Perhaps it is the fact that fairy tales are so familiar, and they always have certain essential elements, from the 'once upon a time' to 'happily ever after', and the characters - the three brothers, the King and Queen, the Princess or the Prince, the tailor or the miller's wife - we know these people already, yet still delight to hear their story.
But fairy tales rarely come with maps, specific names or specific places. Perhaps I like to retell fairy tales so I can add in the little details. I enjoy the little details.
Catherynne Valente's The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making is a perfect example. She has such clever names for things and places. The Capital of her Fairyland is called Pandemonium.
"The city consists of four districts: Idlelily, Seresong, Hallowgrum and Mallowmead. Population is itinerant, but summer estimates hover around ten thousand daimonia - that means spirits ... the highest point is Groangyre Tower, home of the Royal Inventors' Society (Madness Prerequisite), the lowest is Janglynow Flats, where once the Ondines waged their algae wars. Common imports: grains, wishing fish, bicycle parts, children, sandwiches, brandywine, silver bullets . . . As you might expect the geographical location of the capital of Fairyland is Fickle and has a rather short temper. I'm afraid the whole thing moves around according to the needs of narrative."I still want to do a proper review of her book, although it's been a year since I read it, but there is so much cleverness throughout. It reminds me a bit of the Lemony Snicket books, because he certain uses language and words in the most fascinating way. Most of the books don't have a map, however I discovered one in Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.
Some of the places on the map include: Swarthy Swamp, Hazy Harbour, Lake Lachrymose (the setting of the third book, The Wide Window), Grim River, Briny Beach (from the first book I believe), and Lousy Lane.
Another excellent example I found of naming places comes from The Magicians by Lev Grossman. There is a the map of the "imaginary" world of Fillory.
The Northern Barrier, Darkling Woods, The Clock Barrens, The Swept Coast, The Nameless Mountains, Broken Bay, The Silver Banks, Castle Whitespire, The Twin Harbours, The Copper Mountains, Milkwater River, The Brass City, Lower Slosh, The Ochre Sea, The Wandering Desert.
Delightful.
Of course, the whole concept of Fillory is a parody of Narnia, and the map and the places are something of a joke, I think. Even so, they're fun. You can see the map for yourself here, www.christopherplover.com .
The Harry Potter books have too many to list here. J.K. Rowling is rather brilliant at that sort of thing. I'm looking forward to Pottermore, if only to get into the background and see all those little details. I want to read Hogwarts a History.
It's easy to get lost in all the details, trying to be too clever and making maps with names for all the kingdoms, every rivers and every person in every village. Ultimately, the story is the most important. Story first, details second. Even if a book doesn't come with a map, I usually create one in my head. Sometimes, really all the story needs is one good setting, like the manga Tekkonkinkreet (Black and White) by Taiyo Matsumoto, which takes place in Treasure Town.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, begins in a sad city: "a city so ruinously sad that it had forgotten its name. It stood by a mournful sea full of glumfish, which were so miserable to eat that they made people belch with melancholy even though the skies were blue."
Rushdie takes a simple of idea, like sadness, and runs with it, not afraid of puns and twisting the language. Later on Haroun and his father end up at the Dull Lake, which is covered by a mist of misery. "This must be the Moody Land," Haroun shouts. How appropriate that his adventure eventually takes him to the Story Sea.
In Goosey we certain play around with place names, although most of them tend to be pretty simple. (The map is forthcoming.)
- Winding, Castle of Harmony Wind
- The Gray Road
- Geyona, Castle Valour Guard
- The Aeonies Sea
- The Trade River
- Carentas, Kingdom of the Fleet Footed Steeds
- The silent town of Glakos
- The Firewood Forest
- Snow Heights
- Robber Fields
- Black Downs
- Border River
- The Circle Kingdom of Catha
- Gray City of Benn
Can you tell I'm a fan of alliteration?
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