The Tale of Birle (2)

Tales of the Kingdom #2

by Cynthia Voigt

Thrilling high adventure and heart-stopping romance combine in the second book in the Tales of the Kingdom series from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt, set two generations after The Tale of Gwyn .

Birle has agreed to be wed to the huntsman Muir as an escape from the drudgery of life at her father’s inn—but the moment she looks into the bellflower-blue eyes of the man she comes upon stealing one of her father’s boats, Birle knows she cannot marry Muir. Even after she discovers the mysterious stranger is Orien, a lord, and as unreachable to an innkeeper’s daughter as a star, Birle is determined to travel with him as far as he will allow. Their journey takes Birle to a world far from home, a world where lords may become slaves, where princes rule by fear, and where fortune’s wheel turns more swiftly and dangerously than Birle could have ever imagined.

Previously published as On Fortune’s Wheel , this classic tale features a new look and a new title.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Adventure, Historical

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse.


Awards:
Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008
The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995
Jackaroo: Rattenfanger-Literatur Preis (ratcatcher prize, awarded by the town of Hamlin in Germany), 1990
Izzy, Willy-Nilly: the Young Reader Award (California), 1990
The Runner: Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis (German young people's literature prize), 1988
Zilverengriffel (Silver Pen, a Dutch prize), 1988
Come a Stranger: the Judy Lopez Medal (given by readers in California), 1987
A Solitary Blue: a Newbery Honor Book, 1984
The Callender Papers: The Edgar (given by the Mystery Writers of America), 1984
Dicey's Song: the Newbery Medal, 1983

Reviews

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far and away one of my favorite series of all time. The kingdom series is brilliant. Not only for the very subtle modern allegories tucked into a generally well written fairytale/fable/medieval-ish story, but this series has two assets that I love:

A: You don't have to read them in order. They are very loosely tied together through tiny hints throughout the books. I had many "ooohhhhhhhhh" moments when you figure out how they relate. I think this might be my favorite part of the series.

B: You don't have to learn a new language, world history or geography to understand the story. It is so brilliantly simple ( north, south, east, west) with characters written in the limited third person. When they don't know something, you don't either, eliminating a ton of unimportant details that usually bog down fantasy books. Characters also dont have intense histories that have to be relayed to the reader. You are right there with them, on their journey , learning about them as you go.

The stories are great, twisting and unpredictable. I recommend them to everyone who likes a good set of books.

[Katie M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Innkeeper's daughter, check. Made-up 16th-century England-ish land, check. Implausible romance, check. Okay, so if you're only going to read one Cynthia Voigt book make it one of the Tillerman novels and not this one. But good LORD I love this story. It's everything a completely-un-thought-provoking Anglocentric young adult historical fantasy should be: slightly dark, exciting, hopelessly romantic, and completely satisfying. As far as tropes go, I could do without the childlike-giant-with-heart-of-gold one (a little complexity PLEASE Ms. Voigt!), but really this whole book is about well-executed formula, and it so works for me.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately, this is quiet and satisfying, but for a good half of the book, I was wondering why I should care about this story and these people. It turns out that an acknowledgement of the time you're spending on a book by an author you like isn't enough to actually invest you in the story.

I wish there'd been more initially: more emotion, more purpose, more direction. Instead, I was left with the uncomfortable feeling that these terrible experiences were glossed over because they were devices meant to function as equalizers.

[katayoun Masoodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

good solid writing and good story. especially liked it from middle on, when birle came into her own and growing.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many other reviewers, this novel has been sitting on my shelf for years. I remember reading this novel as a teen and remembered LOVING it!!! But with all books revisited, would I feel the same way many years later? It turns out this book was so much better than I previously thought. All I remembered was that the girl Birle met the boy Orien on a boat. How could I forget the rest?

I will not make that mistake again. In the past two years, I’ve come across so many very well written and intricate plot and character developed stories. I will be forever grateful to so many amazing authors I’ve discovered.

[Limecello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok. So ... this was a re-read and I didn't read it cover to cover .... but I've read this book probably 12 times. (At least.)

Cornflower blue - and then the salt mines, and the nannies and the billies and how she'll keep him in her heart until he returns and oh my GOD I love this book, and anyone who said YA is a new genre (even those saying so in the 00s) were fucking IDIOTS.
... So yes. I feel strongly about this.

Terrific book, terrific author, such an epic story, awesome heroine - and oh. Everyone should read this book.

