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Tamsin
Arriving in the English countryside to live with her mother and new stepfather, Jenny has no interest in her surroundings, until she meets Tamsin. Since her death over 300 years ago, Tamsin has haunted the lonely estate without rest, trapped by a hidden trauma she can't remember, and a powerful evil even the spirits of night cannot name. To help her, Jenny must delve deeper into the dark world than any human has in hundreds of years, and face danger that will change her life forever...
275 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1999
About the author
Peter S. Beagle
228 books3,100 followersPeter Soyer Beagle (born April 20, 1939) is an American fantasist and author of novels, nonfiction, and screenplays. He is also a talented guitarist and folk singer. He wrote his first novel, A Fine and Private Place , when he was only 19 years old. Today he is best known as the author of The Last Unicorn, which routinely polls as one of the top ten fantasy novels of all time, and at least two of his other books (A Fine and Private Place and I See By My Outfit) are considered modern classics.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 369 reviews
January 12, 2011
I remember being an adolescent girl. That seems normal enough, because I was one for several years. It's a bit scarier that Peter Beagle seems to remember being an adolescent girl.
Jenny Gluckstein is thirteen years old, and living with her divorced mother, a music teacher in New York, and visiting regularly with her father, an opera singer. She's a bit of a misfit at school, which most adolescents are, but she has two friends she spends a lot of time with, and she has a cat, Mister Cat.
And then her mother announces she's marrying her boyfriend, Evan McHugh, and that she and Jenny are moving to England with him. She'll be leaving her friends, her life, and Mister Cat will spend six months in quarantine. But her new stepbrothers, Tony and Julian, aren't too bad. Also, at least she'll be living in London, and she'll like London.
Except that Evan gets a new job, managing a farm in Dorset. And the house they'll be living in turns out to be barely habitable.
Jenny's a real pill through all this, and she knows it, and it's mostly intentional. She does eventually meet a girl at school, Meena Chari, whose efforts at friendship she cannot defeat, and eventually the six months are over and she gets Mister Cat back, and things get a little better.
The house is haunted, of course. There are lots of hints, but eventually Mister Cat brings Jenny proof, in the form of his new girlfriend, a ghost Persian. After a little more time, Jenny meets the Persian's person, Tamsin Willoughby, the daughter of Roger Willoughby, the founder of Stourhead Farm.
Tamsin has been dead for three hundred years, having died around the time of the Bloody Assizes, in 1685. She needs to move on, she should have moved on long ago, but there's something she needs to do first, and she can't remember what it is. It begins to seem that perhaps she doesn't really want to remember what it is. Jenny gradually realizes that, as much as she wants Tamsin to stick around, her continued presence is causing strange problems around Stourhead, and things need to be set right. Over the next couple of years, she meets a Pooka, the billy-blind, the Black Dog , the Old Lady of the Elder Tree, and assorted other unusual beings--along with just about the most terrifying ghost I've encountered. Oh, and the Wild Hunt, too.
It's a very good book, even if in some ways the most peculiar part of it is being that convincingly back inside my own adolescent head again.
Jenny Gluckstein is thirteen years old, and living with her divorced mother, a music teacher in New York, and visiting regularly with her father, an opera singer. She's a bit of a misfit at school, which most adolescents are, but she has two friends she spends a lot of time with, and she has a cat, Mister Cat.
And then her mother announces she's marrying her boyfriend, Evan McHugh, and that she and Jenny are moving to England with him. She'll be leaving her friends, her life, and Mister Cat will spend six months in quarantine. But her new stepbrothers, Tony and Julian, aren't too bad. Also, at least she'll be living in London, and she'll like London.
Except that Evan gets a new job, managing a farm in Dorset. And the house they'll be living in turns out to be barely habitable.
Jenny's a real pill through all this, and she knows it, and it's mostly intentional. She does eventually meet a girl at school, Meena Chari, whose efforts at friendship she cannot defeat, and eventually the six months are over and she gets Mister Cat back, and things get a little better.
The house is haunted, of course. There are lots of hints, but eventually Mister Cat brings Jenny proof, in the form of his new girlfriend, a ghost Persian. After a little more time, Jenny meets the Persian's person, Tamsin Willoughby, the daughter of Roger Willoughby, the founder of Stourhead Farm.
Tamsin has been dead for three hundred years, having died around the time of the Bloody Assizes, in 1685. She needs to move on, she should have moved on long ago, but there's something she needs to do first, and she can't remember what it is. It begins to seem that perhaps she doesn't really want to remember what it is. Jenny gradually realizes that, as much as she wants Tamsin to stick around, her continued presence is causing strange problems around Stourhead, and things need to be set right. Over the next couple of years, she meets a Pooka, the billy-blind, the Black Dog , the Old Lady of the Elder Tree, and assorted other unusual beings--along with just about the most terrifying ghost I've encountered. Oh, and the Wild Hunt, too.
It's a very good book, even if in some ways the most peculiar part of it is being that convincingly back inside my own adolescent head again.
October 24, 2022
I first knew Beagle as the writer of an excellent little introduction to The Lord of the Rings called 'Tolkien's Magic Ring.' He is probably to blame for my habit of actually reading forewords and prologues: occasionally, one finds a gem.
Despite the cult success of The Last Unicorn, Beagle remains an under-recognized writer. Yet in each of his books so far I've found an original story, well told. Reading him doesn't give the feeling that he's strung together the echoes of other stories you already know; when you guess the secrets of a Beagle plot, it's because he's foreshadowed them well, not because you've seen them played out before in other guises. Which means his stories are just as unborrowable as they are unborrowed, original enough to give even imitators pause.
Beagle conveys each story with a voice convincingly native to it - even when, as in Tamsin, the narrator is as foreign to Beagle himself as a nineteen-year-old Cambridge student writing her own memoirs, beginning with her relocation six years prior from New York City to a rundown old farm in Dorset because her divorced mother got re-married, straight through to the unexpectedly epic showdown she inadvertently triggers between ghosts from the Bloody Assizes and the older powers that still prowl the English countryside.
Read Peter S. Beagle. He's well worth it.
Despite the cult success of The Last Unicorn, Beagle remains an under-recognized writer. Yet in each of his books so far I've found an original story, well told. Reading him doesn't give the feeling that he's strung together the echoes of other stories you already know; when you guess the secrets of a Beagle plot, it's because he's foreshadowed them well, not because you've seen them played out before in other guises. Which means his stories are just as unborrowable as they are unborrowed, original enough to give even imitators pause.
Beagle conveys each story with a voice convincingly native to it - even when, as in Tamsin, the narrator is as foreign to Beagle himself as a nineteen-year-old Cambridge student writing her own memoirs, beginning with her relocation six years prior from New York City to a rundown old farm in Dorset because her divorced mother got re-married, straight through to the unexpectedly epic showdown she inadvertently triggers between ghosts from the Bloody Assizes and the older powers that still prowl the English countryside.
Read Peter S. Beagle. He's well worth it.
September 5, 2011
The story is beautifully written and told from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl who moves with her parents from Manhattan to a sprawling farm house in England.
The house is haunted and inhabited by a ghost named Tamsin, who died more than 300 years ago. Jenny learns a lot about Tamsin and about the period of time she lived in. The story contains interesting historical snippets about the Bloody Assizes of 1685, the brutal and merciless Chief Justice Jeffries of Wem, the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
A magical, wild and delightful story!
The house is haunted and inhabited by a ghost named Tamsin, who died more than 300 years ago. Jenny learns a lot about Tamsin and about the period of time she lived in. The story contains interesting historical snippets about the Bloody Assizes of 1685, the brutal and merciless Chief Justice Jeffries of Wem, the Monmouth Rebellion against King James II, and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
A magical, wild and delightful story!
January 13, 2009
Sometimes I forget about Peter Beagle, because I don't actually read that much fantasy. He wrote, of course, the fantasy classic "The Last Unicorn," which is a completely lovely book. But Tamsin is genius. It's written from the point of view of a 13 year old girl from New York, Jenny, who has to move to Dorset when her mother remarries. The old farmhouse turns out to be haunted by the gentle ghost of young Tamsin, who died During the Monmouth Rebellion. (Captain Blood readers take note: wicked Judge Jeffries is a major character)
This is a beautiful book. I believe if I went to Dorset, I would recognize this farm...and if I met Jenny, I would know her too. How a sixty (or is it seventy?) year old man can manage to make you believe he is really a thirteen year old girl is a mystery to me, but Beagle does it, in spades. And the relationship between Tamsin and Jenny is so touching that every time I read this book, I cry.
