Douglas Weterbeke's A Short Walk Through A Wide World (#1,1229) is fantastical in all the right ways. I've never read a book quite like this. Aubrey Tourvel is just nine years old when she picks up a wooden puzzle ball outside a recently deceased neighbor's house in Paris. Nothing is ever the same for her again. Although she drops it down a well, it reappears the next day in her satchel. And that's when Aubrey starts bleeding to death. The only way to make the bleeding stop temporarily is to move on to a new location - over and over and over again.
A Short Walk chronicles Aubrey's adventures over the many years of her life. Always on the move, she meets all sorts of people, but she can never stay long enough to build a relationship with most. Her only respites are in the underground libraries which pop up in unexpected places. There she can find endless shelves of fascinating books, food when she needs it, and comfortable places to rest. When she emerges, she is always in a far different place than where she entered. Aubrey slowly realizes she is not living in the same world as those who dwell on the surface.
More than just an adventure story, A Short Walk Through A Wide World probes Aubrey's interior life as well, and that's just as interesting. No wonder this book has gotten so much buzz from the literary critics. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I loved it. Can't wait to see what Mr. Weterbeke has up his sleeve for us next!
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