Book of a Thousand Days

Thanks for being patient with me as I get our first book up and going. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this book. Here are a few of mine...

Spoiler Alert!!!

I hope you all enjoyed this book as much as I did. I found it to be a delightful read. I simply couldn't put the book down. I truly enjoy this author's style of writing. I love the way she uses words. I thought that while this book encorporated a very simple format, a diary, Shannon Hale was able to bring about some deep topics.



I liked the way the book started, with the first day in the tower. It was interesting to get on the author's website and see how she originally started the book. Click here to read the excerpt. As I read the beginning I felt swept into this foreign world.

I've thought a lot about Dashti as I've prepared to write this post. In the beginning she seems quite naive. She blindly fulfills her duties and is mostly relieved to have so much food at her disposal. As time goes by in the dark tower I think her mood gets progressively darker. She begins to grumble a bit about her chores and the rats, and even Saren. She also experiences true fear in the tower. The first time is when Lord Khasar comes to visit the girls. He forces her to give him her hand and he hurts her. Then, and this part was so scary to me, I couldn't put the book down, when he throws fire into the tower and the girls have to race to put it out. She is also scared when the "knocking" men come and try to tear the tower down to get to the ladies in there.

I think that the fear and darkness make Dashti a more well-rounded character. Despite all of this, she truly rises to the challenges placed before her. She cares for Saren, recognizes their need to get out of the tower and does it, and then gets both girls to Khan Tegus' home. I love that she knew the healing songs, yet she could weave different songs together to create different effects, like no other person could do. I truly like how Shannon Hale gives her character's special powers, I think it makes the book more interesting.

Of course, I mustn't leave out the fact that Dashti conquered over Lord Khasar which was fitting. She used her wit and cunning to do it, and I thought that this particular episode was extremely exciting to read.

Dashti made the book a must-read! I truly cared for her and her fate. I liked seeing into her soul through her diary entries.

Saren's character was completely different. I don't think I every really liked her. I could understand why she was so dim. She had grown up a lady and hadn't had to do a thing for herself. She grew up without a mother, and with a father who told her that her only purpose in life was to marry. She witnessed the horror that was Lord Khasar and couldn't tell a soul about it. I can understand why she was the way she was. But, this doesn't stop me from thinking that she was very similar to a bad roommate! She couldn't do anything for herself. She relied on Dashti to take care of her. She ate all the food herself (Iloved how Dashti had to keep taking out her clothes because she gained weight), and she had major issues! Doesn't that sound just like the worst roommate you could imagine? In my mind, Saren only redeemed herself two times. Once was when she pulled Dashti away from the dump hole to stop Lord Khasar's abuse, and the second was when she claimed Dashti for a sister.

I believe that Dashti fell in love with Khan Tegus when he visited the girls in the tower. He was kind and funny to her, but did you feel that he was kind of dense? He and Saren had never met before, only written letters, yet if he had truly loved Saren, shouldn't he have been able to tell the difference between the two? I don't know. I thought that in some ways he seemed strong and was a good ruler, but Dashti was the one who saved his home. She risked her life to save everyone, and then the second they learned who she was, they all turned against her. In my opinion, it took Tegus a long time to come to her rescue!

Lord Khasar was a truly scary character! Whenever he came on the scene I could feel a knot of fear in my stomach. To me, that means he was a really good, evil character.

A few more thoughts...
The whole time the girls were in the tower it felt horrible to me. I didn't know why this bothered me so much until I realized that in some way, I share their fate. I live in a basement apartment that is pretty dark. I could totally emphathize with Dashti's situation. There is something to be said about enjoying the fresh air, the sun, the sky, the moon, the stars, and all the beautiful things in this world. I'm just glad I'm not locked up. When I start to feel a bit claustrophobic, I can just pack my kids into the car and go for a drive.

I would be willing to bet that one of Hale's next books will be based on one of the other minor characters in this book. Watch for a story about Gal or Quacha to come out soon. Just a guess!

These are just a few of my thoughts. I would love to hear what you thought about the book.

Other Books by Shannon Hale

I hope you are all enjoying our book for the month. I am excited to start our conversation about it. If you liked this book by Shannon Hale, then you might like some of her other ones. I would definitely recommend Goose Girl and Princess Academy. Both books are written along the same lines as Book of a Thousand Days. Another one by this author that I enjoyed was Austenland which takes place in modern day. It is about a girl who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy from the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. There were some parts that made me laugh out loud and the book contains one of my all time favorite characters-an older woman who tries to do a British accent and occasionally throws in some British phrases (which never work with her content). While I do not think the book is as compelling, nor as well written as some of the other ones by Shannon Hale, I did thoroughly enjoy it!