Fisher, Catherine. Corbenic.FISHER, Catherine. Corbenic. HarperCollins, Greenwillow. 281 p. c2002.0-06-072470-6. $16.99. JS* First published several years ago in the UK, this dark journey by a troubled teenager, Cal, is in a genre that can be interpreted as fantasy, or as psychological mystery. We aren't sure what is myth and what is hallucination hallucination, false perception characterized by a distortion of real sensory stimuli. Common types of hallucination are auditory, i.e., hearing voices or noises and visual, i.e., seeing people that are not actually present. , perhaps even schizophrenia. Cal's disturbed, alcoholic mother sees strange visions and hears voices, so when Cal himself first enters the Waste Land of Corbenic, with a Fisher King Fisher King guardian of the Grail. [Ger. Legend, Parzival; Arthurian Legend: Walsh Classical, 227] See : Guardianship Fisher King old, maimed king whose restoration symbolizes the return of spring vegetation. , the Holy Grail Holy Grail: see Grail, Holy. A very desired object or outcome that borders on a sacred quest. There are several Holy Grails in the computer business. , and other accruements of mythology, he is horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. , thinking he too is becoming ill like his mother. He is trying to escape his mother and his responsibilities to her, starting a new life with his uncle in a nice suburb, with a promising job and a chance to go to college. It is totally understandable that he is exhausted by caring for his mother, who has been his responsibility since he was a young child. Yes, he feels tremendous guilt that he is relieved to be away from her, to start a life of his own; yet the guilt he feels is crippling. Parallel to his escape is that of the girl he calls Shadow. She has run away from a wealthy home, with parents who support her financially but are distant in every other way that matters. Cal and Shadow join a group of re-enactors of King Arthur's court: we meet Arthur, Gwen, Kai kai Noun NZ informal food [Maori] kai noun N.Z. (informal) food, grub (slang) provisions, fare, board, commons, eats (slang , and a dirty bum named Merlin. Who are these people? Are they immortals, or just New Age types pretending to be immortals? At Christmas time, after he has promised his mother he would return home for a visit, Cal reneges on his promise. She falls apart completely and kills herself. The overwhelming guilt from this tragedy drives Cal on a quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the his own sanity, a journey that takes months of his living on the edge of survival, which ends in the holy city of Glastonbury. Finally redemption occurs, sanity returns, and we aren't yet sure what is fantasy and what is healing from trauma. The delicious success of this story is the ambiguity of it, looking at it rationally or with the suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief is an aesthetic theory intended to characterize people's relationships to art. It was coined by the poet and aesthetic philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817 to refer to what he called "dramatic truth". . Fisher, author of Snow-Walker, Darkhenge, and the Oracle Prophecies trilogy, is an accomplished creator of such challenging mysteries. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. S--Recommended for senior high school students. *--The asterisk highlights exceptional books. |
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