In Book of a Thousand Days, Hale crafts a lyrical story taken from the long-forgotten Grimm's Fairy Tale. She sets the novel on the steppes of Asia making the retelling original and unforgettable.
Dashti the Mucker
After Dashti's mother dies she travels to the city to become a maid to Lady Saren, daughter of the ruler of the land. Dashti is a mucker who has the talent of all mucker woman. She sings the healing songs taught to her by her mucker mother. Muckers are the lowest of the commoners but Dashti is proud of her position and never turns her back on her life on the steppes.
Lady Saren and the Tower
Upon arriving to take her position with Lady Saren, Dashti learns her true fate. Lady Saren's father has arranged a marriage for her but Lady Saren has refused to marry the man she has chosen. She says she is promised to Khan Tegus of whom her father disapproves. Her father has declared that she shall be locked in a tower for seven years for her disobedience. Dashti has promised to go with her into the tower. The novel opens with the wall being sealed shut. Dashti is strong throughout the ordeal but Lady Saren becomes horribly depressed. Dashti sings to her the mucker songs her mother taught her but nothing seems to help. They have been provided with seven year's worth of food and supplies which Dashti has calculated precisely. Dashti spends her days chasing rats away from their food and writing down the account of their time spent in the tower.
Visitors
As time passes in the tower they are visited by the man Lady Saren refused to marry and Khan Tegus. Surprisingly, Lady Saren does not dare speak to her love through the small flap in the wall which is their own view to the outside. Instead Lady Saren insists that Dashti speaks to Tegus in her place. Day after day Tegus visits and Dashti speaks to him as Lady Saren. Eventually, Dashti begins to speak to Tegus as herself and begins to fall in love with him.
Fantasy Fiction Done Right
Often when writers create a new fantastical land complete with a map at the beginning of the book, the text becomes cumbersome. Readers must spend time learning the names of the places and inhabitants and sometimes even a whole new language. Shannon Hale's take on fantasy is accessible allowing the character's struggle to be the main focus. She gives us details necessary without becoming too engrossed in fantastical elements. In Book of a Thousand Days it is the simplicity that makes it shine.
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