I love weird books. And flowery writing. And wintery vibes. And strange stories about a magic toyshop that make you question what is real and what is fake.
Angela Carter’s “The Magic Toyshop” checks off all these boxes. Carter is one of my absolute favorite authors — perhaps my number one favorite after Agatha Christie — and “The Magic Toyshop” is a candidate for my favorite of her novels.
“The Magic Toyshop” was only Carter’s second novel — and the first one to gain her any real notoriety — but you would never guess it was written by a new author. From the beginning of the first chapter, you are drawn into the story through Carter’s strange and flowery writing style, a style I absolutely adore.
The novel begins with main character Melanie sneaking into her parents’ bedroom to steal her mother’s wedding dress, destroying the dress in the process. The next morning, Melanie finds out that her parents have unexpectedly died in a plane crash. From there, she and her two younger siblings, Jonathon and Victoria, are taken to live in London with their estranged aunt and uncle, who live above and operate a toyshop.
Melanie is a main character you both sympathize with and find very frustrating, at times. She is, in many ways, your typical 15-year-old girl who thinks she is much more mature than she truly is, and for that, she is both relatable and annoying.
The two younger siblings seem, at first, quite inconsequential. Their role in the story seems to have little purpose until you suddenly realize how crucial they are to what this story is trying to tell. I can’t say much more without giving away spoilers, but these two figures are more interesting than they may seem.
The real highlight of strangeness in this story is the siblings’ aunt and uncle, Uncle Phillip and Aunt Margaret.
Uncle Phillip is a nasty old man who hates everyone and everything in the world except for the toys in his toy shop. He is menacing and makes even you, the reader, uncomfortable, and you are constantly questioning his motivations.
Aunt Margaret is perhaps the most complex and interesting character in the novel. She is a kind woman who doesn’t speak, but she is far from weak and bland. Carter writes Aunt Margaret in such a hauntingly beautiful way, almost like a ghost looking over the rest of the novel.
On that note, Carter’s writing is insane in the absolute best way. It is whimsical and gorgeous, and this style never wavers even when she is describing the absolute grossest of things. You feel immediately immersed in “The Magic Toyshop” and as unnerved by and intrigued with it as Melanie is.
The novel deals with themes of womanhood, escapism, gender relations, growth and change. Each of these is dealt with in such a unique and interesting way that works perfectly for the novel’s narrative.
“The Magic Toyshop,” is an enchantingly haunting read that I recommend to anyone who loves strange books with a little bit of whimsy.
