The Book of Days (K A Barker, Pan)

Tuesday has been suspended in time in Madame Marisol’s Unreality House for 10 years when she is brought back to life by a dashing stranger, Quintalion. Tuesday has no idea who she really is, although it’s clear that her true identity is known by others, as she and her consort travel through the realms beyond Madame Marisol’s mysterious domain. Soon they are joined by Hester, a one-legged swashbuckling mercenary, and a gentle, blind assistant librarian. Through vivid and sometimes nightmarish landscapes, on foot and by flying ship, the unlikely troupe travel toward what Tuesday hopes is the truth of her existence, in search of the perhaps apocryphal Book of Days. The steampunk setting of the book is rich in detail; each new city and the domains in between resonate with the qualities of much speculative fiction—known, but not really known, familiar but strange. The narrative sometimes lacks clarity, and the characters have a confusing propensity to die and then reappear, presumably to highlight the fine line between real life and dream action. However, the characters are the real strength of this book; Tuesday’s friends are all well drawn and engaging, and Tuesday is an excellent protagonist: courageous, loyal and extremely amusing. Her wardrobe is particularly absorbing, comprehensive and changed with great regularity and gusto—very reminiscent of the steampunk genre. The story is paced at video-game speed, with an especially cracking pivotal scene that takes place on top of a moving train, and the denouement is particularly satisfactory. The Book of Days is the debut novel from Australian author K A Barker. It is recommended for readers aged 12-16.

Louise Pfanner is an author, illustrator and bookseller 

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Category: Reviews