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Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World
A skeptic's search for magic, one faery at a time.
In search of something to believe in again, Signe Pike left behind a budding career in Manhattan to undertake a magical journey--literally. In a sweeping tour through Mexico, England, Ireland, Scotland, and elsewhere, she takes readers along with her to dark glens and abandoned forests, ancient sacred sites, and local pubs, depicting the colorful characters who take faery hunting very seriously. As Signe attempts to connect with the spirit world--and reconnect with her own sense of wonder and purpose--she'll come to view both herself and the world around her in a profoundly new way.
Engaging and full of heart, Faery Tale is more than a memoir-it's the story of rekindling that spark of belief that makes even the most skeptical among us feel like a kid again.
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
109 people are currently reading
1801 people want to read
About the author
Signe Pike
11 books2,140 followersTHE LOST QUEEN SERIES is currently in development for TV with the award-winning production company Made Up Stories.
Critics have lauded the series as "Impressive historical fiction. Highly recommended" (The Historical Novel Society).
THE LOST QUEEN was awarded "Best Book of 2018," (Library Journal) and "Best Debut Novel," (New York Public Library) among others, while THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM was named one of Bustle and PopSugar's "Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2020."
Originally slated as a trilogy, it has now become a series, with the third book coming in Sept. 2024, and a fourth book to follow.
Pike's first book -- the travel memoir FAERY TALE -- chronicles her travels to England, Ireland, Scotland and beyond in search of healing and a new-found sense of enchantment after the unexpected death of her father in 2006.
Critics have lauded the series as "Impressive historical fiction. Highly recommended" (The Historical Novel Society).
THE LOST QUEEN was awarded "Best Book of 2018," (Library Journal) and "Best Debut Novel," (New York Public Library) among others, while THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM was named one of Bustle and PopSugar's "Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2020."
Originally slated as a trilogy, it has now become a series, with the third book coming in Sept. 2024, and a fourth book to follow.
Pike's first book -- the travel memoir FAERY TALE -- chronicles her travels to England, Ireland, Scotland and beyond in search of healing and a new-found sense of enchantment after the unexpected death of her father in 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
December 1, 2010
Well now. This book came to me at exactly the time that I needed to read it ! What a fabulous, magical ride ! What is so amazing about it, is that it is all true. I truly could not put it down from start to end and it has changed my perspective. Do I believe in faeries now ? Perhaps. But more importantly, I agree with the author "But now I knew there were many kinds of magic in life." Take some time and get back to that magical place inside, with this read.
December 19, 2010
I didn't know what to expect when I went into this. All I knew is that I loved Fairy Tales, and I loved the UK. This memoir involves both.
What Signe Pike manages to do is deftly intertwine her own personal story and loss into her journey through these inspiring lands. And it didn't seem too preachy. I flew through the pages, and even felt myself getting a little choked up every once and again. More than anything, though, this made me want to travel back to Skye and Oxford and London and Edinburgh.
And as the title suggests, I never felt like fairies were being crammed down my throat. And the way that Pike presents her story had me rooting for imagination and magic and innocence and joy. This is a feel good story, plain and simple, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a little picker upper.
What Signe Pike manages to do is deftly intertwine her own personal story and loss into her journey through these inspiring lands. And it didn't seem too preachy. I flew through the pages, and even felt myself getting a little choked up every once and again. More than anything, though, this made me want to travel back to Skye and Oxford and London and Edinburgh.
And as the title suggests, I never felt like fairies were being crammed down my throat. And the way that Pike presents her story had me rooting for imagination and magic and innocence and joy. This is a feel good story, plain and simple, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a little picker upper.
April 29, 2018
I loved this book to the point where I am definitely going to give it to friends/family, but I will buy them their own copy because I don’t want to let go of mine.
And when I say “mine,” maybe that’s inaccurate since I found it in a Little Free Library. I’d heard about Signe’s trip in Faerie magazine and had been meaning to get this book, so I grabbed it, and am so glad I did. In any case, my household does give away a lot of books to Little Free Libraries, so maybe the faeries don’t mind if I keep this; and actually, after reading of Signe’s experiences and the reports of those she interviewed, I kind of think they shoved it into my path in the first place. (“Yes! Read about us! Then write about us more yourself!”)
Signe’s voice was instantly easy for me to like and relate to. She sounds like, well, me, in terms of wanting more magic in the world, but being a skeptical modern city dweller at the same time and kind of doubting we’ll find any such thing. Still, the notion of faeries won’t leave her alone, so she sets off on a research and exploration trip to the British Isles (with one earlier odd experience in Mexico, which is worth mentioning since, as she notes, really ALL countries in the world have stories about beings that essentially match the description of faeries). She hits the perfect balance, for me, of being open to a bit of mystical exploration and being wryly self-deprecating for dedicating a long trip to something so odd.
As anyone who’s looked beyond Disney knows, faeries in folk beliefs are usually not harmless little flowers with wings. Old written stories, and those who have studied the topic, tend to agree that faeries are more like nature entities whom we rarely see, who have their own methods and morals that can often go fully into the scary and creepy from the human point of view—much like the behavior of some animals (or, you know, some humans). Some, however, can be wonderfully helpful if we approach them with respect (again, like animals or our fellow humans). Or they can be anything in between.
Signe meets and interviews lots of delightful people on her journey, including (fangirl squeal from me) Brian and Wendy Froud, who are exactly as completely awesome as you would hope. Her descriptions of the British and Irish landscapes sent me onto Google Images over and over to groan with envy at the beauty of the places and add them to my must-see list. And as for the faeries: does she see them? To my surprise, and definitely her own…yes. Probably. Seemingly. You can’t always be sure with them. But if I had the experience she’d had in Glastonbury, I’d be sparkling from the inside out with wonder, I’ll say that. (Yes, now I completely have to visit Glastonbury.)
