AurealisXpress review: Review by Carissa ThorpThe Book of a Thousand Days was first released in 2007 to great acclaim. This year Bloomsbury have re-released it, along with Hale's other novels, with a gorgeous and eye-catching new cover. I'm glad they did, because I missed it the first time around, and am glad I was able to read it, finally.
In a Mongolian-spiced fantasy world, Dashti, a young girl who has already known great hardship and loneliness, finds herself imprisoned in a tower with her newly aquired mistress, a Lady who refused an offer of marriage and is being punished for it by her father. The sentence is seven years, unless the Lady relents and agrees to the marriage; something Dashti comes to realise will never happen.
Graced with a spirited and steadfast heroine in Dashti, and told in her clear, sensible and deliciously funny voice, diary-style, The Book of a Thousand Days is a joy to read and never boring, despite the women's imprisonment, and frequently heart-breaking, tense, and generous. Dashti makes the best of her situation, even though her Lady is going mad, their food is disappearing fast, and threats from outside the tower loom. Her gift of healing with song, her ability to give of herself, and her patience, make her a character to remember. And her story is surprising, unique and so very well told. Recommended.
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (2009), Paperback, 320 pages
