Thorn By Intisar Khanani

Featuring: The Theme Of The Season "Magic, Mystery & Murders"

“For every girl who has ever doubted she has what it takes” – author’s note.

In a world of magic and spells, there lived a princess who was never loved by her own. She always wished for her life to be different. Be careful what you wish for little princess,because Fate is yet to play its nasty twist. Tossed away to a far off kingdom, to be a stranger prince’s bride, the princess bore a dangerous secret. Seized by a powerful enemy who changed her life and much more in an instant, she was chained down to a painful trap. A trap or an opportunity, a terrible curse or a disguised boon, a princess or a goose girl, who was she? Torn between the choices of duty and freedom, she had yet to realize that destiny is inescapable. That courage was always there, for she is the resistance.

This Middle Eastern – inspired retelling of the Grimm brother’s “The Goose Girl” has blended all the beautiful aspects of magic realism. Intisar Khanani has not only brought forth the plight of one woman but many who bear their misery in silence. This is a tale of finding the strength to break this silence.

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Princess Alyrra’s kindness was always mistaken for weakness and naivety. Neither her cruel family nor the scornful court of her small kingdom Adania could bear her. In fact when the king of Menaiya had come to ask her hand in marriage for his son Prince Kestrin, it left her family shocked. They could never find the reason why, a powerful kingdom like Menaiya would want a worthless princess like Alyrra. As for Alyrra, she knew that the members of the royal family of Menaiya often disappeared because the family was said to be cursed. Hence the prince chose someone who would hardly be missed and yet the friendship between the kingdoms would remain unharmed, in case if something happens. At least this is the impression that Alyrra’s family wanted to impose on her. So when a mysterious and terrifying sorceress robs Alyrra’s identity and her role as princess, she seizes the opportunity to start a new life for herself as a goose girl, a life of honesty and hard work. But soon she realizes Kestrin and his people are not what she expected. When the fate of this kingdom and its people that she has come to love so much, is at stake, Alyrra must choose between two impossible futures and decide what she stands for.

The story flows like a lyrical ballad with certain sequences that is bound to put one in tears. The writer shifts to characters, away from the palace, narrating the pain and miseries of the common folk. This puts one in a dilemma, questioning the king’s so called justice that cares only about the nobles and the rich. In the story, one sees strict measures being taken against the thieves who steel from the elites. But a blind eye is turned to the snatchers who are stealing women and children from poor families and selling them off for a price. In fact, this fairy tale dwells with severe issues of class conflicts, unequal distribution of wealth and questions the so called women’s safety, all such that infects our already corrupt reality. “Thorn” is not only a critically acclaimed piece but also one of the best books of young adult fantasy genre of 2020.

May we all find the strength to break our silence against the wrong!

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