This book was quoted withing the narrative at least three times, as far as I can recall, in
Enclave, so I just had to read it. Photogen and Nycteris have both been raised by the witch Watho. Photogen is raised so that he never walks in shadow or sees the night. He sunbathes often, even as a toddler. He goes to sleep before the sun sets and awakens before it rises. Nycteris, on the other hand, grows up in a building that has no light save a single, incredibly dim lamp. She sees not even moonlight, until one night she follows the route her captor took outside and sees the glory of the night sky and outside air. They meet each other, and both are scared of the realm of the other.
The night is not inherently bad and the day is not inherently good -- in fact, nothing is really seen as inherently bad. Watho acts the way she does because she has a wolf trapped inside her head that makes her bad. The prose is delicious. It perfectly captures the fairy tale style without sounding stuffy and awkward. I'm surprised that this gem from the past isn't a lot more popular, and it's certainly worth reading. An online version can be found here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/macdonald/daynight/files/daynight.html
No comments:
Post a Comment