So what makes me such a Tithe (and Holly Black) fanatic? Well for starters this story is just so great. I mean, technically the bare bones of it is your typical, run of the mill young adult fantasy novel. You start out with a main character (Kaye in this case) who doesn’t quite fit in with the real world—she’s a little odd and a lot intriguing. Then, she discovers she’s not what she seems and she’s thrown into a whole new world of magic and adventure. What makes Tithe so much better than what I’ve read in the genre before are the characters and the world Black puts them in. Tithe is a self-proclaimed “modern fairy tale.” It takes what we expect from faeries and magic and twists them into something much more frightening. Black introduces us to vicious creatures with little regard for human life whose appearances range anywhere from the poetically grotesque to the painfully beautiful.
The “real” world from which Kaye escapes is harsh, but the
world she discovers is perhaps even more so. And that’s what I like so much about
modern or urban faerie tales (especially this one)—they don’t sugar coat the
fantasy. It makes the reader realize that adding magic to the world wouldn’t
necessarily make it all unicorns and moonbeams. Black points out that magic
can, in fact, intensify the flaws that we find in the human world until we’re
left with something both amazing and terrifying.
On top of her subtle commentary on the nature of magic and
its effects on creatures’ conscience, Black also (as I said before) has
terrific characters. She doesn’t sugar-coat them either; they can be pathetic, cruel,
superficial, or some combination of that and more. They’re not the moral
compass, center of the struggle heroes that run rampant in this genre. They’re
just as flawed as their setting and they’re often sideline characters in a bigger
struggle (though sometimes they do have their moments in the spotlight—I mean,
come on, they wouldn’t be main characters if they didn’t do something of note).
The main character Kaye, in particular,
is an interesting character because of her dual position in both worlds—Black depicts
her so well as she struggles to find her identity in the human world (which can
often be foolishly cruel) and the world of fey (which can be intentionally malicious).
Kaye’s confusion and evolution are even more appreciated after you’ve read Ironside and Valiant (Don’t worry, I’ll probably review both of these books in
the future).As icing on this literary cake, is Black’s solid command of written English. Not only is her writing just good in general, but her style is just perfect for this kind of story. Plus it’s the kind of writing that’s meant to be read (not meant to show off and torture English students for the next century). The dialogue flows, the descriptions are both beautiful and offbeat, and the explanation of things that might otherwise be unimaginable is so clear that you never miss a single excruciating detail.
Now, in defense against all you party-poopers out there who
might feel the urge to point out that this story may not be totally original, I
have this to say: no story is every going to be completely original. There are
just too many books in the world—no matter what you do, chances are someone
already did it. I know Tithe is not
the only modern/urban faerie tale out there—it’s not even the first, and it won’t
be the last. But as far as I’m concerned even if 100 other people wrote basically
the same story, Tithe would probably
still be my favorite. It’s just that
well done.
So, in case you hadn’t guessed, this book gets its own
(practically enshrined) place on my shelf.
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