The varieties of Mahy

Press, 10 December 1988, Page 27

The varieties of Mahy

The Tricksters. By Margret Mahy. Penguin Plus, 1988, 266 pp. $8.99 (paperback). The Boy Who Bounced, and other magic tales. By Margaret Mahy. Puffin, 1988. 154 pp. $6.99 (paperback). (Reviewed by Mavis Airey) The paperback publication of these two very different books by Margaret Mahy serves as a reminder of just how versatile a writer she is.

The stories for younger childrent date from the early 19705, although this collection was published in hardback two years ago under the title “Mahy Magic.” The stories are charming excursions into a fantasy world where pigs may fly and trees may talk and there are witches on every broomstick, but nothing ever gets too frightening. The thief is foiled, the witch is tamed, and kindness always wins in the end. Not that there is anything run-of-the-mill about these stories. Mahy’s knack is to make the unexpected normal, the conventional abnormal, and the eccentric sane. But in this collection the mood is gentle, rather than frenziedly zany. Shirley Hughes’ rather traditional illustrations are charming too. The magic of “The Tricksters” is altogether more sinister. Described as a thriller, this powerful novel is one of the first releases in Penguin’s new Plus imprint for adolescents. Aiming to get away from the childhood connotations of Puffin Plus, the series will cover a wide range from gamebooks and romantic fiction to topical non-fiction. There is certainly nothing childish about this book. What starts off as a tale of the supernatural soon becomes a psychological drama in which the nature of sexuality and family relationships are compellingly and compassionately explored. When three strange brothers arrive unexpectedly at the Hamilton’s bach one Christmas, some members of the

family find their colourful behaviour charming. Only 17-year-old Harry sees how similar their characters are to the heroes and villains of the overheated romantic novel into which she pours her adolescent fantasies. They also seem to have a strong connection with an earlier inhabitant of the house, who died in mysterious circumstances. As they become more involved with the family, she becomes convinced that the brothers are manipulating them into a family crisis. The characters, especially the women, are strongly drawn, the dialogue sparkles, and the blending of reality with the supernatural is satisfyingly unnerving. This is real torch-under-the-bedclothes stuff: unputdownable.