The Fair Folk

January 22, 2024
Bristow (Sealskin) draws on English folklore for a whimsical if baggy story about the interplay between fairies and humans. The action begins in 1959 Surrey, where eight-year-old Felicity Turner is bullied at school and alienated by her parents. Defying her father’s wish that she stay away from the woods, Felicity discovers the enchanted world of “the Fair Folk” at the edge of the forest. She keeps her discovery a secret as she becomes enamored of fairy queen Elfrida and Elfrida’s companion Hob, a jester-like character who loves playing tricks on people. Eventually, she accepts the gift of glamour and charisma from Elfrida, though she later transfers it to her first boyfriend, an aspiring actor, at university in Cambridge. There, Elfrida and Hob unexpectedly come to her whenever they wish, and on one occasion Hob wreaks havoc by pegging a classmate of Felicity’s with crabapples. Felicity finds a kindred spirit in Professor Edgerly, a historian of folklore whose lessons make her wonder why fairies help people, and what they might want in return. It turns out Elfrida wants to trade places with Felicity, and as Felicity considers the proposition, she uncovers a secret about her father’s connection to Elfrida. It takes a bit too long for the plot threads to tie together, but Bristow utilizes Edgerly’s stamp of authority to successfully encourage readers to suspend disbelief. Lovers of classic folktales will appreciate this.

November 1, 2023
Bristow's latest (after Sealskin, 2017) is a Faustian, modern-day fairy tale in which the ""be careful what you wish for" trope is updated with a tender bildungsroman mixed with an origin story about the fair folk. Fliss, a shy girl, seeks refuge in the forest beyond the hedge lining her family's failing farm. There, she befriends the ancient fairies, an enchanting and mischievous bunch made up of beautiful, noble creatures along with gnarled, goblinesque ones. She becomes especially close to Elfrida, who has a curious interest in Fliss and her family. Elfrida follows her through grade school and away from her small town to university. She, along with another, more childlike fairy, are invisible--but opinionated--witnesses to all of Fliss's growing pains, including falling in love for the first time. For her trouble, Elfrida grants her one gift. When Fliss finally uses the special power, she gives her boyfriend his greatest desire. But the fair folk are a tricky breed, and underneath the grand illusions and slanted promises, Fliss finds a heartbreaking reality about lost innocence, rendered poetic in Bristow's quiet but moving words.

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November 15, 2023
The wonders of nature are exquisitely sketched in this cautionary tale about the danger of striking bargains with spirits. Felicity Turner ("Fliss" to her hard-working, closed-mouth parents) finds an escape from the drudgery of 1950s British farm life in the antics of the spirits she finds frolicking in the nearby woods. In her youthful exuberance, she makes the classic mistake of inviting the mischief-makers into her home--an error she'll be paying for well into her college years at Cambridge. Fairies are notoriously transactional, according to the lore, and Queen Elfrida has a particular payment in mind for having restored Felicity's young cousin after replacing her with a sickly changeling. Felicity's university curriculum consists largely of trying to figure out what trade-off Elfrida expects to exact. Felicity finds an ally in the form of an elderly don who's made the fairy kingdom a scholarly pursuit. Unfortunately, once the book moves past the giddy delights of young Fliss' discoveries, her quest--to try to understand what's expected of her--proves plodding. She edges into a tepid romance, easily overshadowed by her love/hate relationship with the haughty, capricious Elfrida. Will there be a dramatic showdown? As surely as titans clash at the climax of a blockbuster fantasy film. The real pleasures of the novel lie in Fliss' early explorations of the natural world. Coming of age can be complicated--and romance gets short shrift--when proprietary spirits are involved.

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