Brokedown Palace
by Steven Brust
fantasy
copyright 1986
read in August 2014
rated 6/10: read to pass the time
This story is an allegory. I know it is because the author tells us the message in the last chapter. Un. Subtle.
There are also a lot of loose ends: The mysterious fan. The know-all girl. The source of all the major changes to the palace. Are we meant to guess ? Or are these simply loose ends which Brust failed to explain...
What's it all about ?! Other than the stated message, that is...
It's a bit like the old myths... (Is that deliberate ? ) Something may have happened, no-one quite understands it, so the storytellers make up what may have happened. And leave gaps where their imagination is lacking.
It's a fun fairytale with an unsatisfying conclusion. Okay, change occurs -- somehow. One man will get the girl -- we are told -- after the end of the book. And a few people found their purpose in life.
All a bit unsatisfactory.
A fun fairytale. But unsatisfactory.
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