McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. Aladdin Paperbacks, 1976.
PERSONAL RESPONSE:
This book was written and released before I was born, yet it and it’s sequels remain some of my favorite books. Anne McCaffrey was a brilliant author with a talent for world building that is still unrivaled, in my opinion. This story was vital to my understanding of what it meant to be unique, strong, and female. In a era when independent and strong female characters were sadly lacking in fantasy (like LotR) McCaffrey did not fail us with her writing.
Impactful, and informative this book is a member of one of my favorite fantasy universes of all time.
SUMMARY:
We start our journey in Half-Circle Seahold, an isolated fishing settlement that has just lost its elderly Harper. Harpers on Pern are teachers, spies, entertainers, messengers, and more. Menolly, our 14 Turn old protagonist, was given the honor of singing him into the sea for burial. Pern is a aural society they have some written Records but most information, lessoning, and important events are immortalized in song. Half-Circle is hidebound, meaning traditional and a little backwards in their thinking, Menolly is the youngest daughter of Yanus, the head Holder. Yanus allows Menolly to continue the lessons for the children but absolutely forbids her to “tune or twiddle”, impressing upon her that girls can’t be Harpers and that she should realize it’s time to grow up and shoulder her real responsibilities, that when the new Harper shows up she’ll no longer be special. Menolly lives for music, she composes, sings, plays, and teaches better than any other person in the Hold, her late teacher fostered that joy in music in her. Unfortunately for Menolly her father doesn’t share his views and punishes her severely if he hears her doing anything other than the Teaching Songs. The very day that the new Harper arrives to take up his duties, Mennoly’s hand is injured while gutting fish, resulting in an infection and scar that leaves her unable to play. Sick with this loss, and ever mindful of her father’s admonishments to not “dishonor their Hold” Menolly spends her days avoiding the main Hold, going out searching for wild greens and fruits. One day she stumbles upon Firelizards, the small cousins of the fire breathing Dragons that keep their world safe from the Thread that threatens it regularly, helping the Queen Firelizard save her clutch of eggs from a flooding tide Menolly realizes that the myths of the lizards are true and decides to keep their existence secret from the rest of the Hold.
One day Menolly is gathering greens and spiderclaws from the nearby beach when she realizes that Thread is falling n the distance, she can see the flashes of fire as the Dragons fight it in the sky. Running for home, she remembers the cave where she saved the eggs and heads in that direction. Once inside the cave she realizes that the eggs are Hatching, as she watches some of the hatchlings fly out into the Thread falling from the sky where they are killed by the carbon-devouring filaments. Using the sack full of spiderclaws she keeps the rest of the babies from leaving the cave. From that day on Menolly stays in the cave with her friends, the 9 psychically bound firelizards that she saved from death.
Through her 2 month stay in this cave she teaches her friends to hunt, and to harmonize with her pipe playing (she can play reed pipes but not any other instrument due to the scarring on her hand), and makes a home for herself. While out gathering food for them one day she is again caught out by Threadfall, and found running for her life by a dragonrider. Taken to their home, Benden Weyr, Menolly is nursed back to health and meets several important and influential people from her world. All this time the new Harper from Half-Circle has been searching for her, for the author of the tunes her found stored away in the old records. During a Dragon Hatching event he finds her, and so does the Masterharper of Pern. Deciding that a talent likes hers needed to flourish Masterharper Robinton takes her to the Harperhall to learn, and grow into her own.
CONNECTIONS:
In a college classroom I think that this story would be well received if introduced as a coming of age tale. Interspersed throughout the book, and its two sequels, are rhyme and poetry that represent the songs of this world and those that Menolly writes. Using the fact that culture is aural instead of visual like America’s, I believe that a study of these verses and the cultural significance of song could be interesting. Also the development of Menolly from “just a girl” to a valued member of society is very important and useful.
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