Author: Jo Walton
Publisher: Tor
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: November 2003
From a strictly a fan point of view, my first reaction upon concluding Jo Walton’s novel Tooth and Claw is a simple “Wow”. This is the first time I have been exposed to Walton’s writing thus I had absolutely no preconceived expectations for Tooth and Claw. What I did know, and what caused me to pick it up was that it recently was the recipient of the World Fantasy Award winner for best novel in 2004. When I first glanced at the list of nominees I noted the presence of Ian R. MacLeod’s The Light Ages, which is a terrific novel, and I admittedly considered it, perhaps ignorantly so, the front runner for the award. Upon concluding my reading of ‘Tooth and Claw’, it became very apparent to me the merits of this novel, and to argue the decision.
Set in a pure, wonderfully depicted, Victorian setting, within the contents of the novel the reader finds what one would expect in such a setting. Religion, arranged marriages, importance of the family unit, and the existence of a social caste system. All told in a apt Victorian style of prose that fits perfectly with the age and within the confines of the story Walton is rendering. Now the obvious question arises. What have I just described that justifies the classification of this novel as fantasy, much less a award winning example of fantasy? What differentiates this work from such branches of literature as historical fiction or even alternative history? Well, that’s quite simple, the characters depicted in the novel, the population that inhabits this Victorian backdrop are Dragons. Yes, Dragons.
Before I get into plot details, there are some aspects of Walton’s society and the nature/characteristics of these dragons that must be elaborated on first. Physically, a dragon’s natural stature in Tooth and Claw is 7 feet in length, a size limit that can only be increased by what is a major element of the novel, not to mention a rather ingenious representation of Victorian views, and it involves the consumption of Dragon flesh. It must also be told, as in other Victorian settings, the estate of the social hierarchy is ever important, and a Dragon’s prestige and movement on the social ladder is predicated on their wealth (gold, treasure, a dragon’s “horde” if you will) and other familiar aspects of the age such as the careful, shrewd, arranging of marriages. Now, back to the consumption of Dragon flesh. Even more relevant then wealth as a symbol of prestige is size, and as I noted earlier the only way for a Dragon to surpass his natural size, is to consume Dragon Flesh. Only members of the aristocratic class in Walton’s society are legally permitted to indulge themselves in this manner. Dragons that represent the lower class segments of the population, farmers, household servants, and the such are prohibited, from the practice of consuming dragon flesh, and thus never grow in stature, and in turn this avenue of gaining social status is prohibitively closed to them.
In terms of the plot of Tooth and Claw, I am being purposely short, and will not expound on them at length strictly due to the size of novel, a noticeably and unmistakably noticeable short 256 pages. The plot of the novel begins and revolves around the Agorrin family, which at the onset of the novel, the head of the family Bon Agorrin lays on his deathbed, succumbing to the natural causes of simple old age (relative to a Dragon’s life span of course, in the context of Walton’s work some few hundred years). The Agorin family consists of 5 children, yet living and include two sons Avan and Penn, and three daughters, Haner, Selendra, and Berend, the latter is married to an ambitious aristocrat, Daverak, who fills the roll of Walton’s antagonist in Tooth and Claw and in my opinion easily the novel’s most memorable, and from a reading point of view gratifying, character. The conflict in Tooth and Claw arises when Bon passes away and Daverak indulges upon himself a larger portion of Bon’s remains than is deemed to him. Avan then files a lawsuit to obtain his just due (what really equates to inheritance), a law suit that remain the backdrop of the story, along with the way it fractions the family. The other subplots offer a strong look into both traditional fantasy themes that blend well with Victorian age. Penn, a Dragon of faith, a parson who struggles with coming to grips with his father’s deathbed confessions offering the conflict of family versus personal faith. The paths of the three aforementioned sisters, one of love, one of freedom, one of self–sacrifice all take part in a very eventful story that seem to mock the novels actual length.
As noted this is not a long novel, it is also not a novel for those lusting for action or violence, nor is it a novel for those in search for the intricate plot lines accustomed to epics. Tooth and Claw is a novel that pleasantly defies stereotypes. Walton‘s effort of recreating and describing Victorian age and assimilating it to correspond with Dragons is both creative and delightful. The small touches of fashion, social mannerisms, eating habits, and choice of timely, appropriate vocabulary does nothing but add to what is truly a nice effort of world-building packed into a small novel. The unexpected, remarks offered at times by the omniscience narrator, is the small touch of genius that binds everything together. My final thoughts - an original, delightful, and pleasurable read
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.