GILDAEN: The Heroic Adventures of a Most Unusual Rabbit

by Emilie Buchwald ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 18, 1973

Initially Gildaen is unusual only in the most predictable way -- he longs for adventure and a change of scene despite his species' reputation for timidity -- and later his departure from the ordinary lies merely in his ability to change his form and to converse with all creatures, talents which are bestowed upon him by Evon, an enchanted friend who appears first as an owl but then changes to a young prince and later a peasant woman. As for the other characters who come and go in the course of this longish fantasy quest, they are so usual as to be wholly unpersonalized cliches (the good hearted widow, the treacherous palace advisor, etc.), unambiguously good or evil at first glance. Nor does Evon's search for his/her own forgotten identity have any of the psychological or metaphysical dimension the theme implies. However, the plot picks up as it goes along and the ending is both satisfying and unexpected when Evon turns out to be the good witch of Mallyn and Gildaen helps her to save the kingdom by becoming a viper and wresting the villain's talisman from a poisonous garden. Slightly unusual then, after all.

Pub Date: April 18, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1973

Categories: FICTION