The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow (2019)

Synopsis

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut--step inside and discover its magic.

Review

Amazing, Engrossing and Original

This is a story of 2 stories. This is a story of a girl named January, whose mother is dead, father is absent and whose spirit is slowly being stifled by the rules of the early 20th century. Her foster father, Mr. Locke, has worked tirelessly in her father’s absence to raise January to be a proper young lady (even if she’s not totally white). Being white makes a difference in the world; he’s not allowed membership in the Archeological Society which employs him even though he obtains for them archeological objects of wonder from far-off places.

This is a monograph treatise on Doors, magical portals that bridge worlds, and a love story of Ade and Yule, who meet when he steps through one. The barn with Yule's Door is bought and destroyed, leaving them separated. Ade sets off to find another Door that she might pass through to elsewhere, the Land of Written, where Yule lives. This monograph becomes a beacon of hope, of strength, for January when life’s cruelty comes knocking on her door.

I can't say how much I love this book. The author’s use of description, the fully-conceived characters and plot, the ways that her world echoes our own, this book has put the author on my must-purchase list. I find myself wondering who is closing the Doors today and how I might help throw them open again so that magic and change can flow back in. But perhaps the events of 2020 are a sign that magic and change have finally burst through into our world again... that if we just look hard enough, we might find our own Door, too.

5 out of 5 stars.

Highly recommend the audiobook as well.