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Birdwing Reviews
"In a haunting extraordinary novel, Ardwin communicates with animals:
his quest leads him on a picaresque journey that sweeps readers along
with him. A magical, funny, vital, reinterpretation of a fairy tale,
Birdwing appeals to those who love intelligent fantasy." The language is beautiful and the images so unexpected that I was startled, delighted and a little jealous. The mad king, Ulfius, cries, "Go to my throne room! Find a dead fly. Bury it with full honors." Is that not marvelous? How does he do it, I wondered? How can everything be so fresh? Rafe's main character, Ardwin, is complex and completely alive. This is a beautiful book. 'What if...' provides
a firm platform for the author's extended (358 page) incredibly imaginative
back story for the old Grimm tale "The Six Swans." . . . Throughout, Martin
evokes strong human emotions. The scene where Rose and Ardwin confront
each other depicts two very conflicted adults with mixed feelings of duty
and choice, and the consequences of choosing. Such intense emotion is
leavened, for example, in the humor of the innkeeper's wife, a terrible
cook with a direct link to Mrs. Malaprop. In all, a deeply satisfying
read! An unfamilar Grimm's
fairy tale comes to life in the story of Ardwin, the youngest of six brothers
turned into swans. When the spell is broken on Ardwin, one wing remains,
leaving the young prince to struggle between the human and animal worlds.
Never expecting to find love, he must decide whether his wing is a blessing
or a curse. His journey will keep you totally enchanted right up to the
surprising end. There are more questions
than answers at the end of "The Six Swans" by the Brother's Grimm: what
happened to the witch that cursed the family? Can the family recover from
the blame and guilt? What becomes of the littlest boy who still has a
swan wing? Martin picks up these threads in this masterful story of Prince
Ardwin, the youngest child, and his ultimate role in helping the entire
family find peace. . . Martin's intricate story traces the lives of each
minor player and explains some of the mysterious workings of the major
characters, including a deeper exploration of the motivations of the witch
who sparked the chain of events. The depictions of the fated love of Ardwin
and Alene, the princess with a tortured past whose life he saves, and
Ardwin's difficult struggle toward awakening into his own strengths are
credible and powerful. A dramatic and philosophical work, this will encourage
readers to consider the possibility that everyone carries blessings disguised
as curses. 
Rafe Martin is probably
best known for his picture books, including The Rough-Face Girl,
an Algonquin Indian version of the Cinerella story. An amazing storyteller,
Martin pushes the boundaries for retelling fairy tales with this coming-of-age
novel that will appeal to fans of Harry Potter or Philip Pullman.
Birdwing focuses on what happened to the six princes transformed
into swans in the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale after their sister broke
the evil spell. While the boys were returned to human form once the spell
was broken, fourteen-year-old Prince Ardwin retained a wing in place of
one arm. Tired of being taunted because he is different, Ardwin sets out
on an adventurous journey of self-discovery. The path he follows includes
enough sorcery, fighting, magic, and enlightenment to satisfy any fantasy
reader. In a magical tale
woven by master storyteller Rafe Martin, characters have "fallen out of
legend" into a tale of extraordinary beauty and philosophical depth. An
evil queen, an enchantress, a winged warrior, a gray-eyed goose girl who's
really a princess, a snow lion, giants, mechanical men, and a sarcastic
talking horse mix it up in a fairy tale adventure as inventive and soaring
as Harry Potter and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.
. . Martin has made a fairy tale world completely believable and readers,
. . . will ponder deep questions of what it means to be human, whether
differences are curses or gifts, and how to make one's life a worthy story.
Remember the Grimms'
story "The Six Swans"? A wicked queen turns her stepsons into wild swans;
the spell will be broken only if their little sister stays mute for six
years and weaves each of them a nettle shirt. When the time is up, she
has not quite finished a sleeve on the last shirt. The brothers regain
human form, but the youngest is left with one arm and one wing. The end
of that fairy tale is the starting point for this extraordinary novel.
. . In the best fairy-tale tradition, "Prince Freak" sets out to discover
how he must live. The marvelous thing about Birdwing is that, given its
highly literary origins, it is so tough, colloquial, funny and moving.
But then, having been sent back to the Grimms, you realize Martin has
merely emulated his masters. A book for kids who appreciate the likes
of William Mayne and Ursula K. Le Guin. Once upon a time:
Enchanted tales make up a large part of any child's book collection. Characters
like Snow White, Peter Pan and others draw children in with the promise
of magical encounters and unexpected events. A new fairy tale may be the
perfect gift for someone on your list. Consider "Birdwing" (Arthur A.