Here's a little footnote: I bought this book to stick in my daughter Anna's stocking one Christmas, but thought I ought to read a chapter first, to make sure it was readable. Four hours later I finished the book and headed back to the bookstore to buy three more copies - one for each of the daughters. I kept the first one.
This is a beautiful book. I believe if I went to Dorset, I would recognize this farm...and if I met Jenny, I would know her too. How a sixty (or is it seventy?) year old man can manage to make you believe he is really a thirteen year old girl is a mystery to me, but Beagle does it, in spades. And the relationship between Tamsin and Jenny is so touching that every time I read this book, I cry.
Here's a little footnote: I bought this book to stick in my daughter Anna's stocking one Christmas, but thought I ought to read a chapter first, to make sure it was readable. Four hours later I finished the book and headed back to the bookstore to buy three more copies - one for each of the daughters. I kept the first one.
December 1, 2017
I love, love, love this book. It's a ghost story about Jenny, an American teenager who is transplanted to an old manor in Dorset, England, when her mother remarries. The first-person point-of-view is an interesting switch for Beagle, who writes mostly in the third person, but it's very successful and just as beautifully written as his other books; he gets Jenny's voice just right without losing his usual lyricism. Along with ghosts, there are a myriad of other folklorish creatures, including an excellent pooka, and also lots of music, history, and plants, all major button-pressing things for me.
July 27, 2017
This deserves 4 stars based on the superb writing quality alone. The 8-point font really strained my eyes the whole I was reading this.
It's about 13-year-old Jenny who moves from New York City to Dorset when her mother remarries. She runs into ghosts and other supernatural beings, but it's never scary. The ghost of Tamsin befriends Jenny, who is intensely curious about Tamsin's life and death. Tamsin isn't introduced in the story until about a third of the way through, so it's a lot more than a ghost story.
Getting information about Tamsin's death is like pulling teeth, and the mystery is revealed a teeny bit at a time. The end has a pretty big climax. It's extremely well written, and the story totally comes alive.
It's about 13-year-old Jenny who moves from New York City to Dorset when her mother remarries. She runs into ghosts and other supernatural beings, but it's never scary. The ghost of Tamsin befriends Jenny, who is intensely curious about Tamsin's life and death. Tamsin isn't introduced in the story until about a third of the way through, so it's a lot more than a ghost story.
Getting information about Tamsin's death is like pulling teeth, and the mystery is revealed a teeny bit at a time. The end has a pretty big climax. It's extremely well written, and the story totally comes alive.
October 20, 2022
Here's the thing, I generally rate books based on my personal enjoyment - that doesn't necessarily reflect the quality. Books like Tamsin make it difficult. I can't exactly say that I enjoyed it, but I can most definitely say that it's a well-written book. And I didn't expect anything else - I love the way Peter S. Beagle writes, yet besides one of my all time favourites, The Last Unicorn, I just can't seem to connect to his stories. It reminds me of Isabelle Allende in the sense that her writing is gorgeous yet the stories are kind of lost on me. It's a shame, but I can say with confidence that both Beagle and Allende are great writers, even if I won't be picking up any more books by them.
One of the main things that prevented me from feeling more invested was that this was such a slow-paced read. This book only has just over 300 pages and we spend more than the first 100 pages with Jenny's, the main characters, background. I picked this up for cats and ghost stories, not for 100-pages worth of teenage moaning. And there's the other thing - Beagle did a great job on capturing Jenny's voice. I would argue that not every teenagers is quite like that, but her voice does sound authentic - authentically annoying. There was so much complaining and actual meanness from her in the beginning, it took a long time to warm up to her. Of course, it's nice seeing the character development and she is by no means a bad person. I liked her well-enough by the end but her personality certainly made it hard to start off with.
I liked her relationship with Mister Cat and found their situation very relatable. Jenny moves from the US to the UK and of course Mister Cat has to come with her. It does mean six months of quarantine and that is the same that I went through with my cat when I moved overseas. I wonder if cats still need to stay in quarantine for 6 months though, it was a lot less in my case and I'm pretty sure the regulations here are more strict than in the UK. In any case, I knew exactly just what Jenny was going through - all the paperwork, the vet visits and the disdainful look your cat gives you. And just all the pining and worrying what will be when you finally get your cat back - will he forgive you? So yes, cats were a big reason why I wanted to read this book - the cover already gives away that there's a ghost cat so this was bound to be interesting. Sadly, I found that the cats' roles weren't all that major. They were there all the time, but the story would have played out more or less the same had they not been there.
Things become a lot more interesting once Jenny and her family settle in their new Dorset home which brings all sorts of legends and creatures to life. I was surprised, this book offered more fantasy than I expected. The ghost aspect prepared me for mystery and paranormal elements, but I wasn't expecting to see fair folk make their appearance. I really appreciated that so many mythical creatures were included, and not just as some fantastical beings but a proper portrayal of their darker and tricksier sides. It easily became the most interesting part of the book for me and I wish there had been more of that rather than Jenny's backstory. I liked how there was also a lot of history wrapped into the plot - I can generally appreciate a nice blend of fantasy and actual history.
It was never really a scary book - Tamsin is about the kindest ghost you can think of and I also loved the voice Beagle gave her. I will also say that I am very sure that Jenny had romantic feelings for her. One could, of course, read this as platonic or sisterly love of sorts, but I don't think so. Perhaps it's because it's an older book that it isn't exactly spelled out, but so much of what Jenny says about Tamsin sounds more like romantic love than friendship - she even points out that she might feel that way about a man some day. You can read it either way I suppose, but for those looking for paranormal stories with LGBT elements, I do think this one qualifies.
I was a little disappointed by the mystery - I would have expected better of Beagle. Basically, I had a hunch how things would play out (and it was pretty generic) but the plot kept seeming to go into a different direction. I started to believe I must be wrong and a more original revelation is about to make itself known. Sadly, things did end up happening much like I had expected. It wasn't exactly a bad thing, but I felt a little cheated, and not in a good way. It's not that Beagle had tried to make me expect something else, it's more that I didn't get the something else ending.
This is a well-written book that I can see appealing to a variety of people and it's probably well-underrated. It has a slow start which makes it hard to get into but it's worth persevering. I am glad I've read it, but I won't be picking it up again, and I don't see myself reaching for more of Beagle's books, despite adoring The Last Unicorn and genuinely appreciate his writing.
April 28, 2020
Did not finish. I got about half way through it then skimmed to find out the ending.
The narrator doesn't sound at all like a nineteen year old reminiscing about something that happened when she was thirteen; she sounds about ten or eleven years old throughout.
With the exceptions of Mr Cat and Julian, the characterizations are one dimensional. When I think of Meg Murry, Anne Shirley, Jo March, and Blossom Culp, in comparison Jenny just feels flat, repetitive, uninteresting and uninterested in the world around her. I couldn't wait to get away from her, not because she was unlikable, but because she was boring.
The narrator doesn't sound at all like a nineteen year old reminiscing about something that happened when she was thirteen; she sounds about ten or eleven years old throughout.
With the exceptions of Mr Cat and Julian, the characterizations are one dimensional. When I think of Meg Murry, Anne Shirley, Jo March, and Blossom Culp, in comparison Jenny just feels flat, repetitive, uninteresting and uninterested in the world around her. I couldn't wait to get away from her, not because she was unlikable, but because she was boring.
September 3, 2013
After hearing so many allusions to this book on livejournal's book communities, I decided to give this book a try and I wasn't disappointed. I expected to be annoyed at Jenny, but her voice drew me in and wouldn't let go. She goes through all the confusion and sulking a teenager pulled away from home goes through, but she acknowledges in her narrative that her behavior embarrassed her. Her semi-denial of her respect for Evan was realistic, as expected of teenagers, as is her gradual respect and awareness of both her mother and her step-father. Julian was great for comic relief, as is Mister Cat.
I adore the set up of this book. The pacing is just right, Jenny's growth, her stubbornness, her growing ease and love for her new family, her growing maturity, the pacing and revealing of the actual plot - just perfect. In many ways, this is a love story (of all kinds of love) just as it is a ghost story, just as it is a story of growing up.
Judge Jeffery is haunting in his psychoticness and yet almost pitiful - a fact that Jenny notes. I want to say more, but that'd be spoiling all the suspense. Read it. Just Read it.
