The Peculiar Adventure in a Mysterious House by Lea Ben ShlomoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
An enchanting adventure about sisterly love...
In Lea Ben Shlomo’s “The Peculiar Adventure in a Mysterious House” we discover that in order to explore the mysterious abandoned house, Sharon and her younger sister Ella have to sneak up the hill. The lines between what is possible and what is impossible begin to blur the further they venture into the house. Strange rooms, a cuckoo clock that can talk, giant toys, and a handsome prince who invites Sharon to his dreamland kingdom await them inside. The rooms are magnificent and invite play, but each one conceals a trap. Will the allure of witchcraft be too great for even their sisterly love to overcome?
The book has a magical quality that permeates the entire work and endows it with an irresistible charm. The narratives that the author develops for her stories walk a fine line between fact and fiction insomuch that what was previously inconceivable is now tangible, potent, and within reach. She creates fantastical dreamscapes for her characters, filled with exciting adventures, by examining the ways in which the natural and human worlds influence each other and establishing interactions between the two. I’ve no doubt the younger reader will enjoy reading “The Peculiar Adventure in a Mysterious House.”
Translated from Hebrew by Noël Canin with wonderful illustrations by IIja Bereznickas this book comes highly recommended and gets a well-deserved five stars from me. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
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