Dragonfly

by Frederic S. Durbin

A young girl is drawn into the strange, spooky underworld in the basement of her uncle's funeral parlor.

Genres: Fantasy, Halloween, Fiction, Horror, Young Adult, Science Fiction Fantasy

6 pages

First published July 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

What started out as a cute, fantastical yet creepy tale eventually morphed into the most dragged out mess of a plot I’ve experienced in quite awhile. While I do have to applaud the author’s immense creativity, the story was just too all over the place and entirely too lengthy for what it was.

[Werner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note, July 17, 2018: Just now, I discovered that when I originally reviewed this, I forgot to add my star rating! I've now remedied that omission. :-)

Though the hardcover edition of this book was published in 1999 by Arkham House, a fairly well-known press, and the paperback edition a few years later by no less illustrious a pillar of Big Publishing than the Penguin group, I'd never heard of it when I picked up my copy about a decade ago at a flea market. It obviously wasn't advertised enough to get much traction; and booksellers were probably uncertain of how to market it. On the one hand, it has a fifth-grader narrator and protagonist --or, at least, one who's looking back to the time she was in that grade-- which would probably be off-putting to many (not all) adult readers. But on the other, it's written at a length, and with a mature vocabulary, diction and sensibility, that suggests that children (or at least middle-graders/tweens) are not the primary audience. There's no sexual content or bad language, and depictions of violence are restrained; kids that age could read it, if they're good readers, and some might like it. (Though it might be a bit nightmare-inducing, given that the premise suggests that monsters in the closet can be real....) But it really requires an adult perspective to fully appreciate.

Frederic S. Durbin discovered Lovecraft and Tolkien in elementary school; but I'd describe the vision of this novel as more of a blending of Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury. From the influence of the former, we have an underworld of powerful alien entities once worshiped as gods, which impinges on the human world and has dark designs for it. But the small-town setting (the exact locale is never named, but like Bradbury, Durbin grew up in small-town Illinois) and the macabre flavor of the world of Harvest Moon is reminiscent of The October Country. (Harvest Moon isn't actually in the basement of the funeral parlor that belongs to Bridget Anne's Uncle Henry; the funeral parlor is one of many points where dimensions interact.) Even the prose style at times reminded me of Bradbury. But Durbin also brings a low-key Christian spirituality to his tale (after college, he came to Japan, where he now teaches college-level English, as a Lutheran missionary). Unlike C. S. Lewis' Narnia books, this one doesn't have allegorical features of Christian symbolism; but like Tolkien's work, it's imbued at the conceptual level with a Christian world-view, and here there are occasional explicit references to God, prayer, etc. (But religion-phobic readers aren't beaten over the head with these.)

The premise and world-building (which is a tour-de-force in its own right) of the novel, though, are Durbin's own, and they're actually pretty original; I've never run across anything in the fantasy genre exactly like it. He conjures the radical evil of beings who subsist on the psychic energy of human pain and despair with a very dark canvass; my wife commented on the darkness of the vision here, since this book was one I read out loud to her. (But of course light shines more brightly against a dark background.) The characterizations here are original, three-dimensional, and realistic, and it's a very well-plotted, well written work, with no logical slips. I was strongly engaged with the characters' plight, and was often in suspense, especially in the buildup towards the climax. Compared to the more intense action of the first and last parts, the middle can seem a bit draggy, but that's intentional and necessary (and it's also partly a consequence of reading this as a car book, in irregular and short spurts). And as a narrator, Bridget Anne (a.k.a. "Dragonfly"), sounds like a kid in the beginning, but soon transitions to a more adult voice as she explains that she's looking back on these events. IMO, that's a flaw in the style (it would have been better to sound consistently like one age or the other). But it's a minor flaw, all in all, I'm very glad that I finally read this, and only wish I'd done so a lot sooner!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have three questions about this book: Why haven't more people heard of it? Why haven't they made a movie about it? Has he written anything else and, if not, why not?