I adore the set up of this book. The pacing is just right, Jenny's growth, her stubbornness, her growing ease and love for her new family, her growing maturity, the pacing and revealing of the actual plot - just perfect. In many ways, this is a love story (of all kinds of love) just as it is a ghost story, just as it is a story of growing up.
Judge Jeffery is haunting in his psychoticness and yet almost pitiful - a fact that Jenny notes. I want to say more, but that'd be spoiling all the suspense. Read it. Just Read it.
April 11, 2018
The plot was interesting but the characters! Oh my lord, the characters. I realize how long this is, so here is my summary: I hated EVERYONE except Meena, Julian, and Mister Cat. And I guess Tony but he was superfluous. Also, when did teens start calling smoking pot "getting lifted"?
I will now elaborate on the top three annoying characters in descending order, starting with Jenny, the narrator. Jenny is truly funny and, at times, exactly like I was when I was a teen. She is grossed out that her mother is in love, pissed that she has to move to England, and just generally awkward in that teen way. Some reviews have been all "it's so realistic to see how Jenny grows and matures emotionally over the book as she comes to love her family!" but I disagree. Thirteen year olds don't feel bad about talking back to their parents! As soon as Jenny says anything to anyone ever, she instantly regrets it and shame spirals. I felt sorry for her initially but enough is enough. Yes, we get it, teenage girls are insecure and self-conscious and are ashamed of who they are and everything they do. It was too much! In the words of the great Nancy Mitford, shame is a bourgeois notion, so if you're going to be a bitch, own it.
Moving on to Tamsin and Jenny's mother who were both Special Snowflakes which I really hate.
Jenny's friendship with Tamsin is centered around her obsession with Tamsin's smile. When I was 13 year old, I had these crazy, obsessive friendships but I'm pretty sure I never felt as though my stomach turned to chocolate sauce upon seeing a friend. Nor did I feel the need to reiterate how swirly I felt inside every time my friend smiled. This smile obsession culminates when Tamsin reappears in the bathroom as Jenny is naked and inspecting herself. Jenny puts on a robe, reassuring us it is not because she's shy, but because of the chill. She notices Tamsin's wonky smile and says: "You've got a beautiful smile for God's sake," I said, I never saw a smile like yours. I'll do anything - I mean, people would do anything when you smile." Edit: I am updating this because I realized that maybe Jenny is in love with Tamsin? As more than a friend? Which is great but I still have no idea why on earth Jenny or ANYONE for that matter would find her at all appealing. There is nothing we learn about Tamsin except that she has a killer smile, she smells like vanilla, and that everyone who sees her falls in love with her. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE ME LIKE HER, PETER BEAGLE.
And finally, Jenny's mom. When I was growing up my biggest fear was that my family would move to a new town and I would have to be the new girl at school and make new friends. Apparently, that fear still exists because I want to punch Jenny's mom in the face for moving poor Jenny from New York City to England AND expecting her to be happy about it. I detest everything about this woman. How she calls herself a Yank (which no American in the history of the world has ever done). How she is so irritating and mushy in love and expects her 13 old daughter to understand and stop bringing her down. How her feelings are hurt because Jenny won't sing in front of stepbrothers she literally just met on the way to their new house. How everyone loves her and thinks she is beautiful and the most wonderful piano teacher in the world, etc. Jenny comments she can see why her father and her stepfather fell in love with her mother. Really? Please enlighten me Jenny, because I think she's annoying as hell.
I will now elaborate on the top three annoying characters in descending order, starting with Jenny, the narrator. Jenny is truly funny and, at times, exactly like I was when I was a teen. She is grossed out that her mother is in love, pissed that she has to move to England, and just generally awkward in that teen way. Some reviews have been all "it's so realistic to see how Jenny grows and matures emotionally over the book as she comes to love her family!" but I disagree. Thirteen year olds don't feel bad about talking back to their parents! As soon as Jenny says anything to anyone ever, she instantly regrets it and shame spirals. I felt sorry for her initially but enough is enough. Yes, we get it, teenage girls are insecure and self-conscious and are ashamed of who they are and everything they do. It was too much! In the words of the great Nancy Mitford, shame is a bourgeois notion, so if you're going to be a bitch, own it.
Moving on to Tamsin and Jenny's mother who were both Special Snowflakes which I really hate.
Jenny's friendship with Tamsin is centered around her obsession with Tamsin's smile. When I was 13 year old, I had these crazy, obsessive friendships but I'm pretty sure I never felt as though my stomach turned to chocolate sauce upon seeing a friend. Nor did I feel the need to reiterate how swirly I felt inside every time my friend smiled. This smile obsession culminates when Tamsin reappears in the bathroom as Jenny is naked and inspecting herself. Jenny puts on a robe, reassuring us it is not because she's shy, but because of the chill. She notices Tamsin's wonky smile and says: "You've got a beautiful smile for God's sake," I said, I never saw a smile like yours. I'll do anything - I mean, people would do anything when you smile." Edit: I am updating this because I realized that maybe Jenny is in love with Tamsin? As more than a friend? Which is great but I still have no idea why on earth Jenny or ANYONE for that matter would find her at all appealing. There is nothing we learn about Tamsin except that she has a killer smile, she smells like vanilla, and that everyone who sees her falls in love with her. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE ME LIKE HER, PETER BEAGLE.
And finally, Jenny's mom. When I was growing up my biggest fear was that my family would move to a new town and I would have to be the new girl at school and make new friends. Apparently, that fear still exists because I want to punch Jenny's mom in the face for moving poor Jenny from New York City to England AND expecting her to be happy about it. I detest everything about this woman. How she calls herself a Yank (which no American in the history of the world has ever done). How she is so irritating and mushy in love and expects her 13 old daughter to understand and stop bringing her down. How her feelings are hurt because Jenny won't sing in front of stepbrothers she literally just met on the way to their new house. How everyone loves her and thinks she is beautiful and the most wonderful piano teacher in the world, etc. Jenny comments she can see why her father and her stepfather fell in love with her mother. Really? Please enlighten me Jenny, because I think she's annoying as hell.
May 5, 2010
Hm. I wonder if this book influenced Robin McKinley's Dragonhaven at all. For at least the first hundred pages, the writing is so full of "teen posturing language" (forgive me, teens--I couldn't think of a better way to say it), that it's nearly unbearable. No, I take that back. It is unbearable. I skimmed and skipped, hoping that the book would actually become readable. After all, I had read Peter Beagle before and I didn't remember him being so awful.
When the title character finally enters the book around page 100, the story and the writing start to pick up somewhat. Now, the writer seems more focused on
Telling the story
rather than
Interrupting the story every other line with some dumb posturing comment that gets repeated in different forms three times before trying to return to some semblance of the story.
The ending of the book tries to step three steps too far ("and now that the story is over, let's just casually flash forward five or so years where I'm suddenly attending Cambridge and so forth ..."). It rather discounts the climax of the book (which is very rushed).
As far as the story itself: it's okay. I predicted too much of it for it to be suspenseful. And it's definitely loose and wobbly with all the filler junk about being a young teen. (Small caveat: some reviewers have remarked that it's amazing how well Beagle writes from the point of view of a 13 year old girl. BUT! The whole story is supposed to have been written after the fact. Indeed, it's supposed to have been written when the main character is 19 or so.)
Do I recommend it? Not really. Will I read it again? Nope. Was it a complete waste of time? Well, it had moments where it was more than a complete waste of time, but it also had other moments where it was interesting.
When the title character finally enters the book around page 100, the story and the writing start to pick up somewhat. Now, the writer seems more focused on
Telling the story
rather than
Interrupting the story every other line with some dumb posturing comment that gets repeated in different forms three times before trying to return to some semblance of the story.
The ending of the book tries to step three steps too far ("and now that the story is over, let's just casually flash forward five or so years where I'm suddenly attending Cambridge and so forth ..."). It rather discounts the climax of the book (which is very rushed).
As far as the story itself: it's okay. I predicted too much of it for it to be suspenseful. And it's definitely loose and wobbly with all the filler junk about being a young teen. (Small caveat: some reviewers have remarked that it's amazing how well Beagle writes from the point of view of a 13 year old girl. BUT! The whole story is supposed to have been written after the fact. Indeed, it's supposed to have been written when the main character is 19 or so.)