She interweaves memories of her father into the narrative, since she was getting over his recent death at the time of her travel. One thing she never brings up, but which certainly came to my mind and which she likely discovered in her reading too, was that in some theories, the faery realm is part of, or overlaps with, or simply is, also the realm where departed human souls go. (I’m pretty sure W.Y. Evans-Wentz talks about this, and she did read his book among her research.) I don’t know how I would view that theory myself if I were still in stages of grief for a loved one, so I can see why she didn’t try to explore it on the page. It also enters into too much conflict with religion for too many people (though whether it would for Signe and her family, I don’t know). Still, I personally found it a comforting unspoken thought that helped tie together those two narrative threads of faeries and the loss of her father: a common theme of things that are now gone and making us sad for their loss (like the ancient ruins that evoke sadness in her), but with the sweeter possibility that everything comes back together in a place we can’t quite see from here.
Short version of review: if you are into the fae, or cool ancient-site-themed travel in the UK, you must read this! Now!
And when I say “mine,” maybe that’s inaccurate since I found it in a Little Free Library. I’d heard about Signe’s trip in Faerie magazine and had been meaning to get this book, so I grabbed it, and am so glad I did. In any case, my household does give away a lot of books to Little Free Libraries, so maybe the faeries don’t mind if I keep this; and actually, after reading of Signe’s experiences and the reports of those she interviewed, I kind of think they shoved it into my path in the first place. (“Yes! Read about us! Then write about us more yourself!”)
Signe’s voice was instantly easy for me to like and relate to. She sounds like, well, me, in terms of wanting more magic in the world, but being a skeptical modern city dweller at the same time and kind of doubting we’ll find any such thing. Still, the notion of faeries won’t leave her alone, so she sets off on a research and exploration trip to the British Isles (with one earlier odd experience in Mexico, which is worth mentioning since, as she notes, really ALL countries in the world have stories about beings that essentially match the description of faeries). She hits the perfect balance, for me, of being open to a bit of mystical exploration and being wryly self-deprecating for dedicating a long trip to something so odd.
As anyone who’s looked beyond Disney knows, faeries in folk beliefs are usually not harmless little flowers with wings. Old written stories, and those who have studied the topic, tend to agree that faeries are more like nature entities whom we rarely see, who have their own methods and morals that can often go fully into the scary and creepy from the human point of view—much like the behavior of some animals (or, you know, some humans). Some, however, can be wonderfully helpful if we approach them with respect (again, like animals or our fellow humans). Or they can be anything in between.
Signe meets and interviews lots of delightful people on her journey, including (fangirl squeal from me) Brian and Wendy Froud, who are exactly as completely awesome as you would hope. Her descriptions of the British and Irish landscapes sent me onto Google Images over and over to groan with envy at the beauty of the places and add them to my must-see list. And as for the faeries: does she see them? To my surprise, and definitely her own…yes. Probably. Seemingly. You can’t always be sure with them. But if I had the experience she’d had in Glastonbury, I’d be sparkling from the inside out with wonder, I’ll say that. (Yes, now I completely have to visit Glastonbury.)
She interweaves memories of her father into the narrative, since she was getting over his recent death at the time of her travel. One thing she never brings up, but which certainly came to my mind and which she likely discovered in her reading too, was that in some theories, the faery realm is part of, or overlaps with, or simply is, also the realm where departed human souls go. (I’m pretty sure W.Y. Evans-Wentz talks about this, and she did read his book among her research.) I don’t know how I would view that theory myself if I were still in stages of grief for a loved one, so I can see why she didn’t try to explore it on the page. It also enters into too much conflict with religion for too many people (though whether it would for Signe and her family, I don’t know). Still, I personally found it a comforting unspoken thought that helped tie together those two narrative threads of faeries and the loss of her father: a common theme of things that are now gone and making us sad for their loss (like the ancient ruins that evoke sadness in her), but with the sweeter possibility that everything comes back together in a place we can’t quite see from here.
Short version of review: if you are into the fae, or cool ancient-site-themed travel in the UK, you must read this! Now!
December 13, 2011
Following the death of her father, with whom her relationship had been tempestuous, Signe Pike set off on a journey to magical sites in Mexico, England, Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. Her voyage of discovery proved to be as much an exorcism of inner demons as an open-minded immersion in the magic of the faery folk. Each country Pike visited has its own folklore involving 'little people'. This begs the question: how is it that - many thousands of years ago - tribes without common roots all told stories of 'hidden people' who were conduits between Earth's natural forces and the physical beings on the planet? Throughout her journey, Signe Pike opened herself to these mystical creatures...with fascinating results. Belief influences perception: people who believe in God will see the Divine in everything; atheists will attempt to scientifically explain even the most inexplicable phenomena; Signe Pike, however, was so passionate about reviving her childhood belief in all things mystical (while incorporating newly learned folklore from around the globe) that she saw magic everywhere. Her open-mindedness makes the storytelling refreshing, although I found myself frowning when she attempted to attribute mundane real-world events to faery intervention. For example, when faced with an oncoming vehicle heading straight for her car, she veered out of its path and smashed into a wall. Pike attributed this crash to faery mischief, but there wasn't a glimmer of evidence that this was the case. Such was her faery-finding fervour that she didn't think it possible the human who drove recklessly up the middle of the road was to blame. This is a minor niggle, though. More often than not, Pike's sojourns into wild places resulted in experiences rich in symbolism, serendipity and faery magic. I was interested to read that on the Isle of Man, where faery lore is inextricably weaved into the culture, locals don't cross the Faery Bridge without acknowledging the faeries' existence, a practice motivated by fear of faery retribution; even foreign bikers who participate in the Isle of Man's annual TT races carry out this ritual, unwilling to offend the faery folk lest they meet a grisly end when their motorcycle careers off the road at high speed.
On Dartmoor stands a stone circle where indigenous wild ponies perform a mysterious ritual: one by one they enter the circle, pause at the central monolith, gaze at it with reverence, then leave. In contrast, trained horses refuse to enter the circle, terrified by its proximity. It seems that domesticated horses - which have had their animal natures 'broken' by humans - feel that they're not welcome in the ancient stone circle, while animals that have retained their wild spirit are kin to the faeries, and able to commune with associated energies.
