come a long way and not come along way, seeing as it is still struggle to see female characters so well represented on television.
Throughout the story you definitely get the impression that it is written from Taran’s point of view and thus a flawed account. Which I love. …
It was very interesting reading this book again after so long. When I read it as a child it was one story, and now it is another. Both are good - when I was a kid it was more of an adventure story. As an adult it is the story about the world changing when you learn and how that can be a mixed blessing.
I was charmed at the independence and intelligence of E, who was cocky and high handed but usually right and usually wise. For her to be written in the 70’s, makes me feel we have both come a long way and not come along way, seeing as it is still struggle to see female characters so well represented on television.
Throughout the story you definitely get the impression that it is written from Taran’s point of view and thus a flawed account. Which I love. You can see the hints of what is really going on but are limited by his narrow understanding.
