The Teller of Small Fortunes exceeded my expectations. I was already thinking I’d love it, based on what friends of mine had said, but this one transported me. It’s a fantasy about finding our friends, and family, and the cruelty of war and loss. Keep reading this book review of The Teller of Small Fortunes for my full thoughts.
Summary
Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…
Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.
Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
From the beginning, I loved the concept of small fortunes. But The Teller of Small Fortunes takes this idea and expands. It pulls on the strands of what we think about our future, our destiny, and agency. There’s an air of mystery immediately. Did Tao always only tell small fortunes? What might she be running from? The Teller of Small Fortunes is a story that becomes about finding our found family and friends. People who will support us in the darkness of night.
I loved the world within The Teller of Small Fortunes. Leong describes a world where Tao is combating the racism against her people and feeling very much like an Outsider. I enjoyed how identity, and assimilation, is explored in The Teller of Small Fortunes. How Tao has lost her ability to speak her former language and the pieces of her past she’s lost. At the same time, The Teller of Small Fortunes is about the scales of war. It explores political tensions and balances our individual abilities and our ‘purpose’. If we can act, should we act? And if we have the ability, do we not just become weapons for others? Is there a concept of a ‘greater good’?
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There’s a distinct sense of danger, but it’s also balanced with precious moments, cats, and existential trolls. In some ways, The Teller of Small Fortunes asks us whether being happy is not enough of a purpose in life? To find people who are good, who focus on doing good each day. Find The Teller of Small Fortunes on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.