Gorba, the fisherman's son, encountered some fairies in the woods one afternoon. While hiking through, he was abducted and taken to the Fairy Land. There, he was imprisoned by the Queen Fairy, who wanted him to be her slave forever. However, Gorba's art of playing flute brought him closer to the Queen's daughter, Moran, who fell in love with Gorba. They soon eloped from the Fairy Land to get married. This adventure was a positive turning point, as he strived to become a daring hero with magical charisma.Also, Gorba was successful in rescuing his father from the cruel and jealous king. Though he was kind to innocent people, misfortunes followed him; he continued to experience many troubles. He was on the verge of risking his life, as if impending death were awaiting him in each of his adventurous tricks! He never faltered and made use of his power of intellect and magical tricks to defeat all the terrible situations. The king's magician, with his unique magical power, sensed Gorba was in the palace to trick the king. As a result - he was imprisoned, once again. Similarly, Bodo and the cunning hunter tried to make him a tool for their heinous ulterior motives. The encounter with the Princess Juron, though seemingly cordial in the beginning, soon proved to be fatal beyond his imagination. Nonetheless, there was a thin line of hope in each challenging time. Moreover, during some situations, he got constant support and confidence in regards to his loving life, his never flagging optimism, and continued services from sympathetic creatures like; the swift horse, crafty monkey, and devoted cat. Gorba, the Magician, finally turned into a victorious fighter and returned to his homeland with his wife, Moran, the beautiful and kind fairy, who sang a celebration song, while his people of the village cheered.
July 4, 2021 Book review of, The Magician & The Fairy By, Katina Woodruff Borgersen
I took a ride a ride through a land full of magic, intrigue, suspense and the powers of good and evil in: Professor Bam Dev Sharm’s Children’s Novel: The Magician & The Fairy. This is a coming-of-age fairy tales that takes the reader through magic used for good and magic used for evil. There is a lot of interesting elements throughout the story, like the magical places, magical objects, magic cloths, and even magic drinks!
The story takes place in a magical land where magic and fearful caves were built and dark forest were home to those wanting to do harm. It’s also a place where good exist and the good that is within the characters shine through all the way to the suspenseful end.
There are magic potions, magic objects such as golden boxes and magical diamonds. The magic is something that is wanted by all the characters, however only the “good” characters can use the magic for good and in the end, the powers of good vs. evil prevails.
The story includes a King, a Fairy Queen and many other characters throughout the story. I counted (15), characters, and (10) different types of animals such as a: monkey, dog, horses, crocodile, jackal, lizards, scorpions, rabbits, cats and snakes. I found the characters well personified. Even the flat characters in the story had names and personal characteristics that set them apart from traditional “flat” characters.
Bam does an extraordinary job in creating strong and life like characters within the story. Even the animals who had names like, Luna and Raga were given rich and full characters that brought each to life on the page.
The Plots Thickened… Suspenseful!
There are many twists and turns throughout the story. The suspense and intrigued kept me reading for six straight hours! I took my time reading the story the second and third time. By the time I read the book for the fourth time, I was learning even more about the: “Why” so many hints of violence occur in most traditional fairy tales.
The suspenseful transition from chapter to chapter created the most intrigue. At the end of each chapter there was a problem that needed resolve or in this case: something good and magical to happen. The characters through a new brand-new world, full of magic and hope for change.
The fairy tale theme(s) seems to be a realistic view of society in the 21st Century. Just like in all past and present fairy tales the main theme was: Good Vs. Evil. There was a lot of evil doings along the way. However, it shows young and older readers that these very sinister evil acts do happen each day in our world.
Favorite lines:
"She was tall, with a long nose, and had red eyes as big as footballs. Her body was giant, always covered by fir and silvery cloths. Her hair was long that could extend to her feet, curled and tangled. Her teeth looked very white in contrast to her thick, black lips."
Wow, was the first word that I said outload after reading this description of a main character in the book.
Dark Events, Evil, Violence…
There are approximately 7-15 instances of hints to violence within the 94 pages. Yet, in each case, good prevails at the end.
Examples:
“...his eyes would be removed or his hands would be broken!” (3). “Bodo whipped, … and wife,” (3).
“…father died, … took over and killed all her supporters,” (3).
I began to search my mind for the fairytales and stories that filled my mind full of curiosity and wonder as a child like: Cinderella, Snow White, the pig from, Charlotte’s Web, the monkey from, Curious George, Hansel and Gretel and other fairy tales that survived decades and decades of scrutiny due to the violent portrayed by the evil forces quite common depicted in a child's fairytale.
"These stories were originally transmitted from generation to generation by word of mouth, and were, for the most part, cautionary tales for children: don't wander into the forest, don't talk to strangers, be virtuous, that sort of thing. The Grimms travelled German-speaking lands collecting as many versions of these stories as they could find, and then distilling from them a version that went into their books, (2).
My recommendations for the author:
1. Add a higher viewing audience to 13+
Because the quality of the writing and the suspense created one heck of a storytelling ride, I have to admit. I was on the edge of my seat, through the entire manuscripts and through the 94 pages of text. The illustrations were beautiful, each and every one!
What a great experience reading: The Magician & The Fairy, by Bam Dev Sharma (Author & Professor of MFA Writing Program, Nepal. I would highly recommend this book to children, teenagers, young adults and older folks like myself, as the story has something for literally all age groups. Ages 11 – 18.
I am glad to see that this book is for children 11 years and up as it may appear a bit too gory in parts for sensitive parents/ children. I mean gory in the way evil people or dangerous animals may be disposed of. Although it may be suitable for some 8 years or older; it depends on the child and the parents. It may be a cultural thing but would remind you of fairy tales of old that some may find a bit too much now. This tale is full of magic, strange places, and mysterious people. Evil and goodness battle it out throughout the amazing events the main characters, Gorba and Moran encounter on their way. This is also a story of personal growth for Gorba, in that he matures and becomes less selfish. It is full of action and there is something happening at every turn. I think children will enjoy this magical journey and the cavalcade of extraordinary characters. I did notice typos in the text but these can be easily remedied.
This enchanting story follows the themes of the hero’s journey, coming of age, and good versus evil. The hero, Gorba follows in his father Govan’s footsteps as a magician after his father has been arrested. As a ‘different’ child he followed his heart, where he learned by using his gifts and imagination to become the hero. He married the Fairy Queen’s daughter, Moran, and was put through many challenging experiences and testing situations, to rescue his father. Gorba had to develop his skills or learn life’s lessons to overcome these difficulties, supported by Moran and creatures from the animal kingdom. Bam Dev Sharma’s lyrical descriptions of this mystical land and the processes Gorba had to use to grow into a fully-fledged magician, will give children the imagination to fancy themselves as part of this magical Kingdom.
I read this book for myself, but I can imagine children sitting in rapt attention as this story is read to them. Some might prefer to read it alone by themselves. Either way the young reader will enjoy a fanciful story of make believe, of good and evil, of magic, trickery, hardship, perseverance, friendship and of love. The story moves along at a good pace. I enjoyed the drawings disbursed throughout the book. I think the author has a good sense of what children enjoy.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters are vivid and charming. The story line was very creative and kept my interest. I would highly recommend reading this book it was a great read.