The Iron Ring is an impossible to follow book by Lloyd Alexander. In it, the main character, Tamar, loses his kingdom, riches and life, which is symbolized by an iron ring, which is worthless since he finds out he can throw it away halfway through the book. He fights a snake underwater to save a talking monkey, meets a crazy girl, a talking eagle, which acts like a self-pitying three-year-old, and a wise bear, which smashes crockery, all while lugging along a worthless old man. All around, this book is boring with a twist ending that makes no sense. If you bought it thinking it would be half as good as the Chronicles of Prydain, I hope you kept your receipt. ~ Boy, almost 12
Truth time. I love Lloyd Alexander. I mean, I seriously love Lloyd Alexander - with the kind of love that drives a reader to check out every single one of his books her library holds and even request that they purchase one or two missing volumes. Get it? I love Lloyd Alexander.
Now that that's out of the way, I can't say I entirely disagree with my son's assessment of The Iron Ring posted above. Being based on Indian folklore, with which I am not at all familiar, it was hard to follow. On the positive side, I found it intriguing to read something from a non-Western tradition. Beyond the cultural differences, there were some strange, difficult to follow goings-on. But Lloyd Alexander, outside of Prydain and Westmark, has a habit of being a little... weird. (Check out The Rope Trick, for a prime example). Sometimes, he borders on bizarre, and I totally understand how that could be off-putting. On the other hand, there is a depth to his weirdness - especially in that "twist that makes no sense" - that struck me as beautiful and made me want to read the story over, even though I did struggle at times to get through it.
My son's descriptions of the characters are pretty spot-on, as well, though by no means complete. Most significantly, I would argue that Merri is not "a crazy girl," but rather a smart, perceptive, courageous one. Okay, so maybe she is a wee bit crazy, but whatever... Alexander's characters, here as in all of his books, are real, relatable, and complex.
Thematically, Alexander does not disappoint. Honor - true, sacrificial honor - trumps false human concepts of honor, as seen in several characters' breaking their long-revered dharma for the sake of aiding their companions.
All in all, The Iron Ring was a hard read, but a worthwhile one. While my son may shudder to look at it, sitting on my shelf with all my pretty Lloyd Alexander books, I reserve the right to read it again in search of deeper understanding of the beautiful secrets Alexander whispers through his tale of Tamar and Merri and all of their friends.
