The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

from goodreads

3.5 stars

I have mentioned before how I grew up in a house filled with books. While there were many bookshelves everywhere we did have a dedicated room we called the library which had floor to ceiling book shelves. The books were even divided into sections.

I loved going in there and looking at all the books and thinking about what it would be like to read certain books or not.

One book that always caught my eye but I never picked up was The Princess and the Goblin. It was one of my mom's favourites, but I never got around to reading it. When I made my list of books for the year I put it on. It had been on my to read list for so long it was ridiculous. The time was now. Well, I finally read it and I am so happy that I did. Now on to the next!

Synopsis

Princess Irene lives in the mountains, but can not be out at night. That is when the goblins come out. Curdie is a miner, he has learned of a plan the goblins have. Curdie's and Princess Irene's story lines weave together for a magical fairy tale.

My Thoughts

This was a cute story. It was a story that allowed magic to happen without it feeling weird. It had adventure, magic and love.

While it was a bit slow at some parts it was still a fun story. I love the character of Curdie. He seemed so brave and sure of himself. He was cool. I also liked Princess Irene. She was strong willed but also cared for those around her, and she had this naive kind of trust that was lovely.

As with anything written over 100 years ago the cadence of words, the choice of words and pacing of the story was odd and could make this story hard for some readers to enjoy. With classics, either you like it or you don't, it is really a style preference, or more, a style "I can put up with it".

This is and was a children's book. Do not expect a deep Tolkein type novel. It is just a fun story. A story for story sake. If you read it to your kids, I'm not sure what their reaction would be, if they would like it or not. I think my kids would listen to being read aloud but not absorb it. This might be better for 12 and over. But, it is delightful, definitely worth the read.