Harrow does that, gently, with an attention to real hurts but also a hope for healing them.It was fall 2019 when I first heard about The Ten Thousand Doors of January, the debut novel by Alix E. An argument can be made from a place of tenderness and basic belief that, maybe, the world can be good. sits on a threshold of audience given its prose and style, with the appeal of nostalgia to adults who need to remember the power of stories as well as young people who need to remember the heady potentiality of optimism-but then also vice versa, too, for all of us. The potential that vibrates off the page is the potential of youth, of a certain form of imagination… but also present are the things elided from those earlier children’s stories, like ethnicity and class. Though the novel features a great deal of conflict, struggle, and trauma, it maintains a quite-purposeful softness toward the potentiality of the world and the work stories can do. Metafictional strategies in a novel often serve to distance the reader.However, while The Ten Thousand Doors of January is certainly a book engaged with its bookness and with the whole genre of the portal fantasy (as well as a long history of feminist works in sf)… the underlying tender hopefulness Harrow imbues in January’s story, even in its moments of violence and exclusion, closes the gap of that metafictional remove. Enchanting, colorful and powerful, The Ten Thousand Doors of January transcends genre and is sure to make a new fan out of anyone who encounters it. This jewel of a novel reads, at times, like a call to action, and paired with clever musings on doorways and new beginnings, this theme of encouragement leaps off the page. This is a gorgeous, richly imagined work that reads like one book lover talking to another, and Harrow’s observations about the power of stories is not only poignant, but also heartfelt and empowering. She infuses every word with magic and possibility, as well as a resounding love for storytelling, but what truly stands out is the overwhelming sense of longing - for adventure, for hope and for acceptance. even if fantasy isn’t your thing, Harrow’s gift for prose makes this a can’t-miss read.

The premise is, of course, intriguing, but Harrow’s characters are so wholly realized that they barely need the setting or plot to feel real. While the story moves quickly, it is not action-packed with danger or fighting, but Harrow keeps the plot believably dark by focusing instead on real-world issues of race and privilege. instantly gripping, with January’s wit, lyrical turns of phrase and sharply written observations about doorways and life immediately drawing you in. not just a book, but a true experience, an ode to storytelling and every book lover’s dream.

spellbinding, lush and captivatingly imaginative.

The 10 thousand doors of january