Magic at Ferns and Blooms – A Review
The book attracts the readers for its fluid and artistic language that has the ability to take even the adult readers into the safe haven of Ms Patricia's cottage ‘Ferns and Blooms’. The book is neatly divided into 21 chapters and each chapter ushers a new magic that is woven around the common place activities of the unnamed neighbourhood. The Indian motifs highlight the seasons of a North Indian town where the praxis is set around three major locations - The cottage ‘Ferns and Blooms’, St. Anne's High School and the Magical Forest.
As the plot opens, it unhinges the stereotypical afternoon when children return home from their schools. The readers wonder at the mention of movers and settlers and at once it is introduced by the writer that former neighbours the Simmons have 'gone to live with their children in the big city'. It's a moment of juxtaposition when the five children namely Richa, Ankush, Pinky, Mandy and Sunny wonder how the new neighbours would treat them, after all, the Ferns and Blooms cottage is their summer capital and an inseparable children's zone. Fernandez mentions:
'The cottage had stood lonely and deserted in an overgrown garden overflowing with rose blooms in the spring and summer for the last two years. The children often played in the garden and climbed the two mango trees especially in the summer months to escape the dreadful heat and relish the delicious mangoes. The children often sat chattering and laughing in the branches of the trees sounding very much like the birds who had their nests in these trees.'
While the children's writings assumably pin point at the goblin world or a fairy land but Ferns and Blooms offers the readers a human world which has the central characters as school going children and their fairy English teacher Ms. Patricia Sycamore. Inter neighbour dinners, socialising moments, Indian childhood games like Ludo, Scrabble and little gossip is what the readers can expect from the plot of Magic at Ferns and Blooms. Food plays an important point of contact for their children so the description of the children sharing food items like wafers, toffee, ice cream, fruit cake, etc. bring out the childhood ethos in the novella. Apart from this a tea party invitation from Ms. Patricia also deepens the bonding between the host and the guests.
The reference to the mango tree as a main motif renders an Indian touch to the plot and in turn this unique quality sets the novella apart from fantasy fairy tales that are usually set in the Elfin world. The prose is interspersed with rhythmic children's verses that are innovative and original.
The fairy magic comes alive only in the sixth chapter where the readers are introduced to the little kind Elf Inky, who is visiting Ms. Patricia to seek help. The magic is rendered to the narrative by the fact Snowie, the white furry cat of the fairy speaks like humans and this blurs out the difference between the human and the animal world. Other animals who could communicate are the bird Robin and Skinny, the school sweeper's cat. It is here that the revelation occurs that Patricia is a fairy and Inky and Snowie, all of them are the natives of the Magic World of the deep forest, located closer to the cottage ‘Ferns and Blooms’.
The first part of the novella series happens to focus on the kind acts of the fairy and how she helps as well as teaches the humans who are in need. The school time allegories of Joy Mukherjee, the Tiffin bullies of St. Anne's - Yash and Yogesh, the old Glattonie and the episode of stolen books at school fit well into the school time memories of the readers. While the book of spells is used only in chapter 9 so as to teach a lesson to the Tiffin bullies, Ms Patricia's cat Snowie takes charge when it comes to rectify the ill behaviour of Kiran Kumari ji, the betel nut chewing gluttonous and ill tempered school lavatory cleaner.
The characters from the school are relatable too as the snobbish spoilt brat Vanita comes before us as one of the students who is arrogant. Whether it is the curious spells or the magic potions, Ms. Patricia has it all to spread magic and happiness in the human world. In chapter 20 the doctor attending Old Glattonie for her frog like croak and fondness for flies mentions that she is under the influence of some magic of the fairy world. Magic at Ferns and Blooms is not only a feel good children's literature but it also has the capacity to rivet the readers to its plot. The magic doesn't get over with the first book, but rather it continues for two more volumes.
Dr. Kirti Jha Kulshreshtha is a highly motivated faculty of English language, Literature, Communication, Body Language and Soft Skills with more than 12 years of teaching and research experience at University level. She is a panellist for research proposal evaluation at the prestigious Shastri Indo Canadian Institute New Delhi and a peer review team member for Motifs: An International Journal of English Studies. Her articles and thesis have been included in the database of Postcolonial Literature segment on the website of University of Liege, Belgium. She has worked with Sophia Girls' College Ajmer, Rashtriya Raksha University Ahmedabad, Nirma University Ahmedabad and CARE deemed to be university Tamil Nadu.