Pike meets several artists who have attuned themselves to the faery frequency. Brian Froud, creator of The Dark Crystal, is one such man. Froud doesn't consider himself particularly creative; as a vessel for faery consciousness, he turns visions into puppets.
Signe Pike's descriptions of sacred places are immaculate in their sensual detail, as are the expressions of her expanding emotions and mindset. The book will probably prove to be a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. Readers with open minds and a love of folklore will consider it manna from Heaven (or, more appropriately, Tìr na nÒg). Those whose minds are closed to the possibility of a wider reality will likely fail to appreciate the book's beauty and profundity.
Just as Signe Pike was forever altered by her experiences, Faery Tale will have a comparable effect on many of its readers. It put a smile on my face throughout.
Hail to the little people!
Highly recommended.
On Dartmoor stands a stone circle where indigenous wild ponies perform a mysterious ritual: one by one they enter the circle, pause at the central monolith, gaze at it with reverence, then leave. In contrast, trained horses refuse to enter the circle, terrified by its proximity. It seems that domesticated horses - which have had their animal natures 'broken' by humans - feel that they're not welcome in the ancient stone circle, while animals that have retained their wild spirit are kin to the faeries, and able to commune with associated energies.
Pike meets several artists who have attuned themselves to the faery frequency. Brian Froud, creator of The Dark Crystal, is one such man. Froud doesn't consider himself particularly creative; as a vessel for faery consciousness, he turns visions into puppets.
Signe Pike's descriptions of sacred places are immaculate in their sensual detail, as are the expressions of her expanding emotions and mindset. The book will probably prove to be a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. Readers with open minds and a love of folklore will consider it manna from Heaven (or, more appropriately, Tìr na nÒg). Those whose minds are closed to the possibility of a wider reality will likely fail to appreciate the book's beauty and profundity.
Just as Signe Pike was forever altered by her experiences, Faery Tale will have a comparable effect on many of its readers. It put a smile on my face throughout.
Hail to the little people!
Highly recommended.
April 15, 2012
Faery Tale's title is misleadingly appealing. The title itself is far more interesting than the actual content within its covers. The title might lead you to believe this is the memoir of a woman seeking mystery, looking within herself and her world for more than meets the eye and finding beauty in the everyday moments of life. Instead, you'll get the story of a girl who heads to the British Isles ostensibly to prove that faeries are real, but in reality wants to avoid dealing with the recent death of her father. Worst of all? This journey isn't magical, isn't well-written and doesn't draw you in as the reader.
I was not without compassion for Signe Pike. Her memories of her recently deceased father run the gamut from terrifying to heartwarming. My own memories are more the former than the latter. At least Signe had a father who was present and loving for part of her childhood. Yet she rightly mourns his death and longs to grieve and move on. Sadly she doesn't so much deal with her grief as flee it in her search for faeries.
Signe experiences several inexplicable things on her travels. I don't doubt that they happened - I only wish she'd had eyes to see that the answers might lie within faith rather than with faeries. Pike was never able to move past her skepticism. She simply set out with one mission in mind and held firmly to that, rather than being open to true mystery.
Several members of my book club compared this book to Eat, Pray, Love. It was similar in the author's search for meaning, but far less well-written and with little resolution at the end of the book. If you're in the mood for a memoir that involves travel and/or spiritual searching, there are far better places to start than this one. While the title and subject may appeal, the writing will undoubtedly leave you wanting.
I was not without compassion for Signe Pike. Her memories of her recently deceased father run the gamut from terrifying to heartwarming. My own memories are more the former than the latter. At least Signe had a father who was present and loving for part of her childhood. Yet she rightly mourns his death and longs to grieve and move on. Sadly she doesn't so much deal with her grief as flee it in her search for faeries.
Signe experiences several inexplicable things on her travels. I don't doubt that they happened - I only wish she'd had eyes to see that the answers might lie within faith rather than with faeries. Pike was never able to move past her skepticism. She simply set out with one mission in mind and held firmly to that, rather than being open to true mystery.
Several members of my book club compared this book to Eat, Pray, Love. It was similar in the author's search for meaning, but far less well-written and with little resolution at the end of the book. If you're in the mood for a memoir that involves travel and/or spiritual searching, there are far better places to start than this one. While the title and subject may appeal, the writing will undoubtedly leave you wanting.
January 23, 2011
I could barely get into this. Two rules for would-be nonfiction writers:
1. Don't say your book is about a topic when it's really about you.
2. Don't write a memoir unless you have a unique experience to write about.
1. Don't say your book is about a topic when it's really about you.
2. Don't write a memoir unless you have a unique experience to write about.
July 28, 2011
I'm sure any criticism by ardent devotees of this book will be met with accusations of having lost the innocence of childhood or the sense of magic in nature or some other New Age shortcoming. And that may well be true. I don't believe in fairies, and I'm not going to start clapping my hands now either. And I have to admit that, yes, I would look askance at any grown-up adult claiming to believe in fairies, and particularly one who gave up her job, left her fiancee in New York and spent two and a half months travelling around the British Isles looking for them.
In addition, I'm not sure this book is really aimed at Brits - it's full of an almost typical American fascination with the history and 'quaintness' of Britain, a conviction that thatched cottages and drystone walls and folklore and hidden glens must automatically equal magic. I didn't really recognise this Britain, but perhaps I need to get in touch with my inner child in order to do so.
I'm not against the idea of recapturing the magic of youth, of attempting to rediscover the mystery and myth of the world we live in. I have no problem with people trying to rediscover their inner child, or shedding a lot of the scepticism and cynicism of adult life. Those are admirable goals, to be sure - but this book didn't do it for me. I just found it breathlessly credulous.
On a purely functional level, this book could have done with a better edit, which is ironic considering the author is an editor. There were more than a few errors - 'taught' instead of 'taut', 'draught' instead of 'drought'.
