Book of a Thousand Days
Book of a Thousand Days' first U.S. edition cover
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| Author | Shannon Hale |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult, Fantasy |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 336p |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 78770995 |
| LC Class | PZ7.H13824 Boo 2007 |
Book of a Thousand Days is a 2007 young adult fantasy novel by Shannon Hale. It is based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Maid Maleen.
Dashti, a mucker from steppes of the Eight Realms, begins a diary as she looks for a job after her mother dies of illness. Eventually, she finds and accepts a position as the new maid of Lady Saren, the youngest child of the lord of Titor's Garden. Saren has defied her father's declaration that she will marry Lord Khasar of Thoughts of Under and revealed that she is engaged to the young Khan Tegus of Song for Evela. To tame his daughter, Saren's father shuts her and Dashti, the only maid willing to accompany Saren, in a tower far away from his city and surrounded by guards. He claims he will only release them after seven years, or if Saren will relent and marry Khasar.
While isolated from the rest of the world, Dashti realizes the fragility of Saren's mind and heart and does her best to soothe Saren through stories and songs. When Khan Tegus visits them, Saren expectedly refuses to speak with him and orders Dashti to impersonate her. As Tegus cannot see into the tower, Dashti reluctantly agrees and a friendship develops between them when he returns for several more visits, including one where he gives Saren a cat whom Dashti names "My Lord." However, Lord Khasar also arrives at the tower and begins harassing them, performing cruel acts to torture and upset them. The guards around the tower fail to respond to the girls' cries and My Lord disappears from the tower during a night when they hear the howls of a wolf, causing the rats to infest the tower. Khasar's appearances cause Saren to become withdrawn from deep-seated fear, in spite Dashti's efforts. As their food storages dwindle, Dashti finds weakened portion of the tower where the rats have entered and breaks through the wall to freedom.
Once out, they discover that Titor's Garden has been destroyed and they discover that Khasar has been waging war across the Eight Realms. Together, they travel to Song for Evela, which has remained untouched by Khasar so far, and Dashti finds them jobs as scrubbers in the kitchens of Khan Tegus. Though Dashti continues to sing healing songs to calm and soothe her, Saren's condition does not improve and she refuses to reveal her identity to Khan Tegus. When it is revealed that Dashti can sing songs of healing, she is hired to take care of and heal Tegus. They begin to fall in love through their meetings, though Tegus grows suspicious Dashti's knowledge of Khasar and Saren
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