The
«Culture
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008
Clackamas Print
3
inful life leads to New Jersey
fie'is a faerie tale of a teenager and her mother being forced to move back home, where life will magically become chaotic
-
Jess Sheppard
I Arts & Culture Editor
ow does a modem faerie tale begin?
Author Holly Black’s novel “Tithe” begins with 16-
year-old Kaye Fierch — master shoplifter, deliverer of
Chinese food and baby-sitter to her rock ‘n’ roll mother.
It’s not normal, but she likes it fine, traveling with her mother’s
band, smoking, drinking and seeing weird things out of the comer
of her eye. Then she and her mother are forced to move back to
their home town in New Jersey, where darkness and destiny are
waiting.
Kaye has been able to see faeries since she was little. So, when
she comes upon a dying knight in black armor while walking at
night in the rain, she recognizes him as a court fey, a being bound
in service to one of the faerie kingdoms. In return for her aid, the
knight, Roiben, promises to answer three questions for her.
Before long, Kaye’s questions lead her, Roiben and her child-
hood acquaintance Cornelius into the dangerous power games
that are fought between the two major faerie courts. In no time at
all Kaye and Corny are matching wits with a murderous kelpie in
exchange for magic lessons, sneaking into the feasts at the dark
faeries’ court and coming to terms with the unspeakable attraction
they are developing for the realm of the fey.
The gritty backdrop of the book coupled with Kaye’s unique
view of the world make “Tithe” both a fast and fascinating read.
Black’s descriptions are almost poetic in their elegant simplicity
and the references to modem culture are well blended with the
flawless dialogue.
Black’s tale is rife with all the problems a 16-year-old girl should
have — peer-pressure, what boys to pursue and how to sneak out at
night - as well as the abnormal challenges of realizing that she’s
really a pixie who’s been cleverly disguised as a human.
And rather than going through the cliché crisis of identity that is
already overused, Kaye is excited to learn what she really is after
the shock of the discovery wears off. Then the obvious question
arises - who put such a strong disguise on Kaye in the first place?
And more importantly, why?
But the truth always has a price, and for Kaye, Roiben and Corny
the price is heavy and steeped in the blood of their loved ones, j
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