In addition, I'm not sure this book is really aimed at Brits - it's full of an almost typical American fascination with the history and 'quaintness' of Britain, a conviction that thatched cottages and drystone walls and folklore and hidden glens must automatically equal magic. I didn't really recognise this Britain, but perhaps I need to get in touch with my inner child in order to do so.
I'm not against the idea of recapturing the magic of youth, of attempting to rediscover the mystery and myth of the world we live in. I have no problem with people trying to rediscover their inner child, or shedding a lot of the scepticism and cynicism of adult life. Those are admirable goals, to be sure - but this book didn't do it for me. I just found it breathlessly credulous.
On a purely functional level, this book could have done with a better edit, which is ironic considering the author is an editor. There were more than a few errors - 'taught' instead of 'taut', 'draught' instead of 'drought'.
June 7, 2012
True story: I kept putting off finishing the book. Not because it was bad, but because I didn���t want it to end!! There are so many things to like about Pike���s work that it���s hard to know where to start. I think what I enjoyed best (besides the author���s easily-readable prose) is her self-awareness.
She knows how strange it sounds that, in the 21st century, she is looking for evidence of tiny magical creatures. She approaches the situation with an adult-like practicality and an open mind at the same time. So if you find yourself thinking ���I can���t believe I���m reading a book about a genuine search for fairies��� then this one is definitely for you. ;-)
And don���t say, ���There���s no such thing as you-know-whats.��� If you do, you know that somewhere, somehow, one falls down dead ;-)
She knows how strange it sounds that, in the 21st century, she is looking for evidence of tiny magical creatures. She approaches the situation with an adult-like practicality and an open mind at the same time. So if you find yourself thinking ���I can���t believe I���m reading a book about a genuine search for fairies��� then this one is definitely for you. ;-)
And don���t say, ���There���s no such thing as you-know-whats.��� If you do, you know that somewhere, somehow, one falls down dead ;-)
January 4, 2012
I zipped through this memoir/travelogue of a young woman's search for faeries, which was fun and engaging. I wish I could have had a book contract to travel to Glastonbury, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland in search of magic and enchantment - why didn't I think of that? The author tried to tread somewhere in the middle between a rationalist's look at world folklore (though giving only the briefest examination of a very extensive subject) and the psychic/intuitive exploration of a metaphysical phenomenon, as well as mixing in her own lingering grief over the loss of her father. In her quest to re-kindle the magic and belief of childhood, she became more child-like, choosing to not always look through the filter of a concrete rational adult who lived and worked in Manhattan. But secrets do not always reveal themselves just because someone decides to believe. While not possessed of strong psychic gifts like her friend and part-time travel companion Raven, she was willing to open herself up to new experiences that were definitely in the woo-woo category. That takes some bravery and trust, or naivete and gullibility a cynic might say. And she had, well, interesting experiences. Yes, much of it could be said to be her imagination from a receptive state, but why was a black feather always being put in her path? In her new openness she learned to see things differently and listen to her intuition, and found that to heal ourselves and the planet, maybe it's the faeries who can show the way.
I read this while also reading Martha Beck's new book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, (well not at the exact same time - I haven't mastered that yet) and found they were eerily compatible, a sympathetic synchronicity. Martha doesn't talk about faeries, though she does have some interesting experiences with trees and what she calls the green nation, and goes into much clearer, and more scientific, explanations of how to cultivate states of wordlessness and oneness. My review of it will come later, once I've read and re-read it - it's that full of good stuff. But I encourage anyone with both an open mind and a sense of scientific inquiry to read it. It makes an excellent companion to Pike's rather breezy memoir.
I read this while also reading Martha Beck's new book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World, (well not at the exact same time - I haven't mastered that yet) and found they were eerily compatible, a sympathetic synchronicity. Martha doesn't talk about faeries, though she does have some interesting experiences with trees and what she calls the green nation, and goes into much clearer, and more scientific, explanations of how to cultivate states of wordlessness and oneness. My review of it will come later, once I've read and re-read it - it's that full of good stuff. But I encourage anyone with both an open mind and a sense of scientific inquiry to read it. It makes an excellent companion to Pike's rather breezy memoir.
March 24, 2011
This was a memoir/travelogue that I didn't want to end - I wish I was still reading it!
You don't have to believe in faeries to be drawn into the spell of Signe Pike's frolicking memoir. Stifled by the concrete jungle of Manhattan, Pike embarks on a journey to England, Ireland, the Isle of Man (in the middle of the Irish Sea) and Scotland, in search of magical faery realms. With equal parts skepticism and childlike wonder, Pike welcomes the unknown and allows her "faery journalism" to guide her to the people and places radiating enchantment.
Her warmth, curiosity and sense of humor make for the perfect travel companion. Moments of levity (calling on the faeries to guide her through her first British roundabout) are balanced by faith and trust (when a four-year-old's innocence and instinct help to reveal an ancient faery bridge.) And as much as Faery Tale is a whimsical adventure, it's also an emotional journey as Pike shares the challenge of coping with her father's death and reconciling the complicated figure he was in her life.
Only by examining the forgotten world of faeries can Pike reclaim what she'd lost: a deep connection with herself, the earth and every living thing around her. Her travels offer a perfect antidote for our collective "emotional deforestation" - the loss of magic and innocence - that had been gnawing at her. "My biggest fear is that if we continue to stifle this loss, half the people on the planet will forget what their forest even looked like in the first place," she writes.
With wit, wisdom and eyes wide open to a sentient world, Pike challenges us to listen to our intuition, tune in to the earth and ultimately, believe in that which we can't always prove.
You don't have to believe in faeries to be drawn into the spell of Signe Pike's frolicking memoir. Stifled by the concrete jungle of Manhattan, Pike embarks on a journey to England, Ireland, the Isle of Man (in the middle of the Irish Sea) and Scotland, in search of magical faery realms. With equal parts skepticism and childlike wonder, Pike welcomes the unknown and allows her "faery journalism" to guide her to the people and places radiating enchantment.
