Gatty's Tale, by Kevin Crossley-Holland

I LOVED this book.

Gatty's a secondary character in Crossley-Holland's Arthur trilogy, and this book follows those, although now we see the world entirely from Gatty's eyes. Simple Gatty, who sleeps in the stall with her cow, Hopeless. Simple Gatty, who becomes a chambermaid for Lady Gwyneth, learns to read, and has the voice of an angel. Gatty, who goes with Lady Gwyneth and seven others on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1203.

Crossley-Holland is a master of words, not to spin out pretty sentences, but to plumb the hearts of characters and make the reader feel the things the character wishes they didn't have to feel. I knew after the first page that he would make me cry. And he did. The ache of impossible dreams, of loss. Of faithfulness and courage. Of miracles. In the book, Gatty goes to Jerusalem in the name of everyone in her village, and to bring a part of Jerusalem home to them. And so she does for the reader as well.

I HIGHLY recommend this book!

Kevin Crossley-Holland

And for any of you who, like me, are strangers in a strange land and feel the starvation for words, you might enjoy a couple of poems by Kevin Crossley-Holland as well. This is the kind of Thanksgiving gorging I need right now!