By Laura McCarthy.
The spring equinox has passed and we’ve been blessed with brighter and warmer days. It’s not a secret that spring is my favourite season of the year. The weather is not swelteringly hot or miserably cold, but is at that Goldilocks point of perfect balance. The faces of daffodils wearing yellow bonnets emerge from the soil, accompanied by their tulip friends. Ducklings waddle on riverbanks and lambs frolic in fields. As a Wiccan, it is the season in which I celebrate Beltane. It’s also my birthday in May (but as the big 3-0 looms ever closer, that’s perhaps less exciting than it used to be). Importantly, this is the most marvellous time of year to read outside in the sunshine.
Most recently, I have read Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill, which introduces us to the lake-dwelling creature of folklore known as Jenny Greenteeth, during an ‘unseasonably hot day in early spring’. She finds her solitary lifestyle much changed when disrupted by villagers throwing a witch into her watery home. The whole novel is drenched in beautiful natural imagery whilst also exploring the most fantastical ideas and characters. As such, O’Neill’s debut captures the mysticism of the fantasy genre and the essence of the season. The marriage of sensitive, heartfelt moments with a humorous tone makes for a (mostly) light-hearted read.
Whilst we’re on the theme of green, in Anne of Green Gables, L.M Montgomery has a talent for making every season seem magical, as though reflecting lovable protagonist Anne’s seemingly endless sense of wonder. However, there is something about spring specifically which is particularly wondrous in the book. This could be because of the setting. Anne lives on a farm and frequents a multitude of natural locations, including blooming orchards and haunting woods. The names she gifts these locations with, such as the Lake of Shining Waters, only add an extra layer of charm to the narrative. When Anne sees ‘a cherry-tree in full bloom outside her window’, she explains: “I called it Snow Queen because it was so white. Of course, it won’t always be in blossom, but one can imagine that it is, can’t one?”. In such springtime chapters, Montgomery’s descriptions of settings are mouth-wateringly gorgeous – I just want to inhale the ‘dizzingly sweet fragrance’ of the ‘lilac-trees purple with flowers’ and run through ‘the green field lush with clover’.
Another classic which feels like spring is The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Armin. In this, a feeling of escapism is encapsulated within the joyous break from the mundane as our protagonist uncharacteristically embraces spontaneity and goes on holiday. We follow our protagonist and three other English women when they leave unhappy lives behind to rent a furnished castle in Italy. This Italian escape conjures a spell of sorts over the women and they find themselves transformed. For instance, miserable marriages are revived as a result of their time in San Salvatore. As such, the novel fits the spring season well in that thematically engages with the idea of new life.
On a similar note, Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle thematically speaks to the season whilst prominently featuring a castle. Once again, the concept of a new beginning emerges and, despite troubles and challenges which arise, the tone is mostly hopeful throughout. Excitement, wonder, and magic can be found at every turn when buildings move and fires can talk.
When it comes to magic, fairies and spring go hand in hand for me, which is why I adore both The Sprite and the Gardener by Joe Whitt and Rii Abrego as well as Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies of the Spring. Both books centralise artwork to great effect. The illustrations in each are beautiful in their very different styles. Of course, everyone has seen Barker’s famous flower fairies; they are exquisite in their intricate details, with each fairy clothed in their respective plant which informs their individual identities. Every drawing showcases unique characteristics: crocus fairies are playful, whilst the bluebell is proud, and the daffodil thoughtful. In contrast, The Sprite and the Gardener utilises a bolder style, with bright magenta, orange, yellow, and purple dominating the colour palette. The characters are drawn in a more cartoonish style than Barker’s work, their large, glistening eyes full of charm.
With the end of spring, comes a bittersweet feeling. This same sense is true of my final mention: The Waves by Virginia Woolf. It is more melancholy than the aforementioned novels. It follows the lives of six children into adulthood in what could be an ordinary story but is made outstanding due to Woolf’s experimentation, telling the narrative through a stream of consciousness but from the minds of all six characters, as well as a seventh omniscient narrator. In this respect, the writing style can be almost drifting and dream-like. It is for this reason that the book is a fine accompaniment to the season, along with the dazzling opening in which the children play in the garden, fascinated by every detail that surrounds them, from the ‘spider’s web’ with ‘beads of water on it, drops of white light’ to a caterpillar ‘curled in a green ring’ to the ‘burning lights from the window panes’.
- In Common is not for profit. We rely on donations from readers to keep the site running. Could you help to support us for as little as 25p a week? Please help us to carry on offering independent grass roots media. Visit: https://www.patreon.com/incommonsoton