cover image Magic Storysinger

Magic Storysinger

M. E. A. McNeil. Stemmer House Publishers, $16.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-88045-128-4

This retelling of the Finnish epic Kalevala unfolds a search for true love against an elaborate blend of myth and sorcery. Vaino, born to the daughter of the air, is an old man when, via unorthodox procedures, he comes out of his mother's womb (``He turned the lock with his toe, slid the bolt with his finger, crawled through the door, and with his knees he pushed himself headlong into the ocean''). A storysinger with a talent for magic, he has only to sing his desires for them to be realized, and yet he is unable to convince young women of his charm. His first love leaps into the sea to avoid marriage to him, while the second demands seemingly impossible tasks before taking a blacksmith as her husband. Incorporated into Vaino's adventures are Finnish creation tales, legends about the origins of fire, iron and the wealth of Finland, until the narrative is a patchwork of stories. The text is overly complicated at first, but humor and vivacious language eventually assert themselves as it becomes clearer that Vaino's is a mystical, magical realm where anything might happen. Stylized gouaches in unusual shades capture both the comic and mythic undertones. All ages. (Apr.)