Levine Books, $16.99) by Rafe Martin, an enchanting story of Ardwin, a
boy who was rescued from a curse - but not entirely. One wing remained
in place of an arm, and that wing leads Ardwin on an adventure, all the
while questioning whether he is man or bird. Rafe Martin has written an absolutely faithful and exceedingly satisfying continuation of The Six Swans . . . Reminiscent of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Adventures, we travel with our good-hearted hero, Ardwin, on his coming of age journey as he struggles to discover whether he is man or bird, gifted or cursed. Along the way he encounters delightfully memorable friends (humans and beasts) and nasty foes who provide rich, but seamless, layers to the main plot. . . . Martin does a superb job of unfolding . . . the essential birthright challenge each of us has to come to terms with: who we are, who we are becoming, and how we fly. Rated: 10 -- RATING
SCALE 10 = A desert island book for all time: Charlotte's Web, Frederick,
Bridge to Terabithia. Martin deftly weaves
fairy tale into fiction . . . The many original characters and unusual
adventure scenes ensure that readers will remember this well-paced fantasy.
"An emotive fairytale
extension thoughtfully explores the life of Ardwin, a prince with a swan's
wing instead of a left arm . . . The journey holds . . . surprises . .
. [with] memorable images created along the way as Martin touchingly weaves
together fairy tale, the wildness of animals and lyrical characterization."
(Fantasy, YA). Birdwing is a fabulously
imaginative continuation of a Grimm's Brothers' folktale. The highly readable
and well-written story of a boy searching to find his place in the world
is packed with adventure, moral dilemmas, true and false friendships,
righting of wrongs, growing-up issues, plenty of danger, and a touch of
the fantastical. A marvelous, engaging
rendering of the age-old story of a boy's struggle to become a man and
find his rightful place in the world. Magic, wise animals, loyalty, betrayal,
love and war all come together in Ardwin's search for the blessings of
life. The writing is so engaging, the lessons so universal, and yet the
story so unique in taking off from "The Six Swans" by The Brothers Grimm
that readers will feel blessed with a rare glimpse into the meaning of
life by the end. A book no one will be able to forget. Martin begins where
the Grimms' "Six Swans" concludes-with the release of the six princes
from their evil stepmother's spell, but with the youngest (here named
Ardwin) left encumbered with one swan's wing. When Ardwin learns that
his father plans to accept neighboring King Ulfius's demand that the wing
be replaced with a golden prosthetic arm before Ardwin marries Ulfius's
daughter, Ardwin finds he's not ready to give up his burdensome appendage-which
confers such gifts as the ability to converse with animals. Pursued by
minions of both kings, he sets forth on a quest, first back to the swans
. . . on, in a Tolkienesque sequence, to the wizard Belarius (think Daedalus,
Gandalf, and Prospero); and then to a gory heroic battle against outsized
thugs who have kidnapped the goose-girl Alene . . . Ardwin's homecoming
occurs in several stages, with reconciliation its keynote; more important,
he's learned that, once controlled, his odd difference is empowering,
not only literally as a weapon but as a source of creativity. Like Tolkien's,
Martin's language segues agreeably from the courtly to the colloquial,
enriching a somewhat message-laden ("Differences are good...I am not cursed
at all, but blessed!") yet well-told tale. J.R.L. Ardwin grew up with
this terrible burden and the others called him a freak, many people were
afraid of him, and he came to see the wing as a curse. The wing gives
him the power to speak to other animals, so Ardwin decides to leave the
palace to find his own way. On his journey Ardwin faces many dangers but
also meets special people and creatures who will help him along the way.
Can Ardwin find the peace he searches for and find where he truly belongs?
An enchanting tale of love, loss and understanding. For the younger reader
12 and up, there's a fantasy tale, Birdwing (Arthur A. Levine Books, Scholastic
Inc) by Rafe Martin. It spins the story of a girl who rescued her six
brothers from a sorceress who had turned them into swans. All are returned
to human form, but one retains a single wing in the place of an arm. When
his father, a king, decides to sever the wing, he must flee from him,
as well as the sorceress who hunts him still. The theme of course is finding
one's true identity, but the story makes the journey a very interesting
one. ...a wonderful escape
for readers who love novels based on fairy tales. The characters are extremely
well drawn and the intricate plot echoes the labyrinth created by the
magician with the author serving as the glowing string to lead one through
to the end. To go back to Books
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