A+

[Forever Young Adult]

Graded By: Poshdeluxe
Cover Story: Old Old School
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Classic Fantasy
Bonus Factors: Hero's Journey, Feminism
Relationship Status: Happily Ever After

Read the full book report here.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm actually not sure whether this book was meant for young adults or an older audience, but I think it would be fine for all ages. The characters in this book are amazingly well developed and dynamic and I love almost all of them. This is one of those fantasy books where a lot of time passes throughout the story and I could feel it passing even though it skipped around like crazy when nothing important was going on. It was not boring in the slightest and though the plot was definitely not surprising, at the same time it was because of the emotion and dialogue I enjoyed so much. I love how the main character, Birle, grew so much during her adventures, and the language and setting are so different from what I am used to experiencing in life. It worked perfectly with the story. I loved that. The ending was cheesy and sweet and made me go "awww," but for some reason that fit, and I felt satisfied and happy when I was done with the book. Of course, I did finish it after midnight, so I might have just been in a silly mood. Who knows.

I never read the first book in this series, and this book was recommended to me anyway. There was no need to read any other previous book; this book stands on its own.

[Dest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Tuck Everlasting, which had this recurring wheel imagery and it reminded me of a book I completely loved when I was twelve or so (I was reminded of it just because of the wheel thing--not because they're similar books). So I type in "wheel" and "fortune" and up it popped, this Cynthia Voigt book. It's not the same cover as the one I had, but I know it's the same book because I remember having a pretend boyfriend named Orien. He was dreamy. I think I can even remember the last line of this book, which is pretty ridiculous considering I read it once and that was like 15 years ago.

I'm putting it on my Twilight-alternative shelf because I remember it giving my young girl heart major pangs.

[Danderdonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this, and am very glad to find there are more books about the Kingdom.

Looking forward to reading the other three.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just okay. I didn't love it. There was a strange writing style that didn't resonate with me. The book was from one person's perspective, but the writing style almost gave me a kind of distant feel instead of really interesting the reader into the events. It's difficult to describe, but I almost got the sense that the main character had no emotional feelings, and was just trying to pretend she did. This wasn't the case; the issue was just the writing style.

She clearly had feelings, but the way they were written was almost delayed. I had to be told what she was feeling because it's not really shown. I think, maybe, the issue was that the characters aren't really described by their body language, facial expressions, of tone of voice.

This still doesn't really keep my interest very well most of the time, especially when the events were somehow also portrayed in mundane, boring ways.

I almost put this book down forever about thirty pages in because nothing was happening that was interesting despite two characters leaving behind the lives they're always known to go on an adventure. But even their adventure left much to be desired.

I'm not sure whether I'm glad or not that I didn't DNF the book. I'm not upset I finished it, but I wouldn't recommend it except to people who want a small, simple story with very little emotional value that isn't super long. The book is fine, but it's not for me.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Sweet story, but was a little too slow and quiet—even the action seemed dimmed, in a way—to really hold my interest.

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great 2nd book in the series. The main character (a young girl) is a very strong willed young lady. The story flows well

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a re-read of a good book. I read it for the first time years ago after reading the Tillerman series and looking for more Cynthia Voigt. I've since collected the whole series of Tales of the Kingdom and have read the first three. I recommend reading them in order. They are good stand-alone books, but there are generational connections and references. I re-read this to refresh my memory and found myself flipping between the first and third books that I've read more recently as things started sounding familiar. So, now I'd better not wait too long before reading no. 4, or I'll have to start all over again. I do love Voigt's writing and stories. I thought this one was fantastic.

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5 a very mixed bag

I low-key hated the first half of this book. Innkeeper's daughter Birle tries to stop a thief from stealing a boat, but then forces the thief to let her tag along once she realizes he is hot (oh, those bellflower blue eyes). The plot moves along aimlessly, punctuated by forced converstaions. And then there's the romance. Romances are usually a hard sell with me, and insta-love is an immediate no. That's not to say the first half of this book is a romance exactly, because there's some other elements at play here. But Birle's main motivation throughout the first half IS insta-love, which meant that I had a hard time liking her. The object of her affection is not very fleshed out either. He's not particularly bright or kind, and his character progression isn't believable. He has pretty eyes, though, so there's that.

