As I mentioned in an earlier post, I received an advance copy of Robin McKinley's new book, Pegasus. I've been reading slowly, trying to stretch the story. I already know the end is a cliff-hanger, and that the conclusion to the story will be a while in coming, as book two still has the author banging her head on her desk, and won't be out until this time next year. But I also know it will be worth the wait, because this is a delicious and magical story. It wraps around you with an intimate and honest narrative voice that makes the fantastical elements seem very real, a voice that I think developed at least a little bit because Robin McKinley has taken to blogging with similar honesty and grit about her own life.
Her blog and the book have some strong points in common: whimsical details, keen observations, and a admirable narrator who is uniquely herself. The story is truly original, and the pegasii are not generic mythical creatures, but believable beings with an intricate and fascinating alien culture. First person narration is tricky, and I used to think that you had to sacrifice beautiful writing if a book was done in the first person, but I am proven wrong by Pegasus, which is beautifully told and as finely wrought as anything the Pegasii themselves might make. The story is a gift, and I feel privileged to be reading it.
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