Do I recommend it? Not really. Will I read it again? Nope. Was it a complete waste of time? Well, it had moments where it was more than a complete waste of time, but it also had other moments where it was interesting.
September 1, 2022
Magic grounded in Dorset soil. Jenny Gluckstein, now a young adult, writes in her memoir on the time when her 13-year old self discovered a world beyond the ordinary. Back then, she was always angry, so petulant and obnoxious, to be uprooted from belonging. Over time, the call of Dorchestershire land settled her heart and brought it home. When Jenny embraced the impossibilities, wonder came, and courage soon after.
What this novel did effectively, was to evoke in me a sense of childhood enchantment. The idea of an old world, steeped in English folklore amidst rural beauty, co-existing naturally in and around realities appealed to my imagination. A mix of the corporeal with the supernatural, without one diminishing the other. There was the rhythm from an actual working farm, at least it became such after much toiling to get the plumbing and irrigation right, and the rhyme of a new family feeling their way around tentative relationships and cultural differences. In the midst was Jenny, the girl who was both here and out there, neither cowed nor awed, who would sooner trade barbs with a billy-blind and side-step favors from a pooka, than to awkwardly hold her little step-brother’s hand.
Characters - humans, non-human and feline ones! - livened the plot, to make up for a slow start. Each distinct presence was a bright twinkle, and the novel sparkled for it. None was more luminous than the lovely, gentle Tamsin, long-dead and wispy, a shadow of a shadow of a former self, forgetful of much and fearful of more. My investment in the story truly began when the mysterious Tamsin first appeared with her pretty, antiquated words. Tamsin and Jenny found each other 300 years apart, each becoming more real to this reader with every contact.
Spoilers-not, the ending was satisfactory. Personally, I thought it could go darker as befits an adult audience. The set-up was there - obsession, malevolence, violent history - to make for an unsettling feeling. As it was, author Peter Beagle focused on the positives - community, friendship, love - which was comfortable reading for middle grade upward, with a light tread on the wild side. This is my first Beagle novel, why that is and not his famous classic, The Last Unicorn, is a question much like Jenny's remarkable experience. It happened serendipitously, and worthy of remembering.
[Awards:
2000 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature
2000 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel]
What this novel did effectively, was to evoke in me a sense of childhood enchantment. The idea of an old world, steeped in English folklore amidst rural beauty, co-existing naturally in and around realities appealed to my imagination. A mix of the corporeal with the supernatural, without one diminishing the other. There was the rhythm from an actual working farm, at least it became such after much toiling to get the plumbing and irrigation right, and the rhyme of a new family feeling their way around tentative relationships and cultural differences. In the midst was Jenny, the girl who was both here and out there, neither cowed nor awed, who would sooner trade barbs with a billy-blind and side-step favors from a pooka, than to awkwardly hold her little step-brother’s hand.
Characters - humans, non-human and feline ones! - livened the plot, to make up for a slow start. Each distinct presence was a bright twinkle, and the novel sparkled for it. None was more luminous than the lovely, gentle Tamsin, long-dead and wispy, a shadow of a shadow of a former self, forgetful of much and fearful of more. My investment in the story truly began when the mysterious Tamsin first appeared with her pretty, antiquated words. Tamsin and Jenny found each other 300 years apart, each becoming more real to this reader with every contact.
Spoilers-not, the ending was satisfactory. Personally, I thought it could go darker as befits an adult audience. The set-up was there - obsession, malevolence, violent history - to make for an unsettling feeling. As it was, author Peter Beagle focused on the positives - community, friendship, love - which was comfortable reading for middle grade upward, with a light tread on the wild side. This is my first Beagle novel, why that is and not his famous classic, The Last Unicorn, is a question much like Jenny's remarkable experience. It happened serendipitously, and worthy of remembering.
[Awards:
2000 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature
2000 World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel]
February 16, 2018
(Original review date: 1 August 2007)
I don't know how to describe this book, other than that it made me remember why I fell in love with reading in the first place. It's amazing. It's beautiful. I wished it would never end. I haven't felt this way about a book in so long I can't remember.
I wasn't expecting to like it all that much. Sure, it's by Beagle, and you can always count on him for dazzling mythic fantasy and gorgeous prose. But the jacket didn't make it seem like anything special: A teenage girl is forced to move, with her new step-family, from New York City to an ancient farm in Dorset, England. There, she befriends Tamsin, a ghost from the 17th century, who has horrible secrets she herself can no longer remember.
It's better than it sounds. I promise. The characters came to life so vividly they felt like old friends from the very beginning. And I don't know how Beagle did it, but the narrator, Jenny, is such an incredibly believable 13-year-old girl - and that's not an easy headspace to get into, even for me, and I was a 13-year-old girl not too long ago. I also love the way Beagle writes cats, not anthropomorphized too much, but with feline personalities all their own. And though the story is peppered with ghosts and boggarts and ancient deities, poltergeists and billy-blinds and capricious pookas, you never think to doubt that it could all be - that it should all be - utterly true. Because it's really about childhood, and what it means to be right on the edge of becoming an adult, right on the edge of losing all of those magical things that make childhood so enchanting. It's a bittersweet time, but also exciting, and something to treasure always. Like this book.
I don't know how to describe this book, other than that it made me remember why I fell in love with reading in the first place. It's amazing. It's beautiful. I wished it would never end. I haven't felt this way about a book in so long I can't remember.
I wasn't expecting to like it all that much. Sure, it's by Beagle, and you can always count on him for dazzling mythic fantasy and gorgeous prose. But the jacket didn't make it seem like anything special: A teenage girl is forced to move, with her new step-family, from New York City to an ancient farm in Dorset, England. There, she befriends Tamsin, a ghost from the 17th century, who has horrible secrets she herself can no longer remember.
It's better than it sounds. I promise. The characters came to life so vividly they felt like old friends from the very beginning. And I don't know how Beagle did it, but the narrator, Jenny, is such an incredibly believable 13-year-old girl - and that's not an easy headspace to get into, even for me, and I was a 13-year-old girl not too long ago. I also love the way Beagle writes cats, not anthropomorphized too much, but with feline personalities all their own. And though the story is peppered with ghosts and boggarts and ancient deities, poltergeists and billy-blinds and capricious pookas, you never think to doubt that it could all be - that it should all be - utterly true. Because it's really about childhood, and what it means to be right on the edge of becoming an adult, right on the edge of losing all of those magical things that make childhood so enchanting. It's a bittersweet time, but also exciting, and something to treasure always. Like this book.
April 19, 2015
I can understand how Peter S. Beagle and Jack Cady became friends. Along with their vision of a world where the boundaries between Here and Now and There and Then are not absolute, they both write with an unfathomable depth of understanding of and respect for their characters and for those characters' stories, and also empathy without excuses, even a tenderness, a graciousness that allows the truth of the stories and characters to stand on their own and shine in their own light — and embrace their shadows, exposing fears (and Fear) without artifice.
It's been many years since I was very young and I first read "The Last Unicorn" and "A Fine and Private Place" and fell under their respective spells, but it wasn't until I read Peter S. Beagle's introduction to Jack Cady's "The Night We Buried Road Dog" that I remembered the feelings those books evoked, even (or especially) in my youngness.
And so, after obsessively reading the entire catalogue of Cady's work, I turned to Beagle's.
I am so glad I chose "Tamsin" to begin.
Jenny and Tamsin's story is woven as intricately and as simply, with strands as fine and strong and entangling — and as beautiful as the web of a writing spider, strung with dew in earliest daylight.
Thank you for the experience, Mr. Beagle.
And now, which to read next?
It's been many years since I was very young and I first read "The Last Unicorn" and "A Fine and Private Place" and fell under their respective spells, but it wasn't until I read Peter S. Beagle's introduction to Jack Cady's "The Night We Buried Road Dog" that I remembered the feelings those books evoked, even (or especially) in my youngness.
And so, after obsessively reading the entire catalogue of Cady's work, I turned to Beagle's.
I am so glad I chose "Tamsin" to begin.
Jenny and Tamsin's story is woven as intricately and as simply, with strands as fine and strong and entangling — and as beautiful as the web of a writing spider, strung with dew in earliest daylight.
Thank you for the experience, Mr. Beagle.
And now, which to read next?