This book is beautifully written, has an excellent plot, and takes an entirely new twist on fantasy. This book is a good choice for fans of Stephanie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, and Tolkien.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find it hard to believe this book is not more popular. Far from being overwritten or too descriptive, the narrative is perfect. Death is not off limits, nor does the author try to dumb the story down. So far, it's as damn near to perfect as I have come across.

[Dustin Reade · Rating 1 out of 5]

boring in the way church is boring. long. preachy. thought it would be a fun Halloween read but it wasn't. visually descriptive at times, borderline incomprehensible in others. I read the Arkham House edition.

[P. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up while stickering the science fiction/fantasy section; the cover is very appealing. And although the elements of the plot and the environment are well-done, I spent most of my reading time imagining how much better the book could be if the narration was first person present and if the author had been edited.

The book is narrated by the protagonist, but from the future. So, while the events are happening to a ten/eleven year old girl, they are filtered through the mind of an adult. It takes the reader out of the story and sucks immediacy from the reading experience.

Along with this: the narrator can't stop explaining things that are already obvious. The reader isn't trusted to figure things out. Some examples:

p. 233, describing a river: "Where we stood had once been underwater, I guessed, for it was a bed of stones as smooth and flat as faceless doubloons, their dates the pictures of the kings who minted them long ago washed away and forgotten. Kings came and went--rives and stones, I mused, would outlast them all." Stop musing already!

p. 308, the second paragraph describing two men in a shadow duel: "[The opponent] brandished his knife, pressing [the defender] backward. When the A.P.K.'s shadow hit a rough patch of ceiling, the outline wavered; taking the advantage, both [opponent] and his shadow aimed daggers. Ducking [the opponent's] arm, [the defender] parried the shadow's knife on his own.

Such a duel, you see was really two against two: [the defender] and his shadow circling the lantern, trying to outmaneuver [the opponent] and his."

Why is the last paragraph necessary? So, I felt talked down to, or overtalked to, the whole time. And all the good guys assumed everyone else shared their religion. I'd like that to be a little more subtle, or if not subtle, just allegorical, like Narnia.

[Salimbol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I picked up cheaply, on a whim, several years ago. How very serendipitous - this has turned out to be one of my favourite reads so far this year. It starts with a girl being drawn into the creepy underworld in the basement of her uncle's funeral parlour, and becomes a gripping journey through the land of Harvest Moon, which is a combination of Carnivale and Industrial Revolution-flavoured nightmares (I wasn't surprised to find out that the author lived in Japan while writing this; there's a definite fusion of Western and Japanese modes of horror going on here - Tim Burton meets Silent Hill!). Durbin employs striking imagery (such as the great boiling, fuming malevolent moon that turns out to be a mighty, jack-o-'lantern-faced airship) and lush, beautiful prose, and has a real knack for naming things (e.g. Eagerly Meagerly, the child-herder; sparsely, the food the captive children are fed upon; the Tenebrificium, the great dark fortress). While it has some of the flavour of a fairy tale, it's not a pretty one; there's some very dark material here - most particularly in the pervasive misery that the overlord of the Harvest Moon delights in manufacturing (literally) and perpetuating.
I'm finding it very difficult to decide if this should be considered children's, young adult or adult fiction. It seems far too dark for children's fiction, despite the fact it's told from the perspective of a ten-year-old girl (or rather, it's told by the girl in retrospect, from her adult's perspective), and it doesn't have the coming-of-age and finding-one's-place-in-the-world feel that I associate with young adult stories. At any rate, I'll be making this book one of my All Hallow's Read recs this year, for sure.

