Once upon a time, there was a toad who lived in a thornbush. The bush was tight and large — large enough to keep out a grown man and desperate travelers with axes.
One day the toad prayed, even though she didn't know who would answer her as she's, of course, a fairy, not a toad; but also in a way sort of a toad, thus her name, Toadling.
Anyways, she prayed, petitioning who ever heard her to keep away the humans, making sure to say "Amen." at the end like the priest who died taught her to. What results is a Muslim knight who mistakes her for the sleeping, cursed princess she's been guarding.
Thus, is the beginning of Thornhedge, a story where a desperate curse holds back evil.
Artistry and Craft
T. Kingfisher's writing was excellent. It was eerie, with an underlying comforting storybook feel. I felt like her use of words were like brushstrokes that created something woven, full and overall bittersweet. The pacing was excellent, and I feel like even though it is just around 100 pages, this novella had everything it needed, with nothing more or less to be added.
I love the way she wrote her characters. They were human in the ways that humans in fantasy are oftentimes not written: scared, uncertain — and much more commonly throughout the entire genre of fantasy — in the process of becoming. In this way, I felt a comfortable familiarity with the characters, both from internally within me and what I personally related to, as well as how the book related to the genre of fantasy on the whole.★★★★★
Themes and Messages
Thornhedge shows that goodness isn't something that automatically comes to you if only you self-identify with a particular group. T. Kingfisher does this in a unique way. In this small novella, she often uses a variety of religions, not to point out necessarily their differences, but rather the importance of goodness and being a "good person," no matter which religion you associate yourself with. As a Christian, I can appreciate this line of thought, goodness being a necessity, a central fruit of the spirit in the Christian walk, rather than baggage that comes along with labels because it is assumed. T. Kingfisher shows that goodness is something that you work towards, that you practice daily, a path that you walk down. Goodness is the fruit, and, uniquely she portrays, the result of the "direction" of goodness, and how far you've walked it.
Do you echo goodness once you start to walk along its path? I believe that we're all looking for God, whether we know it or not, because we all truly want goodness, and He is the ultimate good. But weather what we want is truly good or not, what we perceive as good, we want. This makes a particular dilemma for the human life, how do we know true goodness, not just perceived goodness that may or may not be good, if we cant 100% know what that is apart from God the source of goodness? I think one obvious way is that "we taste and see" what is good though trail and error, we find out we don't like it when we do wrong and we "feel" our way towards goodness, hopefully leading us to what is truly good — God.
Through fear and immoral thoughts, Toadling chooses. to do right, even when other fae in her place would have done the opposite. A lot of times in the book, Toadling has impulsive thoughts driven by the realization of what others would do in her place — others in this scenario meaning the fae, some of whom she's met who have loved and been kind to her, and others who have been mean and cruel. Toadling, even though afraid, even though admitting to being cowardly, chooses to do the hard thing, even when that takes time. It takes time for her to learn how to do right in the face of fear.
The story of Thornhedge says the simple message: even if you do feel dread, “perhaps it will be alright.” The hope and the tolerance to let control of the unknown go from your grip and the uncertainty, and choose to be here anyways.
There are also themes of exile because of mistakes. Failure is a huge theme throughout Thornhedge. Failure is shown to be a part of life, but instead of hanging your head in failure, the author encourages us to “learn what you can. Use what you learn. You have not failed yet.” That ultimate failure is giving up on goodness. Kindness is choosing to show up again and again, even when failed, even with past failures haunting us; it says that true goodness means not giving up on yourself.
Toadling often struggles with failure in terms of not getting the feeling of what she's supposed to feel in situations right — not being brave or courageous, being afraid of messing up, being different in a place that doesn't see or appreciate what she has to offer, and yet she still tries her best, having faith that she is needed. Toadling has faith in those who've believed in her and those who've sent her to go and complete the mission.
Religion is held with some suspicion in a way, but I really liked the idea of the author creating a nun character to witness to the fae unbelievers in fairyland after finding herself stuck there and seeing the opportunity to represent God to them. Even though T. Kingfisher has a lot of suspicion toward religion, she also deeply respects it. I appreciate how she opens up the spaces for conversation about religion and morality, and if those things are inherently separate from each other or if one comes from the other. She doesn't come at it aggressively, putting down one while lifting up another.
Inherently, this is a story about failure and redemption, even when redemption was clumsy and struggling, even when it took its time. ★★★★★
Final Thoughts
Overall, I loved this novella and I'm so glad I picked it up and read it. It's a beautiful and sweet story that connects to me deeply as an adult reader who has lived, and failed, and grown, who has asked questions, and who has wanted to be more kind. Overall, this book for me is a 5 out of 5 stars.
Content Discretions:
Fear, gore, fae magic and curses, blood, monsters, death.
If you’d like to explore more of T. Kingfisher's work, click here.
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