Rent The King of Elfland's Daughter (Del Rey Impact)

I was very happy to receive this book, and was certain I would love it for its subject matter alone. I have spent the last couple of years researching Faerie folklore for my own forthcoming novel, and felt this was one that I shouldn't miss. It is very beautiful, a relaxing, dreamy sort of novel without much story and with extremely purple prose. If you like that, or flowery poetry, you will love this book. I enjoyed it for the atmosphere, and liked the ending, though it left quite a few questions open. To me, the themes that stood out were how fragile romantic love can be, how easily a marriage can be damaged by things like being taken for granted, or trying to change the other person. Especially touching to me is how it shows how strong a mother's love is - strong enough to change the shape of the world. Lord Dunsany was an incredible person, and a great writer, but I think the short story was more of his forte. If you like the Silmarillion, try Gods of Pegana. It's available free online.