Her warmth, curiosity and sense of humor make for the perfect travel companion. Moments of levity (calling on the faeries to guide her through her first British roundabout) are balanced by faith and trust (when a four-year-old's innocence and instinct help to reveal an ancient faery bridge.) And as much as Faery Tale is a whimsical adventure, it's also an emotional journey as Pike shares the challenge of coping with her father's death and reconciling the complicated figure he was in her life.
Only by examining the forgotten world of faeries can Pike reclaim what she'd lost: a deep connection with herself, the earth and every living thing around her. Her travels offer a perfect antidote for our collective "emotional deforestation" - the loss of magic and innocence - that had been gnawing at her. "My biggest fear is that if we continue to stifle this loss, half the people on the planet will forget what their forest even looked like in the first place," she writes.
With wit, wisdom and eyes wide open to a sentient world, Pike challenges us to listen to our intuition, tune in to the earth and ultimately, believe in that which we can't always prove.
February 2, 2020
Magical. This memoir was magical. It made me want to drop everything and chase after fairies just like the author did. It made me want to Believe with all the innocence of childhood. It brought the magic back to the woods outside and the dignity back to believing in fairies. The author's skepticism, lucidity, down-to-earth-ness is a nice contrast to the airy-fairy nature of many of those who pursue and write about fairy encounters. Whether or not she truly finds fairies is debatable (even in the author's eyes, but she certainly found friends and found happiness. This book will brighten up your day and bring a little bit of hope and magic into your life.
September 30, 2020
As memoirs go, I’m sure a quest to find faeries won’t be every reader’s cup of tea but I enjoyed this. I picked it up to read about her travels in Ireland & Scotland, hoping that I had visited some of the same places. The Burren in Ireland is definitely one of the more memorable places I’ve seen but alas no faery sightings there for me.
June 27, 2017
I bought this book in a lovely bookshop The Speaking Tree in Glastonbury. If you ever been to Glastonbury, you know that this is a very special place. Just looking at shop's windows you will know that something is different there - the town is full with crystal shops, windows decorated with faeries wings, goddesses figurines. There is a Goddess Temple. It's a very spiritual place, and shops alone show this.
Faery Tale is a perfect book to feel a little bit of this spirituality that is still present is few places in United Kingdom and Ireland. The author starts a journey with one goal - to find faeries. She goes to England, specifically to the very Glastonbury where I bought the book. She goes to The Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland. She meets all the different people who still believe in faeries that help her to find her own faeries. It's fascinating book. I especially liked to read about the history and mythology behind the places she visits. She also includes account of her seeing and feeling of faeries, how they contacted her and how she felt their presence. Some of them were just a bit too much for my skeptic mind, but I tried to open my mind and do not judge.
This book inspired me to read more about history of Ireland and Great Britain, to read more about religious beliefs of prehistoric times, to read more about stone circles and Celtic mythology. I really enjoyed this book, and it gave me a lot of inspirations for travels and learning. Faery Tale is a memoir like not other.
Faery Tale is a perfect book to feel a little bit of this spirituality that is still present is few places in United Kingdom and Ireland. The author starts a journey with one goal - to find faeries. She goes to England, specifically to the very Glastonbury where I bought the book. She goes to The Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland. She meets all the different people who still believe in faeries that help her to find her own faeries. It's fascinating book. I especially liked to read about the history and mythology behind the places she visits. She also includes account of her seeing and feeling of faeries, how they contacted her and how she felt their presence. Some of them were just a bit too much for my skeptic mind, but I tried to open my mind and do not judge.
This book inspired me to read more about history of Ireland and Great Britain, to read more about religious beliefs of prehistoric times, to read more about stone circles and Celtic mythology. I really enjoyed this book, and it gave me a lot of inspirations for travels and learning. Faery Tale is a memoir like not other.
March 1, 2020
Truly an enchanting memoir. After losing a parent, Signe Pike takes a year sabbatical to travel to all the places where the fae have said to be as she works through her complex and heart-wrenching experience of grief.
It is no surprise as she wrestled with the real or fabricated existence of the fae that is also testing the truth of the narratives that we tell ourselves- particularly about those that we hold close to our hearts.
Though I read this memoir years ago now, I have never forgotten it and the deep impression it made on me. And as I have worked through my own grief over the loss of beloved people, I have whispered to myself her line,
“It is on rough days, when I am already laid bare, that the grief hits me the hardest.”
And in that line- memorized and tucked into my heart, I’ve held greater compassion for myself when I am tired and vulnerable, and my heart remembers keenly what it has lost.
It is no surprise as she wrestled with the real or fabricated existence of the fae that is also testing the truth of the narratives that we tell ourselves- particularly about those that we hold close to our hearts.
Though I read this memoir years ago now, I have never forgotten it and the deep impression it made on me. And as I have worked through my own grief over the loss of beloved people, I have whispered to myself her line,
“It is on rough days, when I am already laid bare, that the grief hits me the hardest.”
And in that line- memorized and tucked into my heart, I’ve held greater compassion for myself when I am tired and vulnerable, and my heart remembers keenly what it has lost.
December 17, 2013
You must be willing to suspend disbelief completely in order to really enjoy this book, because it's not particularly well-researched or well-organized, but if you can just go with the flow, it is an enchanting journey to follow.
June 5, 2019
4.5 Stars
A beautiful novel that deals with one of life's toughest things to go through: loss.
Not to mention the awesome faery stuff we get to learn.
A beautiful novel that deals with one of life's toughest things to go through: loss.
Not to mention the awesome faery stuff we get to learn.
December 22, 2021
Not sure I would have picked this book up had I not just enjoyed the first two books in Signe Pikes 'The Lost Queen' series. You know how you find an author you like & then search to see what other books they've written? Lo and behold, the search results turned up 'Faery Tale.'
This appears to be her first book and I found so many references in it that she incorporated into her new series. I have an undeniable interest in Faeries, have cultivated two fairy gardens in my own yard and have had a few inexplicable experiences in the past few years that have made me wonder more about what exists in the "Other World' or even if there are other realms coexisting with ours. The author posed the question that belief in something is a matter of faith, like believing in God or Angels and if a person can believe in those unseen things, why not faeries too?? The opposing argument can be made that the intuition/messages she believed she was receiving from the faeries could also be from spirit guides, angels, etc. ~ why must it be from faeries?? Whichever camp you fall in, if you're alert to energies in the environment or are open to receiving messages from your inner voice/universe, there's no dispute something else is working in tandem with us.
