The Woman and The Raven

Marlene Vor Der Hake
Pictogram (2007)
ISBN 1419660608
Reviewed by Susan Pettrone for Reader Views (5/07)

In this somewhat slim volume, a world of mystical, magical life begins. Set in an icy world filled with wintry beauty, we meet a woman on the first page of "The Woman and The Raven," who though strong in her independence, is caught within a nightmare of her own making. Though she seems satisfied carving a life for herself out of what the wintry land around her offers, still she dreams of more. Her dreams, incantations and legends interwoven within this book, are simple yet so complex, that at times the reader isn't sure what is happening is within the present, the past or possibly the future. Her nightmares become reality as she is faced not with the demons and monsters most are afraid of, but terrors which are hers alone.

There is no doubt in the mind of the reader that this woman is fantastical in many ways, but as the story grows, the legends and magical life of this woman create a tapestry of such contrast between beauty and horror that the ending of the book leaves the reader realizing that the monsters she battled were not of the real world around her but were monsters created of her own fears. These fears are those which live within her heart….fears which she alone must face and overcome.

The mood set within the pages of "The Woman and The Raven" is also touched by this woman, for her experiences had the ability to take this reader from a small room in a home amidst a big city and transport her to a fortress of elves within a far away land. This was a book where I found myself enraptured with the story within while feeling an odd sense of internal connection while visiting this land so different from my own. Perhaps it was because this woman was battling demons not unlike many we battle each day or perhaps it was because she seemed to be someone we all have known at one time in our lives. Whatever the reason, "The Woman and The Raven" was a book this reader will not long forget and which will I expect, be one drawn from the shelves and experienced over and over again, each time anew as the woman within makes discoveries, not unlike those many of us make every day.

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