Author Alan Garner is a well renown British writer whose stories have fantasy and folk tales intermingle with 'real life' to create uniquely British stories that lean into the legends of these Sceptred Isles. Although most famous for his young adults (YA) work he has written for grown-ups too, however I had never read any of his work until very recently. I've known of him since childhood as I saw a lot of his books in the school and public library but only experienced his work through the television adaptation of his book 'The Owl Service' (which I reviewed a couple of years ago here) but that was about it. I wasn't taken with the central premise but thought the show had a brooding atmosphere and so, during the cold nights of October 2021, I thought I'd revisit one of his most well-known and regarded works; Elidor. Overall, I found that Elidor was a book of its time and as such was fine to read but I definitely would not consider it a classic or essential read. Maybe I was being overtly harsh as I am a man in my forties reading a YA book but even so, I can’t imagine many of the pupils I teach now in school being enthusiastic about this book.
However, I do appreciate Garner’s blend of darkness and folklore. There was a fascinating documentary on YouTube that was from Granada TV in the 1980’s and it showed his unique way of developing his storytelling.