The Necessary Beggar (Alex Awards (Awards)) (ISBN 076531097X)

Necessary Reading:
At its heart, Susan Palwick's The Necessary Beggar, is a rather simple story of a family from a parallel world trying to make a go of things in our world. Palwick's exiles arrive in Reno, Nevada, through a shimmering blue portal. They are not adventurers or heretics or invaders, but a simple family exiled for a crime of passion committed by the son of the narrator. The family is a good one that adheres to the teachings of its culture. They live by beliefs (an odd mix of Western and Eastern philosophies) that many of us would find admirable, beliefs that are often incompatible with their environment. Palwick's book, though, succeeds on a number of levels, creating a rich tapestry of themes. It is a mystery story, a ghost story, an adventure story, a coming of age story, and a story of romance.

An incredible book:
I read this book in one long sitting, staying up most of the night to do so. The story, which is told without ostentation, grows in power as it progresses. It depicts struggles -- and answers to them -- in a realistic and unflinching way without ever giving way to bathos, and the end is both unexpected and yet necessary given what came before. When I finished the book I felt deeply satisfied. The novel resonated for me on many levels, and continues to do so months after I first read it.

Unnecessary Inconsistency:
This it is the type of book that epitomizes the term "mixed reviews." Some will love its allegorical social commentary and message of love and redemption, but others will find only contrived methods and sappy melodrama. I found myself swinging wildly between these two camps while reading the novel, which indicates a further problem with its inconsistency. Granted, the basic premise is pretty good, as people from some sort of parallel universe, with a much different human society, are exiled to our world and forced to adapt under trying circumstances. But unfortunately, Susan Palwick does little with this premise beyond the trite and predictable. First, the characters' homeworld, Gandiffri, is a thinly-constructed allegory for a pure and simple human society, and was surely created only to provide obvious contrasts with our world. This contrived sense of difference then makes the first half of this book extremely tiresome as the characters, and especially the leading lady Zamatryna, embark on longwinded and incredibly predictable discussions with their American friends about differences in customs and religious beliefs. This is the old "outside observer" device in fantasy/sci-fi that not only has been done to death for decades, but it's also been done much better. The second half of the book gets more interesting, for a while, although this is where sheer melodrama weighs the story down. On the good side, there is one very readable and empathetic episode told in a flashback, the story of Darroti and Gallicina, but this merely sheds light on the weaknesses of the main storyline. Palwick tries to develop her characters but keeps writing herself into corners, finding escape in implausible coincidences and contrived plot devices - especially two different miraculously generous benefactors. Most importantly, as Zamatryna comes of age, the story strangely turns from predictable social commentary to clumsy chick-lit self-discovery, and the climax to the story dissolves into contrived melodrama as hardships and crises pile up suspensefully, but in the end all the characters experience implausibly rosy conclusions. And all of the above is built around the aforementioned message of love and redemption, which some readers will find little pleasure in trying to digest. Overall, this book is a fairly successful reading experience, and you're likely to stay interested to the end, but all the contrivances and inconsistency fail to go anywhere truly rewarding. (~doomsdayer520~)

very interesting but somewhat a lil unbelieveable:
I thought the idea was exvellent, being sent through a portal to another world as punishment wow. But when you find out the truth, all the romance it doesn't add up. Why would anyone kill themslelf over something so stupid. Zama was so smart and had a great personality, but falling for a jock hmmm. I enjoyed this book but not one of my favorites, could have been written better

This is a sweet, kind book:
It's a story about moving unwillingly to a new place, and not understanding, and learning to understand, and about love winning in the end. I was moved and pleased by it. It was recommended to me by a college professor, and she too was moved. I think even those who dislike fantasies will make an exception, and cherish this book.