acursedarkasgold

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Book Reviews and Synopses

A Curse Dark As Gold

Elizabeth Bunce

Bunce, Elizabeth. A Curse Dark as Gold. Arthur A. Levine Books. New York, New York 2008.

A Curse Dark as Gold has awed readers since it was published in 2006. This heart-touching fairytale is filled with dilemma, distress and heartache. Elizabeth C. Bunce and her well chosen words have really pieced this book together. Every word you read draws you further into the book.

A Curse Dark as Gold takes place in the Medieval ages. The story begins with a girl named Claire. When Claire was eight, her father contracted a deathly illness. Her family didn’t have enough money to treat him and he died a week later. Years pasted as Claire and her mother worked in the castle. They worked hard to keep food on the table, but every now and then they would go without lunch or dinner.

One night, as Claire was walking home from the castle, she stopped and sat by the garden fountain. She had heard stories of people who would throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish, soon after, their wishes came true. Claire didn’t have a coin, all she had was a small button. She wished for wealth and gold, and threw her button into the fountain.

The next morning Claire woke up holding a long gold thread, she thought she was dreaming. She got out of bed, woke up her mother and went to the market immediately. Claire and her mother bought dresses and a basket of food. After celebrating all day, Claire and her mother went to bed. The next morning Claire woke up with more gold thread tangled between her fingers. She was so happy her wish had come true, her mother looked happy for the first time since her father’s death. The more things she bought, the more the gold tangled around her. As the gold became more tangled, she wanted to stop buying things, but the greed clouded her mind. What she hadn’t realized was she had a curse, dark as gold.

Elizabeth C. Bunce has really out done herself with A Curse Dark as Gold. Her descriptive words paint themselve's into your head as if you were looking at a painting. This fabulous book won the William C. Morris Debut Award for it’s great wording.

4 out of 5 stars

Contributed be A. Knight

May 11th, 2011