September 23, 2012
"My Jenny, I will never see your own land, yet well I know night's as dark there as in Dorset. And night is not ours, and never will be, not till all is night. I tell you it will not, Jenny -- never any more than the sea, for all we plow and harrow up that darkness. What yet swims in the deepest deep, I'm sure none can say -- and not even the Pooka knows all that may move beyond the light. But you have friends there now -- do but remember that, and you'll come to no harm. You have friends in the night, dear Jenny."
Writing like that, and a ghost kitty too!
Writing like that, and a ghost kitty too!
September 1, 2019
With Tamsin, Peter S. Beagle tells a tale full of English myths from the perspective of 13-year-old Jenny Gluckstien. Jenny's life is turned upside down when her mother remarries and moves their small family from New York City to a farm in the English countryside. Suddenly finding herself with a new stepdad and two step brothers in a whole new country, Jenny reacts about as poorly as you can imagine, making herself quite a pain for everyone around her. Naturally, the manor and surrounding grounds is haunted by all sorts of creatures, including the ghost of a young girl who has been trapped on the estate since she died roughly 300 years ago. Jenny gradually finds herself pulled into the mystery of surrounding Stourhead Farm and the creatures of the night that live there.
I think this is one of those stories people will either love or hate. I'm firmly in the "loved it" camp. The tale moves at a slow and deliberate pace as we're introduced to Jenny and her life in New York. Jenny is quite the character! I remember what it was like being an teenage girl with plenty of angst and I'm impressed with how well Beagle was able to capture that feeling without making me hate her. Deliberately making yourself difficult as a passive aggressive way to deal with life? Yeah, I remember that to. This story is firmly YA in that regard so if you don't enjoy reading teenage angst, you should probably avoid this book.
The farm is quite haunted. I loved how Beagle pulled out so many local myths to inhabit Stourhead. Even though it was published in 1999, the book reads like "timeless" children's literature. Jenny and the haunts on the farm feel like they could have come out of virtually any time period prior to the internet age.
The story was absolutely delightful. Beagle writes such beautiful and atmospheric prose that I found myself completely whisked away into the night world of Stourhead Farm. I truly enjoyed my time getting to know Jenny, Tamsin, Mister Cat and all the creatures she encounters as Jenny unravels what is keeping Tamsin from moving on. I was sad when the story ended as I really wasn't ready to leave Stourhead.
I think this is one of those stories people will either love or hate. I'm firmly in the "loved it" camp. The tale moves at a slow and deliberate pace as we're introduced to Jenny and her life in New York. Jenny is quite the character! I remember what it was like being an teenage girl with plenty of angst and I'm impressed with how well Beagle was able to capture that feeling without making me hate her. Deliberately making yourself difficult as a passive aggressive way to deal with life? Yeah, I remember that to. This story is firmly YA in that regard so if you don't enjoy reading teenage angst, you should probably avoid this book.
The farm is quite haunted. I loved how Beagle pulled out so many local myths to inhabit Stourhead. Even though it was published in 1999, the book reads like "timeless" children's literature. Jenny and the haunts on the farm feel like they could have come out of virtually any time period prior to the internet age.
The story was absolutely delightful. Beagle writes such beautiful and atmospheric prose that I found myself completely whisked away into the night world of Stourhead Farm. I truly enjoyed my time getting to know Jenny, Tamsin, Mister Cat and all the creatures she encounters as Jenny unravels what is keeping Tamsin from moving on. I was sad when the story ended as I really wasn't ready to leave Stourhead.
November 14, 2018
This was a quirky, totally unexpected story, which starts off in a very mundane way and develops into a strange, fantastical, supernatural adventure.
Bringing it down to basics, it's a coming-of-age tale revolving around a young girl's struggles to come to terms with difficult, life-changing events at a particularly vulnerable period in her life.
The writing style seems to be a slightly unsettled mixture of diary/letter/memoir but it worked reasonably well and was often very amusing; any book that makes me chuckle out loud is well on the way to 4-star rating for me.
I would recommend it to young teens and it's also a good Hallowe'en read.
Bringing it down to basics, it's a coming-of-age tale revolving around a young girl's struggles to come to terms with difficult, life-changing events at a particularly vulnerable period in her life.
The writing style seems to be a slightly unsettled mixture of diary/letter/memoir but it worked reasonably well and was often very amusing; any book that makes me chuckle out loud is well on the way to 4-star rating for me.
I would recommend it to young teens and it's also a good Hallowe'en read.
February 20, 2015
My sister read this and I thought that I would also like it since it was about ghosts but I couldn't even get through more than half. I hope to give this another try and maybe change my review.
April 21, 2023
I had only previously read one book by Peter S. Beagle, that being The Last Unicorn from 1968 and I enjoyed it well enough. A friend had recommended another, A Fine and Private Place (1960) and while I do have it now on my bookshelves, I instead decided to try another, Tamsin, originally published in 1999.
Simply put, this was an excellent fantasy story, rich, interesting and peopled with fascinating characters, both human and ghostly (and others). Jenny lives with her mother Sally in New York. She is relatively happy with her life; has good friends and gets to see her itinerant father when he's in town. Sally has fallen in love with Englishman, Evan and they are moving back to England. Jenny is very unhappy about this and determines either to stay with her father in New York (that ain't going to work) or make sure her mother is miserable for forcing her out of her comfort zone.
So taking along her pet, Mr. Cat (who will be in quarantine for six months), Jenny, Sally and Evan pack up and move to England. The initial plan was to live with his sons, Julian and Tony in London. But the plans change, when Evan, an agriculturalist, is offered a job and estate in Dorset. When they all arrive, they see a decrepit estate that needs to basically be rebuilt and a farm that will need major work if it is to survive.
So begins Jenny's life in Dorset, getting established in a new school (she will make a great friend in Meena there) and also try to get accustomed to the quirks of Dorset and her new home. She will also find that Dorset is rich in supernatural beings; the Pooka (a sort of goblin), the Oakmen (who haunt the oak forest), the Black Dog (who watches over and provides warnings), etc. Oh, yes, the Wild Hunt will make appearances. Of most interest to Jenny is Tamsin Willoughby, the spirit of a young girl who died on the estate (it was her family estate) and who Jenny becomes very close to.
There is a mystery surrounding Tamsin and Jenny will be called upon to help solve it, to try and save Tamsin. This is the core of the story and Beagle makes his way through the beginning, slowly and caringly until it builds to a very exciting climax; a battle for Tamsin's spirit against an evil that is truly scary. It's a rich, well-crafted story. The characters are all interesting, even down to those who play minor roles. And there are nice surprises in some. It's a growing up story for Jenny as well and that is also handled lovingly. I didn't mind taking my time with this at all. It was easy to put down but also easy to get back into Jenny's life and her story with Tamsin. Excellent. Just loved it. (4.5 stars)
Simply put, this was an excellent fantasy story, rich, interesting and peopled with fascinating characters, both human and ghostly (and others). Jenny lives with her mother Sally in New York. She is relatively happy with her life; has good friends and gets to see her itinerant father when he's in town. Sally has fallen in love with Englishman, Evan and they are moving back to England. Jenny is very unhappy about this and determines either to stay with her father in New York (that ain't going to work) or make sure her mother is miserable for forcing her out of her comfort zone.
So taking along her pet, Mr. Cat (who will be in quarantine for six months), Jenny, Sally and Evan pack up and move to England. The initial plan was to live with his sons, Julian and Tony in London. But the plans change, when Evan, an agriculturalist, is offered a job and estate in Dorset. When they all arrive, they see a decrepit estate that needs to basically be rebuilt and a farm that will need major work if it is to survive.
So begins Jenny's life in Dorset, getting established in a new school (she will make a great friend in Meena there) and also try to get accustomed to the quirks of Dorset and her new home. She will also find that Dorset is rich in supernatural beings; the Pooka (a sort of goblin), the Oakmen (who haunt the oak forest), the Black Dog (who watches over and provides warnings), etc. Oh, yes, the Wild Hunt will make appearances. Of most interest to Jenny is Tamsin Willoughby, the spirit of a young girl who died on the estate (it was her family estate) and who Jenny becomes very close to.
