2020 EDIT: A reread from this year that is so far the only one that's even better on the second visit.
No, more than better: 'Clair de Lune' is a near perfect original children's fairy tale. I can't gush enough how enchanting, creative, delightful, sweet, charming, sorrowful, and bittersweet this book is; short yet brimming and swelling with magic.
The power and potential it holds is winsome, sirenic.
A twelve-year-old ballerina without a voice; a dead ballerina mother shrouded in mystery; a secretive and heartbroken grandmother; a mouse with a dream of teaching other mice to dance, and of writing and performing his own mouse ballet; a kindhearted monk who lives on the other side of a magical portal - to a seaside monastery; lessons in speaking but most importantly, listening; an ever changing tower home; a lost bird with a red crested plumage and heart who is Clair de Lune's voice; a devious cat; a fortune teller; dancing and the hard work, toil and sacrifice that comes with it; a lesson on how love is the most important thing there is.
Seriously, why has 'Clair de Lune' not been made into an animated movie yet?! It was written exactly for it!
There is a daring tragedy near the end, which I appreciate. There is healing and hope - a promise of freedom and adventure on the horizon - to the happily ever after, as well. The fairy tale is so intricately and cleverly structured!
The only problem is that the ending is a little rushed, with not every story thread resolved; thus the singular reason for 'Clair de Lune' not turning out a favourite, a perfect bright star, for me. Furthermore, Clair de Lune - young, active, determined, wishful, thoughtful, sensitive, caring, and heartfelt - doesn't really have any female friends.
But I can't let that deter me from pronouncing 'Clair de Lune' a criminally underrated masterpiece. There are not many original fairy tales and children's books like it. It needs to be considered a classic. To everyone who may read this review, read this book. Tell everyone you know to read it. Recommend it to as many people as possible. Make more and more and more people aware of its existence. An animated tour de force may still be possible!
Additionally: Clair de Lune's mother, the famous La Lune, had died of a broken heart onstage when Clair de Lune was a baby. La Lune was seventeen and very petite and thin. Heartbreak, and a borderline, impossibly difficult ballet dance for humans, are what took her life. Yet no one wonders how she survived childbirth? This detail is never mentioned. Keep in mind also that this is set in the 19th century, back when that mortality rate was high, when the all-male doctors didn't give a £"&%*! about pregnant women, and midwives were still stigmatized after the witch hunting era. I just thought I'd put that out there.
Final Score: 4.5/5
Original Review:
A book I once picked up in my school library - a book no one seems to know exists.
A charming, original fairy tale. 'Clair de Lune' is a ballet story that is both magical and tragic - tragical, as it were. Sweet and seemingly simple, but subtle and intricate in its storytelling. It becomes unexpectedly sad as well towards the dramatic climax.
I enjoyed this wistful and mysterious gem. I think it can be an enjoyable treat for young aspiring dancers too.
If only this was more well-known. It would make a good children's fantasy tale in another medium, such as animation.
Final Score: 4/5
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