The Cabinet of Wonders
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN: 0374310262
272 pages
Synopsis
Petra Kronos has a simple, happy life. But it’s never been ordinary. She has a pet tin spider named Astrophil who likes to hide in her snarled hair and give her advice. Her best friend can trap lightning inside a glass sphere. Petra also has a father in faraway Prague who is able to move metal with his mind. He has been commissioned by the prince of Bohemia to build the world’s finest astronomical clock. Petra’s life is forever changed when, one day, her father returns home – blind.
The prince has stolen his eyes, enchanted them, and now wears them. But why? Petra doesn’t know, but she knows this: she will go to Prague, sneak into Salamander Castle, and steal her father’s eyes back. Joining forces with Neel, whose fingers extend into invisible ghosts that pick locks and pockets, Petra finds that many people in the castle are not what they seem, and that her father’s clock has powers capable of destroying their world.
Critique
It is difficult to find books that could be classified as Steam Punk, but this novel is a great candidate. Of course, I say that as a compliment since I’m a big fan of Steam Punk art and culture, and books and movies that explore that world are hard to come by. For those are unfamiliar with the term, Steam Punk is a fantasy world generated from a specific time period in our own world’s history, based in the time of the Scientific and Industrial Revolutions. As such, most Steam Punk works are set to look like that time period, are usually in England or Europe, and imagine a world where everything is powered by steam, or, in the case of this novel, have a strong fascination with metal. Even if the writing weren’t great, which it is, I would still recommend this novel just for its contribution to the world Steam Punk.
So, to the writing itself. Rutkoski has created a very tangible imaginative world with unique magic and fresh characters. Petra is a lovable character who you can’t help but to root for, and Neel is also fun to follow. There are so many elements to this book that I loved: that it’s set in the Prague of an alternate history, the living metal animals, especially Astrophil, the various types of magic and that, characteristically, each person only has one ability, the rich description of the scenes and the world as a whole, and Rutskoski’s talent in creating narrative voice with the perfect balance of inner dialogue, dialogue between characters, scenery description and plot movement/action.
Having seen the name and the cover, I was hoping that it would be an amazing book, and I was not disappointed. I recommend this novel to all readers 11+.
Rating Rubric
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For the Classroom
As this is largely a text that operates outside of the rules of our own natural world, there is little to be used as a classroom companion. There are elements related to our own history, and much of Rutkoski’s description of the landscape and even some of the people are based historical fact.
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