Stepping from Shadows

By Patricia A. McKillip

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425071073
• ISBN13: 9780425071076
• Release Date: August 1984
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 207 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Darkly magical

I made the mistake of starting this book just before going to bed, only putting it down when my eyes stopped focusing.This is not the typical "sword and sorcery" fantasy, full of blue levin-bolts and robed wizards. Instead, McKillip has crafted an enchanted landscape within the fractured persona of Frances, a girl who has created a horned creature called the Stagmen who embodies all that she fears and desires. From the beginning of the novel, McKillip weaves (and ensnares) Frances in religious imagery. There are all the teachings and trappings of Roman Catholicism in which Frances is raised and educated, as well as the rich pagan themes in whatever natural environment she happens to be living in (i.e. the sonoran desert, the mountains of Germany, the English countryside, even the shores of Northern Washington State). Frances splits herself into a sort of insane Trinity: the Frances who writes tales about the Stagman, giving him life; the Frances who is so afraid of everything vital that she tries to disappear, so the Stagman can't touch her; and then there's the bold Frances, desparately wanting to free herself from the soul-killing fear so she can either join with the Stagman or (maybe) become him.A very touching and mature story fit for anyone who hurts, or for those who are trying to understand how and why some people just don't seem to be "normal".

Mckillip's darkest and most compelling work

It is a shame that most of Mckillip's works are no longer in print, and that proves all too true for this richly awarding novel. I have scoured the local shelves of used book stores in search of ANYTHING written by this master of storytelling, and STEPPING FROM THE SHADOWS was well worth the hours of searching it took to find. This contemporary story traces the journey of Francis to find herself and save her endangered sanity. She is haunted by The Stagman, a chidhood fantasy that does not fade as she grows up, but rather grows in power as Francis starts exploring her newfound sexuality. It is without a doubt the best Mckillip novel I have ever read. (and those of you who are DIEHARD Mckillip fans like I am know that is a powerful statement, especially since I have read virtually all of her works, including others out-of-print.) Once again her use of language and detail paint a lyrical landscape of the human heart and spirit. This book is no holds barred in revealing Francis' struggles with her lonliness and isolation from the rest of the world. Definitely not for children and yet by no means grotesque. It is a story that all must playout in their own quests to find their identities. A quest that must either end in madness or one's true self STEPPING FROM THE SHADOWS.