Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
The fascinating story of a little boy trying to understand his surroundings is told in Treacle Walker. The Little Prince is the obvious comparison. He is a young boy who is always by himself. The youngster is not specifically perceived as having been abandoned, yet he exists in his own world. Treacle Walker, a strange entity, enters this reality and instructs him on how to perceive and interpret it. And just how much of the world is incomprehensible.
Treacle Walker by Alan Garner
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The book’s voyage through a terrain that cannot be fully understood by reason is what makes it so lovely. It’s about empowering the child to embark on his own trip; there’s a wonderful moment when the boy takes control of Treacle Walker’s cart and departs on his own at the conclusion. To borrow the fancy literary phrase, it’s a bildungsroman. But what I admire about it is that we can never truly comprehend where the world began and where it will finish. We do not comprehend the world in which we currently reside or must reside, and each youngster must face this environment on their own.
A brief book with brief chapters like many children’s novels, but don’t be misled—I’m pretty sure adults are the intended audience.
A youngster who is recovering from an illness and lives alone has eyes that each perceive the situation in front of him differently. It’s about comics with spooky figures that appear to jump off the page, magic, and marbles, as well as the odd character of Treacle Walker, a rag-and-bone guy with magical healing abilities and a naked (apart from his hat) bog man who has just woken up from a dream. It’s a terrifying read filled with nightmare scenarios. But it still makes for a fascinating read.
