Context

     Originally, I chose this book simply on the basis that it's one of my all-time favorites. It's one of those books you can read over and over again and never get tired of it. There's always something new to be found; some new detail that was overlooked in the first hundred readings. I believe that's what good writing should be like and I think this book fits perfectly into the concepts that Calvino introduced.

     So for those of you who haven't read The Hero and the Crown, I'll give you the basic storyline. Aerin is the princess of the kingdom of Damar, the only child of the king. Her mother, who died giving birth to her, was rumored to be a witch-woman and used her powers to ensnare the king. Therefore, the people of Damar had no great love for Aerin. She was an outsider and an outcast with no place for her to fit.

     The dragons infesting Damar are considered vermin. They are about the size of a dog, mean and evil-tempered. The job of exterminating them is comparable to cleaning toilets. No one likes to do it but it must be done by someone. Aerin begins secretly exterminating dragons all over the kingdom and has a natural talent for it. After this has gone on for a while, a survivor from a village on the border of the kingdom, staggers into the castle and announces that the great dragon, Maur, has awoken and is roasting villages. Maur is roughly 30 times the size of the small dragons and can breathe fire so hot and fast that it can incinerate a man in seconds. Aerin challenges Maur and defeats him but not without grave injuries to herself. She slowly recovers and goes on to defeat a powerful sorcerer who is threatening Damar and reclaims from him the Hero's Crown which has been lost for years and whose magical properties are the main protection of the kingdom.

    I hadn't even heard of Robin McKinley until my freshman year of college when my roommate introduced me to her work. I now own every book that she has written and The Hero and the Crown is my favorite of all of them. It's a wonderful story full of sorcerers and magic, horses and fire, love and learning, and self-sacrifice. This is a book that you can get lost in. It takes you out of this world and into Damar. You feel all of Aerin's emotions and struggles and understand her completely. I believe that is what Calvino is trying to portray. The Hero and the Crown has the perfect balance of all of his elements which are woven together to formulate a piece of literature that will sweep the reader away.