The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric
The Undrowned Child by Michelle Lovric
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Monday, 15, Jun 2009 04:35
Orion Children's Books, out July 2nd. £9.99 hardback, 426 pp.
In a nutshell...
Dark, thrilling, gory, fairy tale
What's it all about?
Venice hides many secrets. Away from crowds of tourists in the floating city there are ghosts only children can see, secret societies, mermaids who love curries, conspiracies and spell books. The Undrowned Child takes the reader through 18 days in the Venice of June 1899 but also the vivid and strange history of the former empire.
This world is discovered by a 11-year-old Neapolitan, Teodora. Teodora, the adopted daughter of two scientists, has some very unscientific gifts, such as being able to see people's words written in the air above their heads.
She arrives in Venice as her parents try to save the city from sinking, but becomes enthralled as the city reveals it is sick with boiling wells and the bones of a long dead foe rising to seek revenge with rising water and an invasion of pirates.
All because a book falls on her head.
But this is far from a simple fairy story.
It opens with a family drowning as they take a child to be christened, and a captain of a ferry attacked and killed by gulls.
Fantastic gruesome tales and very real horrors - such as the loss of a child on a holiday - intersperse this story of a young girl's self discovery.
In the end, the hero is the one who finds strength in books and not fashion and fights for the city she loves.
Who's it by?
Michelle Lovric is a travel writer and novelist who luckily manages to split her life between London and Venice.
The Undrowned Child is her first children's book, previously penning a series of novels set in Venice (Carnevale, The Floating Book and the Remedy) and translating Latin and Italian poetry.
As an example...
"To touch the head of the Butcher Biasio was the worst thing that Teo could imagine. Actually taking it in her hands made her sick to the core of her stomach. Gingerly, she lifted the thing by the ears, trying not to look at the black hairs sprouting from them.
"Renzo leapt in close, kicked the head right across the square like a football.
"The Butcher dropped to his knees and began to crawl in the direction of his head."
Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster
Perhaps only a three-hour epic could gather the complexity and colour of the Undrowned Child. But following Teodora through the twilight of headless butchers, ghosts, torture, murder and a thrilling chase would be amazing.
If the film rights are not yet sold, I'd put in an offer.
So is it any good?
On a Tube journey from Westminster to Green Park (one stop) I glanced up from the Undrowned Child at Baker Street.
Sufficed to say, the simple but very complex story is deeply engaging.
There is also a further level as Lovric drags the reader through Venice. The Undrowned Child is a guide book to the city - with a lovely appendix explaining where the locations really are with the historical accuracies and where history had been stretched
It is not hard to imagine children and adults storming through Venice with Lovirc as a guide. Nor if the Undrowned Child is a success the main character Teodora's guide within the book, The Key to the Secret City, being published and leading readers further.
It is also a love story about Venice. Girl meets city, falls in love, and fights to save it .
The Undrowned Child has a marvelous story and is bound with a love of Venice. But what really distinguishes from what could have been an author's vain attempt to write about Venice is the colourful language and detail.
The mermaid have learnt English from pirates and like curry, the nuns see ghosts, the evil takes revenge on the bakers souring their pastries while poisoning tourists with mint ice-cream - no doubt a dig at the poor quality gelato served in St Mark's Square compared to the good stuff hidden in the back streets.
There are also a few sly digs at the Biennale art festival and Venetians' open snobbishness to any foreigner, Italians included.
Although aimed at a 'young adult' audience - meaning children over ten - it seems certain the depth of the storyline will lead it on Harry Potter's successful quest into the adult market.
The Undrowned Child is a joy that never fails to get bogged down over 400 pages.
If you can't go on holiday or afford eurozone prices, you can still discover Venice and escape the grey skies of recession Britain.
7/10
Daniel Barnes