Feather and Claw

Translated from the original Italian and set in early twentieth century Valencia, this is a tale of two young people searching for their biological parents and for the origin of their unlooked-for powers of shape-shifting. Amparo, a girl by night and a falcon by day, stops at the visiting carnival and notices Tomas, a boy by day and a panther by night. She arranges a meeting and gradually they realise they have some overlapping memories which may be linked to a great estate whose house burned down some years before. Exploring these links to their past might have presented them with some practical difficulties, given their contrasting conditions, but luckily, they are befriended by Pepe, a resourceful street urchin. Pepe is intrigued by their situation and attracted by the rich pickings that might be found on the estate, which is now deserted and protected by a reputation for being haunted. The three begin their investigation with one of Pepe’s neighbours, a seamstress, who worked occasionally for the lady of the estate, and who confirms the rumours of a child adopted from a local convent. As they move from the streets of Valencia to the convent and then to the ruined estate, the mystery of their past and its curse is unravelled and their fates altered in a complicated and deadly final confrontation. The story is told mainly in textual narrative but breaks off at various points to give way to Ambra Garlaschelli’s atmospheric black and white illustration. Each page of text is enclosed by a border of dark leaves, maintaining the impression of foreboding and the density of the mystery. To my mind, this is rather overdone, since there is warmth and humour in the story, particularly in the relationships between the three children, which tends to be dominated by this heavy presentation. Generally, I have the feeling of the richer, more nuanced story, which might have been told if writer and illustrator had let in rather more light.