Runemarks

An Advanced Reader's Copy of Joanne Harris's first book for a tweens/YA audience has been sitting on my bookshelf for over 10 years. Harris is the bestselling author of Chocolat--the movie version of which is one of my all-time favorites (how can you go wrong with Judy Dench and Johnny Depp?).  Of course by now, there is a sequel to this book which I will have to track down, Runelight. 

Our protagonist is 14-year-old Maddy, who has always been an outcast in her small village of Malbry due to the runemark on her hand.  According to author Harris, "Runemarks is set in a universe of nine Worlds, not unlike that of Norse legend. Five hundred years have passed since Ragnarók, and the world has rebuilt itself anew. The old gods are no longer revered. Their tales have been banned. Magic has been outlawed, and a new religion – called the Order – has taken its place.

The Order is a crusading religion. It works from an ancient text – simply called The Good Book – and its ultimate mission is to bring Perfect Order to all the Worlds. This means an end to Chaos, to magic, to superstition, to false belief, to dreams, to stories (except for the stories in the Good Book) as well as to Faëries, goblins, dwarves, witches – and of course any old gods who still happen to be around." The mark on Maddy's hand make some people think she is a witch; the villagers have tolerated Maddy but she is bullied and tormented by the village children and distrusted by the adults, including her father. She feels very alone, until one day she spies a journeyman making his way along the road over Red Horse Hill and feels compelled to follow him. Eventually he acknowledges her presence and grudgingly stops to talk with her, and so begins an annual meeting between the two as he tells her tales of the before times. This traveler, One-Eye, sees Maddy's mark as a destiny rather than a cause for fear and rejection.

Expanding exuberantly on Norse mythology, Harris's heroine Maddy is called upon to play a crucial role in freeing the Seven Sleepers under the mountains (Norse gods) in an effort to stop the domination of all worlds by The Order. It's a long book but very compelling. Maddy is a well-drawn character as are the other actors in this worlds' shaking tale. It is a long book but well-told with down-to-earth dialogue that kept me engaged.

The Guardian offers a mixed review.