[The other John · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Had to re-read this one and get my fix of Midwest October...)
Dragonfly is a great read. The premise is nothing new--a child has adventures in a mystical realm. But unlike Dorothy, Meg Murry or the Pevensie children, Bridget Anne (also known by the nickname Dragonfly) heads down to a dark realm--the essence of Hallowe'en. Not quite hell, but much closer than any other "faerieland" of which I've read. But it's not all blackness, either. There is love and hope and faith amidst the suffering and death. Mr. Durbin does a very good job of bringing the story to life, weaving together the plot and characters. Nothing is wasted--details that I just thought of as embellishment suddenly turn out to be important to the plot. One of the folks who reviewed Dragonfly at Amazon.com said that the book reminded him of Ray Bradbury. Me, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis, partly because of the basic premise, partly because of the underlying Christianity of the heroes. (And partly because the only Bradbury I can recall reading is Farenheit 451.) But despite Mr. Lewis' skill in portraying good and evil characters, his fiction comes across as a weekend gardener--a tad dirty, but still very prim and proper. Dragonfly, to continue the metaphor, is more like a real farmer, for whom sweat and dust are a part of daily life. I really enjoyed reading this and I'm going to put it on my shelf so I can read it again. I suspect it will only get better the second time around.

[Chrissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel reminded me of reading Hawthorne. There is a certain lugubrious, vocabulary-centered soul to the narration of Dragonfly's adventures as a 10-yr old girl in the Halloween horror of Samuel Hain's land of Harvest Moon that read as if it was coming from an older tradition of literacy and literary references. Dragonfly is more witness than participant in the long defeat of Halloween and this leads to pacing that depends, over and over, on other characters dragging her Into the action. I found myself waiting for older-Dragonfly-as-narrator to reveal the meaning behind her elevated importance.

There are gorgeous scenes, beauty hidden in places, but the story left me cold. Despite this, it has the feel of the kind of epic that could grab you by the heart and perhaps that is a chance that most readers should take.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a combination of fiction, fantasy, maybe mild horror. It is very dark and complex, so much so that it is sometimes hard to follow.

Having said that, though, I really enjoyed the writing style. It is imaginary and literary, with lots of illusions to mythology, great books, and the Scriptures. But they are very very subtle. This is no Left Behind kind of cheap Christian novel. The author, a Lutheran, does a wondrous job of weaving elements of the Christian faith in without ever mentioning Jesus. It is well done. I hope he writes more soon.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating and engaging book! I wish I’d been able to read it in one go, but library holds and inability to renew and such. I cannot decide if this book would have been too much for me as a kid or book perfection. I’m leaning toward the latter, and am sad to have just come to it now.

Thought I would be squeamish with the labeling of it as a kind of horror but it’s my kind of horror: the unmasking of evil and its true nature. Durbin does an excellent job of portraying but without overwhelming the senses or the imagination.

[Kirsten Simkiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I quite reading this book about 90 pages into it and then skipped around a little to see if it got any better. To be really honest with you, most of the people rating this book with four and five star ratings are mostly reveling in the author being a Christian author, which is fine, than actually appreciating the writing style itself. That style, unfortunately, is what disappointed me. What makes that even worse was that I was really optimistic given that it's generally Halloween themed, but even that couldn't save this book.

For one thing, the characters fell flat - including the main character, Dragonfly, for whom the book was named. Dragonfly is a fifth grader, though it's told in past tense, meaning that as the main character is telling you the story, she's older than she is in the story. This creates an odd disconnect. All the other characters are just sort of there. Even though their actions are what seem to drive the plot, and not Dragonfly's actions - all of which seem to be hiding, praying, and generally being swept up in the guidance of side characters.

There's also this weird level of sexual desire in it. Mind you, this is a fifth grader who is being enticed by the smell of the musk of a boy. Having been a fifth grader, I can guarantee you that boys of similar ages to you do not smell good at that age. Hell, you're lucky if they use deodorant at all. Even if they did smell good at that age, there is no way a fifth grader would be smitten with a boy after one chance meeting and continually smell her cloak for hints of his "musk." Seriously. She's twelve, dude. (Spoiler alert: this book is written by a man who has clearly never been a fifth grade girl.)

The final thing that made me want to put down this book was that the author describes everything so extensively that I feel like the book is wasting my time. I question whether or not the editor for this book really read what was being said. These descriptions are tedious, and extensive, and don't actually help the plot along at all. I commented about 50 pages in that it felt like the author would rather be writing poetry than prose. It felt like reading really pointless poems about random topics. And I didn't think they were particularly well written poems.

