“Magic,” said Odd, and he smiled and thought, “if magic means letting things do what they wanted to do, or be what they wanted to be…”
Odd is odd in name and deed. He smiles a lot, which annoys and irritates people. His father died rescuing a pony, he was crippled in an accident. His mother has remarried a man he doesn’t like, and winter is going on and on and on. Tired of being trapped in his step-father’s house or the village great house, he sets off to live in his father’s woodcutting hut in the woods. As happens when children set off on their own, an epic adventure ensues.
This is one of the quietest, most thoughtful epic adventures I have ever read. Odd is a delightful boy. He has the magic that comes from thoughtfulness and observation. I read this today to my 6 year old nephew. He was entranced.
Cannonball Read V 