The Book Without Words: A Fable Of Medieval Magic (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
It was in the year 1046, on a cold winter’s night, when a fog, thick as wool and dank as a dead man’s hand, crept up from the River Scrogg into the ancient town of Fulworth.So begins this fascinating fable. And a true fable it is, woven through with supernatural elements, talking animals, and illustrating a universal truth. The ever-present fog seems a metaphor for evil. It is everywhere in the tale: "It clung to the crumbling city walls . . . It muffled the sound of pealing church bells calling the weary faithful to apprehensive prayers."Most of the action takes place at the bottom of Clutterbuck Lane in a dilapidated, two-story stone house. There lives Thorston, an old alchemist, who is trying to create "philosopher’s stones" that would restore his youth and keep him forever young. The formula for the stones comes from the book without words—a book he had stolen some seventy-three years before when he was a young boy. The book contains other "dark magic," including a recipe for making gold. The pages in the book are blank and can only be read by a "green-eyed reader filled with great desire."The recipe for the stones calls for, among other things, the breath of a young person and a black raven’s feather. Odo, the talking raven, provides the feather. The breath is that of a young servant girl named Sybil, whom Thorston recently took in.Thorston must swallow one of the stones at a time, pausing for a time in between. During this "in between" time he appears to die and is buried. It is during this time that Sybil and Odo, with the help of a green-eyed child, try to unlock the secrets held in the book with no words. Unbeknownst to Sybil and the raven, when Thorston swallows the final stone they will die.Thorston has spent the last seventy three years in preparation for this moment—and it has not been easy. To the raven he rants, "Have you any idea how difficult it has been to preserve myself for this moment? To avoid accidents, illness, and violence. Think how hard it is to keep oneself from death!" To which the raven replies, "Ah, Master . . . what good was that life, if, by avoiding death, you didn’t live?"Thorston is not the only person who desires the book without words. A monk named Brother Wilfrid has been trying for decades to find and obtain the book. Making things even more difficult for Thorston is the town reeve Ambrose Bashcroft, "the man in charge of the city’s law and order." Bashcroft’s silent partner is Mistress Weebly, the town apothecary. It is through her that Bashcroft learns of Thorston’s attempts to make gold, which, according to the law, is illegal.
Here's the other Avi book I read over sping break. I just adore him and freely admit he has had a very strong influence on my writing. Once a Newbery winner and twice a Newbery honor winner, his works include some of my favorite titles ever. Though I’ve liked some better than others, I’ve yet to be disappointed by any.I have to confess, this one is different, and at first I wasn’t sure I would like it. (It does actually have words though.) It starts out with the same rich, powerful sense of setting that Avi is known for, but this one is a very dismal setting. Granted, the Middle Ages were a very dismal time. Avi goes to great lengths to describe the stinking, filth-strewn city and the horrid, depraved old man named Thorston. Nearing death, Thorston brews a potion that will renew his life. However, it will steal the life of his young servant girl, Sybil.I was hooked. And I wasn’t disappointed.I loved watching Sybil’s growth. Weak, frightened, and helpless, at first she and a talking raven named Odo believe Thorston is making gold. And so does the rest of the town. Despite the threat of a crooked magistrate who wants the gold for himself, Sybil begins to use her wit and intelligence to find the gold and survive when she fears Thorston has died. It is Sybil’s transformation drives the story.Billed as a fable, with its peculiar style and talking bird, The Book Without Words also has a moral at the end. It isn’t said as much as it’s shown, but it comes through loudly. The old alchemist, Thorston, is pursuing life simply to go on living. The young girl, Sybil, fights because she wishes to experience life. But Odo the bird sums up the story well when he replies to Thorston’s claim that he has outwitted death:“Ah, Master,” said the bird with a shake of his head, “what good was that life, if, by avoiding death, you didn’t live?”
What do You think about The Book Without Words: A Fable Of Medieval Magic (2006)?
I picked this book up at the library book sale because I was looking for another audiobook and I have read other things by Avi and enjoyed them. This had just enough suspense to have me yelling at the CD player in the car a time or two, and it was quick enough to not get old. I enjoyed the characters and thought the plot was interesting, but was a little frustrated by how long it took people to make up their minds given the stakes were life and death. I also enjoyed the reader and the way he was able to give different voices to each character -- and even different voices to the character who changed the most in the beginning vs the end. And, for better or worse, since I am a lawyer and hear about how hard the law is frequently, I will always remember the darn Reeve of Falmouth, Ambrose Bashcroft, and his multiple pronouncements of "dura lex, sid lex."
—Cheryl
The book without words by Avi is about a 16 year old girl, who is being held captive by a man who tries to turn medieval objects into gold, or an alcemist. The orphan girl is constantly watched over by a cranky talking crow. Then one day, while she is out getting ingrediants for his potion, the girl comes back from her arrends. About five minutes later, her master is dead, lying on the floor. Dead from a heart attack. However, what the girl does not know, is that before he died, her master had swallowed a stone. This isn't just any stone. If he eats three more of this kind of stone, he will become immortal, invincible, unstopable. Later that night, he rises from the dead so he can eat the remaning three stones. But in order to, he has to put in the final ingrediant. The heart, and the blood of a 16 year-old orphan girl.
—Cassie Borneman
Cleverly done! From the start I was hooked. I love to read stories that can take me away to a different place in time plus add an element of magic with it. Sybil is an orphan and taken in by Thorston who is an alchemist. Thorston fears death and to keep himself alive he must follow the directions of a magic book that has no words and take the life of a child and feathers from a black bird. Sybil, along with Odo, a talking raven, must find the book’s true owner before it’s too late. In their quest they discover that without the book's secret, of making gold, they will be homeless and hungry again. Only a green eyed child with great desires to know of the book’s secrets can read from the book that has no words. Two green eyed boys are found and while one is humble, the other is not. Now not only do Sybil and Odo have to worry about their own lives but they must also deal with a young orphaned boy and a greedy herbal apprentice.
—Carrie