Ultimately, this is not a book I would recommend to others.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about the heroine Dragonfly's harrowing journey through the Hallowe'en-ish world under her basement - ruled by an evil man who wants to take over the world. It's obvious that the author spent a lot of time on this book building the world under the basement and filling it with all sorts of dark detail (original from anything else I've seen), so it's a shame in a way that the book falls so flat. I'm not sure what disappointed me more: the fact that his Hallowe'en world didn't actually have much to do with Hallowe'en in the end, or that his main character just didn't have much to do other that get captured, cry and scream in terror at all the appropriate places. What worked in Alice In Wonderland - Alice's composure in the face of a cruel adult situation - was muddled to the point of meaningless here. The characters weren't interesting and tended to disappear or die before Durbin could give them much life. It could be that I expected too much 'edge' from kids-lit, or that the characters constant state of almost smug goodness ate away at my brain, but I couldn't honestly recommend this book to anyone.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a little slow and weird getting into this book, but by the middle I loved it, and towards the end I couldn't wait to find out how it was all resolved. This is high fantasy fiction for adults - children would probably enjoy reading it, but there are so many levels that make it more an adult book. I would recommend it to any lover of fantasy.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts out as a nice, atmospheric Halloween tale but gradually turns into a thinly veiled screed against the holiday and everything associated with it. Not a celebration of the season.

Also, a complete swipe of Something Wicked This Way Comes.

[Domenica Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read and reread this book a few Halloweens in a row, several years ago. It's a great Halloween YA book. There's just something about it I like. I will probably re-read it again soon. The topic is eerie but not scary. It's hard to picture some of it, but I try my best. Would have been great with a few illustrations.

[The Overflowing Inkwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a scene toward the beginning of this book, where Dragonfly looks through a window at the stolen children, eating a plant called sparsely, while a creepy handler called 'Eagerly Meagerly' walks up and down between the tables, that reminds me quite strongly of the game 'Little Nightmares.' I couldn't help but imagine Eagerly Meagerly as those doughy, long-armed nightmare creatures, which I suppose didn't hurt anything considering the theme of this book, though thankfully Dragonfly never eats any helpful gnomes.

I really loved the atmosphere of the beginning of this book. All the way up until the vampire fight in the glassworks, I quite enjoyed this. The rest.....Durbin's writing hits right at the top of my tolerance for purple prose. I don't do well with it. That lurid style of over describing nightmarish things with almost-but-not-quite contradictory terms so famous in Bradbury's works is somewhat present here; not entirely, or I'd never have finished it, but it's definitely an element that Durbin enjoyed - sometimes to the detriment of the story he was trying to tell.

This story does a lot of things differently. It's not a tightly woven story; it's not fast-paced at all, and the characters really meander and get lost in the setting before coming back to the overarching 'defeat the baddie' plot. I'm tired of reading the same old stories, and this is definitely not my usual, so I really tried to enjoy this book; but I think it moves too much the other way.

There are a few things set up at the beginning, in those first four to five chapters, most notably that scene through the window. Dragonfly sees for the first time some of the truly bad things happening in Harvest Moon, the land beneath her basement, in those forty stolen and starving children, and privately vows to rescue them. To a reader, this feels like the set-up for a later rescue of which Dragonfly is a part. But, no - most of these children that Dragonfly sees have horrible ends, only one or two of this group live through their ordeal, and their rescue is facilitated by other people Dragonfly doesn't even know. She isn't even aware of the rescue of every stolen child in Harvest Moon until the wagons full of freed children roll up in the woods.

It's also heavily implied throughout that there is some important reason for Dragonfly's coming along with Mothkin to Harvest Moon, some secret power or ability or her own personal drive for justice that will help carry the day. In a way, this may be true since it turns out the Great Shadow Lord Quillum is somehow attached to her, impersonating her actual shadow, and he....helps? a bit?....in a final battle at the very end of the novel. But nothing of her own doing actually helps; I mean there are little things like her using a flashlight, but not anything no one else could have done in her place. In fact, she often reflects that many bad things have directly happened because of her presence in Harvest Moon that could have been averted had she stayed at home. Even something as simple as Hain wanted her because she had super special dream powers, being groomed from childhood to be just right would have worked (which is hinted at, but I'm not sure is actually why Hain wants her so much; Willie's dreams are implied to be just as powerful).

