Dayle Loves This: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper (book/series)
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Welcome to Dayle Loves This, wherein I recommend books, TV, and movies (and maybe other things) that rocked my world.
Almost every holiday season, I feel the urge to read mythic fiction, which is described as “rooted in myth, folklore, legend, and fairy tales.” The word “rooted” feels particularly apt, because when I read mythic fiction books, I feel drawn to the earth, to the imbued truths that speak to my core. The collective unconscious. The books themselves may be set in modern times, but are firmly attached to these universal magic.
(I’m drawn to British-based mythic fiction, but there are books that touch on a variety of other places’ stories. Wikipedia has a beginning list.)
Particularly, I almost always reread the novel The Dark is Rising. It’s set at the winter Solstice in the Thames Valley during an unprecedented snowfall, it and resonates within me no matter where I am or what the weather’s like. I’m there. It drags me down into a deep magic I can’t begin to explain.
When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron;
Water, fire, stone;
Five will return and one go alone.
Iron for the birthday, bronze carried long;
Wood from the burning, stone out of sound;
Fire in the candle-ring, water from the thaw;
Six signs the circle, and the grail gone before.
Fire on the mountain shall find the harp of gold.
Played to wake the sleepers, oldest of the old;
Power from the green witch, lost beneath the sea;
All shall find the light at last, silver on the tree.
This poem, which encompasses the five-book series also called The Dark is Rising (TDIR novel is the second in the sequence), stops me in my tracks and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and brings tears to my eyes. Again, it’s a feeling so deeply entrenched in me that I can’t find words for it.
I’m not saying everyone will have the same reaction. I hope you do, though, because it’s…well, magical.
The novel, which was a Newberry Honor Book, tells the story of Will Stanton, who on his eleventh birthday learns that as a seventh son of a seventh son, he has a major part to play in the war between Light and Dark. He’s guided by someone I don’t want to spoil for you, and meets others I don’t want to spoil for you.
The Dark is Rising can be read on its own. There’s no need to read the first book in the sequence, Under Sea, Over Stone, which is directed at a younger audience than the rest of the book. But if you want to read all of the books, start with that one, because it introduces key characters.
Dayle Loves This, even as she fumbles and fails to accurately describe how it makes her feel. She hopes you tap into the magic, too.
[And if you want more mythic fiction recommendations, let me know! xo]
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When petty criminals Angela and Mike stumble across an abandoned coal mining facility in a Tennessee forest, they plan to stay for the night.
