The Ten Thousand Doors of January
"A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers, and the doors they lead us through...absolutely enchanting." --Christina Henry, bestselling author of Alice and Lost Boys A young woman in the early 1900s embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical novel. In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own. Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories await in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut--step inside and discover its magic. Praise for The Ten Thousand Doors of January: "One for the favorites shelf... Here is a book to make you happy when you gently close it. Here you will find wonder and questions and an unceasingly gorgeous love of words which compasses even the shape a letter makes against a page."―NPR Books "Devastatingly good, a sharp, delicate nested tale of worlds within worlds, stories within stories, and the realm-cracking power of words."―Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author "A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word, and the power of many kinds of love."―Kirkus Reviews A Los Angeles Times bestseller Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards. For more from Alix E. Harrow, check out The Once and Future Witches.
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Readers say *The Ten Thousand Doors of January* features lyrical prose and a gentle, storytelling feel that echoes a story within a story. They agree ...
This one didn't really work for me. I loved the prose: Harrow's writing is beautiful. But I found the pacing to be a real challenge, with quite a lengthy setup over the first 3/5 of the novel. I also didn't love the narrative structure jumping between POVs (which is not something that usually bothers me, I just didn't enjoy the way it was done here). Most of the characters also felt to me like complete bystanders in their own stories, and while I appreciate that this was sometimes quite deliberately done, it also gave the book a passivity that I didn't gel with. Picks up toward the end and has some awesome ideas, but not my favorite.
thenextgoodbook.com
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow
371 pages
What’s it about?
January Scaller is often left alone at Locke House while her father journeys the world looking for treasures. Mr. Locke (her father's employer) treats January kindly, but she finds herself restless and she misses her father. She longs for a more adventurous life. January is expected to "behave" and she finds her escape in books. When a special book appears that tells the story of secret doors and hidden worlds, she wants to know more.
What did it make me think about?
This is a story about words- more succinctly it is a story about the power of words. The stories we read are doors into other worlds, often worlds we are unfamiliar with. "Words and their meanings have weight in the world of matter, shaping and reshaping realities through a most ancient alchemy."
Should I read it?
Even though I found this book really inconsistent- there is still so much to like about it. It is a fantasy story written for readers. The book kept me engrossed at times, and uninterested at other times. All in all, there is way more to like than dislike in this book. I think this story would lend itself to a good discussion.
Quote-
"Doors, he told her, are change, and change is a dangerous necessity. Doors are revolutions and upheavals, uncertainties and mysteries, axis points around which entire worlds can be turned. They are the beginnings and endings of every true story, the passages between that lead to adventures and madness and -here he smiled- even love. Without doors the worlds would grow stagnant, calcified, story less."
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The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E. Harrow
371 pages
What’s it about?
January Scaller is often left alone at Locke House while her father journeys the world looking for treasures. Mr. Locke (her father's employer) treats January kindly, but she finds herself restless and she misses her father. She longs for a more adventurous life. January is expected to "behave" and she finds her escape in books. When a special book appears that tells the story of secret doors and hidden worlds, she wants to know more.
What did it make me think about?
This is a story about words- more succinctly it is a story about the power of words. The stories we read are doors into other worlds, often worlds we are unfamiliar with. "Words and their meanings have weight in the world of matter, shaping and reshaping realities through a most ancient alchemy."
Should I read it?
Even though I found this book really inconsistent- there is still so much to like about it. It is a fantasy story written for readers. The book kept me engrossed at times, and uninterested at other times. All in all, there is way more to like than dislike in this book. I think this story would lend itself to a good discussion.
Quote-
"Doors, he told her, are change, and change is a dangerous necessity. Doors are revolutions and upheavals, uncertainties and mysteries, axis points around which entire worlds can be turned. They are the beginnings and endings of every true story, the passages between that lead to adventures and madness and -here he smiled- even love. Without doors the worlds would grow stagnant, calcified, story less."
If you liked this try-
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeymii
Circe by Madeline Miller
The Buried Giant by Kazoo Ishiguro
I do more of a book babble than a book review. I imagine you and I sitting down together and you just asked me what I'm reading. I say "I just finished 'The Ten Thousand Doors of January" by Alix E. Harrow. And then you say "oh! How was that one?" And then I say....
So first off, I'm a bit biased. Alix E. Harrow is one of a small handful of authors that I will read anything and everything they write. There are so many authors that I love, but usually I want to know a little bit about the book, or at least get a recommendation from someone I know first. But if it's Alix E. Harrow, T. Kingfisher, Ali Hazelwood, or Jeff Vandermeer, then I'm just going to read it. Period. Those four have never let me down.
Harrow breaks me. Every time. Sometimes it's just a line, or a paragraph. But it's always something that finds its way to my heart and lays me bare. And this book was no different. I cried through the last two or three chapters.
But backing up a little bit. There's a feel in this book, but I'm not sure how to describe. I wouldn't call it cozy necessarily, but the storytelling is soft and gentle. It's not really a slice of life, but that's the closest I can think of. There is definitely a lot at stake in this story. And there is danger. And there are some tense moments. But the way it's told is like someone telling you a story while you're sitting together in the evening. And I think that fits with the book inside the book narrative format. A story within a story, and they are woven together so perfectly.
That makes it kind of hard to tell you what this story is about though. It's about a girl named January, her dog named Bad, and all of the doors to other places they find. It's about her family. And her friends. And there's a little dash of romance in it. It's a story about her life and how she grows from the people pleaser who shrinks inside herself and tries so hard to be what the world wants her to be into something else. Something amazing.
I could say so much more about this book. There's so many discussion opportunities in it. but I will just end by saying it is beautiful, and I hope you read it.
So first off, I'm a bit biased. Alix E. Harrow is one of a small handful of authors that I will read anything and everything they write. There are so many authors that I love, but usually I want to know a little bit about the book, or at least get a recommendation from someone I know first. But if it's Alix E. Harrow, T. Kingfisher, Ali Hazelwood, or Jeff Vandermeer, then I'm just going to read it. Period. Those four have never let me down.
Harrow breaks me. Every time. Sometimes it's just a line, or a paragraph. But it's always something that finds its way to my heart and lays me bare. And this book was no different. I cried through the last two or three chapters.
But backing up a little bit. There's a feel in this book, but I'm not sure how to describe. I wouldn't call it cozy necessarily, but the storytelling is soft and gentle. It's not really a slice of life, but that's the closest I can think of. There is definitely a lot at stake in this story. And there is danger. And there are some tense moments. But the way it's told is like someone telling you a story while you're sitting together in the evening. And I think that fits with the book inside the book narrative format. A story within a story, and they are woven together so perfectly.
That makes it kind of hard to tell you what this story is about though. It's about a girl named January, her dog named Bad, and all of the doors to other places they find. It's about her family. And her friends. And there's a little dash of romance in it. It's a story about her life and how she grows from the people pleaser who shrinks inside herself and tries so hard to be what the world wants her to be into something else. Something amazing.
I could say so much more about this book. There's so many discussion opportunities in it. but I will just end by saying it is beautiful, and I hope you read it.
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