Michelle Lovric is one of my
favourite children’s authors working today. I have been a big fan since I read her first
children’s novel The Undrowned Child –
her story-telling skills are top notch. Talina
in the Tower, like Lovric’s two books before it, is written with imagination,
intelligence, humour that snaps and loving attention to Venice and its history.
If you truly want to escape, her books are your means to.
Talina
in the Tower is
set in late nineteenth-century Venice. It is described with gothic flare; on
the brink of disaster and inhabited by frightened people and even more
frightening creatures. I really enjoy Lovric’s cast lists. Talina is populated with vultures, sarcastic rats, cat gangs,
Ravageurs (think evil, malformed wolves) and human characters even more quirky
and strange than the creatures roaming about all around them. All Lovric’s
characters have this gorgeous pantomimic quality this is endearing rather than
over-the-top. I am actually jealous of some of the amazing character creations
she comes up with. She obviously takes great joy in crafting their dialogue and
it is fantastic stuff.
Talina is along the Teo mould from
The Undrowned Child: wilful; clever;
impudent, temperamental and brave. She has a huge heart and is wonderfully
resourceful. I love girl characters like this. She is the perfect character to
go on this adventure with. I also love how Lovric can so easily make ‘evil’
characters multi-faceted with just a few paragraphs.
The story is plot-heavy and full
of twists and turns. It is dark and doesn’t shy away from barbaric or mature
themes. But this is where Lovric’s wonderful humour kicks in. She has a great
knack for capturing peripheral action, and there are some brilliant asides and
observations from characters who are observing the main action (the story is
told in third person). She also makes Venice and its history alive and interesting,
and manages the perfect balance of fact and fiction. It took me a while to open
up the book, because I knew how dense Lovric’s books can be (in a good way).
But once I started reading Talina I
was hooked.
If it sounds like I’m raving it’s
because I am. Lovric has some of the best children’s writing out there. I only
wish my own books reach the same imaginative highs as hers.
