Review: Krabat
My rating: 3
Summary:
Krabat, a fourteen-year-old Wendish beggar boy, is summoned in a dream to a mysterious mill. When he awakens, an irresistible force makes him seek out a mill near the village of Schwarzkollm where he becomes apprenticed to the master. He soon discovers that the mill is actually a school for black magic and that he and the mill’s journeymen are virtual prisoners. During the week they do the normal work of the mill, but on Friday nights, the master initiates them into the strange rituals of the Art of Arts. The very first Friday, the master turns Krabat into a raven, a trick the boy quickly learns to do himself.
Krabat completes his apprenticeship, becomes a journeyman and the master’s star pupil in necromancy. But the power his new skills endow him with does not compensate for his loss of freedom. And the more he learns of the mill’s dark secrets, the more determined he becomes to escape from the master’s bondage.
The Satanic Mill is set against the colorful background of seventeenth-century Germany. The story of Krabat’s captive apprenticeship and ultimate victory over the master is an unusual, tension-packed thriller that readers of all ages will find difficult to put down until the last page is turned.
Called a masterpiece by reviewers in Germany, The Satanic Mill was awarded the 1972 German Children’s Book Prize.
Review:
(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)
I liked this story well enough: it has the definite markings of a fairy tale, somehow reminding me of old legends from my home area. (I’m not German, but we do have our own tales dealing with similar themes, such as clever journeymen who manage to outsmart supernatural beings, etc.)
There was magic in the atmosphere here—no pun intended: though sorcery was obviously a strong theme, indeed, events and descriptions themselves, even of daily activities, always seemed to have been touched by something out of the ordinary. We get to discover this at the same time Krabat does, wondering more and more about his surroundings and why things are the way they are.
The writing style was fairly simple, easy to grasp and prompting imagery in an efficient way. Probably suffering from a “lost in translation” syndrome, though, as it sometimes felt a bit dry. (I tend to avoid judging harshly in such cases, since I wouldn’t be able to compare with the original version.)
The downside (of sorts) is that, as in most fairytales, the characters aren’t too developed, and used more to carry the story on their shoulders than as people with their own lives. For instance, we never get to know the singer’s name, which makes her appear as a symbol more than as a real person. The way the relationship develops is clearly a device, and not believable in terms of “falling in love the natural way”. Also, Krabat and the other guys don’t question the Master’s motives that much, even though they live in fear during a certain period of the year.
It probably works better as a story for younger readers: frightening in parts, but not gory, with darker aspects but “appropriate” morals. However, at the same time, it left me longing for more. The ending was rushed, in my opinion,, and I would have wanted to learn what happened to everyone else afterwards.