Title: Three Crowns and the Dream Sofa
Author: Liliane Broberg
Publisher: XlibrisUK
ISBN: 9781524594169
Pages: 120
Genre: Fiction / Fantasy
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
Three Crowns and the Dream Sofa has elegant prose and enchanting characters brought to life in a setting perfect for a fairytale. Author Liliane Broberg’s choice of language has a playful edge to it, with descriptions such as the way the vengeful princess is described: an eye “black like that of a snake” and the other “yellow-brown like a crocodile’s.”
The most charming characters are the ones which act as support to the quarreling siblings. Princess Gwendoline is the young daughter of Princess Experalda. She lights up every scene she’s in with her childlike innocence, sense of bewilderment and her mature wisdom. She is wise beyond her years and often contemplates about how she’s not able to participate in grown up matters such as royal meetings. There is even a delightful scene where King Benjamin (one of the three triplet kings) asks her to write a speech for him, and she succeeds royally at that task.
King Bernard’s friend, Spy Brow is a bird which brings him gossip from the kingdom. Spy has an interesting place as a friend to Bernard but also brought forth an interesting tidbit. No one believes that he’s real, often referring to him as imaginary, even though a talking bird isn’t the most unusual and magical aspect of this world. This lack of belief expresses a great deal of how little Bernard’s family believes in him. He doesn’t have many scenes, but he plays an important role as the character who sees and hears all.
Many fairytale elements common to this genre come into play as Broberg makes them work delightfully well. From the scheming sister after the throne to the three pompous brothers who bicker more than rule, these colorful and fanciful characters build a memorable imaginary place indeed. Experalda takes the place of a villain with her need for power, but she is also sympathetic as she is constantly cast aside. Her actions may be underhanded but all she desires is to be taken seriously as a ruler.
The search for the Bearer, which will be able to wear the Multicoloured Coat, is what rallies all of the characters together, and adds the fun challenge to become a quest. Broberg blends a mysterious element into her scenes as the kings search for the Bearer and then discover they need to find the Dream Sofa. In a free flowing story, Three Crowns and the Dream Sofa is a charming fantasy with very whimsical characters and delightful quests set perfectly for a fairytale to be cherished by all.
