The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Ten Thousand Doors of January / Alix E. Harrow
NY: Redhook, c2019
374 p.

I have to start by saying how much I loved this book. It was a popular one, lots of buzz, but I really loved it anyhow ;)

In the early 19th Century, young January Scaller lives with wealthy Mr. Locke, while her father is off on exploratory expeditions to feed Mr. Locke's collections of rarities. Mr. Locke is convinced he can make January into a young lady, despite her rude beginnings -- nurture over nature. The fact that January has browner skin certainly plays into his fantasy that he can 'raise' her up despite her father's influence.

January, however, has other ideas. When she finds a strange book that hints at the existence of other worlds, some of her early experiences begin to make more sense to her. Doorways into many worlds are now open to her, to the chagrin of Mr. Locke and his secret society of magical doorcrashers.

With hints of classic fantasy novels like the Earthsea Trilogy or The Magician's Nephew, Harrow creates a new and wonderful world of magic and familial love. The characters grip the reader; their circumstances drive the plot. The magical aspects of this novel are well developed and fully integrated into the story, making them seamless and necessary to the narrative. 

Alongside the magic, a good dose of bookishness and the power of language will draw in book loving readers. The writing is strong, developing complex characters who I really started to love, and the style is quick moving despite the complexity of the story. 

With a viscerally real setting, strong characters, and a beautifully told story of love, loss, and longing, this is a marvellously made debut novel. Speaking of doors, I think this book is one of the rare ones that meets all of Nancy Pearl's Doorways of reading -- character, writing, plot and setting are all equally strong and interwoven. As long as someone is open to fantasy, I think they'd like this one! 

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Readalikes:

Jo Walton's Among Others is another fantasy novel about a young girl in strange circumstances who depends on books to keep her going.

Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway is a darker tale of children who've been in other worlds and can't readjust to this banal one when they return.