Black as
Night:
a fairy tale retold - Review
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Publisher's Summary:
Doman, Regina. (2007) Black as Night: a fairy tale
retold. Front Royal, VA: Chesterton Press. ISBN
#978-0-9819-3182-1. Author recommends teens and adults.
Litland.com recommends ages 15+.
Publisher's Description:
Blanche Brier entirely on her
own this summer in New York City while Bear is wandering
through Europe and her family is on vacation. Blanche is
fast becoming the focus of a terrifying play of evil
forces. Even the refuge she takes among some lively
Franciscan friars does not protect her from dangerous
attacks. Rather, they continue to escalate as she
struggles to persuade a sick and aged man from killing
himself. Discovering Blanche's disappearance, Bear and
Fish cut short their European vacation and join up with
Rose to begin scouring New York City looking for
Blanche. But the same malevolence that is lurking over
Blanche seems to be hunting them as well and drawing
them all togther into a death trap until it seems that
all hope is gone. Yet during this time, the desires of
Blanche's heart are being clarified - and so are Bear's.
A black night. Tested faith. Honest love.
Respect for self and others: This
includes integrity (adherence to a code of
conduct or value system), honesty vs. manipulation or
lying, compassion, caring for others (characters not
focused on getting their way no matter what) self
respect--main character does not let others
denigrate him or her; use of self control and
self-discipline ; taking charge of own behaviour;
fairness to others (such as taking turns and
avoiding the blame game). Reader should ask themselves
“How does the protagonist depict their peers?” “Would
you want others to treat you this way? Should everyone
act this way?” This includes true friendships
that do not involve regular lying, deceit or
manipulation; considering consequences of actions
prior to acting; owning up to responsibility once
an action has been taken.
As with the first novel
in the series, Black as Night serves to demonstrate
acting with integrity to one’s values. Considering
integrity as talking the talk, the characters do this
well. And since their stated values follow the Golden
Rule, of respectful treatment of others, then they take
pains to think through decisions and actions as far as
consequences to others.
Hope-Faith-Charity: this story embodies all of the
virtues. There is also trust, and how Blanche feels that
Bear broke her trust in him. Simultaneous with the
suspense of solving the crime while being stalked, all
of the characters experience confusion common for their
age as they attempt to discern their vocation in life,
their future goals, and marriage. In doing so, there is
much effort to consider the consequences of their
decisions upon others. Even more prominent is the
concern Bear shows for Blanche, using physical
self-discipline so their affections do not lead to sex.
He refrains from touching her as he feels it would not
be fair to her. “receiving that smile was as good as a
kiss.”
Portrayal of Authority
figures: The positive portrayal of parents, teachers, police officers and other “good” authority figures common in a child’s life is a positive influence upon the child’s own moral development. This includes
actively-parenting mother and father figures. Minimization of parental involvement in the character’s activities or the portrayal of authority figures as
inferior present poor role models. Also to be avoided are main characters that
deceive parents and teachers to accomplish goals, and overuse
sarcasm towards authority figures. Ask yourself “Are parents seen as positive or negative influence in the character's life?”
Considering that Blanche is wanted by the authorities
while Bear and Fish are arrested under false charges,
there is plenty of opportunity to portray authority
figures with contention: police, judges, attorneys, jail
guards, and more. However, the authority in this story
remains respected and are shown to be competent doing
their jobs. There is no attempt to manipulate them nor
are they shown as bumbling fools as is common in
entertainment today.
Implied is the authority of the head of household, as
Mrs. Foster is portrayed and respected as a wise elder,
and Ms. Brier is presumed to be an “in charge” head of
family for Blanche and Rose. Their authority over family
matters is confirmed with Bear making their involvement
in the situation a priority.
Citizenship and
Patriotism: Loyalty to family, team or group, school, community and world; caring for and being considerate of these
groups. Pride to be part of that group or nationality.
Strong family bonds remain present throughout the story.
Through description and self-talk, we find the tight
bond the boys had with their mother while Bear must come
to terms with his resentment towards his father.