After a BIG tone shift mid-way through, I found much more to enjoy. Birle grows as a character and gains more motivation. I ended up rooting for her and respecting her by the end. The plot of the second half is pretty entertaining, and it feels a little timeless. On Fortune's Wheel was published in 1990, back when YA used to be a different kind of beast. I miss that style of YA sometimes, and it was nice to go back to it. The writing, overall, feels sturdy and quiet and old-fashioned. There are some bits that felt off (even laughable) to me, but they seemed mostly to be in the first half (From chapter four, the sentence "The sun came out, and shone strongly, but its warmth fell down as sad as little rains." somehow managed to be both melodramatic and incomprehensible).

Overall, the book was just ok! Maybe just shy of it, since the kind of prominent romance was just...terrible. But, it had its moments, and they were warm and familiar, like a book you found as a kid at the book fair. Jackaroo was better in every respect, though. I probably won't read the rest of the Kingdom series, but I'm not entirely against it.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I did a book report in the eighth grade on this book and I randomly remembered it the other day. Someone was reading a book by Cynthia Voigt, and I thought "I know that author, where have I seen that author?" So I went and looked at her works and the only one that was familiar was this one. I can't believe that an author's name looked familiar when the last time I saw it was almost a decade ago, but there ya go.
This is definitely a book to read again.
I barely remember it, but I do remember it being extraordinarily good and now that I've rediscovered it I'll be reading it and the rest of the Kingdom series.
Great story for younger young adults, with mystery, adventure, pirates, slavery, and quite a bit of heartache. Very Very Good

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I blazed through this book in two days. Birle herself was an utterly compelling heroine--childlike, flawed and human, brave, loyal, and loving. Orien frustrated me at times and at times made me swoon. The story itself is exciting and fraught with danger. The romance and its flowering threaded gently through the plot and provided sound motivation. I also loved how, as the wheel of fortune turns, the characters themselves make their own fortune. The prose was beautiful without being overly ornate (although I love ornate, gilded prose). Wonderful storytelling, wonderful story.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written. I could read this book over and over again. I completely feel in love with the characters of Orien and Birle the moment they appeared in the book. I love Orien so much i have vowed to name my first son after him. The plot is intriguing and full of twists and turns. You find yourself rooting for Birle throughout the story and wishing you were there with her. I don't want to say anyone except go pick up this book!

[Summer Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite books when I was in Middle School/High School, so re-reading it as an adult was very nostalgic. I loved it and it was fun to rediscover these characters.

I will say, there was a lot more references to SA then I remember. Nothing happens, just the fear of it happening is mentioned quite a bit. For that reason, I probably won't be letting my middle schoolers read it until they are a little older.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot believe Birle just took off like that! Something really bad could have happened to her. Oh, wait. That's exactly what did happen. Will someone come to save her? Cynthia Voight sure can tell a story!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book over and over in my teens and loved it. It's a beautiful love story.

I've never actually read Jackaroo, though I'd like to now, and never knew that it was a "second book" as it really stood solid on it's own.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the young adult section of the library on my way to the children's section. I am a sucker for historical fiction, with a romantic twist. I really liked it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love story: medieval adventure: slavery, prince, giants. This books is STILL amazing as an adult.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am passing on beloved books to make room for more. I really must share my enjoyment of Cynthia Voigt's Kingdome series!

[Leah Carabajal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read this book maybe 5 or more times. Love this series. I love the ending.

[sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review on Forever Young Adult:
http://foreveryoungadult.com/2019/04/...

[Danika]

Cynthia Voigt’s On Fortune’s Wheel tells the story of two runaway teenagers and their eventual return to their homeland.  The central character, Birle, is the younger of the two, and she follows the elder, Orien, who is escaping from his hereditary earldom to leave it to his brother.  Birle, though seemingly mature, and about to be married, actually seems more childlike than she realizes—she tells Orien of her machinations to avoid the chores assigned by her stepmother Nan or to foist the work on another family member proudly, even when Orien suggests shirking isn’t something to be proud of.  She insists Nan treated her like a servant, but it seems clearer from her recollections that her work was merely that necessary from a child of a family that must run an inn to earn its keep, and her subsequent experiences lead her to the conclusion that not only is work a common, but a necessary and desirable part of life.  Birle seems to have little affection or concern for her family at the inn, including her father and half-sisters, and never seems to miss or even regret the pain she may be causing them, suggesting an immature level of empathy—especially when, at her return in the end of the book, Nan drops everything she’s doing to go see Birle—her home was a loving one, however she may have felt at the time that the life didn’t suit her.  