Her other argument for their existence is that in every mythology (if you believe faeries to be mythological creatures) there's a kernel of truth & in every corner of the globe, faeries exist in one form or another. How can that be, at a time when the world wasn't as small/connected as it is now, that every culture featured them in stories, fables, whatever??? It's a thought provoking question.
Ms Pike had some interesting experiences on her 3 month sojourn around the British Isles, seeking evidence of their existence. A person who wants concrete, black & white verification would no doubt scoff at the miniscule proof she turned up. A more openminded person might view her experience differently. I say what have we to lose by opening our minds more?? Even if we just tune into the energy around us, we're all the better for it.
Btw, this book is not solely a devotion to her search for "enchantment" as she termed it, it was also a journey of grief and a therapeutic exercise in dealing with the loss of her father. It should be mentioned as that's also a part of the story and took me by surprise.
This appears to be her first book and I found so many references in it that she incorporated into her new series. I have an undeniable interest in Faeries, have cultivated two fairy gardens in my own yard and have had a few inexplicable experiences in the past few years that have made me wonder more about what exists in the "Other World' or even if there are other realms coexisting with ours. The author posed the question that belief in something is a matter of faith, like believing in God or Angels and if a person can believe in those unseen things, why not faeries too?? The opposing argument can be made that the intuition/messages she believed she was receiving from the faeries could also be from spirit guides, angels, etc. ~ why must it be from faeries?? Whichever camp you fall in, if you're alert to energies in the environment or are open to receiving messages from your inner voice/universe, there's no dispute something else is working in tandem with us.
Her other argument for their existence is that in every mythology (if you believe faeries to be mythological creatures) there's a kernel of truth & in every corner of the globe, faeries exist in one form or another. How can that be, at a time when the world wasn't as small/connected as it is now, that every culture featured them in stories, fables, whatever??? It's a thought provoking question.
Ms Pike had some interesting experiences on her 3 month sojourn around the British Isles, seeking evidence of their existence. A person who wants concrete, black & white verification would no doubt scoff at the miniscule proof she turned up. A more openminded person might view her experience differently. I say what have we to lose by opening our minds more?? Even if we just tune into the energy around us, we're all the better for it.
Btw, this book is not solely a devotion to her search for "enchantment" as she termed it, it was also a journey of grief and a therapeutic exercise in dealing with the loss of her father. It should be mentioned as that's also a part of the story and took me by surprise.
October 11, 2022
Simply a lovely book and one I will cherish and think about for a long time.
February 21, 2014
Although a lot of good (albeit not that in-depth) information is given about Faery lore, Signe herself just comes off as an annoyingly selfish drama queen. It seems that she uses Faeries as a way to distract herself from her personal problems. This to me seems incredibly disrespectful, as does her ignoring the very important cleansing steps of pre-ritual. Disrespectful to Faeries, and to Pagans. Although her grief and turmoil are understandable, the supposed 'abuse' she took from her father and his 'drug habit' just seem to convey to me a spoiled brat (Signe) who runs to therapy because she can't cope with reality. Therapy for a broken stop watch and spankings? Are you serious? People are human, even parents. Throughout the entire book her attitude about Faeries, her dedication to any actual discovery, seems to be half-hearted and insincere. Perhaps I am incorrect about Signe, maybe it is simply her writing style that conveys a person who lacks true depth, but this book was painful to me. The way she projects her relationship with her father onto everything, from Faery to Marijuana, seems incredibly juvenile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2021
I was utterly charmed by this book. It kept me company on many a public transit commute. In fact, I almost missed a T stop because I was meditating about trolls!
In this memoir, Signe Pike quits her job as a New York City book editor and heads off to Ireland, England, and Scotland in search of faery encounters, but also in search of answers to the pain she still feels after her father's death. In addition to great storytelling, there is a lot of research put into this book. I loved the historical and mythological context Signe provides along the way. Truly, for so many years in human history, humans believed in the "fair folk." Signe wonders—and I guess I do too now—why don't we believe anymore?
I fell in love with Signe Pike's "The Lost Queen," so I knew I wanted to read her memoir and see if I couldn't find a little mysticism in my own life too.
In this memoir, Signe Pike quits her job as a New York City book editor and heads off to Ireland, England, and Scotland in search of faery encounters, but also in search of answers to the pain she still feels after her father's death. In addition to great storytelling, there is a lot of research put into this book. I loved the historical and mythological context Signe provides along the way. Truly, for so many years in human history, humans believed in the "fair folk." Signe wonders—and I guess I do too now—why don't we believe anymore?
I fell in love with Signe Pike's "The Lost Queen," so I knew I wanted to read her memoir and see if I couldn't find a little mysticism in my own life too.
September 5, 2011
There seems to be a genre now of women given a book advance on the premise of traveling abroad for the purpose of self discovery. I'm not convinced that this is necessarily the best way to fund a book. This book seemed a bit unpolished. I'm still not sure the author is even convinced of her thesis.
May 10, 2016
Originally Read from May 17 to 27, 2014. Re-reading Jan 2016-May 2016.
If you read one book this year make it this one! Truly life changing, even for those of us who believe in magic! Very inspirational!
If you read one book this year make it this one! Truly life changing, even for those of us who believe in magic! Very inspirational!
