Review by New York Times Review
whether or not it is an entirely admirable thing, it is certainly an arresting thing that Tonke Dragt's THE LETTER FOR THE KING (Pushkin Children's Books, 512 pp., paper, $15.95; ages 10 and up), newly republished in English in a translation by Laura Watkinson, has as literal a title as has ever been imagined by an author for an adventure story. We expect the titles of children's classics to be deliberately intriguing, marked by an unexpected metaphysical juxtaposition - a witch meets a wardrobe - or at least to suggest an intriguing concept, time wrinkling or a philosopher's stone sought. But Dragt's book promises to be about a letter, for some king, and that is exactly its chief and only matter. The question is if it can be delivered or not. Since its publication more than 50 years ago, the book has sold millions of copies in Europe and been adapted as a movie; it is being developed as a series by Netflix. So the new reader coming to it must ask not if it works but how its mechanism runs - and, perhaps, whether it will run well for a generation of impatient, fantasy-besotted young American readers. The answer is that the book is a fascinating exercise in exactly the poetic benefits - and limits - of the literalism that its title promises. There may never have been a book more shallowly written, more straightforwardly imagined, with minimal unexpected turns or true surprises. And yet the shallowness has a kind of handcrafted sweetness. To call its action wooden is merely to describe it, and not in a necessarily pejorative way. It is like watching well-made marionettes handled by a not entirely expert puppeteer: You see the strings, and the movement, yes, is jerky, but the action still has charm in its complete lack of pretension. If the reader responds with impatience at the simplicity, there is still satisfaction in a sound story so simply told. The plot is introduced with little buildup, or back story. Tiuri, a young would-be knight in some vaguely medieval period in some clearly Northern clime, is interrupted during the vigil preceding his knighthood, when young squires were expected to stay up all night praying by candlelight in a chapel before the next day's ceremony. Though Tiuri is forbidden from opening the door, when an urgent knock is heard he does, and is hustled off by a hermit-squire who tells him to take a letter to the king at once. "I have a letter here, with a message of vital importance. One might even say that the fate of an entire kingdom depends on it," he explains, directly. Tiuri, with oddly minimal resistance given that it will pull him away, perhaps for good, from his ambition to become a knight, goes off with the letter on a stolen horse. Though he is to deliver the letter to "the Black Knight with the White Shield," that knight is, no surprise, found grievously wounded - and it turns out Tiuri, no surprise again, will have to deliver the letter to the king himself. Readers accustomed to sinister or deeply entrenched mythological imaginings, or to the ambivalences of emotion and motive that by now are expected in a fantasy novel - the satirical and dystopian impulses of the "Hunger Games" series, say, or even the busier, benevolent educational ones of Rick Riordan - will be startled by the elementary storytelling and simple colors of this one. I mean simple colors in the most literal sense. On a single page, one comes upon Red Riders, the Green River, two black knights, one with a red shield and one with a white shield, and the Black Knight with a White Shield, while a page later Tiuri rides with Gray Knights along a Blue River. YET AS THE BOOK Unfolds, its charms, and its at first mysterious appeal, become more evident. There are rewards in its lack of cunning. An earnest innocence is evident on every page, with a charming note of Dutch practicality perpetually ringing out: "This bread is fresh. Leave your old bread here. I can use it to make some bread pudding," a character remarks one morning as the hero is sent on his way. We never see the bread pudding, but we like that, despite the epic setting, it was made. Later, we are directed to the Hills of the Moon, then told that "they're called that because they look best by moonlight." The message in the letter turns out, on its climactic revelation, to be somewhat, well, anticlimactic. Its news is less world-altering than narrowly dynastic, far less cosmic than one would want such hard-carried secrets to be. What's more, Tiuri's quest turns out to have been slightly redundant: A second messenger was wisely, if anti-dramatically, entrusted with the same message. Yet Tiuri, if not particularly well fleshed out as a character, is a receptive vessel for any child's imagination, and his quest, exactly because it lacks refinement of purpose or any overlay of adult allegory, should have a deep appeal to an open-minded child, though perhaps a younger one than is usual for such longwinded fare. (The second volume of the series, "The Secrets of the Wild Wood," has also been republished. It involves secrets in a wild wood.) Tiuri goes through a lot, all of it in a spirit of quiet, purposeful innocence that is doubtless more appealing to many kids than the more psychologically convoluted heroes of more mature recent books. Those of us who like to read more richly metaphysical or satirical fantasies may be, in Dickens's phrase, envious of the ease with which Dragt's readers have for so long been entertained. But the virtue of simplicity is straightforwardness, and its reward is, often, undivided attention. adam GOPNIK is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of two fantasies for children, "The King in the Window" and "The Steps Across the Water."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 11, 2019]
Review by Booklist Review
