It was the title. How would one pass by such a title? So the darn book levitated into my hand and never left. Now I don’t mind a feminist story from time to time; so long as they don’t get preachy. So I gave it a try. It was not what I expected. I thought it would be a typically linear storyline about women turning into dragons. It wasn’t exactly…
Alex, our protagonist, is a troubled girl. She’s had a troubled life. Her mother left and then came back, quite ill and not quite herself. Her beloved Aunt left and never returned; leaving a baby behind. Alex adored her little cousin and without any explanation from adults; she was now instructed that the baby, Beatrice, was her sister, had always been her sister, and she never had an aunt. All around her, strange events happen such as the elderly woman with the garden who literally changed into a dragon in front of her eyes. But no one, not anyone in the government, not anyone she knew, would talk about what everyone knew was happening. Mentioning a dragoning in polite conversation was right up there with mentioning a disgusting bodily issue or farting in church. But then, in 1955, a mass dragoning occurred. So many women at the same time caused the government no small anxiety how were they to control the flow of information? But they did; owing to the reluctance of society to mention such an event and since even the newspapers weren’t comfortable reporting it, it was swept under a metaphorical carpet. But more people did talk about it; there became an underground movement to understand. And thousands of households were affected; it was becoming harder to pretend these things didn’t happen.
Interestingly enough, the author gives us a little backstory to illustrate that dragonings had been happening for two hundred years, at least. None of that was of any comfort to Alex who wanted answers. What was mildly hysterical was that one common thread to all the dragonings was that the woman in question was under more than usual stress; or maybe it was cumulative. And the source of that stress was, inevitably, a man. The men did not fare well when confronted with an irate fire-breathing dragon.
So the dragons left; some to far away mountain tops, some to Antarctica, some to the Jovian moons. And they didn’t come back; at least, not usually.
Alex’s life continued to be troubled when her beloved mother died and father took on a new wife and family. He wasn’t terribly interested in caring for a teenager and a young girl; so he turned them out. He was careful not to run afoul of the law so he paid for a cheap apartment and groceries. Alex was cautioned to never tell anyone of the arrangement. So this young woman, with aspirations of college, spent all her waking moments caring for her ‘sister’ and trying to finish high school; all without alerting the school authorities. Yes, stress was high but there was no way Alex was going to allow herself to dragon; she had Beatrice to raise. Beatrice was her all; her reason for living. She would do anything for Beatrice.
In the background, a heretical scientist, hiding from the government, continues his forbidden research into the phenomenon of dragoning which gives the reader, and Alex, a tiny bit more understanding. And the question he kept trying to pose to anyone who would listen was: what will you do if they all return?
In a fanciful twist, the dragons do return. But rather than portraying them as avenging angels, the author shows them, instead, as wanting to return to their families or occupations. This had the tendency to disturb the common people; dragons in their schools and shops, dragons flying about doing God-knows-what, dragons attempting to contact their abandoned families. But there was little anyone could do to stop them; they’d have as much luck stopping a tank with a mop.
But our story is still just about Alex. After so many years of being stonewalled and ignored and abandoned; she isn’t all that forgiving when her Aunt returns. But, eventually, she realizes a little more family and a little more help isn’t a bad thing. What is bad, in her mind, is that Beatrice is growing up in a very different world where dragoning isn’t something to fear. But Alex fears it a great deal.
Admittedly, this was not my usual cuppa. But I was interested to see what became of Alex and terribly interested in seeing how the dragon return was going to be handled. It read more like a fanciful mainstream story than a straightforward fantasy. The story was really about female empowerment; maybe a little condescending in how the females in the story just left and, sometimes, ate or incinerated the offending male. In light of that, she really had to bring them back…or what was it all for?
It was well-written and the story progressed logically; and mostly unemotionally. It was an enjoyable read. Barnhill is a good writer; I remember reading an exceptionally fine short story of hers. She’ll be on my radar from now on. ~~ Catherine Book
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