Tam Lin in Norwescon

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Tam Lin

Pamela Dean,

Terri Windling (Introduction)

Finish date: May 19, 2019

Discussion: NWC Book Club

Why we're reading this: Come join us for the kick-off of this cycle of the Norwescon Book Club! We will be reading sub-genres of …more
[close] Come join us for the kick-off of this cycle of the Norwescon Book Club! We will be reading sub-genres of the field this cycle and starting with Fairy Tale Re-tellings for the first 2 months.

This month, the book is Tam Lin by Pamela Dean.

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Nov 11, 2014 Michelle Morrell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: x-read-2018, faerie, i-own, x-read-2014, 24-hour-read-a-thon, dark-academia, rereads

I took my time reading this. Other novels came and went (usually dictated by library return times) but I kept coming back to this, savoring it.

The story revolves around Janet, a college freshman beginning her higher education at the college she's been around all her life. Her father teaches there, she's wandered the grounds, her life in one way or another has circulated around it, it is definitely a major character in this novel.

Tam Lin was suggested to me because I wanted something "October" to I took my time reading this. Other novels came and went (usually dictated by library return times) but I kept coming back to this, savoring it.

The story revolves around Janet, a college freshman beginning her higher education at the college she's been around all her life. Her father teaches there, she's wandered the grounds, her life in one way or another has circulated around it, it is definitely a major character in this novel.

Tam Lin was suggested to me because I wanted something "October" to read, and it filled the bill perfectly. While it does cover three and a half years, the main action was always in the fall and the winter. I had a chill when, on the Thursday before Halloween, Janet noted it was also the Thursday before Halloween. There is a special bond when the real world and a good novel coincide. It was dark and windy and the air was crisp, dropping into the story was almost effortless. I found plenty moments that were spooky and even unsettling, interspersed and contrasting the mundanity of everyday life.

This is a literature heavy novel. The characters, English and Classics majors for the most part, quote endlessly. Shakespeare, Tolkien, Chaucer, yet more Shakespeare. I can't help but love people addicted to words. It also celebrates higher learning and the collegiate experience, reminding me of the best of my experiences, while still staying grounded in the uncertainty, the newness, the mind expansion that floods in during the first blush of Freshman year.

The story built and built and it wasn't until the end that the "fairy tale" became apparent. Yet, looking back, the threads were everywhere and the ending is no leap in logic. This book is a journey and destination both.

Reread 2018: Just as lovely, I found many more hints and foreshadowing and had a deeper understanding of the characters. Still haven't read enough of their references, I need to push myself more into the old classics. I still haven't read a full Shakespeare play, for instance. This book makes me want to be smarter! ...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Dragonmom7 Allen rated it it was amazing

May 20, 2018 Ciaradh rated it liked it

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