Originally published in Dutch in 1962, this internationally celebrated courtly fantasy wasn't translated into English until 2013 and is finally making its U.S. debut. Before 16-year-old Tiuri can be knighted by King Dagonaut, he is to spend the night in silent, solitary contemplation in the chapel. However, when he hears a plea for help outside the window, he answers what true knight would not? Tasked by a stranger to deliver an important letter to faraway King Unawen, Tiuri sets off alone on a stolen horse, with instructions to keep his mission secret. Soon pursued by enemies both dangerous and sly, Tiuri's journey spans forests, rivers, and mountains and is aided by unexpected allies. Although some modern readers may find this episodic tale slow or old-fashioned, others will be enchanted by its timeless sense of wonder and adventure. This hero's journey evokes a legend in the making, and Tiuri embodies the classic knightly ideals of honor, valor, and chivalry.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Following its 2013 release in the U.K., which marked its first English translation, this 1962 Dutch children's classic now hits American shelves, allowing a wider audience to enjoy this old-fashioned tale of knights, quests, and derring-do. Sixteen-year-old Tiuri is on the brink of achieving knighthood when he answers a call for help that launches him on an journey to deliver a letter of vital importance to a neighboring kingdom. His trek through the wilderness is long and hazardous, filled with allies and enemies-from the justice-seeking Gray Knights to the ominous Red Riders-and perils at every turn. There's a timeless charm to Tiuri's quest, a mixture of innocence and death-defying adventure, invoking chivalric ideals and a sense of refinement. Dragt conjures up elements of Tolkien and the Arthurian mythos, combining the traditional hero's journey with an episodic structure, as though the novel was made for serial storytelling, or to be read aloud. Though some modern readers might find the story tame or slow-paced compared to more recent offerings, the rich language, lush descriptions, and sense of wonder allow it to hold its own against any competitor. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Originally published in Amsterdam in 1962, this work took Europe by storm winning several awards and translated in 16 languages. It is the story of a young man on the verge of becoming a knight. While spending his vigil with four other young men, a sudden knock at the chapel door reveals an elderly man who gives him a letter and begs him to deliver it to the Black Knight with the White Shield. Though he knows it may cost him his knighthood, Tiuri abandons his vigil and takes up the quest only to find the knight lying in a forest withterrible wounds. With his dying breath, the knight implores Tiuri to deliver the letter to King Unauwen. With enemies of the king on his trail, the teen must find the courage to complete his task and the faith that those who appear to be allies will not prove to be false. In spite of an excessive number of pages devoted to setting up the plot and describing the dangers involved in the quest, the story clips right along providing readers with plenty of cliff-hangers (literally). While this is an interesting adventure story, it's a little difficult to understand how this could have been such a mega-hit in the 60s. Still, the characters are appealing and the action will keep readers engaged. VERDICT An additional purchase where adventure fantasies are popular.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
First published in 1962, this Dutch classic is the story of young squire Tiuri, who abandons his vigil on the eve of being knighted in order to aid a wounded knight. Before dying, the knight commissions Tiuri to deliver a letter to the distant king of Unauwen, and to do it secretly. Tiuris journey is lengthy and eventful, through forests, over mountains, and across rivers; its made all the more difficult by his vow of secrecy and his ignorance of the knights identity and the letters contents. In comparison to todays fantasy adventures, this moves at a sedate pace; but Dragts orderly prose describes a journey of refreshing unpredictability and unusual wisdom. Her unhurried style and sustained narrative perspective give the tale a lucidity enhanced by its clean color imagery (the Black Knight with the White Shield; the Blue River; the lord of the White Moon; the Rainbow River) and her own occasional black-and-white illustrations. Tiuri is a thinking as well as an acting hero, whose judgment deepens and broadens through leadership and friendship (male friendship: the story is a product of its time in its lack of female characters). deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The English translation of a prizewinning 1962 Dutch historical adventure exhibits both old-school charms and flaws. On the eve of his knighting, 16-year-old Tiuri abandons his vigil to answer an old man's desperate plea. When the knight he seeks is murdered, Tiuri is charged with the delivery of a secret message determining the fate of kingdoms, and so begins a quest rich in chivalry, daring, and deadly peril. Brave, honorable, and earnest, Tiuri's personality is matched by the straightforward prose, which meticulously chronicles every step of his journey in a meandering, episodic narrative. While encountering every make and manner of man (female characters barely exist in this world), Tiuri appears capable of judging the disposition of each at a glance, a feat made less remarkable when nearly everyone goes out of his or her way to be friendly and helpful, and the few villainous exceptions act with either inexplicable generosity or ludicrous incompetence. In stark contrast to current tropes, Tiuri's mission at the end plays only a minor role in the greater conflict of nations, the outcome of which is never addressed. Tiuri himself returns home to pick up his life precisely where he left off, richer in experience but with his character fundamentally unaltered. Short chapters and frequent mild cliffhangers make this suitable for a middle-grade classroom read-aloud; but there's little here to captivate a 21st-century reader. (Historical adventure. 10-15) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