In the same way, characters set up to be important movers in the book - Mothkin, mostly, but also Singer - disappear entirely for literally half the book. Mothkin is built up as being this strange man with powers or knowledge of how to defeat the creatures in the basement; Singer is the first ally we meet in Harvest Moon, and we go through an extended battle sequence with both. But by the end of chapter seven, Dragonfly and the reader are separated from Singer & Mothkin, and we don't honestly know if either are dead or alive until the end of chapter 17. While they are both called 'A.P.K.s' (Agents of the Peaceable Kingdom), and are part of the final group to ascend the cliffs, once they've returned to the page they're just another name in a list of many as the core group expands to include Uncle Henry, Clara, Willie, Muriel, and many of the Gypsy men. Mothkin has the final battle, but also not really. Singer heroically dies for the cause, but in the end what kills/deters all the evil - is moonlight.

In short, Dragonfly was really a useless character, filled with some weird Author-Is-Obviously-A-Guy moments (what ten year old girl is pining over the musk of a boy, werewolf or not??); nothing set up had a follow through, and nothing that happened was set up. The book really tried to be more of the type that just explores another world, and quite possibly would have been a better read if there wasn't some evil villain attempting to take over. If, as the set up at the beginning suggested, there really were just creatures in their basement and it was a little more lighthearted, all that worldbuilding could have just taken center stage. Dragonfly wouldn't have needed a stronger arc like this book really needed, and could have just been along for the ride to see all the wildly fantastical forests and towns.

And really, just once, I'd love to see someone NOT include 'Sam Hain' as some literal actual god striding up and down the Celtic countryside, extracting terrified worship from the mortals every year at Halloween. Bradbury did this too; I don't know why so many writers (and TV shows! Looking at you, Supernatural!) decided to make an actual holiday into a living [evil] god. I dunno, it's like....making New Year's Eve actually be some secret demonic deity of the ancient Americans who demanded worship through the use of fireworks and kisses at midnight. Stop it, you look dumb.

[Woodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this while browsing in a bookstore and I must admit that the arresting cover caught my eye. Upon a closer look, the cover would seem to appeal to a Young Adult audience but an even closer inspection revealed that to be misleading. (There's a moral here somewhere.) From the back cover:

As Hallowe'en approaches, young Bridget Anne ("Dragonfly," to her friends) begins hearing strange things coming from the basement of her uncle's funeral parlor — peculiar noises and odd voices speaking of a stairway... a stairway that is almost complete. Uncle Henry, suspecting sinister forces may be at work, summons his mysterious friend Mothkin to investigate. Mothkin goes down the laundry chute for a look. And Dragonfly stubbornly follows him — into the strange and spooky underworld known as Harvest Moon...

In addition to that were various blurbs that described the book thusly: "Children's fears become real in this intriguingly odd, old-fashioned dark fantasy of a world beneath ours..." and "think of an even more twisted version of a A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "A classic, epic, action-adventure fantasy, chronicling the struggle between good and evil... imaginatively dark with gruesome creatures... " and so forth.

Well, it was as advertised. This imaginative, original story gets cracking from the very first pages. The imagery is lush and painted with a rich vocabulary. There's nothing cutesy about the story (thank God) and it manages to include all sorts of beasties. Vampires, werewolves, gypsies, and other various ghouls all make an appearance in this unpredictable tale. And when the action is really moving it brings to mind thrills you might find in a summer blockbuster. Good times.

[Hope Garmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first borrowed from a friend 17 years ago, bought my own copy intending to read it again and lent it out never to be returned :( I've held that this book is in my Top 10 of All time but I wasn't sure if I would still say that after so much time had passed. It has held its position! I really don't even know why this book has a hold on me so much, it's very different than most others on my shelf. Think Catholic Pilgrim's Progress meets Something Wicked This Way Comes. Yeah... I know....I've tried finding some old interviews of the author to see where his mind was in all this because everything feels so allegorical and familiar, but I've never had my questions answered.

