Allende and Barker tell their stories to kids
Published 4:00 am, Sunday, October 27, 2002
Two more authors of best-selling novels for adults now turn their hands to lengthy "books for all ages." Horror writer Clive Barker conjures up a complex fantasyland in Abarat (HarperCollins; 416 pages; $24.99), and Isabel Allende brings magical realism to the Amazonian jungle in City of the Beasts (HarperCollins; 406 pages; $19.95).
Barker's novel begins in the extremely mundane world of Chickentown, USA, home of misunderstood teenager Candy Quackenbush. Burdened by an alcoholic father, a beaten-down mother and a petty, mean teacher, Candy longs to be anywhere but the dreary American Midwest. She gets her wish when a strange, eight-headed being named John Mischief enlists her help in protecting a magical key secreted in an abandoned lighthouse in the middle of the prairie. Once Candy gets the key, she somehow summons a magical tide that pulls her out to sea and into a marvelous parallel world.
Abarat, a world of 25 islands, is inhabited by a dizzying array of weird people and creatures. Most formidable among them is Christopher Carrion, the Lord of Midnight, who wants Candy captured for some vague yet sinister purpose.
As she tries to stay out of the clutches of Carrion's henchman, Mendelson Shape, Candy encounters allies and foes alike, including a trio of female oracles and the bitter, cruel magician Kaspar Wolfwinkel.
The first volume of a proposed quartet, "Abarat" is clearly a work that means a great deal to Barker, whose last book for a younger audience was "The Thief of Always." It includes more than 100 full-color paintings by the author,
and these illustrations do much to convey the whimsicality, menace and oddness of the setting.
There's no denying the fecundity of Barker's creativity, but sometimes it seems as if the author is standing one inch away and yelling, "Look at how imaginative I am!" Echoes of Oz, Wonderland and Narnia ring throughout the book, but Baum, Carroll and Lewis never seemed to work up such a sweat with their children's books. As enjoyable as much of the novel is, it might have benefited from Barker not trying so hard.
Allende's "City of the Beasts" doesn't attempt to create a new universe out of whole cloth. It begins as an old-fashioned adventure, with young Alexander Cold accompanying his irascible grandmother on an expedition to South America in search of a legendary, yeti-like Beast. Worried about his critically ill mother and not eager to face the discomforts of jungle travel, Alex befriends Nadia Santos, the young daughter of their Brazilian guide. Nadia is friends with an Indian shaman and claims to be able to speak the languages of animals.
The book chugs stolidly along for its first 150 pages, introducing a cast of not-very-compelling supporting players, including a blowhard academic, a beautiful female doctor and a stiff-upper-lip photographer. The narrative finally takes off once Alex and Nadia are abducted by the People of the Mist, Indians who claim to be able to contact the ancient gods.
Imbued with the mystical powers of their totemic animals, the jaguar and the eagle, Alex and Nadia learn the secrets of the Beasts and then go their separate ways, each to face an agonizing test of bravery and integrity.
Allende, author of "Eva Luna" and "Daughter of Fortune," is at her best when describing the natural wonders and dangers of the jungle, from playful pink dolphins to voracious fire ants. Whether the Indian lore she presents is accurate or not, she does a commendable job of bringing the Indians' culture to life.
She is less successful in plotting and characterization. Crucial conversations are conveniently overheard, and characters make last-minute reversals that don't ring true. It's hard to tell whether the blame lies with Allende or her translator, but the prose also suffers from cliches (dangers are to be avoided "like the plague" and when it rains, it pours "cats and dogs. ") Still, "City of the Beasts" takes the trappings of the "Lost World" novels of Conan Doyle and H. Rider Haggard and makes them fresh for a new audience.