Releasing March 28, 2023 from Solaris
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s And Put Away Childish Things was an interesting, well-written novella with a great concept, but it was just so overwhelmingly sad that I struggled to finish it. This is a hard one to review.
The concept is that Harry Brodie’s grandmother wrote a series of books set in Underhill, a world similar to Narnia, where young children go on adventures. Harry is being stalked by people who think that world is real, and who believe he’s the long-lost prince.
When Harry finds Underhill, it’s different than his grandmother’s books. The world and its magical creatures has been abandoned, unloved. Visiting Underhill felt a bit like reading a book that was just an extended scene of Artax in the Swamp of Sadness, or when the toys are burned in The Velveteen Rabbit. It’s definitely A Mood.
I do recommend this novella if you’re in the mood for a bit of bleak nostalgia — it’s wonderfully written with characters who captured me right away (Wish Dog!), and I definitely cleared out my sinuses crying while reading it.
I couldn’t handle 200 pages of that feeling, and I found myself skimming in the last 50 pages just to get through it. I think if it had been half the length, or a short story, it would have worked better. It wasn’t the right read for me right now. Not a bad book at all, just not a good fit.
🌟🌟🌟1/2
Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for my review copy of this book.
Leanne Olson 
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