Mend!: a Refashioning Manual and Manifesto by Kate Sekules

Mend!: a Refashioning Manual and Manifesto by Kate Sekules, 227 pages

I got this book because I am interested in mending my own clothes, despite my woeful lack of skill with a needle. Sekules is nothing if not thorough with the whos-whats-whys-whens-wheres and hows, in addition to an ample collection of charts detailing strengths and weaknesses of fabrics and which methods work best on what you've got in front of you.  But I learnt much more than rudimentary mending skills.

My favorite bit of trivia I learned was that fabric could be used as a sort of currency, and was so valuable that it would require its own provenance, from who grew the plants, who processed the materials, who wove the fabric, to who cut it, who tailored it, and who wore it. As someone who grew up in the grips of fast fashion, that fact was a paradigm shift.

 

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell

The Castle Behind Thorns by Merrie Haskell - 327 pages

Sand wakes up in the chimney of the Sundered Castle.  He is the only living thing in the castle -- trapped by a hedge of thorns that surrounds the castle.  Being trained as a blacksmith, Sand starts to mend things in the castle - buckets, pots, relics in the chapel, and even a skeleton he finds in the crypt.  He is shocked when that skeleton comes to life.  Perrotte was killed over 25 years ago by her stepmother.  Now they are both trapped in the castle behind thorns and must find a way out.
I enjoyed this book.  I picked it up thinking it was a simple retelling of Sleeping Beauty. While it had elements of the fairy tale -- a princess that was meant to be in a long sleep that comes back to life and a castle surrounded by thorn covered hedges -- it was much more than that.  It was a story of politics in Middle Ages France.  It was a parable on forgiveness.  It was also a coming of age story for the two main characters.  It was also extremely atmospheric and creepy.  The image that stayed with me long after reading the book was the mended heart of a saint in the chapel coming to life and having a heartbeat in it's reliquary box.