"A good girl.
A bad boy.
A fairy tale that's true.
A truth that is no fairy tale.
It begins the day Anna finds the child's doll on the floor of the student lounge. When it's claimed by Abel, the school drug dealer, Anna becomes determined to learn more about this mysterious boy with the military haircut and deep blue eyes. She follows him after school and discovers a secret: Abel is caring for his six-year-old sister, Micha, alone. Anna listens in as he tells her a fairy tale, the story of a little orphan queen pursued by hunters across the oceans for the treasure she carries: her pure, diamond heart.
It's a story with parallels to reality. Social services and Micha's abusive father could take her from Abel if they discover the truth.
Despite friend's warnings, Anna is drawn to Abel and Micha, and falls under the spell of the story of the little queen and her desperate voyage.
But when people Abel has woven into his tale turns up dead, it's Anna whose heart is in danger. Is she in love with a killer? And has she set out on a journey from which there is no return?"
Wow. I loved this book, couldn't put it down. The Storyteller is so beautifully and vividly written that I had no trouble immersing myself in this world. The story takes place in the wintertime and even though it was over 90 degrees here today I wanted to curl up with a hot cup of tea and a blanket reading this book.
I love how Abel explained to Anna (and Micha) about his and Micha's life through storytelling. It reminded me a lot of my favorite movie "The Fall" (staring Lee Pace). If you have not seen it, you must! It is the tale of a stuntman from the silent film era who is hurt and maybe be paralyzed. He is depressed lying around in the hospital when he befriends another patient: a cute little girl with the sweetest accent. She comes around often to hear pieces of an epic story but Roy manages to string sweet Alexandria along promising her more of the story if she brings him strong medications from the medicine room. The film took four years to film and was shot in 28 countries. It is a truly beautiful film.
Back to The Storyteller. This is definitely not a lighthearted read and although I wanted more happiness and found myself questioning what the characters could have done differently to come to a different conclusion, there isn't a thing I would change. Also I feel this is more of an adult book than a YA book, there is some very serious material in here so I highly suggest mature readers only. All in all I really look forward to exploring other works by Antonia Michaelis she is a very talented writer.
Quote:
“Go away princess. Leave your outlaw alone. You won't change him... go away, Anna, far away, and don't ever come back. The fairy tale doesn't have a happy ending.”
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