The Uncertain Places

April 4, 2011
Goldstein (The Red Magician) plays around with forgotten fairy tales in this decades-spanning mixture of romance and fantasy. In 1971, Berkeley sophomore Will Taylor falls hard for Livvy Feierabend, though there's something strange about the laissez-faire, eccentric Feierabend family, whose members apparently lead charmed, prosperous lives. When Livvy falls into an enchanted sleep, Will discovers that a German folktale ties the Feierabends' success to sacrifice. To awaken Livvy, Will must outfox the fairy folk, a slow-burning process that takes nearly 20 years. This leisurely, lyrical tale owes much to old school mythic fictionists like Charles de Lint and Terri Windling. The fictional folktale of the Bondmaid feels utterly authentic, but the novel's pacing is off, and there's just too much crammed into a relatively short book. This mostly satisfying story could have been even better with more room to play.

Starred review from May 15, 2011

Accompanying his roommate Ben to the home of Ben's girlfriend, Maddie, Berkeley student Will Taylor falls in love with the Feierabend women. When Will begins dating Livvy, the middle sister, he believes he has found the direction of his life. One morning, however, Livvy fails to wake up, and Will discovers the secret pact at the heart of the family's apparent streak of good luck, a secret with its roots in the forgotten fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The author of The Red Magician and The Alchemist's Door has written an exquisitely beautiful, eerily compelling modern fairy tale. VERDICT Graceful storytelling and a knack for making the fantastic all-too-believable make Goldstein's latest novel a treat for fantasy lovers and folk/fairy tale enthusiasts alike.

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