Meanwhile, Blanche and Rose continue to have pride and
loyalty towards their family as well. There are implied
early on when Bear wants to contact Blanche’s mother but
is unable to.. Rose “loyally” tried to find Blanche a
job at the theatre. Bears loyalty to Blanche
occasionally wavers but remains steadfast. The two
groups of friends, in essence, become almost a combined
family.
Justice and Balance: A just distribution between good and evil (with
good outweighing evil in the presence of the storyline);
demonstration of right and wrong; making decisions to enact the above values rather than simply choosing from two bad possibilities; Ask yourself “Is the emphasis on the positive elements or negative?”
The core of the mystery is the classic battle of good
over evil, with good always prevailing or at least
permitting Hope to exist. There is a lot of talk about
this, including Fr. Raymond’s wisdom that bad people
stop believing in good. The characters can easily make
excuses and choose to act poorly, but do not. The author
has written the story with a darkness to the suspense
and realistic nature of the hardships faced by the
characters, but has not succumbed to crossing the
proverbial line into a gothish story common by other
writers today. Characters make decisions based upon
right and wrong, and choose good even when it may put
them at risk. Ultimately, that is Faith.
Evildoers are obvious,
such as the thief/murderer. It is also more subtle and
intuitive in the description of the popular kids and
Rose’s interactions with/observations of them.
Aesthetic aspects Of
life ExperienceLook for a storyline portrayal of
beauty, health, and selfless love vs. hedonistic behaviours (sexuality, selfishness, obsessiveness, materialism),
profanity, gore and violence. Are nature and environment respected or exploited? Look for
dark elements; watch out for humor that is negative, denigrates others excessively, uses metaphors to
denigrate the sacred.
Inner beauty is portrayed
by the character’s desire to remain pure. Achieving
inner beauty is portrayed by the continued use of
discernment to guide decision making. Fr. Raymond’s
explanation of discerning a vocation as “giving your
whole self to it even when you don’t want to”
demonstrates this. This constant use of discernment by
characters gives the story a feel of goodness in spite
of the evil taking place.
As for physical aspects
of the story, the clear descriptions takes the reader
easily to place. Whether it is the opening scene with
Blanche frantically escaping muggers, the description of
the monks and monastery, or the dialects spoken by the
local population., the scene is richly portrayed. Inner
city neighborhoods of New York City as well as Catholics
have distinct cultures, and this story is believable in
portraying both. Adding to this is the back-and-forth
movement between reflection upon the past, and being
part of the present scene. Doing so fills in gaps slowly
so the reader begins to put together what has happened
over the summer, leading to the current situation. Also
of interest is the telling of the mugging scene through
the eyes of the mugger rather than the victim.
Continuing on the theme of inner beauty, the story also
shows true empowerment of women, which is maximizing use
of their strengths to serve God; in this story these are
empathy, intelligence, and courage. Giving examples of
real historic female saints and martyrs reminds us such
female creations really do exist in real life too.
Finally, the story’s alignment with verses from the
Grimm fairytale somehow seems better connected in this
story compared to book 1, perhaps because the story’s
discourse is richer. It is very much a fairytale.
Other things to
Consider:Other aspects of this book of interest or importance. For example, does it portray Wiccan practices and accurate use of tools of which some parents might object, does it contain
hidden meanings in metaphors that may prove offensive to some families; does it address
personal issues such as puberty or pregnancy.
The
story begins with a fast-paced mugging and chase scene,
also later involving drugs and robbery. Otherwise,
absolutely outstanding writing and portrayal of good
character.
By the way, for readers interested
in seeing the real-life monastery after which this was
modeled, visit the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
whose history and works in the Bronx is closely
approximated in our story:
http://www.franciscanfriars.com/ Check out their
gallery and see if this is what you pictured while
reading this book. And while Fr. Stan Fortuna, the
rapping-priest, might be their best known member to the
general public, in his early days perhaps he resembled
our Brother Leon...what do you think? :>)
http://www.francescoproductions.com/
So what do YOU think? Read our thoughts on the book and join in the discussion:
Litland's Blog
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