            However, Birle’s role in the story is wonderful.  When Orien, who isn’t entirely honest with Birle about the situation he left behind in his earldom, and does as poor a job gauging his brother’s intentions as Birle does with her family, runs cockily off into the unknown beyond the borders of the Kingdom, and promptly gets himself and tagalong Birle captured by slavers, it is Birle who manages (in part through the luck the title contemplates of being purchased by a gentle and well-protected master) to locate Orien, learn of the precarious political situation in the city, and to get them safely out before the threatened invading armies arrive.  She learns the information she copies for her master, and thus is able not only to use herbal remedies to care for and heal Orien when he’s dying of the infection in his brand, but to begin to grow her own herbs and dispense remedies after she is established in her grandparents’ holding.  Birle, though young and immature, still manages to play the role of a strong, heroic character well.  

[Windy]

Cynthia Voigt's On Fortune's Wheel chronicles the revolving fortune of Birle as through the novel she inhabits various roles: Innkeeper's daughter, an amanuensis and slave for a philosopher in a different land, and the Earl's Lady. Throughout her shifting fortune, Birle remains practical and true to her word. Birle's love interest in the novel, Orien, also goes through his own upheavals in fortune. Birle falls in love with Orien fairly early in the novel seemingly due to his beauty, proximity, and newness: "Orien was always like the sunrise at the end of darkness, ever new and welcome, ever surprising" (116).

Much of On Fortune's Wheel is quietly suspenseful: "Fear pressed down heavy on her, her shoulder and legs, on her bent neck. In the blackness under the cloak fear was blind, a blind, groping thing struggling to get out like, like a kitten taken to be drowned in a sack" (62). Often, instead of action, the novel builds suspense through the use of metaphor and the emotions, especially fear, of its main characters. While this type of suspense is an enjoyable element of the book, it does add to the slow pacing of the first half of the novel.

Another interesting element of the novel is how the prose syntactically and grammatically mirrors the protagonist's state of mind and thought process. For example, Voigt utilizes repetition to convey Birle's anxiety and the cyclical thought process of worrying.

One of the overarching motif of the novel is storytelling: "Do you ever think, Birle, that the truth of stories is deeper than the truth of the world" (88). Similarly, the bond between Birle and Orien grows through the mutual sharing of stories and their own personal histories.

Overall, I enjoyed On the Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt for the simple nature of its storytelling. However, due to the novel's pacing, it did take a bit of time to become wholly invested in the characters.

[Jamie Dacyczyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok, so I'm not losing my mind; there IS a right way to do YA adventure fantasy even with insta-love, and this is it. I thought maybe I just didn't like fantasy anymore because I've come across so many popular books that I just didn't enjoy, but I think it's more accurate to say that I don't like NEW popular YA fantasy all that much. This feels a bit more like classic YA fantasy of the Robin McKinley era, with a rich full world and characters that don't just feel like modern teenagers running around like actors in a play. The story is smaller scale, more of a quest adventure than The Chosen Special One Who Will Save the World.

I marked this as fantasy (and it's probably marketed as such), but there isn't really any magic in it. In that way, this series reminds me a bit of Megan Whalen Turner's books. They're set in a world different than our own (fantasy?), but which feels familiar and almost like a forgotten history from our own world (historical?).

The romance is acceptable in this one as well. Yes, there's insta-love that propels the main character on her journey initially, but it doesn't overcome the narrative. We're not treated to paragraph-long descriptions of his rippling abs or bronze skin. She mentions his bellflower blue eyes occasionally...and that's about it. Otherwise, the tale is foremost about their struggle to survive, and the love stuff is more of an after thought to wrap things up. This works for me.

The writing also as a lovely old-fashioned feel to it that helps the credibility of the world building. I'm glad I've returned to this series, and I'm going to go on to finish it. I may have to reread the books I HAVE read, because it's been a while and I know I've read them out of order.

[Curlemagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Jackaroo (first novel in this series) as a preteen and remember being deeply let down by the ending, and I also think my local library didn't have this one. So now I'm reading it X many years later...

A bit of an odd duck series, low on swashbuckling adventure and high on poverty and desperation. There's no actual magic used and it retains the lowgrade misery of the first volume given the bleak options of rigid feudal societies. The contrasts between serfs in the Kingdom and slaves in the port country were well handled.

As in Jackaroo, literacy and a chance encounter with an errant Lord changes the life of a peasant girl. This time with a sea journey! I believed in Birle's love for Orien, I'm just not sure if he was worth it. But the writing is gripping and I'll finish the series to see if revolution, industrialization, or democracy are in the future.

3.5 rounded to 4 bc Voigt's narration is so elegant