The Tale of Elgol and the Witch by N.N. Marques is a haunting children’s story with the timeless appeal of an old fable, beautifully illustrated by Yamanu Taiji. Set in mediaeval Skye, this book tells the story of a poor boy who is transformed into a giant when he runs afoul of a miserly witch. Forced into a life of solitude in the hills, he eventually grows into a wise and bountiful mountain before his final showdown with the witch.

A haunting children’s story with the timeless appeal of an old fable.

Marques brings the setting to life from the outset in a way which ought to appeal to young readers, using clear and detailed descriptions of the village, the buildings and even the precise number of cows and sheep. The witch’s house and garden and the mountains where Elgol goes to hide are similarly described in a manner which feels natural, clear and easily invokes rustic images of a cold and misty island. My only gripe with the way the settings are described comes in chapter one, where there is an apparent discontinuity between the village being ‘very, very, very, very big’ and the fact it has a total of only sixteen buildings and a couple of cow sheds, which does not sound remarkably big at all. It may be a matter of perspective, but this is not made clear.

The story is very well-paced. The opening chapters, in which Elgol breaks into the witch’s garden are delivered with a punchy rhythm that suits the level of danger and excitement you might expect from a story about a boy breaking into a witch’s garden to steal things. Later, when Elgol finally settles down to sleep among the mountains, the language becomes more contemplative, drawing the event out in a way which feels entirely appropriate before the pace again picks up in the final chapters for Elgol’s last encounter with the witch. 

There is a sense in which the final chapters perhaps feel a little too rushed. For example, in the scene in which he is shrunk and carried along a river, it grows a little more difficult to follow precisely what is going on. These scenes would have probably benefited from a little more description. Also, the meet-cute scene where Elgol first encounters the girl, who appears to be a love interest, seems to come out of the blue towards the end of the story and is never really developed. In a story like this one, it probably wasn’t necessary to include a love interest at all (assuming that was the author’s intention) but it would have certainly enriched the story somewhat had it been introduced earlier and given the chance to properly develop if this was the plan.

As for the characters, Elgol certainly stands out as one who develops a neat arc from his humble beginnings as a starving but cunning orphan, to an accursed exile and eventually wise and beloved benefactor.

As for the witch, she perfectly fits the archetype found in similar fairytales. A mysterious lone figure of indeterminate power, inherently malevolent, arrogantly lording it over the common folk. In adult fiction, she might have seemed two dimensional, but she fits perfectly in a fairy-tale like this one.

All in all, a decent wee book for young readers. Beautifully illustrated, with a plot that is all at once haunting and exciting in equal measure.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

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