The Dollmaker by
Nina Allan 416 pages
I
noticed that Allan didn’t use the politically correct term “little person” for
Andrew Garvie, which seemed to add to its creepy-factor. Since he was a child,
Andrew has been fascinated by dolls. He collects them, he creates them, and he
gives them life. He seems to be alone in the world, which adds a deeper element
to his connection with the dolls.
One
of the things Andrew looks forward to is the monthly arrival of a collector’s
magazine. He pours over its pages the moment it arrives. He even reads the personal
ads. They are mostly from other collectors wanting to buy or sell a certain
type of doll. That is until he comes across the ad from Bramber Winters.
The
two begin to correspond and grow closer and closer. It doesn’t even phase
Andrew that Bramber has lived most of her life in an institution.
After
much correspondence, Andrew decides that the they should meet. He makes plans, without telling Bramber, to
visit her.Andrew goes by train and makes many stops along the way at various musuems
in small towns. He also carries with him a book of fairy tales by Ewa Chaplin, also
a dollmaker.
Andrew’s
travels and letters to Bramber are interspersed with Ewa’s stories. Turns out,
Ewa is a real-life figure, but I couldn’t find much about her on the internet. A
blurb about Ewa as an Author’s Note could have put it in perspective for me. I don’t
understand why the author placed those stories within the novel. It seemed, to
me, like a way to ease the eeriness that I felt reading Andrew and Bramber’s
letters, but I felt they had no revelance on the story.
Andrew
and Bramber’s meeting was not at all what I expected, which is a good thing. I
won’t give my impression of the ending as I don’t want to cloud others’
opinions. “The Dollmaker”
receives 4 out of 5 stars in
Julie’s world.
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