Drujienna's Harp

by Ellen Kindt McKenzie

A translucent sky, a stifling-hot night, a murky blue bottle in a curio shop--and with nothing more to warn her than a strange uneasiness, Tha was suddenly transported to the land of T'Pahl. She found herself an unwilling part of the destiny of the land, a destiny that had to be forestalled if she were ever to return to her own land. She gradually learned the forbidden lore of T'Pahl: its Histories spoke of an ancient curse; its Prophecies, of bloodshed and doom. And under the sway of a fiercely tyrannical ruler, in ignorance both real and pretended, the people of T'Pahl awaited the playing of Drujienna's harp.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopia, Childrens

305 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Ms. McKenzie is a retired writer who wrote part time between the 60's and 90's, her writing subscribes to her philosophy that writing for children should not be dumbed down or held to a low standard, but rather held to the same level of respectability as adult literature. She is also a concert pianist and loves mythology and history.

Reviews

[Melissa McShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a quirky, dark, and extremely visual fantasy. Tha and her brother Duncan are exploring an antique shop when something transports them to the land of T'Pahl, where cold winds blow constantly across the plains and light comes not from the sun, but from a stationary orb whose color changes over the course of the day and night. When they are separated, Tha's attempts to find him take her on a journey across T'Pahl and the lands beyond. She learns some of the history of the land, the prophecies for the coming end of the second thousand-year period, and how the mysterious Drujienna can play her harp to change the people's destiny.

Drujienna's Harp was McKenzie's first novel and, to my knowledge, her only young adult fantasy (the rest being middle grade novels). It was also published some sixteen years before her next book, Kashka. I mention all this because it only points to how very unusual this book is in all respects. McKenzie's prose is beautiful and descriptive without being dense or florid; I am transported, every time, to the freezing plains of T'Pahl with their occasional prairie-dog holes into the underground dwellings, or the wet and dreamlike marshes of the Shophosean Mists. She writes fully-formed characters who are lovable or infuriating or evil, and the mythology of T'Pahl is rooted in a strange, dark fable that sounds as if McKenzie had found it written in some forgotten scroll. Even the poetry of the prophecies, as recited by Tha's new friend Eshone, isn't cloying or stupid, and the things the prophecies foretell aren't totally obvious to the reader--particularly the identity of the lost prince Eldordo. McKenzie had a singular vision for this novel, and though I wish she'd written more at this level, I'm glad to have this one.

[Francesca Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a strange and wonderful book. While containing many of the typical fantasy elements (a prophecy, characters with destinies), it manages to be wholly unique.

The characters travel from a glass-flat land through a land of mists, through a claustrophobic town of pampered privilege, through a hellish landscape of heated rocks to an ocean hermitage at the edge of their world to save it--or possibly to destroy it. Political and ethical themes lie under the surface, but it's not at all a preachy book. It's exciting, unusual, and kind.

As a reviewer said on Amazon, it's an amazingly **visual** book, from the start, with the San Francisco fog and the curio shop that launches the characters into the world their adventures, and continuing throughout. I have more visual memories of scenes from that book than I do of some real-world places.

I don't usually put up reviews for things I read long ago, but a comment elsewhere on the Internet called this to mind, so here it is. I should add that other stories by Ellen Kindt McKenzie are also wonderful--I really loved Kasha and Taash and the Jesters.

[R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still as marvelous a tale as when I first read it—which I cannot say of much children’s fantasy. The San Francisco from which the protagonists hail is oddly out of time and age, a mid-20th-century city, before the summer of love, seemingly no more or less recognizable (or strange) now, some 60 years dated, than it was then, over 30 years dated.

I am saddened to find this remains out-of-print, and pricey at auction, but gladdened that the S.F. Public Library possesses a couple copies. Preparing to read this to my children next summer.

The fantasy is intriguingly constructed, with an initial wash of fairy tale tropes that at first lull one into a more childish view but are then inverted as certain characters gradually evince much more adult and nuanced perspectives. In a way, McKenzie wrote a fairy tale about modern fantasy, although I cannot substantiate that claim without spoiling the tale.

This is a simple, yet rare work. Read it if you appreciate fantasy and have the opportunity.

[Pamela Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library and read it as a child. I loved it. The dark brooding setting and the ending haunted me for years, but I was unable to remember the author's name or the title of the book.

Many years later an friend and I were discussing books we'd loved as children and it turned out that not only had she also loved the book, but she knew the title and the author's name. Another friend, intrigued by our conversation, found and ordered a used copy, so I was finally able to reread the book.

