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Book Summary and Reviews of The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix E. Harrow

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  • Sep 2019, 384 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

In the early 1900s, a young woman embarks on a fantastical journey of self-discovery after finding a mysterious book in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place.

Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world and January discovers a story increasingly entwined with her own.

Lush and richly imagined, a tale of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the enduring power of stories awaits in Alix E. Harrow's spellbinding debut--step inside and discover its magic.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"This portal fantasy doesn't shy away from racism, classism, and sexism, which helps it succeed as an interesting story. A love letter to imagination, adventure, the written word, and the power of many kinds of love." - Kirkus Reviews

"Harrow's novel will hold strong appeal to readers who enjoy portal fantasies featuring adventuresome women." - Publishers Weekly

"Many worlds, vanishing doors, mind-cracking magic: I clung to each page, searching for answers. This is one of the most unique works of fiction I've ever read!" - Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author

"The Ten Thousand Doors of January begins as a simple adventure, but like its mysteriously transportive doors, leads deeper and deeper the further you read. Each page dazzles with things to be discovered: a mansion of priceless artefacts, a secret journal, a tantalizing quest through strange and beautiful places, and a love story that spans time, worlds, and magic. I couldn't put it down." - Peng Shepherd, critically acclaimed author of The Book of M

"A gorgeous, aching love letter to stories, storytellers and the doors they lead us through...absolutely enchanting." - Christina Henry, national bestselling author of Lost Boys and Alice

"Harrow has created a gorgeous world of magic that is at once familiar and startlingly new. With lush writing and a sense of wonder, The Ten Thousand Doors of January examines power, progress, and identity. It is an adventure in the best and grandest sense." - Erika Swyler, author of The Book of Speculation

"The Ten Thousand Doors of January is devastatingly good, a sharp, delicate nested tale of worlds within worlds, stories within stories, and the realm-cracking power of words." - Melissa Albert, New York Times bestselling author of The Hazel Wood

This information about The Ten Thousand Doors of January was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Gwendalyn G Anderson

A stunning book
“Listen, not every story is made for telling. Sometimes just by telling a story you’re stealing it, stealing a little of the mystery away from it.”

Have you ever had penchant for the whimsical? Have you looked sideways at doors ever? Or held your breath as walked through a threshold? Or maybe in a moment of fancy, while staring longing at a wall hoping for for a chance of something magical. An opening, a portal...
That just maybe there is something magical in the world.
I have despite voices to the contrary, telling me otherwise.
Are you a readers who remembers what it was once like to have the ability to imagine a wide world of endless possibilities. In Within these pages, January will discover the impossible truth of her own existence– and the harrowing dangers that lurk between the Doors and other worlds. 

This fairy tale will have you stepping through the void, into fables, folklore, adventure, love and sanctuary, and the infinite power of words and love.
In this completely original lyrical debut, Alix E. Harrow captivating book is a magical blend of both historical fiction and magical realism.

"I almost didn’t notice the Door at all. All Doors are like that, half-shadowed and sideways until someone looks at them in just the right way."

The Ten Thousand Doors of January is completely original storyline but written in classical childhood fairy tale style of older work. Beautiful writing that is poetic and the words are fluid in this captivating and lyrical debut.

In the turn of the twentieth century, a time of change with inventions and new discoveries, We meet January, an oddly colored, wild and headstrong imaginative girl.
From the first pages I fell in love with January Scaller.
When we first meet January, she is seven years old and, though her father is living, she is being cared for by Mr. Locke, her fathers benefactor.
Her father travels the world, seeking out exotic treasures to bring back to his employer.
Throughout her childhood years, she is herded and tamed into submission,
well almost..

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, is lush and richly imaginative, a book of impossible journeys, unforgettable love, and the incredible power of opening doors .
Alix E. Harrow effortless writing is stunning and unconsciously literary.

The most stunning, captivating book of 2019

"Life has a kind of momentum to it, I’ve found, an accumulated weight of decisions which becomes impossible to shift."

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Author Information

Alix E. Harrow

Alix E. Harrow is a part-time historian with a full-time desk job, a lot of opinions, and excessive library fines. Her short fiction has appeared in Shimmer, Strange Horizons, Tor.com, Apex, and other venues. She and her husband live in Kentucky under the cheerful tyranny of their kids and pets.

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