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A review by mattygroves
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr by John Crowley
4.0
All of us come from the realm of Ka, the world of real things, where a crow is just a real crow, whose life is a brute-physical existence in an eternal present. And we all make our way, for better or worse, some distance into the realm of Ymr, the realm inhabited by categories and concepts, whose lives are stories. Once you're here, there's no going back; you can only go on.
The inhabitants of Ymr all have their origin in that real stuff of Ka (as we are reminded by Coyote's story), but ultimately what we in Ymr think of as real, is fantasy. What is the nature of the existence of the inhabitants of Ymr? If the stories stop being told, if these Most Precious Things are lost or stolen by ignorant Envy, what becomes of the People of Ymr?
If you have not read John Crowley before, it's difficult to tell you what to expect. John Crowley is one of those "realists of a larger reality" Ursula Le Guin speaks of. This is not a novel about defeating the Great Evil One. That Great Evil One of fantasy is a metaphor for the Ruin of Ymr, which is real and feels near. The great mountain at the end of the world is probably just a short drive from your house, and it seems everything we do to stay alive just brings Mount Doom a little closer.
If you have read John Crowley, you know to expect some of the best prose in or out of fantasy fiction. Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is funny and beautiful and tragic and comforting.
The inhabitants of Ymr all have their origin in that real stuff of Ka (as we are reminded by Coyote's story), but ultimately what we in Ymr think of as real, is fantasy. What is the nature of the existence of the inhabitants of Ymr? If the stories stop being told, if these Most Precious Things are lost or stolen by ignorant Envy, what becomes of the People of Ymr?
If you have not read John Crowley before, it's difficult to tell you what to expect. John Crowley is one of those "realists of a larger reality" Ursula Le Guin speaks of. This is not a novel about defeating the Great Evil One. That Great Evil One of fantasy is a metaphor for the Ruin of Ymr, which is real and feels near. The great mountain at the end of the world is probably just a short drive from your house, and it seems everything we do to stay alive just brings Mount Doom a little closer.
If you have read John Crowley, you know to expect some of the best prose in or out of fantasy fiction. Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is funny and beautiful and tragic and comforting.