I was amazed in my rereading to see that it was even darker than I had remembered. Also, the protagonist, Tha, was a very angry girl whose attitude and actions were such that my adult self had trouble liking her. Had I not reread the book, I'm sure I would have given it the highest rating, based on the connection I felt as a child, but having reread it, I find my discomfort with the moral ambiguities and the angry nature of the protagonist temper my rating.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excuse me while I reminisce. It has been many years since I read this book. My grandmother was a librarian and shared many wonderful stories with me, this was one of them. I have not re-read it as an adult so this review will be through the lens of an adolescent. The author succeeded in creating a magical and amazing tale that delights my mind many years after the read. I still own my copy of the book. I have only one shelf of books I keep forever and it has its spot there. The child-me would highly recommend this book!

SPOILER: Tha was a memorable character, I remember the story line, travel to another world via the curious bottle in the peculiar little store she visited, the search for her brother, her run in with the no-nothings, the amazing misty forests where you forget, the book contained such rich details that I remember them all over 30 years later. That says something!

[Rebecca McDowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time when I was in 6th or 7th grade. We had a copy at the middle school library. I loved it - I read it so fast, and I read parts over and over.

I tried to find it as an adult, and it is now out of print. I bought a used copy that had once been a library book and read it again. It's just as good now as it was then, and might even have made more sense to me as an adult.

Read it!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to myself in the 8th grade (back in the very early 80s). Soon after, I read it out loud to my younger sisters on a snow day. We now each have a library copy of our own, and my children have developed a love for this story as well, and we are slowly acquiring copies for them as well. Hard to believe that it was dormant for so long.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was a child I found this book in the library. I think I only read it once, but the images and names stuck with me and haunted me for years. Many years later, I thought I'd like to revisit it, only to find it was out of print. I wished idly that I could reread it for years, and then finally found it had been reprinted by Inkling Press.

It's a dreamy story set in a kind of apocalyptic wonderland, with sharp details and vivid colors. The storyline and quest plot are nothing out of the ordinary, but the details of the world and characters make the whole thing resonate like a bell, or like harp strings. A lovely book, and one I'm happy to finally have on my shelves.

[Stephanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very odd.

Reading Drujienna's Harp was like spending a few days in a Salvador Dali painting. It also reminded me a tiny bit of A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr. (I don't even know why.) With a smidgen of Howl's Moving Castle.

Mostly because I had very little idea of what was going to happen. It was refreshing. The ending was sort of satisfying. I would have preferred more detail, but can accept what the author gave me.

I would recommend this if you're looking for something completely different and if you are feeling rather patient. The story develops very slowly and never really "picks up."

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book, especially because I love Kashka and Taash and the Jesters. The story in this one was an interesting concept, but it was full of characters that I found annoying, and not that likable. I did like the main character, Tha, and Eshone who becomes one of the main characters at about the halfway point. But I feel like the story just dragged on and on, and even Tha was getting frustrated with the other characters and the situations of the book. All in all, it was readable, but not enjoyable enough to ever reread on my part.

[Beverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I found the long, detailed descriptions of travels very boring and dull. They could have been edited down quite a bit. The rushed, two-chapter ending didn't help, either.

[Lou D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was waiting on a shelf for me in 1971. The tiny library at my catholic grade school in San Francisco was stocked with GREAT science fiction and fantasy. I read Drujienna's Harp and Tomorrow's Children ( An anthology edited by Asimov) over and over. I bet I read Drujienna's Harp 12 times between 1971 and 1973. School was a brutal environment back then--books saved my life.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I, too, loved this book as a child. It was one that I would remember and search for a long time afterwards with the desire to read it again and read it to my own kids. I finally found it in a library after a 20 year search began to read it. For some reason I could not get into it like I did before. I don't know if that is what growing up did to me. It really had been my all time favorite! Maybe I will try it again someday as I often see copies of it to purchase via internet.
I did read Taash and the Jesters again which I equally loved and I still love. I own my own copy of it and will probably read it to my grandkids someday. It is a delightful book with a clever plot!

[Phaedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember really enjoying this book when I read it, it was definitely my favorite. It was either my middle or elementary school that had a copy of it, I cannot remember which. I no longer remember the story very well, and definitely wish I could find a copy. Though I've searched a lot, I can't find one. It would be really nice to read again, and considering I still haven't found many books that gave me as much enjoyment as this one, I can definitely say it is one of my all time favorites.
Edit;; Actually, I found that she's reprinting it. I really hope I can order one!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really, really good when I was 14. I bought an Ebay copy a few years back and I need to read it again.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nowhere near as fun as Taash and the Jesters. I keep wondering if I'm missing the story trail or if it's disjointed to simulate the characters' confusion...

[Liz Wakeman]

I also read this as a child and haven't been able to find a copy recently. I have looked because it made an impression on me and I have wanted to read it again. I hope to do that.

[Lincoln · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favorite books. Between reading this, Hart's Hope, Undine IThe Chronicles Of Narnia, Penmarric and Cashelmara -- my childhood was WIRED FOR SOUND