December 31, 2021
I really liked the concept of a person trying to find a bit of magic and enchantment in the modern world and Signe’s journey was quite relatable in a lot of ways. Whether you believe faeries truly exist or are just interested on hearing people’s perspective on it, the read is interesting, humorous and thoughtful. Where I felt a bit disconnected, and this is only a personal view, was the ‘encounters’ with faeries and the odd circumstances were a bit, well hard to believe. I suppose it’s no different than seeing signs or God’s hand in the life of a person who believes He exists, but as I personally don’t think faeries are real - although I definitely wish they were - these encounters feel subjective. Far be it from me to discount someone’s experience, so I don’t want to discourage giving this book a go as there are still a lot to enjoy besides, it just might require a bit of suspended belief depending on your own thoughts on the matter. What I did enjoy was the journey that Signe goes on to reconnect with nature and to sort through her past so she can move forward. Even just the travelling and meeting of new people can bring a certain kind of magic to one’s life and I did find it fun to follow Signe on her exploration both outward and inward,
May 2, 2024
As someone who is constantly looking for enchantment in my own life (including my own strong belief in fairies) I found this book both charming and whimsical. It is a great memoir about the story of loss and rediscovering your magic. I appreciated how the author did not hold back regarding her initial doubts, and discussed her true experiences along the way. It made the book much more authentic to her journey.
With that being said, I do wish the author did have some more respect regarding spiritualists, pagans, and even her own friends. You can have your own doubts without bringing others down. At times, there was a weird sense of superiority as if she was owed an explanation from those practicing on the land, or that she had to maintain a sense of truth above her friends “woo woo” beliefs. I mean, I totally get the need for “proof” in this situation, but you are working with fairies, just like the rest of us! Nobody owes you explanations or experiences, no matter how nice you might be to them.
Nonetheless, this was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who has doubts about magic, faeries, and the world around us.
With that being said, I do wish the author did have some more respect regarding spiritualists, pagans, and even her own friends. You can have your own doubts without bringing others down. At times, there was a weird sense of superiority as if she was owed an explanation from those practicing on the land, or that she had to maintain a sense of truth above her friends “woo woo” beliefs. I mean, I totally get the need for “proof” in this situation, but you are working with fairies, just like the rest of us! Nobody owes you explanations or experiences, no matter how nice you might be to them.
Nonetheless, this was a great read and I recommend it to anyone who has doubts about magic, faeries, and the world around us.
March 20, 2018
A really interesting read, makes the concept of faeries more than what you read in children's books. They become something connected with the natural world, they begin to seem plausible if you open your mind. The writing was not always my style, but a really interesting journey.
March 21, 2025
Had an absolutely delightful time reading this and now I need to go back to Scotland to go look for fairies.
December 15, 2010
This enchanting memoir is sort of Eat Pray Love for faery lovers. Signe Pike is a young woman who quit her job as a book editor for a New York publisher and went on a quest to find out if faeries are real. I was maddened, delighted and inspired many times over during my reading of this truly modern faery tale.
Because that is what it is, a faery tale in the voice of a modern young woman who wanted to believe in magic, in things that cannot be seen and in happy endings. Signe Pike is young enough to be my daughter (or maybe it's that I am old enough to be her mother.) She is almost young enough to be my granddaughter (actually I have no idea how old she is, I'm just guessing.) Anyway, it was inevitable that she would make me mad sometimes.
I started the book and by about page 30, I threw it down and thought I would not waste my time for another page. The voice of Signe Pike struck me as silly; an amalgam of the tone of Facebook comments, texting between teens and People magazine. I now realize that I was suffering from generation gap.
That evening I spent hours with my youngest friend, a 25-year-old aspiring writer. We drank wine, told each other stories, talked about life and read our latest efforts to each other. I love this woman because she reminds me of my younger self and hanging out with her is effortless. Somehow that evening led me to pick up Faery Tale again the next morning and I read it all day until I got to the end.
I still got mad a few times but mostly I was delighted. I've done my own faery research over the years. I too believed in faeries as a child. I have encountered disembodied beings on an island in Lake Michigan, on Mt Tamalpias, in Ireland, in the Redwoods and in my own backyard. About ten years ago I spent a few months reading up on how to contact faeries and I have always read magical stories, from C S Lewis and E Nesbit as a child to Suzanne Clarke and John Crowley in recent years. As I kept reading Signe Pike, I saw that she was trying as hard as she could to remain objective and not get sucked in to a bunch of airy-fairy, New Age ridiculousness. She was on a quest to find some meaning for her life and to make sense of her relationship with her father who had passed away. She was also looking for hope in a world that seemed to be heading for disaster. I am so down with all of that.
As she traveled to Glastonbury (where I have always wanted to go), to Ireland (where I have been), to the Isles of Man and Skye, to Scotland and Findhorn, I began to feel I was in pretty good hands. Her process of slowing down, learning to let things happen, listening more closely to her intuition and bonding with the various faery "experts" she interviewed, made me happy for her.
And that is all I am going to say because I don't want to spoil anymore of the adventure of reading this book. It's cool and it's real and it's magical. Plus there is an awesome bibliography in the back and Signe has one the best author websites I've seen.
January 3, 2011
“Maybe, I mused, it’s not us who are helping the faeries by believing in them. Perhaps it’s the humans who stand to benefit, if only we could make the faeries believe in us once more.”
The whimsical title and lovely book jacket caught my eye, but it was the dedication and poem at the beginning for the author's loss of her father that led me to purchase this book. I found myself thinking “suspend disbelief” when I started it, and had to smile when the author echoed those exact words toward the end of the book.
My freshman year in college, I had to write a debate essay. I chose to argue that it was not possible to disprove that magical creatures exist. How can you emphatically state a unicorn does not exist because you can’t see it – you can’t see air, you can’t see energy, you can’t see love, you can’t see God. At a catholic college bent on intellectual discourse, it was a controversial stance to take – which was largely why I took it – it was a debate, after all.
Signe Pike writes: “Now as I roamed from place to place, I couldn’t utter a word about my search without people entering into a full-fledged debate over the existence or nonexistence of a world outside our range of human perception. It was fascinating and, after a while, exhausting. I grew tired of hearing people argue that God was real but faeries weren’t. That angels were real, faeries weren’t. I would ask them why they felt that way, and the funniest thing was, no one knew. Because God is real and faeries are fictitious,” came the reply. So perhaps by the same logic, God could be fictitious and faeries could be real. But if you ask me, the existence of one only serves to support the existence of the other.”