[M.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so this books is SO great!
Seriously, you can easily fall in love with this book.
Very descriptive and interesting, you will not be bored ;). It is slightly hard to follow, but you should be able to manage it. The book is told from the view of a girl named Dragonfly (I so jealous of this name) and by an interesting turn of events, she ends up in the Halloween Town that is is her basement. From there she has this crazy adventure that is not always pleasant or happy, but is none the less very intriguing.
If you give the book a chance, you'll probably like it!

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly imaginative and original fantasy about a nightmarish underground realm (for once, thankfully, NOT set in London or NY).

Pros: Strongly imagined world with unique imagery, interesting characters, and plenty of action.

Cons: Inexplicable shifts in tone and temporality of narration, prose often confusing or erratic. Could really use editing.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read. Another "youth" book I'd be sure my "youth" was mature enough to handle. Young Bridget Ann (living in her uncle's funeral parlor) gets drawn into another world (of course dark and dangerous or there wouldn't be a story) through a door in the parlor's basement. In a running escape/battle she faces the evil "Samuel Hain"("Samhain" ?). So "near" Halloween Bridget Ann is in trouble.

[Alita Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I have picked up a book and found far more than I bargained for. The synopsis doesn't begin to explain the depth and beauty of this story. The action starts almost immediately and your left with the entire book full of twists and surprises. The characters are beautifully done and you begin to feel with them as the story continues. Amazing read.

[Kissana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read anything it before or since. Its like Nightmare Before Christmas was made for adults while still capturing the essence of childhood (and childhood fears) which makes it delightfully disturbing but still very magical.

[Carma · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has taken me seven tries and thirteen years to finally finish this book. And it was worth it.

[Lupus Acerbus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came into reading this not sure about what to expect. I picked it up years ago, and I chose it at first mostly because of the weird cover art.

What a treat this book was! There are places where the narration gets bogged down in the later part of the book, but the voice of the eponymous Dragonfly is innocent in a child-like way while still being engaging and relatable. The description is vivid and pulls the reader into the world, crafting it as we travel through Harvest Moon.

I wouldn't say that this book is horror (although it was in the horror section when I bought it), but it is a book with monsters and Halloween and the creepiness that is human evil, all shown through the eyes of a young girl.

It's strange and magical, and well worth the read. It's one that I reread each year around Halloween as a personal tradition.

[Leslee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book by flashlight when I was a teenager (nearly 20 years ago), during a louisiana hurricane that knocked out the power. I was staying with my grandparents and my grandma collected random thrifted books, so I picked this one up.
I was probably 16 or so when I read this, and I am 34 now, and have been trying for years to find this book again to share with my children. It has withstood the test of time. It was good when I was 16, and it’s still good today nearly two decades later. So excited I finally found this book again.
I really love it when an author can create an entire world, retell history almost, and make it believable. It does get a little slow in the middle, but for some reason I don’t mind it?

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantasy horror novel about a little girl named Bridget Anne aka Dragonfly as she, her Uncle Henry, Mothkin, and others battle the leader (Samuel Hain) of an underground world (Harvest Moon) before he and his people can emerge into the human world, deplete it, and then move on.

This is a reread for me and it’s just as amazing now as the other times I read it. For me, personally, it’s just a perfect story. It’s dark but not graphic. So so beautifully written. Is it wordy? Yes, but I love books like that, books that challenge me and force me to concentrate.

Easily in my top five favorite books!

[Tanya Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take a walk into the crazy unknown.
Starting in a funeral home, this story soon descends into an underground world peopled by demons and creatures.
Following the young protagonist, you travel a world that feeds on fear and misery as she fights to get back home.
A fun entertaining read that is definitely not the same old same old.

[Geri · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description on the back of the book sounded so good but I just couldn't get into it.
If you like overly descriptive prose you might like this one.
I felt like I was drowning in all the descriptions.