Post # 3: Summary of Chapters 6-10

Chapter 6: Of the War, and the Way Between Worlds

In this chapter, David and Rose's relationship becomes much worse and she slaps him after he offends her while they are arguing. David locks himself in his bedroom and later receives reprimand from his father for fighting with Rose (his father does not know about the slap). Immediately afterwards, David notices the chatter of the the books in his bedroom getting louder and louder. Then his bedroom appears to rip apart and he can see into another world, where he again hears his mother calling for him to come save her. At this point he wakes up from what appears to a very life-like dream and goes to shut his window. He hears his mother talk to him again, but this time they have a two-way conversation and she tells him that she is in trouble and that he must come to the garden to save her. He heads outside and enters the sunken garden just as a German bomber plane lands in the garden.


Chapter 7: Of the Woodsman and the Work of His Ax

In this chapter, David finds himself in a different place, with the plane almost killing him as they both enter the strange forest. He begins to look around and finds that this forest is different from others he has seen since the trees are massive and there are deadly but beautiful flowers that have eyes and scream when they see him. He also discovers a dead creature that looks like it is part wolf and part man. David gets scared and tries to find the way back to his world, which he believes to be is through a tree, but he is unable to get back. The woodsman who killed the creature discovers David and explains that he takes care of the forest. He asks a bit about who David is, where he comes from, and what the bomber plane is. The woodsman tells David that there are things lurking about in the forest that are very dangerous. The two begin to head back to the woodsman's cabin for safety as night is approaching, but only after marking the tree that David came through with string so they would be able to find it later.

Chapter 8: Of Wolves, and Worse-Than-Wolves

In this chapter, they are almost at the cabin when the woodsman hears a noise and they begin to run. They are in view of the cabin (which is heavily armored) when they get cut off by another of the "wolf-men", like the one the woodsman killed earlier, except this one is standing on its hind legs and wearing clothing. Following this one are many more of the creatures, as well as ordinary wolves. The woodman talks with the wolf-men briefly about their plan to take over the kingdom and the king that rules the land, as well as the German plane, until the threat of them eating David arises. At this time, the trees begin to attack the wolves, and David and the woodsman barely escape into the cabin in time.

Chapter 9: Of the Loups and How They Came into Being

In this chapter, the woodsman provides David with food and clean clothing as he tells him a story about the "Loups" (the wolf-men). This is The Woodsman's First Tale, which is based on the fairytale "Little Red Riding Hood". In this story, the girl is very beautiful, but turns down all of the men that propose to her as none of them were good enough for her. One day she goes to visit her grandmother in the woods and she spots a wolf. After following it for a while, the wolf confronts her and they end up falling in love and producing the first "Loup". The two of them find more to join with them, and that is the story of the Loups. After this story, David tells the woodsman about hearing his mother's voice and about the crooked man (this is when the woodsman explains that this "trickster" steals children from their homes).

Chapter 10: Of Tricksters and Trickery

In this chapter, David thinks about this strange new land he has found himself in as well as the life and the people he left behind. In the morning, David is caught performing his "routines", and has to explain himself to the woodsman. The woodsman tells David that things should be done only if they have a purpose, and they fight over whether his mother was really calling to David or not. They decide that it is time for David to return home, but when they reach the area where David entered this world, they are shocked to find that all of the trees are now marked with pieces of string. The woodsman tells David that it must have been the crooked man that did this to try to keep David from leaving. He advises David to go to the king for help because the king has a powerful book, The Book of Lost Things, that could help David get home.

My Thoughts/Questions:

-thought David's mother was dead, slightly worried that David is crazy now
-ironic that plane crashes just as David enters the garden/other world, some type of symbol?
-is this just a dream?
-fantasy world, mythical creatures > theme?
-THEME! illusion and reality, truth behind fairy tales
-really enjoy the author's idea of twisting the fairy tales
-guessing that David is going to go on a "quest" to see the king
-reading is easy so far, slightly predictable