Skepticism and fear are put aside and the author finds herself and a way to manage her grief through her search for the magic of her childhood. “We can choose to believe or not to believe...I found that the more I was willing to walk toward belief, the stronger my own intuition got, and the more gifts and kindness I received, even if it was only because I was now more aware, faeries or no.”
Even if your own disbelief remains strong, it is hard to deny the magic of this book, and the final lesson the author learns is a strong vein we could all benefit to gain – “But now I knew there were many kinds of magic in life. Like the magic of simply being present. The magic of connecting with an old friend. The magic of laughter, of nature, of curiosity, of adventure. The enchantment we weave into our lives ripples into the lives of others. No matter how small a change, it can inspire if we can only learn to listen, to hear it, catch it, obey it – one day we wake up and life can never be the same again.”
The whimsical title and lovely book jacket caught my eye, but it was the dedication and poem at the beginning for the author's loss of her father that led me to purchase this book. I found myself thinking “suspend disbelief” when I started it, and had to smile when the author echoed those exact words toward the end of the book.
My freshman year in college, I had to write a debate essay. I chose to argue that it was not possible to disprove that magical creatures exist. How can you emphatically state a unicorn does not exist because you can’t see it – you can’t see air, you can’t see energy, you can’t see love, you can’t see God. At a catholic college bent on intellectual discourse, it was a controversial stance to take – which was largely why I took it – it was a debate, after all.
Signe Pike writes: “Now as I roamed from place to place, I couldn’t utter a word about my search without people entering into a full-fledged debate over the existence or nonexistence of a world outside our range of human perception. It was fascinating and, after a while, exhausting. I grew tired of hearing people argue that God was real but faeries weren’t. That angels were real, faeries weren’t. I would ask them why they felt that way, and the funniest thing was, no one knew. Because God is real and faeries are fictitious,” came the reply. So perhaps by the same logic, God could be fictitious and faeries could be real. But if you ask me, the existence of one only serves to support the existence of the other.”
Skepticism and fear are put aside and the author finds herself and a way to manage her grief through her search for the magic of her childhood. “We can choose to believe or not to believe...I found that the more I was willing to walk toward belief, the stronger my own intuition got, and the more gifts and kindness I received, even if it was only because I was now more aware, faeries or no.”
Even if your own disbelief remains strong, it is hard to deny the magic of this book, and the final lesson the author learns is a strong vein we could all benefit to gain – “But now I knew there were many kinds of magic in life. Like the magic of simply being present. The magic of connecting with an old friend. The magic of laughter, of nature, of curiosity, of adventure. The enchantment we weave into our lives ripples into the lives of others. No matter how small a change, it can inspire if we can only learn to listen, to hear it, catch it, obey it – one day we wake up and life can never be the same again.”
August 27, 2011
I liked the idea of this book more than the book itself, though it was a quick, enjoyable read. The fact that faeries don't automagically (ha) turn up when sought pleased both my inner skeptic and the little girl who had to keep other books on top of Froud and Lee's Faeries lest Jenny Greenteeth and Peg Powler emerge from their swampy pages hoping to drag me back in with them.
There are a number of lovely anecdotes, particularly in the Isle of Man section, but Pike's writing is a mixed bag, with some odd word choices that distracted from the narrative — surprising given her background as an editor — and the research she undertook comes across as pretty minimal. I try not to frown upon books when they don't match my preconceptions but, man, more extensive accounts of local history, folklore and mythology would have been so welcome.
As someone who's not particularly interested in memoirs, I couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable and voyeuristic when reading about Pike's family. The complex emotions she felt in the wake of her father's death obviously influenced her 'search for magic,' but, for me, at least, these passages emphasized the personal rather than the universal in such experiences... I think it takes quite a deft hand to weave them into another narrative to the benefit of both. But it's easy to write this in a short review, eh?
There are a number of lovely anecdotes, particularly in the Isle of Man section, but Pike's writing is a mixed bag, with some odd word choices that distracted from the narrative — surprising given her background as an editor — and the research she undertook comes across as pretty minimal. I try not to frown upon books when they don't match my preconceptions but, man, more extensive accounts of local history, folklore and mythology would have been so welcome.
As someone who's not particularly interested in memoirs, I couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable and voyeuristic when reading about Pike's family. The complex emotions she felt in the wake of her father's death obviously influenced her 'search for magic,' but, for me, at least, these passages emphasized the personal rather than the universal in such experiences... I think it takes quite a deft hand to weave them into another narrative to the benefit of both. But it's easy to write this in a short review, eh?
June 6, 2011
If you like Elizabeth Gilbert's 'Eat, Pray, Love' and you're open-minded to the mystical possibility of the fae, you'll like this book. Pike's writing style is engaging as you travel with her on a journey to "see" beyond the faery veil and incorporate magic in everyday life.
The book chronicles her experiences as she travels to different parts of the world to learn more about the stories involving magical creatures. Well-known places that she visits include Glastonbury and the Isle of Man, where she meets people from all walks of life spanning the countries of Mexico, Scotland, Ireland, and England. You also get to see how her search affects her home life in New York City. Pike receives support from her friend Raven (a reiki practioner & pagan priestess) and her fiancé, Eric. She also confronts memories of her late father throughout the book, which seem out of place at times, but you really get to see her personal development through these flashbacks.
This is the author's first book and I look forward to more!
(this is from a review that I did for a local news website)
The book chronicles her experiences as she travels to different parts of the world to learn more about the stories involving magical creatures. Well-known places that she visits include Glastonbury and the Isle of Man, where she meets people from all walks of life spanning the countries of Mexico, Scotland, Ireland, and England. You also get to see how her search affects her home life in New York City. Pike receives support from her friend Raven (a reiki practioner & pagan priestess) and her fiancé, Eric. She also confronts memories of her late father throughout the book, which seem out of place at times, but you really get to see her personal development through these flashbacks.
This is the author's first book and I look forward to more!
(this is from a review that I did for a local news website)
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