There is a mystery surrounding Tamsin and Jenny will be called upon to help solve it, to try and save Tamsin. This is the core of the story and Beagle makes his way through the beginning, slowly and caringly until it builds to a very exciting climax; a battle for Tamsin's spirit against an evil that is truly scary. It's a rich, well-crafted story. The characters are all interesting, even down to those who play minor roles. And there are nice surprises in some. It's a growing up story for Jenny as well and that is also handled lovingly. I didn't mind taking my time with this at all. It was easy to put down but also easy to get back into Jenny's life and her story with Tamsin. Excellent. Just loved it. (4.5 stars)
June 8, 2018
4 1/2 stars really, loved it and definitely am trying to keep to the idea of reading books by the authors that i love, no new things for a while cause lately i've been reading some not so good books. super happy with this read and can't wait to read the innkeeper's song!!
May 31, 2018
A truly wonderful young adult fantasy book. Reminds me of being a teenager and reminds me of some of the classic fantasies I read as a teenager.
My words aren't adequate today, read Amanda Kespohl or Lis Carey's reviews.
My words aren't adequate today, read Amanda Kespohl or Lis Carey's reviews.
January 3, 2016
Yes, another re-read. Maybe because I want to ease in 2016 gently, starting with familiar and reliable loved stories. God knows this year could be horrendously scary and full of unfamiliar stuffs.
Tamsin still holds the fort. Still made me tears up a couple of time. I'd give away copies of it to everyone I know if I could.
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Bumping in to 5 stars, because a book that can be read over and over again without loosing its glory is a special one indeed. the last read even gave me a creep that I didn't have before.
I'm re-reading because I was watching Victorian farm from BBC and seeing them plowing the field reminded me of the stepfather who wanted to revive the soil in this Dorset farm.
---------------
It's getting better on re-reading. For one thing I can't believe I hadn't noticed so many other interesting character. I must've rushing through it the first time…
----------------
Where were Beagle's book when I was still a child? To think how much I've missed for not reading it as I was the right age for it. Reading it now made me fall in love with Jenny. She was not a perfect child and meeting her in real world would made me hate her as a teeny. Her story, though, of her shedding her annoying shell and growing up is sweet without being obnoxious. And it sure is enjoyable reading creepy story without vampire or werewolf for a change. Boggart, Pooka, Lady of the Elder, Oakmen.. bring all the "old weirdness", I welcome them all..
I really have some luck with my reading lately. I'm so satisfied by this book, it scored some bonus points even when it didn't have too. See how the creepy vicious Judge Jeffrey of the Bloody Assizes was given another depth right at the end, he's still a creep and villainous but Beagle has shown us that even he would have done anything for the one he loves.
"For her I would have betrayed my post, my King and my God--indeed, I did so in my heart, with never a second thought. That makes Tamsin Willoughby mine." I know it looks stupid, writing it down like that. But you didn't hear him, and I still do. He really would have done all that for her, you see, and done it believing he'd burn in hell forever for doing it. He _hadn't_ done it, and it wouldn't have made her his anyway, but you see why he'd have figured it did. Or I saw it anyway, at the time. He was a maniac and a monster, but people don't love like that anymore. Or maybe it's only the maniacs and monsters who do.
Still a sick man but which other villain was given this much of capability to love by its author?
Tamsin still holds the fort. Still made me tears up a couple of time. I'd give away copies of it to everyone I know if I could.
--------------
Bumping in to 5 stars, because a book that can be read over and over again without loosing its glory is a special one indeed. the last read even gave me a creep that I didn't have before.
I'm re-reading because I was watching Victorian farm from BBC and seeing them plowing the field reminded me of the stepfather who wanted to revive the soil in this Dorset farm.
---------------
It's getting better on re-reading. For one thing I can't believe I hadn't noticed so many other interesting character. I must've rushing through it the first time…
----------------
Where were Beagle's book when I was still a child? To think how much I've missed for not reading it as I was the right age for it. Reading it now made me fall in love with Jenny. She was not a perfect child and meeting her in real world would made me hate her as a teeny. Her story, though, of her shedding her annoying shell and growing up is sweet without being obnoxious. And it sure is enjoyable reading creepy story without vampire or werewolf for a change. Boggart, Pooka, Lady of the Elder, Oakmen.. bring all the "old weirdness", I welcome them all..
I really have some luck with my reading lately. I'm so satisfied by this book, it scored some bonus points even when it didn't have too. See how the creepy vicious Judge Jeffrey of the Bloody Assizes was given another depth right at the end, he's still a creep and villainous but Beagle has shown us that even he would have done anything for the one he loves.
"For her I would have betrayed my post, my King and my God--indeed, I did so in my heart, with never a second thought. That makes Tamsin Willoughby mine." I know it looks stupid, writing it down like that. But you didn't hear him, and I still do. He really would have done all that for her, you see, and done it believing he'd burn in hell forever for doing it. He _hadn't_ done it, and it wouldn't have made her his anyway, but you see why he'd have figured it did. Or I saw it anyway, at the time. He was a maniac and a monster, but people don't love like that anymore. Or maybe it's only the maniacs and monsters who do.
Still a sick man but which other villain was given this much of capability to love by its author?
November 8, 2011
With a contemporary setting and a ghost story as the foundation of the story, this is closer to A Fine and Private Place rather than The Last Unicorn or The Inkeeper's Song. Being told in the first person by a thirteen years old girl (Jennnifer - it comes from Guinevere, but she prefers Jenny) , the success of the book will rely heavily on your initial reaction to the storyteller.
I was conquered and enchanted from the very first pages. I still remember what it meansto be 13, shy but bloody minded, self conscious and aggravating towards my parents, street wise in a big city (New York in Jenny's case) and with a full blown imagination.
Jenny is forced to abandon her familiar territory and transplant to rural England and life on a farm. Beyond the obvious mystery of the ghost that Jenny tries to solve in her impetuous way, I think the book deals beautifully with two major themes:
- a sense of place/home from the historical events that took place, the agricultural community living close to nature, the fickle weather. the authors that were inspired and came to define the spirit of the country (Thomas Hardy).
- a sense of wonder and mystery from the mythical creatures popping out from every nook and cranny of the farm. They may be imaginary, but for Jenny they make the world she lives in more beautiful and interesting.
Best parts of the book for me came from Jenny's quirky sense of humor and her relation with Mister Cat - one of the most memorable animal companions in fantasy.
I was conquered and enchanted from the very first pages. I still remember what it meansto be 13, shy but bloody minded, self conscious and aggravating towards my parents, street wise in a big city (New York in Jenny's case) and with a full blown imagination.
Jenny is forced to abandon her familiar territory and transplant to rural England and life on a farm. Beyond the obvious mystery of the ghost that Jenny tries to solve in her impetuous way, I think the book deals beautifully with two major themes:
- a sense of place/home from the historical events that took place, the agricultural community living close to nature, the fickle weather. the authors that were inspired and came to define the spirit of the country (Thomas Hardy).
- a sense of wonder and mystery from the mythical creatures popping out from every nook and cranny of the farm. They may be imaginary, but for Jenny they make the world she lives in more beautiful and interesting.
Best parts of the book for me came from Jenny's quirky sense of humor and her relation with Mister Cat - one of the most memorable animal companions in fantasy.
September 13, 2012
Not sure when I first got hold of this book, but finally started reading it. If you've read Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" then you'll have an understanding of the way he writes. Not only are places and people vivid, but so are their feelings. This book is vintage Peter Beagle.
The story is about a teenage girl who ends up moving with her mother and new step-family to an old farm in Dorset. As the stepfather struggles to make the farm a profitable home, the girl, Jenny, discovers that the place is haunted. And most prominent among the ghosts is Tamsin, a 20-year-old young woman who died 300 years ago but cannot pass on because of something in her past. The story then weaves in and out around what that thing is as Jenny tries to help Tamsin.
While this story focuses on a teenager and young woman and their relationship, it can easily be read by any gender from junior high age on up...and enjoyed. Beagle is masterful in his prose, and there are times the feelings of the characters jump right out of the book and hook you. It does start a little slow, but it's one of those books you can't put down after you meet Tamsin and the real story starts. I would give it 4.5 stars out of 5 because it does start so slow, but given the rating system here I'm not going to knock it down to less than it deserves. It is a VERY good book.
The story is about a teenage girl who ends up moving with her mother and new step-family to an old farm in Dorset. As the stepfather struggles to make the farm a profitable home, the girl, Jenny, discovers that the place is haunted. And most prominent among the ghosts is Tamsin, a 20-year-old young woman who died 300 years ago but cannot pass on because of something in her past. The story then weaves in and out around what that thing is as Jenny tries to help Tamsin.
