East (East, #1)

by Edith Pattou

A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.

• ISBN10: 0152045635
• ISBN13: 9780152045630
• Publish Date: 1 September 2003
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 1 July 2021
• Imprint: Harcourt Brace and Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

DNF @ 50%

East only came to my attention last year when people started actively searching for ARCs of West by the same author. I'd never heard of this book, despite my love of retellings, and new I had to read it as soon as possible for the retellings challenge I'm hosting this year!

This is a retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon, a fairy tale I'd honestly never heard of before even though (I guess??) I've read a few retellings already. Rose is the main character, born to a large family and a very superstitious mother. One day she leaves with a white bear to help her family and then her adventure begins.

I... didn't care for Rose. This book is written with a definite fairy tale flair, but it ended up making me feel extremely detached from the characters. The author also chose to use multiple viewpoints, so there were multiple characters I couldn't care less for and I never really felt like I knew any of them. The white bear was very strange, along with all the other characters in his home. One plot point involving a strange person sleeping in Rose's bed without her consent was just creepy.

East also happens to be incredibly long, much longer than it has any need to be. There was a lot of walking and talking and swimming and eating and sleeping and I was just so bored. The author does a lot of showing rather than telling, which made me feel like I couldn't truly see or appreciate the world that should definitely have been magical.

I toughed it out for 250 pages, which is probably about how long this book should have been. It seemed that if, after 250 pages I couldn't care less if the characters died, it was time to give up and move onto something else. I wanted to enjoy this retelling so much, but it just wasn't for me.

[Stephanie]

East is a retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Rose has to stay with White Bear in a castle dug into the side of a mountain. She doesn't know for how long or how safe she really is, but she goes along with it. She keeps herself busy by weaving and telling stories to White Bear and by trying to figure out the mysteries of the White Bear. And at night she has a visitor who comes into her room and sleeps next to her every night. There's never a light for her to turn on to see who the visitor. This bothers Rose the first few nights, but then she grows used to it and is even comforted by the strangers presence at night. When she breaks the rules of the castle she is sent on a wild journey to the north to get her White Bear back and make up for her betrayal to the bear.

...And that's only half the book. The first half goes on about Rose's life at home and her mother's superstitions. Rose's parents lied to her about being East bairn instead of her real birth direction, North, all because of her mother superstitions. When Rose finds out, she gets mad and runs off with the White Bear. Blah, Blah, Blah, lets get to the good part!

I have read two other stories that are a retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon (Ice by Sarah Best Durst and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George) So I knew what to expect for the most part. I liked Pattou's version, but it wasn't my favorite. It stretched out for too long, and after almost 500 pages I felt like it could have been cut down a bit.

The story also switched point of views. Rose's point of view was the majority but her brother, Neddy, the Troll Queen, White Bear, and Rose's dad also had their POV's here and there. Usually the switching of that many POV's bugs me but Pattou pulled it off nicely. I liked getting to read what was happening back at Roses home while she was away with White Bear.

I got a little bored at times though and found myself thinking about other things as I read, but then the story would pick up again. I expected more magic to be involved, but it seems Pattou was trying to weave some reality into the story. There weren't any winds mentioned, and the Troll Queens castle seemed like it was placed somewhere anyone could reach it if they really tried.

So, I was a little iffy after reading East. I didn't love, and I didn't hate it. I just got a little bored at times. But I did enjoy reading Rose's journey through the north and all the things she encountered along the way.

[nannah]

This is one amazing retelling. Everything is fleshed out perfectly and it just grabs you.