The Cabinet Of Wonders

By Author: alla
Total Articles: 191
Comment this article

Petra, a name derived from the Greek word meaning rock, is an apt one for the courageous protagonist in Marie Rutkoski's first book from The Kronos Chronicles series, The Cabinet of Wonders. Petra is an independent, spider-toting 12-year-old, inhabiting an enchanted world of walking, talking tin pets. She has lived alone with her father in the village of Okno for most of her life and is pragmatic about being motherless: "Petra felt there was no need to replace what she didn't feel was missing" (p. 19).

The tin pets are the creation of Petra's inventor-magician father, Mikal Kronos, a Renaissance man of sorts who wields metal with his mind. His skill is so extraordinary that it captures the attention of the ruler of Bohemia, Prince Rodolfo. He commissions Master Kronos to create the world's most majestic astrological clock in Prague's town center D&G jewelry sale Petra is left in the care of her cousin and the companionship of her best friend, a tin spider named Astrophil.

But don't typecast this spider. Astrophil is a well-mannered intellectual suffering from persistent ...
... insomnia that lends itself well to his ravenous study of voluminous texts on all manner of subjects ranging from zoology to languages. He is small enough to ride around on Petra's ear or hide in the tresses of her hair, whispering words of encouragement or sometimes reproach, acting as her proverbial conscience.

Six months pass before Master Kronos is carted home like a sack of potatoes, delivered to the family's shop with a blood-laden cloth covering his face. He reveals that his eyes, the source of his magic, were surgically removed at Prince Rodolfo's order. Even worse, the nefarious prince intends to wear them to manipulate the clock to control the world's weather patterns. Enraged, Petra criticizes her father for agreeing to work for the prince. "How could you have met him and not seen him for what he was?" she asks (p. 39). Her father warns that it is not always easy to see people for what they truly are. Without his eyes, Master Kronos is unable to pursue his profession and sustain the family. Petra asks a local glassmaker to craft new eyes for her father, but the endeavor fails, prompting her to secretly journey to Prague to retrieve her father's eyes.

Rutkoski weaves threads of historical and political undercurrents, like allusions to the Hapsburg Empire, and the real astrological clock in Prague, masterfully grounding the story in a way that breathes life into its setting. Petra's first day in Prague is met with near-disaster when she must chase down a thief to retrieve her money purse. She prevails, ultimately forming a friendship with Neel, whose magical fingers extend like invisible ghosts, making him a most adept pickpocket. His family is a tribe of stranded gypsies, or more correctly Roma, trying to earn enough money to replace their horses and continue their migration.

Both Neel and Petra find work at Salamander Castle. Petra is a kitchen assistant for only a matter of hours before she is fired for lopping a rancid onion into the Genovese entree. Petra is sent to the much feared Dye Works laboratory where the castle's colors are produced. She becomes the assistant of Iris the acid lady, legendary for her acidic temper that literally seeps through her pores and burns off her clothing or anything else that isn't acid-proof. Here, Petra learns more about the inner workings of the castle, most cheap Cartier jewelry importantly that Prince Rodolfo keeps a cabinet of wonders containing curiosities from around the world, and possibly Petra's father's eyes. In her search for the enchanted eyes, Petra finds friends in unexpected places. She also learns that heroism is not without consequences.

The presiding beauty of the novel is Rutkoski's writing—a cacophony of elegance and ease—resplendent supporting characters, and the kind of simplicity an author writes hard for. Her story is both magical and sensitive, steeped in themes of "otherness," as in her portrayal of the Roma. Striking echoes of classism, elitism, and communism flow beneath the surface of this heroine's journey. These narrative trajectories provide a substantive, steady heartbeat where Petra earns her status as a true heroine and Rutkoski earns her book's ending.

This is appropriate reading for grades 5 and up. Marie Rutkoski is a professor of English literature at Brooklyn College and specializes in Renaissance drama, children's literature, and creative writing. She lives in New York City. Her second book in The Kronos Chronicles Series, The Celestial Globe, is expected to be released late in 2009.