While this story focuses on a teenager and young woman and their relationship, it can easily be read by any gender from junior high age on up...and enjoyed. Beagle is masterful in his prose, and there are times the feelings of the characters jump right out of the book and hook you. It does start a little slow, but it's one of those books you can't put down after you meet Tamsin and the real story starts. I would give it 4.5 stars out of 5 because it does start so slow, but given the rating system here I'm not going to knock it down to less than it deserves. It is a VERY good book.
June 2, 2013
A nice YA ghost story.
I have to admit, however, that this book didn't quite live up to my expectations (set high, recently, by 'The Inkeeper's Song' and a couple of Beagle's short stories.
A rebellious teenager, Jenny, is reluctantly transplanted from NYC to the English countryside. She's got a new stepfamily to deal with, and a deal of culture shock - but she's quickly distracted by the fact that the crumbling old manor house she's stuck in is haunted. The ghost is Tamsin, a young woman who died 300 years ago. Jenny is impelled to research Tamsin's tragic history, and to help her tormented spirit find peace.
To me (writing from NYC), I found that the evocation of British country life and folklore was vivid and effective. However, the beginning of the book - the portrayal of Jenny's life here in New York - I found completely unconvincing. I actually had to look up Beagle's stats - he's really American, not British, which is just weird, because I didn't feel like he captured what it's like to live in New York AT ALL. It's hard to put my finger on why, but one example is, upon arrival in London, Jenny's mom points out people wearing saris to her daughter like it's something new and unusual. Umm, it would be very hard to grow up in NYC and never have seen people wearing Indian traditional dress. But that's really just the first few pages.
I have to admit, however, that this book didn't quite live up to my expectations (set high, recently, by 'The Inkeeper's Song' and a couple of Beagle's short stories.
A rebellious teenager, Jenny, is reluctantly transplanted from NYC to the English countryside. She's got a new stepfamily to deal with, and a deal of culture shock - but she's quickly distracted by the fact that the crumbling old manor house she's stuck in is haunted. The ghost is Tamsin, a young woman who died 300 years ago. Jenny is impelled to research Tamsin's tragic history, and to help her tormented spirit find peace.
To me (writing from NYC), I found that the evocation of British country life and folklore was vivid and effective. However, the beginning of the book - the portrayal of Jenny's life here in New York - I found completely unconvincing. I actually had to look up Beagle's stats - he's really American, not British, which is just weird, because I didn't feel like he captured what it's like to live in New York AT ALL. It's hard to put my finger on why, but one example is, upon arrival in London, Jenny's mom points out people wearing saris to her daughter like it's something new and unusual. Umm, it would be very hard to grow up in NYC and never have seen people wearing Indian traditional dress. But that's really just the first few pages.
October 6, 2018
This wasn't quite what I was hoping for after The Last Unicorn.
I enjoyed the ghost Tamsin and the fey creatures and the history with Judge Jeffreys (of Captain Blood fame; the two renderings of him are actually pretty compatible, except that this is definitely fantasy). I think it all blended well together and works with the modern heroine of Jenny.
But . . . I don't know. I don't mind that it wasn't charming, like Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Sherwood Ring (also about benign ghosts like Tamsin); it's okay that Tamsin is darker, which is more fitting with the history on which it's based. And it's okay that it stars a troubled teen. I don't mind that she's a pill for half the story--she owns up to it and wishes she'd been different. But there's a lot more swearing than I expected, especially out of a 13-year-old, and that degraded the beauty of the language that I had been expecting (and the lyrical language is part of what makes The Last Unicorn so beautiful). I think that's largely what turned me off; it didn't feel compatible with the expectations I'd built off of The Last Unicorn, which captured an endearing tale in elegant and witty language without ever resorting to any form of crassness.
I enjoyed the ghost Tamsin and the fey creatures and the history with Judge Jeffreys (of Captain Blood fame; the two renderings of him are actually pretty compatible, except that this is definitely fantasy). I think it all blended well together and works with the modern heroine of Jenny.
But . . . I don't know. I don't mind that it wasn't charming, like Elizabeth Marie Pope's The Sherwood Ring (also about benign ghosts like Tamsin); it's okay that Tamsin is darker, which is more fitting with the history on which it's based. And it's okay that it stars a troubled teen. I don't mind that she's a pill for half the story--she owns up to it and wishes she'd been different. But there's a lot more swearing than I expected, especially out of a 13-year-old, and that degraded the beauty of the language that I had been expecting (and the lyrical language is part of what makes The Last Unicorn so beautiful). I think that's largely what turned me off; it didn't feel compatible with the expectations I'd built off of The Last Unicorn, which captured an endearing tale in elegant and witty language without ever resorting to any form of crassness.
June 17, 2013
Soooooooo boring. Honestly. I made myself plow through almost 120 pages before I just could not do it anymore. Other reviews mentioned that the plot finally takes off around page 100. I suppose there was some glimmer of hope that something might actually happen, but I couldn't keep going based off a small glimmer. The first 100 pages center around a girl that has to move to England due to her mom re-marrying. Beagle includes all sorts of details that just don't matter and tries to write in a 13 year old girls voice (and in my opinion, fails miserably).
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March 22, 2019A succinct book review, so you have more time left for reading books!
The classic tale of ghosts with unfinished business helped along by a plucky, living person. But the way Beagle tells it, you'll feel as if you've never heard of any archetype ever before, or even read anything ever before; while reading, his story quickly becomes the one and only ghost story that matters.
The classic tale of ghosts with unfinished business helped along by a plucky, living person. But the way Beagle tells it, you'll feel as if you've never heard of any archetype ever before, or even read anything ever before; while reading, his story quickly becomes the one and only ghost story that matters.
April 1, 2022
I wanted to love this book. I’d first read it in 8th grade; I vividly remember reading it in the landing of the staircase up to the 7-8 grade classroom, curled up against the wall. It fascinated me; the vivid images of the black dog, the voices in the bathroom, and most of all, the image of a naked man running forever from the Wild Hunt. (although the book never actually said he was naked. I think I imagined that.)
The book mysteriously vanished from my mom’s library and I spent the next seven years or so pining to read it again. But I’d forgotten the title. So I finally posted a question on Reditt’s What’s that Book page, and someone told me; Tamsin.
So, it was good. I’m almost sad that I read it again; the enchanting mystery around it shrunk considerably now that I’ve read it.
*spoilers*
This book is two stories. It’s the story of Jennifer Gluckstein (or “Jenny” as she demanded), and how she matured from a pouty, miserable tween/young teenager to a daring adventurer. Coming of age. But it’s also the story of Tamsin, and how she cursed her lover Edric three hundred years ago to forever be chased by demons in the sky because…well, because he wasn’t there when she ran back to him, even though Jeffreys had just told her that he’d “taken care of him” which probably meant that he’d killed him? More on that later.
The two did not go together well. The stories together became “Jenny’s cool supernatural adventures that caused her to chill and not be such a bitch.” Except she was a bitch still, to the end; even to the Pooka sometimes. So emphasize: not such a bitch. Like, at the end, she was like, screw Tamsin, I just wanna see cool stuff again. …that came off as extremely shallow.
Jenny was cool. Seeing her duking it out with a boggart, the billy blind, the Pooka, and then frickin evil Judge Jeffreys was cool. But it wasn’t part of her character arc. She barely changed at all, although the whole setup of the story; the first hundred pages or so, are setting up that she’s a bitch, and she needs to not be. And this story didn’t contribute to that arc in any meaningful way. So it felt like one story in the first Act, and then another story in the next two Acts.
Gah. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when a narrator contributes basically nothing to the main events of the story. That was exactly what happened here. All Jenny did was befriend Tamsin and get her to remember things. And save her by shouting like mad when Jeffreys was acoming after her. That’s it. She does nothing in the final climax except witness the events. The whole running scene confused me so much; they were running to get to a spot where Tamsin and Edric could disappear into the spirit world? I wasn’t sure. And why did she have to run with them? So she wouldn’t be hurt by the Wild Hunt I guess. But it wasn’t her they were after. And she was holding Tamsin & Edric back.
All this to say, I found Tamsin’s story to be incredibly interesting. I want to hear it from her. I want to see how it felt through her eyes being a ghost remembering herself, and how overjoyed she was to finally see her long-lost lover again, all battered from centuries of abuse that she’d inflicted on him. Jenny’s perspective was like the Hunger Games in the Ballad of Songbird & Snakes book. Third person narrative, from the balcony seats, watching tiny figures run around and hurt each other. I want to be in on the action, in the head of the character who is feeling the most. I want to be Katniss. Or, Tamsin I guess.
