Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs

By Blogger Irina

"His writing style is so vivid you feel the need to read “just one more” until you realize you are at the back cover"

Tales of the peculiar by Ransom Riggs

Hello, hello, lovely readers!! As this is my first review for the Young Adult Dome I must apologize for the long post that is inevitable to come. I shall be excused though, since I am overly excited and delighted to be a part of the magic Boekhandel Dominicanen represents for me. This was the first place I went to (outside of my home) when I came to the Netherlands over a year ago and since then have found solitude, happiness and excitement there (and as a vivid bookworm spend a small fortune of course he he). But let’s get straight to the book!  

Let’s begin with a short THANK YOU to whomever is responsible for the introduction of the so-called companions to book series in YA. You know, you read all the books and then feel heartbroken and hungover and just not ready to move on to the next book, but your favorite (at the moment not so favorite) author is already busy with another project and is “done” with your beloved world. And then like a miracle you receive the companion – most often a pre-story, shorter than the other books in the series – and hurray a little Christmas. So thank you, person-that-thought-of-this, may you live a long and happy life !!  

My first encounter with this book was a love at first sight – just look at the covers!! It reminds me of the old botany books I used to steal from my grandparent’s library. Everything represents the eternal class of vintage style hardcovers - the ornate golden drawings, silk ribbon bookmark, the capital letter (or so called initial) standing out and the gorgeous drawings at the beginning of each chapter. I was so excited to receive this as my first task and to add this masterpiece to my lovely book collection of course.  

I started reading on a cold winter’s evening aaand.. read it in one go. Believe me, I wished I could be able to enjoy these slower, maybe one tale per evening. But his writing style is so vivid you feel the need to read “just one more” until you realize you are at the back cover. I had the privilege to see him this April at the Yalfest in Utrecht and even then he stood out from all the other authors. Even his daily conversations sound like captivating fairytales. Needless to say after that encounter I went to buy all three of his books.. 

The book is the perfect gift for all those peculiar among us, both as a companion to the series and a stand-alone; to a beloved person or, let’s face it – yourself (sorry-not-sorry). All tales have their own style and sense of story, some I liked more than others, but all were to my taste and left a deep impression. They reminded me of the magical feeling I got every time I read (and re-read) the Grimm’s fairytales as a child. The introduction by Millard Nullings (for more info check the Peculiar world) gave the final entertaining touch to this book, making you dive deep in the imagination of Ransom (which I have to say is a place I enjoyed very much!). 

And to finish my review accordingly, here is a quote I find befitting:   
 “So please enjoy these Tales – before a crackling fire on a chilly night,…and if you must read them aloud (which I highly recommend) make certain your audience is peculiar.”