![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Summary on the back: Karolina is a living doll whose king and queen have been overthrown. But when a strange wind spirits her away from the Land of the Dolls, she finds herself in Krakow, Poland, in the company of the Dollmaker, a man with an unusual power and a marked past. The Dollmaker has learned to keep to himself, but Karolina's courageous and compassionate manner lead him to smile and to even befriend a violin-playing father and his daughter--that is, once the Dollmaker gets over the shock of realizing a doll is speaking to him. But their newfound happiness is dashed when Nazi soldiers descend upon Poland. Karolina and the Dollmaker quickly realize that their Jewish friends are in grave danger, and they are determined to help save them, no matter what the risks.
My thoughts: Gah, this book. Such an incredible mix of ideas, prose, and sweet illustrations. The story is delicate yet powerful, beautiful yet grim, an utterly lovely and whimsical fairytale with darkness creeping closer, lurking ever just in the background. The concept is very unique and brilliant, and I adored the world-building, with The Nutcracker like inspiration for the Land of the Dolls, the rats, and toys coming to life. The plot starts gently, with an ominous feel, then grows darker, before turning light again at the end. The prose is simple, but lovely, with often startlingly deep thoughts contrasted against a touching purity. Karolina's innocence and outside perspective makes for poignant and fascinating insight into the best and very worst of human nature, as does the entire world of the dolls when contrasted with the human world - I was especially taken by the little soldier doll's view of the little boy he once cared for, now grown into a Nazi. All the characters are ordinary, realistic people (I appreciated the disabilities representation), and I loved the characters, especially dear little Rena, and ached when several of them didn't survive the book. The relationships - familial and friendship - are wonderful.
There is a bit of animal harm at the hands of the villains (the animals are healed through magic) which I could have done without, but otherwise, the subject matter is handled in a very sensitive manner, and the message (as well as the author's end note) brought tears to my eyes. You can see how important the story is to the writer, which gave it a heartfelt feel many books seem to lack. I grew up reading a lot of vintage European children's books, so it was a delight to find the writer had completely captured that tone and setting, giving me a bit of nostalgia and some intriguing glimpses of WWII-era Poland, as well as Polish and Jewish tradition and folklore. And, above everything else, I especially appreciated that the most important element of the book was the emphasis on kindness.
Overall, The Dollmaker of Krakow was a stunning and haunting gem of a book that I cannot say enough good things about.
feeling: 
calm
calmjukebox: "Total Eclipse Of The Heart"-Bonnie Tyler