Last point. To expound on that further on the whole idea of Edric being chased by the Hunt. Jeffreys had supposedly been able to conjure the Wild Hunt to chase him for one day after killing him, but Tamsin cursed him when she couldn’t find him (..and I get her. She was utterly in despair, and she felt like he’d abandoned her when she needed him most. But, he was dead?? The whole story was centered on this, and yet it falls apart like loose sand when you pull it apart and look at it. Anyway.), and so her curse doomed Edric to run forevers and evers in the sky. Poor Edric; he was just a kind, dreamy musician who fell in love with her from across the room.
Also, they are finally united after all those years, and I get that this is a climax scene and that they don’t have much time for hugs and whatnot, but all they do is look at each other again with love. Which is cute and romantic, but I wanted Edric to be a real character. To run weeping to her after having endured so much, or even better, to be angry with her for what she’d done to him. And then to have them forgive each other, in a very messy human way. But, no. Just looking.
Random character is a Spirit of the Elder Tree or whatever??! This just felt like a deus ex machina move to me. Sorry. I couldn’t buy it. But then again I wasn’t buying much at all at that point in the story. Why couldn’t she have just summoned down the Hunt? But I guess Tamsin needed to do it since she inflicted the curse. Also, the Huntsmen were so lame. Just standing there, shuffling their feet. I wasn’t buying that either.
Sad. :( Still glad I read it though.
The book mysteriously vanished from my mom’s library and I spent the next seven years or so pining to read it again. But I’d forgotten the title. So I finally posted a question on Reditt’s What’s that Book page, and someone told me; Tamsin.
So, it was good. I’m almost sad that I read it again; the enchanting mystery around it shrunk considerably now that I’ve read it.
*spoilers*
This book is two stories. It’s the story of Jennifer Gluckstein (or “Jenny” as she demanded), and how she matured from a pouty, miserable tween/young teenager to a daring adventurer. Coming of age. But it’s also the story of Tamsin, and how she cursed her lover Edric three hundred years ago to forever be chased by demons in the sky because…well, because he wasn’t there when she ran back to him, even though Jeffreys had just told her that he’d “taken care of him” which probably meant that he’d killed him? More on that later.
The two did not go together well. The stories together became “Jenny’s cool supernatural adventures that caused her to chill and not be such a bitch.” Except she was a bitch still, to the end; even to the Pooka sometimes. So emphasize: not such a bitch. Like, at the end, she was like, screw Tamsin, I just wanna see cool stuff again. …that came off as extremely shallow.
Jenny was cool. Seeing her duking it out with a boggart, the billy blind, the Pooka, and then frickin evil Judge Jeffreys was cool. But it wasn’t part of her character arc. She barely changed at all, although the whole setup of the story; the first hundred pages or so, are setting up that she’s a bitch, and she needs to not be. And this story didn’t contribute to that arc in any meaningful way. So it felt like one story in the first Act, and then another story in the next two Acts.
Gah. It’s a personal pet peeve of mine when a narrator contributes basically nothing to the main events of the story. That was exactly what happened here. All Jenny did was befriend Tamsin and get her to remember things. And save her by shouting like mad when Jeffreys was acoming after her. That’s it. She does nothing in the final climax except witness the events. The whole running scene confused me so much; they were running to get to a spot where Tamsin and Edric could disappear into the spirit world? I wasn’t sure. And why did she have to run with them? So she wouldn’t be hurt by the Wild Hunt I guess. But it wasn’t her they were after. And she was holding Tamsin & Edric back.
All this to say, I found Tamsin’s story to be incredibly interesting. I want to hear it from her. I want to see how it felt through her eyes being a ghost remembering herself, and how overjoyed she was to finally see her long-lost lover again, all battered from centuries of abuse that she’d inflicted on him. Jenny’s perspective was like the Hunger Games in the Ballad of Songbird & Snakes book. Third person narrative, from the balcony seats, watching tiny figures run around and hurt each other. I want to be in on the action, in the head of the character who is feeling the most. I want to be Katniss. Or, Tamsin I guess.
Last point. To expound on that further on the whole idea of Edric being chased by the Hunt. Jeffreys had supposedly been able to conjure the Wild Hunt to chase him for one day after killing him, but Tamsin cursed him when she couldn’t find him (..and I get her. She was utterly in despair, and she felt like he’d abandoned her when she needed him most. But, he was dead?? The whole story was centered on this, and yet it falls apart like loose sand when you pull it apart and look at it. Anyway.), and so her curse doomed Edric to run forevers and evers in the sky. Poor Edric; he was just a kind, dreamy musician who fell in love with her from across the room.
Also, they are finally united after all those years, and I get that this is a climax scene and that they don’t have much time for hugs and whatnot, but all they do is look at each other again with love. Which is cute and romantic, but I wanted Edric to be a real character. To run weeping to her after having endured so much, or even better, to be angry with her for what she’d done to him. And then to have them forgive each other, in a very messy human way. But, no. Just looking.
Random character is a Spirit of the Elder Tree or whatever??! This just felt like a deus ex machina move to me. Sorry. I couldn’t buy it. But then again I wasn’t buying much at all at that point in the story. Why couldn’t she have just summoned down the Hunt? But I guess Tamsin needed to do it since she inflicted the curse. Also, the Huntsmen were so lame. Just standing there, shuffling their feet. I wasn’t buying that either.
Sad. :( Still glad I read it though.
November 1, 2017
Don't judge a book by its cover! Based on the cover, I had always thought this book was about a ghost cat named Tamsin. Nope! While there is a ghost cat, and there is a ghost named Tamsin, they are not the same ghost. Duh, me! (My favorite character in the book, btw, was the non-ghost cat, Mr. Cat. But I digress.)
So, actually, Tamsin is about a 13-year-old girl from New York City, Jenny, who is suddenly ripped away from everything she knows and dumped in the English countryside when her divorced mother marries an English agriculture expert/farmer. Everything is already strange to her, and she already feels like she's bascially alone on a different planet, so it's hardly any stranger when she starts seeing ghosts and beings like boggarts and pookas. Complications and drama ensue.
It's a nice story -- a fish-out-of-water tale on a few different levels (1. teens usually feel that way anyway; 2. Jenny's in a new country with a new family and no friends; 3. she's being confronted by supernatural creatures; 4. Tamsin is also trapped where she doesn't belong and doesn't know why; 5. Jenny both matures and finds her place while helping Tamsin; 6. moral of the story at the end: strangeness is not altogether a Bad Thing). I wouldn't call it anything exceptional, and it's certainly not as poignant or memorable as The Last Unicorn, but it's a sweet read. Also, it won the Mythopoeic Award, so others think more highly of it than I do!
As for the narration: this is narrated by Peter Beagle himself. He's not a bad reader, but unfortunately he has no British accent at all. And that's a shame, because there are several different accents needed to represent various characters throughout the story, and I would have loved to hear them.
I'm giving this about 3 1/2 stars -- rounding down, just because I don't feel excited about the book at the moment.
So, actually, Tamsin is about a 13-year-old girl from New York City, Jenny, who is suddenly ripped away from everything she knows and dumped in the English countryside when her divorced mother marries an English agriculture expert/farmer. Everything is already strange to her, and she already feels like she's bascially alone on a different planet, so it's hardly any stranger when she starts seeing ghosts and beings like boggarts and pookas. Complications and drama ensue.
It's a nice story -- a fish-out-of-water tale on a few different levels (1. teens usually feel that way anyway; 2. Jenny's in a new country with a new family and no friends; 3. she's being confronted by supernatural creatures; 4. Tamsin is also trapped where she doesn't belong and doesn't know why; 5. Jenny both matures and finds her place while helping Tamsin; 6. moral of the story at the end: strangeness is not altogether a Bad Thing). I wouldn't call it anything exceptional, and it's certainly not as poignant or memorable as The Last Unicorn, but it's a sweet read. Also, it won the Mythopoeic Award, so others think more highly of it than I do!
As for the narration: this is narrated by Peter Beagle himself. He's not a bad reader, but unfortunately he has no British accent at all. And that's a shame, because there are several different accents needed to represent various characters throughout the story, and I would have loved to hear them.
I'm giving this about 3 1/2 stars -- rounding down, just because I don't feel excited about the book at the moment.
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