The Ten Thousand Doors of January
-
-
4.4 • 849 Ratings
-
-
- $9.99
Publisher Description
"A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers, and the doors they lead us through...absolutely enchanting." —Christina Henry, bestselling author of Alice and Lost Boys
A young woman in the early 1900s embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical novel.
In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.
Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure, and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.
Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories await in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut—step inside and discover its magic.
Praise for The Ten Thousand Doors of January:
"One for the favorites shelf... Here is a book to make you happy when you gently close it. Here you will find wonder and questions and an unceasingly gorgeous love of words which compasses even the shape a letter makes against a page."―NPR Books
"Devastatingly good, a sharp, delicate nested tale of worlds within worlds, stories within stories, and the realm-cracking power of words."―Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author
"A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word, and the power of many kinds of love."―Kirkus Reviews
A Los Angeles Times bestseller
Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Awards.
For more from Alix E. Harrow, check out The Once and Future Witches.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Lush and lyrical in both its language and its plotting, this is a dream of a book that opens up a fantastical world of magic and escape. In early 20th-century New England, biracial teenage outsider January Scaller lives in a vast, opulent house of curiosities as the ward of a wealthy man who bankrolls her explorer father’s lengthy sea voyages. January finds solace in the house’s extensive library, but her escapism takes on thrilling new dimensions when she discovers a weathered old volume that offers a literal portal into other worlds. Told in January’s own ingenuous voice and delightfully old-fashioned diction, Alix E. Harrow’s tender, melancholy novel feels like a modern take on first-wave young-adult fantasies like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Harrow imbues her debut, set primarily in early-20th-century Vermont, as well as in an alternative world called the City of Nin, with genealogical mystery. The immensely wealthy William Cornelius Locke employs Julian Scaller as a plunderer of valuable artifacts, a job that prevents Julian from being a proper parent to his daughter, January. To fill the void left by January's traveling father and her mother, whose absence is initially unexplained, Locke ensconces January in his mansion as his ward. January discovers that she has the power to write words that open doors leading to other worlds, including the City of Nin. Throughout the novel, Harrow quotes at excessive length from The Ten Thousand Doors, a book Julian owns, and January gradually discerns a connection between her own life and that of Adelaide Lee Larson, a character in Doors. Harrow weaves in commentary on race: Julian is black and January's mother is white, and, in a clever inversion, in one of the worlds January visits, everyone is black and racism is nonexistent. Harrow's novel will hold strong appeal to readers who enjoy portal fantasies featuring adventuresome women.
Customer Reviews
Good story
Loved the story, the sense of adventure!!
Well-developed characters, vivid descriptions
Overall, a good read
In the beginning of the book, it was very slow paced and the words seemed to be thrown in such a way that was screaming “Hey! Look at me! Look what I can do with words.” However, once you get through with a big- and I do mean BIG- chunk of the beginning, the story gets really interesting. Overall, it was a good read.
Meh
Not my cup of tea. I slogged through it. It was okay.