The Wind Singer by William Nicholson

The Wind Singer
by William Nicholson

341 pages

"The tussle was short but intense. During it, much of the mud on Kestrel's legs was wiped on to the Chief Examiner's clothing. When at last he got a grip on her and tore her off, she let go, and he threw her farther than he intended. At once she sprang to her feet and ran. he made no attempt to chase her. he was too shocked at the sight of his muddy clothes. 'My whites!'' he said. 'The little witch!'" (59).

I absolutely love this book. The characters are wonderfully colorful and have so much personality. The main characters, Bowman and Kestrel Hath and Mumpo all have very well developed characterizations. The book is very clearly fantasy, but the fantastical elements are woven in so naturally, and the world is introduced so well that the reader slips right in to the story comfortably from the very beginning.

The plot follows three children as they oppose the system in the city of Aramanth. In Aramanth, everybody's status is determined by a battery of tests, starting when a child is still in its diapers. Everything depends on the tests, and the color of one's clothing reflects the level of society one is at. White robes signify the highest level possible to be attained. The children run away to try to find the key to bringing back the life of the city, to free the people from the oppressive control of the tests. To do this, they go in search for the voice of the Wind Singer, a mysterious structure at the center of Aramanth which nobody really knows the purpose of.

Although it seems to be a simple book, a smooth read, it leaves much to be thought about. The different aspects of the world created in The Wind Singer prompt the reader to think about how our own world works and gently points out the fallacies of our current mindsets. In the quote above, the Chief Examiner demonstrates that his highest priority is his status, which is symbolically dirtied by Kestrel. She shows a complete disregard for the very thing that the Chief Examiner holds dear, which on further thought is more twisted than it seems. Knowledge and the journey of finding it (learning) has been twisted until it is a mere rat race, a perverse mockery of what it really should be. And we see this in our own lives, the constant preoccupation with grades, people sacrificing their whole lives to try to attain what really isn't that important on further examination.

I would definitely give The Wind Singer a 10/10!