“This isn’t the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince.
It’s the on where she kills him.” (Dust jacket of Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher)
*For my personal thoughts on Nettle & Bone, check out my review of the book.
Author: T. Kingfisher
Title: Nettle & Bone
Category/Type: Adult Fiction
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre(s): Fairy tales/folklore
Publication Date: April 26, 2022
Number of Pages: 240 pages of story text; plus an Author’s Note
Geographical Setting: Three fantasy kingdoms
Time Period: n/a but events are happening in the present/real time with some flashbacks to the past
Series (if applicable): This book is not part of a series
Plot Summary: Marra, the third daughter the king and queen of a small kingdom isn’t much of a princess. In her thirties, she’s been living in a nunnery most of her life and her only real talent is weaving. Her sisters were married away to the prince of the northern kingdom years ago to form a political alliance. Marra is content with her quiet life but she can’t help but think there was something strange about how her eldest sister died, and her other sister always has bruises she tries to hide and is constantly pregnant. As Marra connects the dots she comes to understand that the only way to save her sister, herself, and the kingdoms is to kill the prince. Marra enlists the help of a powerful dust wife who agrees to assist, but only after Marra completes three impossible tasks: creating a cloak out of nettles, building a dog out of bones, and capturing moonlight in a jar. As Marra discovers she might be more powerful than she thought, she also realizes she can’t kill the prince on her own and seeks the help of a disgraced soldier and a fairy godmother with questionable abilities. Together, the crew sets out on their misadventure that could save them all or topple kingdoms.
Content warnings (SLIGHT SPOILER): Domestic violence, child death, death of a loved one, mentions of ritual suicide, animal death
Subject Headings: Fantasy- Action & Adventure, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
Appeal/Characteristics of Fantasy (May contain SPOILERS)
Detailed settings depict another world, often located on Earth, but almost always set in out-of-time, in past times, or invisible to most people- This story takes place in three richly detailed kingdoms, a large southern and large northern kingdom and the small harbor kingdom in the middle where the princesses hail from and that is bullied by the other two kingdoms.
Magic frames the story- Not everyone in the story has magic of their own, but magic is a known entity in a world with dust wives and fairy godmothers, and charms and curses available for purchase at the Goblin Market.
Story line features good vs. evil. Story line also explores ways to discover one’s own potential, magical or otherwise- While the decision to kill a prince is not necessarily a morally good one, Marra and her crew are the Good ones while the abusive prince is the Evil one that needs to be destroyed. Through the description of his actions, readers quickly understand he has no redeeming qualities and his reign must end.
Characters, often attain special magical gifts. Even good characters will find themselves challenged, both physically and ethically. Characters may include mythical creatures as well as more mundane human ones- Marra often doubts her abilities and has anxiety and does not realize she has any magic, yet she is able to accomplish the impossible tasks that the dust wife sets for her. Fenris, one of Marra’s allies, is also not magical but is discovered in a Goblin Market giving him an aura of magic even if he cannot wield it. The story is also populated with creatures made from bone, various charms, spirits of the dead, talking toys, and fairy god mothers.
Books start slowly as the author sets the scene, presents the challenge, and introduces the cast- This is an adventure book but the start of the book is given over to describing details of Marra’s past, her impossible tasks, and the kingdoms and their relationship to one another. Even once the quest begins, it is a bonding journey and not every step of the way is suspenseful as the author allows the story and thrill to build slowly despite the shortness of the book.
From the stylized language to the use of jargon, language and style run the gamut. Language relates verbal pictures of characters and landscape, and illustrations sometimes enhance both adult and children’s Fantasy- T. Kingfisher takes time to describe the landscape differences between the kingdoms as well as physical features of the characters. There is not much specialized jargon but the author takes care to describe how this world is different from our own. The contents of the story do not include pictures, but under the dust jacket the book cover contains gold foil tooling of the bone dog and the book’s end sheets are a black and white illustration of Marra walking in the woods in her nettle cloak with Bone Dog looking after her. While these details are small, they give readers a sense of what the scenery is and what the characters look like.
Revamped legends, remade myths, and fairy tales told anew or used as springboards for new tales- While T. Kingfisher weaves an entirely new fairy tale, it’s spun with the familiar elements of many fairy tales. There is magic, princesses, a handsome prince, kingdoms in danger as well as damsels in distress, the Goblin Market, fairy circles, and of course fairy godmothers.
3 terms that best describe this book:
Magical
Realistic characters
Full of adventure and misadventure
Relevant Non-Fiction Works and Authors
Fantastic Creatures in Mythology and Folklore: From Medieval Times to the Present Day by Juliette Wood- readers interested in discovering the pieces of Nettle & Bone that were taken from popular fairy tales and folklore will enjoy this exploration into the role mythical creatures have played throughout humanity’s history.
Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale by Marina Warner- this short read provides a thorough overview of the history of fairy tales, broken down by themes that run through these tales. Focusing on interpretations and cultural significance, this book will provide readers of Nettle & Bone with a detailed background on where some elements of the story were derived.
3 Relevant Fiction Works and Authors
Uprooted by Naomi Novik-Agnieszka is an unimportant maiden in a small village, that is, until the powerful and grouchy wizard Sarkan chooses her as his new servant. The prettiest and strongest girl was supposed to be chosen and Sarkan, who protects the village from evil magical forces in the woods, seems as surprised by his choice as everyone else. As dark powers encroach and threaten the kingdom, an unexpected power awakens in Agnieszka and Sarkan realizes he may need to depend upon the strength of another to keep the darkness at bay. For readers looking for more unexpected heroes, impossible tasks, misadventure, and unconventional romance, this is the book to pick up.
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten- Red is born a second daughter and is therefore destined to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the woods. She’s resigned to her fate and afraid of the strange power that resides within her. But there are powerful forces at war and an unexpected alliance could tip the scales and bring ruin or restore the rightful gods to their places. Fans of Nettle & Bone will find connections between the princesses doomed to be sacrifices, non-traditional heroes, and reclaimed fairy tales between these two stories.
The Bear and the Nightingale (the first book in the Winternight Trilogy) by Katherine Arden- Young Vasilisa (Vasya) enjoys an untethered life playing in the woods surrounding her family’s farm in rural Russia. With a necklace she’s told to always wear, Vasya keeps faith in the old gods and spirits and makes friends with them but keeps her talents a secret until a conniving priest arrives who begins to realize the truth. Suddenly it’s not only Vasya’s future at stake but the fates of gods and demons and a kingdom as well. Desperate to save her family and realize her own independence, she befriends Morozko, the frost demon, and together they work to save themselves and the kingdoms of men and spirits. For readers looking for more unlikely heroes and alliances, a mixture of reclaimed fairy tale elements, and female power, the Winternight Trilogy will not disappoint.
Reading the Whole Collection
Readers who enjoyed Nettle & bone may enjoy the Monstress graphic novel series which is set in a post-apocalyptic world where evil forces battle and Maika Halfwolf attempts to uncover her past in the face of utmost danger.
Readers may also like the PBS series Monstrum in which Dr. Emily Zarka examines the history and cultural importance of a variety of monsters found in literature, fairy tales, folklore, and popular culture.
Citations
Characteristics of Fantasy novels taken from
Wyatt, N. and Saricks, J. (2019). The readers' advisory guide to genre fiction. Third edition. ALA Editions.