A fantasy world where every island occupies a different hour of the day
In short: In Clive Barker's Abarat, the geography of time is literal. This archipelago consists of twenty-five islands, each tethered to a specific hour of the day. It is a world where doodles from a school notebook can become keys to parallel dimensions and where the line between art and reality blurs.
Published in 2002, Abarat serves as the first installment in Clive Barker's series for young adults. The narrative follows Candy Quackenbush, a teenager from Minnesota who discovers a lighthouse in a landlocked town. This lighthouse acts as a gateway to the Abarat, a fictional archipelago that was once connected to Candy's world before being severed by Abaratian authorities. The setting is defined by its surreal temporal structure: twenty-five islands, each corresponding to a unique hour of the day.
The visual identity of the book is as significant as its prose. Barker, who completed 300 oil paintings before beginning the series, provided full-color illustrations that critics have compared to the bold brushwork of Van Gogh's later works. The title itself contains an ambigram, possibly referencing the Russian word 'наоборот' (the other way around), hinting at the inverted and surreal nature of the realm. This aesthetic depth contributed to the book winning the International Horror Guild Award for Graphic Narrative in 2001 and being named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association.
The story explores themes of destiny and the power of creation. Candy's journey is catalyzed by her own doodles, which she discovers are identical to the markings on a mystical ball required to light the lighthouse lamp. While the book was intended as a multi-volume epic, some critics noted that the first 400-page installment leaves several plot strands unresolved, serving as a 'wind-up' for the subsequent books. Despite these critiques, the work remains a notable example of high-fantasy world-building, even attracting an $8 million rights deal from Disney to compete with the Harry Potter franchise.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Abarat
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