When a motherless young girl named Willowmena stumbles over Merloo, a fairy with a broken wing, the two become unlikely companions in a barren land where friendship is virtually unknown. Accompanied by a magical rhinoceros with a flashing red eye, a mute prince, and relentlessly pursued by the Miner of the Dark Pass, the stalwart band of travelers embark on a heroic journey through the dusty Land of Bleak. Willowmena and her friends travel in search of the Mountains of Tune, each of them seeking something they need in order to return to the world beyond. As Willowmena finds her role as the Light-Bearer of Bleak, she meets a lost queen, and her evil cousin, whose insatiable greed and envy compel her an unholy alliance with the Miner of the Dark Pass and his pack of ruthless, slovenly wolves. In order to save her country Willowmena must find the gift of her own gold and come to terms with a terrible secret from her past, making her question everything she knows to be true. She must be willing to venture out of Bleak and into the Land Outside, a place of impossible beauty.
I have just finished reading an enchanting novella supposedly destined for the young. And indeed, the young can envision themselves in the trials of the main character, Willowmena. Through her own personal story, Willowmena, invokes the psychological meanderings of youth. But, let us not be deceived, either by the simplicity of the story or its linguistic expression. This insightful tale also speaks volumes to the adult mind. The seemingly simple language accessible to youth turns into an expression of limpid transparency for the adult, an expression which brings to life enduring, archetypal patterns of the human psyche. These magical figures, animal and human alike, roam through the pages of the book informing both young and old, according to their own levels of perception. And herein lies the gift of the author: that deceivingly simple language can inform different levels of the psyche. And finally: if there are further volumes to come, I suggest that these forever-present images that people the human mind be taken out of boxes, and be allowed to roam and metamorphose in their new abode: Willowmena's story.
The author leads us in the exploration of the timeless metaphor of The Human Journey - a journey guided by her unique moral imagination. We experience with Willowmena her capabilities to influence her own personal sense of purpose and identity transformation as she moves towards hope and an understanding the divine mystery of the human condition. We readers look forward to next steps in her journey towards "beyondness".
An engaging and wise tale about the search for healing, connection, and meaning. Read it aloud to your child, and and the child within you, and it will resonate with those lonely, yearning, searching, and hopeful places of the human heart.
