Little, Big
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| 2002 Harper paperback edition cover | |
| Author | John Crowley |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Released | August 1981 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 538 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-553-01266-5 |
Little, Big: or, The Faeries' Parliament is a modern fantasy novel by John Crowley, published in 1981. It won the World Fantasy Award in 1982.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Little, Big (subtitled The Faeries' Parliament) is the epic story of the Drinkwater family and their relationship with a mostly obscured world of Faery. It is set in and around their eccentric country house called Edgewood, in New England somewhere north of "the City" (clearly a version of New York City). The story is dreamlike, quiet, and meandering, spanning a hundred years of the intertwined family trees of the Drinkwaters and their relations - from the turn of the twentieth century to a sparsely-described dystopian future America ruled by a sinister despot. The magical elements are subtle rather than overt, with only occasional glimpses of the faeries themselves, although their presence is felt throughout.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The further one goes into Edgewood, the bigger it gets. Size is a constant motif throughout the novel.
[edit] Characters in Little, Big
- Smoky Barnable
- Daily Alice Drinkwater
- Auberon Barnable
- Sylvie
- Sophie Drinkwater
- Violet Bramble
- John Drinkwater
- Auberon Drinkwater
- Grandfather Trout (August Drinkwater)
- George Mouse
- Ariel Hawksquill
- Russell Eigenblick (Frederick Barbarossa)
...
[edit] Major themes
One of the recurring motifs in the work is the sense of the disparity between the insides and the outsides of things; that is, how large insides somehow fit into small outsides. The Edgewater house is certainly the most obvious of these. The memory palaces of Ariel Hawksquill also point to the inside-outside, little-big motif.
Crowley has mentioned some of the main elements that came together to form this work. One of these is the image of Smoky tying up the ends of his life to go to his uncertain future at the Drinkwater house. Another is the idea of a huge multi-generational family and their intimate ties with faerie.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Harold Bloom included this work in his book The Western Canon.
[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
The writing has its roots in poetry and American idiom and blossoms into hints and wordplay. Those who like the book praise its style, while others find it overdecorated. Indeed it is a highly decorated book, broken into short sections that each have a title, full of catchphrases and of allusions to such things as
- Louis Comfort Tiffany
- Frances Yates' studies of Renaissance neoplatonism
- Lewis Carroll
- medieval historians
- the tarot
- the illustrations of Arthur Rackham
- Harlem
- Thornton Burgess's children's stories
- Frederick Barbarossa
- the Cottingley Fairies
Editions of the book usually have some ornamentation in the printing.
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Release details
- 1981, USA, Bantam Books ISBN 0-553-01266-5, Pub date 1981, trade paperback (black). Simultaneously published in Canada.
- 1982, UK, Victor Gollancz ISBN 0-575-03065-8, Pub date 1982, hardcover (white dustjacket)
- 1982, UK, Victor Gollancz ISBN 0-575-03123-9, Pub date 1982, trade paperback (white)
- 1983, USA, Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-23337-8, Pub date 1983, mass market paperback. Yvonne Gilbert (front cover illustrator)
- 1990, USA, Bantam Books, ISBN 0-553-26586-5, Pub date 1990, mass market paperback. Tom Canty (front cover illustrator)
- 1994, USA, Bantam Fantasy Book Club ISBN 1-56865-429-4, Pub date 1994, hardcover. Gary A. Lippincott (illustrator)
A 25th anniversary edition, designed in accordance with the author's idea of how the book should be presented, is now in production at Incunabula, a small press in Seattle, and is scheduled for publication in Spring 2007. This limited edition will include reproductions of the artwork of Peter Milton, and an introduction by the author Harold Bloom. For details, visit http://www.littlebig25.com.
