Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr Paperback – Illustrated, July 24, 2018

There are some stories that you absorb. I don't mean in the sense that you become completely immersed in the story and can't wash the dishes until you finish -- but in the sense that the images, the themes, the messages seep inside you somewhere and become part of you and the way you view life. Sometimes you don't realize how much so until later on, when you reread the story, and you recognize the origins of some of your ideas, personal symbols, dreams, beliefs, those things you carry around inside. Little, Big was that way for me. (For fun and rather simple example, the house George Mouse settles in at the end of his journey looms large in my own set of personal symbols -- and the guide Fred Savage has a voice in my inner dialog, verifying my thoughts with a "know what I'm sayin'?") All these years later, I find myself wondering over the ending. In a way, it's always there with me. Because I absorbed it. :)Ka is that way as well. I feel hesitant to describe it, there is so much more that I am prepared to sit here and write. But it's a beautiful story, especially meaningful to a person who muses, who worries, over death. Perhaps it's a story about what death has meant to humans over humankind's lifetime, our preoccupation with it, our obsession with those who have died esp. those who are "our people," our attempts to evade it, our stories about how death came about anyway.In another way, it's a story about a certain loss of innocence and the ability to be completely present in this life. To a crow: dead is dead. Until he begins to strike up relationships with humans and becomes involved in their preoccupations for eternal life and caring for ancestors, saints, loved ones who have already died. Then his story ceases to be simply concerned with eating, nesting, and gossiping during the winter roost -- but becomes a human one: plenty of long journeys, loss, learning about grief, fleeting happiness, revenge, hard-won wisdom, acceptance. And filled with stories.So it's also a story about stories. It's filled with them. Our creation stories, animal legends, personal mythologies.It's so much more than a paltry review like this could convey. Beautifully written, as any reader of Crowley's would expect. Approachable, which some readers might not expect. Deeply satisifying, as few, few books are.The entire time I was reading it, I felt that John Crowley had purposely written this book as a gift to his readers: past, present, and future. I thought it might be... a swan song. Or not.

This was an original and enchanting story. Though the plot does not read like a linear story, I found it very compelling and the prose beautifully written. I had read a review that peaked my curiosity and I was not disappointed. This book is definitely for those who like ephemeral subject matter and don't care that all the pieces aren't put together and/or explained.

All of us come from the realm of Ka, the world of real things, where a crow is just a real crow, whose life is a brute-physical existence in an eternal present. And we all make our way, for better or worse, some distance into the realm of Ymr, the realm inhabited by categories and concepts, whose lives are stories. Once you're here, there's no going back; you can only go on.The inhabitants of Ymr all have their origin in that real stuff of Ka (as we are reminded by Coyote's story), but ultimately what we in Ymr think of as real, is fantasy. What is the nature of the existence of the inhabitants of Ymr? If the stories stop being told, if these Most Precious Things are lost or stolen by ignorant Envy, what becomes of the People of Ymr?If you have not read John Crowley before, it's difficult to tell you what to expect. John Crowley is one of those "realists of a larger reality" Ursula Le Guin speaks of. This is not a novel about defeating the Great Evil One. That Great Evil One of fantasy is a metaphor for the Ruin of Ymr, which is real and feels near. The great mountain at the end of the world is probably just a short drive from your house, and it seems everything we do to stay alive just brings Mount Doom a little closer.If you have read John Crowley, you know to expect some of the best prose in or out of fantasy fiction. Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr is funny and beautiful and tragic and comforting.

If you have not read Engine Summer or Little Big then this book will not diminish your perception of the Author; you have little else to compare it with. On the other hand if you have read any Greek Mythology or Aesop's fables you will find familiar ground as several works are given a cursory once over here; in particular the myth of Persephone in Hades. There is not very much to this book unless you are looking for a "dark, atmospherictype of mood" because there is plenty enough of that.Dar Oakley cannot even be referred to by his whole real name throughout the book so that should be a hint to readers that he will not be an easy protagonist to appreciate. The entire construct is weak when you realize the book is simply a lengthy version of "A crow walked into a bar....."Preoccupation with death has produced many an interesting and lively novel; of which this is not one

An animal fantasy in the tradition of Watership Down but so much more -- a story of how human history and myth evolves. A beautifully written book and an overlooked best book of 2017.

A spectacular novel of enormous breadth – possibly one of the best I've ever read. Dar Oakley will remain with me for many years to come.

Scenes that cut the hair within your own future coffin, and get to your dead or dying heart to liven it with rage on behalf of empathy with crows. “A dead Crow was a dead Crow.” Except when Dar dares.The detailed review of this book posted elsewhere under my name is too long to post here.Above was one of its observations.

Bought for a Christmas present. It was a book that was specifically asked for so I know it was wanted.