Book of a Thousand Days

By: Shannon Hale

Narrated by: Chelsea Mixon

Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

When Lady Saren defies her father’s command to marry the vicious Lord Khasar, she is sealed in a tower with only her serving maid, Dashti, for company. In their cramped, dark space Dashti pours her thoughts into a daily journal while pitiless solitude engulfs them.

At first the girl is optimistic: they have food aplenty, candles for light, and even a visit from Lady Saren’s true love, Khan Tegus - though he can only call to them from outside their walls. But Saren is ill of mind, the outside world is changing, and their circumstances soon grow desperate. And even if they do escape, they must still face the eerie malice of Lord Khasar. To survive, Dashti and Saren forge a bond of devotion and deception that will test them to their limits.

Once again, Shannon Hale, author of the Newbery Honor Book Princess Academy, weaves an enchanting and original fantasy that will catch and hold listeners breathless in its spell.

©2007 Shannon Hale (P)2008 Full Cast Audio and AudioGO

Critic reviews

"In this retelling of a brothers Grimm fairy tale, Chelsea Mixon ideally portrays Dashti, a servant bound to rebellious Lady Saren, whose role is read by Rozlyn Jakes-Johnson. The tale is told through Dashti’s journal entries, in which she recounts her imprisonment in a sealed tower with Lady Saren, who defied her father’s command to marry. Dashti’s communication with Khan Tegus (Saren’s true love), vanquishing of an evil tyrant, and eventual escape are among the plot developments. The story is perfect for a full-cast reading. All of the actors add layers of meaning, enlivening even the minor characters. Saren transforms from addled to self-assured, Khan Tegus (played by Conor Nolan) from romantic to ruler, and Dashti from subservient to self-confident. Mixon proves especially effective when singing melodic renditions of "healing songs." An enchanting listening experience. ( Booklist)

A true masterpiece

I had read the book some years ago in school, and absolutely adored it. When I found it one here, I had to get it. I hadn't expected much save for just listening to it being read as with other books. So when there came to be more than one voice, I fell in love all over again. The voice acting (I suppose you call it that) is perfect and full of emotion. I truly felt immersed in the story with even the smallest of expressions of fear or pain or admiration or even anger. I'm not one to write reviews, but I had to on this one! It's a beautiful story, masterfully read and acted. You'll just love it!!!

Unexpected

I fell in love with this book!
Shannon Hale is a true story teller.
She takes you on a journey in which you long to linger but must also know what comes next!

Heavy with a light ending

Overall, I enjoyed the book. However, the topics covered are very heavy and dark, I would not suggest it for someone who has a lighter experience with life. Someone who is able to Read about a dark and demeaning side of life while finding the joy and hope within it is necessary before you enjoy it.

captivating story to loose your self in

beautifully written, amazing storyline, great escape to a world of honor, healing, and love

Glad I found this

I'm not for fairytales and happily ever afters.,or damsels in distress waiting to be rescued. But I saw the reviews and decided to try it anyway. It was well performed. It was a great story, great narration, and the perfect listen for a long drive. It's not just for kids.

Highly Recommended

After having listened to Audible's complete collection of Shannon Hale (this being the last one on my list) I have to say I loved it! It was fun to hear some familiar voices from other books.

This one has SUCH a great story. The performances were great, although the musical interludes were not always my favorite. This one is interesting because there are a lot of songs sung by the actors. I wish that the singing was a little less operatic and sounded more like a young girl. It wasn't too distracting though.

As a huge Shannon Hale and Audible fan, I have to give my whole-hearted recommendation for Book of a Thousand Days.

good. ;)

Kinda weird but I think I like it enough to suggest it to others.

A slow, quiet, unique fantasy

Audible added the Plus catalog very recently of audiobooks freely available for members, and, since this was available, I decided to give this Hale novel another go. Of her early works, this is the only one that I didn't like. I actually DNFed it, possibly twice. I'm so glad I decided to try this again on audio, because I ended up being really impressed with this unique, quiet fantasy.

First off, I can absolutely see why I DNFed this book before. The story is slow and quiet and, while the character growth is good, Dashti starts out naive and a bit dull. More on that in a bit, because my actual thoughts are more nuanced. The pacing in the book speeds up a bit, but it's a pretty slow pace overall, and Dashti's trapped in a tower with only Lady Saren (who is definitely dull) for at least a third of the book. So yeah, I do get why I didn't make it past that part before, and the audiobook format absolutely helped.

What I ended up enjoying about this book is how unique and quiet it is. It's actually quite risky in a lot of ways, and it doesn't feel entirely like any fantasy I've read before. So if you're one of those people wishing for fantasy MCs who aren't speshul, I would absolutely hurl this one your way. Dashti does have an ability to sing people better, an ability that some of her people from the steppes have, but she really doesn't feel magical. She is not particularly clever or strong or daring or beautiful.

Now, I don't mean that Dashti is stupid, because she's not, or that she's not possessed of strengths or ever show daring, just that she does not have innate skills in these areas. Her abilities are ordinary and ones she works for, persists for. Particularly when the story begins, Dashti's education has been limited; she has been taught to read and write and do sums, but aside from that has had very little education. She absolutely believes to her bones everything society has told her as true, like that nobility are inherently better by decree of the gods. When first locked into a tower for seven years with her lady, she's just excited to have seven years of reliable food, and she does not weigh any of the other consequences.

Dashti is a simple (and I don't mean this as a comment on her intelligence) girl, one who is forced by her circumstances to step out of what she sees as her proper place in the world, in order to survive. Dashti's strength is quiet: it's in her kindness and her perseverence. She is almost unfalteringly good, with the falters being important in keeping her realistic.

There's a reason most fantasy MCs are possessed of flashy powers and/or question the system they are born to, but Dashti's tale stands out for how truly believable she feels. She is a peasant who has never questioned the order of the world, and, though she grows, she still never overcomes some of those "truths" that have been taught to her from when she could first understand.

While I didn't quite get emotionally invested in Book of a Thousand Days, I'm so impressed by the craft and the risks Hale took, in writing what is, largely, an undramatic fantasy even in the really intense aspects, which happen off screen or are made mild by Dashti's calm acceptance of most circumstances.

This is not a fantasy for everyone, as indeed it wasn't for my past self, but if you like quiet, thoughtful fantasies that are a vast departure from the norm, I would recommend it. The closest readalike I can think of is Summers at Castle Auburn though both scope and circumstances are very different, but something about the understated tone and the subtle, realistic character building makes them good analogs.

As a final note, the full cast audio is EXCELLENT. There's a narrator for every character, so it truly brought the novel to life. I'm going to be looking up other Full Cast Audio productions, because I loved this.

Has become dear to me

Between the fantastic storytelling and the phenomenal audio performances, I can easily say that this has become one of my favorites of all time. Meant for children but more than captivating enough for adults. This book smoothes me, and is full of valuable lessons on selflessness, courage, strength and wisdom.
Listen, and fall in love.

Refreshing

I started reading this as a new bedtime story after I finished the grim brothers for the millionth time but honestly it kept me up instead. It wasn't what i was expecting but it was refreshing coming out of a book slump & I really enjoyed it.