Scooter Chronicles

On Wednesday afternoon I finished reading “The Good Fairies of New York” by Martin Millar.

From Publishers Weekly via Amazon.Com, here is the description of the story:

… fiercely funny (and often inebriated) Scottish fairies, a poignant love story as well as insights into the gravity of Crohn’s disease, cultural conflicts and the plight of the homeless in this fey urban fantasy. Due to the machinations of the obnoxious Tala, Cornwall’s fairy king, only a few humans can see the 18-inch-tall fairies who alight in Manhattan: Magenta, a homeless woman who thinks she’s the ancient Greek general Xenophon; Dinnie, an overweight slacker; and Kerry, a poor artist/musician who hopes her Ancient Celtic Flower Alphabet will win a local arts prize. Fairies Heather MacKintosh and Morag MacPherson scheme to put Dinnie and Kerry together, rescue fairy artifacts and prove that in love or war, music is essential.

As you can see, Millar packs a lot of things into a rather short novel (242 pages with bigger then average size typeface). And he does it so well. Sometimes characters disappear for a few chapters, though short, if not more, with me almost forgetting about them. But his quick, yet stylistic prose, makes all the characters different, and no one gets lost in the shuffle. The ghost of Johnny Thunder, the New York Dolls guitarist, even makes several appearances.

Millar doesn’t beat around the bush with this story. It moves quickly. His comedic timing is very good. When it needs to be played out, it was, when it needs to be quick, it was super quick. Not all of it is “laugh-out-loud” funny, but it doesn’t need to be. At times Heather and Morag can be a real pain in the butt to read about, all their gloating to each other and bickering and fighting with each other, but that’s where the humor lies.

Martin Millar

Another strength of Millar’s is his writing ability, and either him, or his editor, or both. The story is told in little short bursts. The chapters usually consisted of four to six sections featuring different characters. They had just enough to propel the story and keep it moving. He never over explained things. He was concise and to the point. But again, still with style.

I had built this novel up a bit in my mind. Part of me was worried that I would be let down. In some respects I didn’t expect what I got out of it. Yet am very pleased to have gotten what I did out of it.