The First Novel I Remember Reading // 30-Day Book Challenge - Day 21

Today is the twenty-first day of the 30-day book challenge, in which I will be writing about a different book or book series every day for 30 days, with each book chosen according to the daily prompt. Today's prompt is: "the first novel you remember reading".

Day 3 of self-imposed COVID-19 quarantine. My exposure to fresh air is limited entirely to sitting out on my room's tiny balcony (really more of an extended windowsill). I have taken advantage of two different libraries' electronic resources and thus have about a dozen books to read, of which I have completed 0. I appear outwardly agreeable in my interactions with the people that share my living space, despite the creeping homicidal urges I feel getting stronger every day. But, I have finally got back on track with this book challenge. So really, things are going pretty well overall.

Today's prompt is 'the first novel you remember reading' which, as usual, I don't have a definitive choice for. I know for certain which was the first book I read as a child, but unfortunately I don't think The Little Mouse, the Red-Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear counts as a novel, in spite of its other literary merits.

While I can't remember exactly what the first proper novel I read growing up was, I do know of a particular novel I read at a young age and which became my favourite book for many years after. This is the first full-length book I remember having a real impact on me, and so I think it's a fitting choice for this prompt. This special book is The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson.

Although I'm not entirely certain of when I first read The Star of Kazan, I know that I read it soon after purchasing the above hardback edition of the book, which was no doubt not long after it was published in 2004. This would mean I was likely around the age of eight when I read it, about four years younger than the book's protagonist, Annika.

A plot summary of the book, as always courtesy of Goodreads, is as follows:

Annika has never had a birthday. Instead she celebrates her Found Day, the day a housemaid and a cook to three eccentric Viennese professors found her and took her home. There, Annika has made a happy life in the servants' quarters, surrounded with friends, including the elderly woman next door who regales Annika with stories of her performing days and her countless admirers - especially the Russian count who gave her the legendary emerald, the Star of Kazan. And yet, Annika still dreams of finding her true mother. But when a glamorous stranger arrives claiming to be Annika's mother, and whisks her away to a crumbling, spooky castle, Annika discovers that all is not as it seems in her newfound home..

I've read this book many times over the years, but even so it's been quite a while since my last re-read. It's funny what things you remember and what you forget, when you recall a piece of media that had a great impact on you as a child. Today I would struggle to give you an outline of the book's plot and major events, although I feel like I read its opening paragraphs just yesterday. Even when I was still actively re-reading the book, I remember one day being shocked at the realisation that Annika was described as having 'corn-coloured hair', even though I'd always pictured her as a brunette. It must have taken me until my fourth or fifth reread to notice this.

I mention this weird gap in my memory to stress how bizarre and apparently meaningless the things we remember and forget can be. I say 'apparently' meaningless - no doubt there are important reasons why things stick in our memory, even if we're not aware of them. I don't know why there are certain things I remember about The Star of Kazan while seemingly more significant details elude me, and I can only guess their subconscious meaning. However, I still thought it would be fun to list some of the details that stick out in my memory the most from The Star of Kazan. So, in no particular order, here are the things I remember best about this book:

• Annika's name. For years after reading this book, Annika my absolute favourite name. I gave the name Annika to my Sims, characters I wrote about, and even daydreamed about one day giving it to a human child. I thought it was beautiful name and, importantly, I associated it with one of my favourite characters. Which brings me to...
• Annika's kindness. Even if I managed to forget what she looked like, Annika's many small acts of kindness and selflessness throughout the novel stuck in my mind. In particular, I remember:
• The scarf scene. In one part of the book, Annika gives her red scarf to the standoffish, unhappy Gudrun, who never gets new clothes. The simple kindness of this scene always stood out to me.
• The food. Annika and her adoptive mother Ellie both love to cook, which maybe explains why the food descriptions in the book are so memorable. Or perhaps I'm just a glutton. Either way, just recalling the descriptions of sugar mice, plum cake, and even the legendary Christmas carp* is making me hungry.
• The adoptive family. As the summary above mentioned, Annika is found abandoned as a baby and raised by an adoptive family that includes: her mother Ellie, a cook; Sigrid, the housemaid (who in hindsight is very close with Ellie - their relationship sounds a bit gay to me now); and the three eccentric professors they work for, Gertrude, Emil, and Julius. While the servant-master dynamic of this family seems a little odd to me now, at the time of reading I found the closeness and love of this found family beautiful.
• Vienna. A large part of the book is set in Vienna, where Annika is adopted and raised until the age of twelve. In the second chapter of the book, titled 'The Golden City', there is a long, gorgeous description of the city, from the Danube to the famous riding school to the hundreds of varieties of delicious food produced there. I feel like this book made me fall in love with Vienna without ever having visited it.

*I wasn't yet vegetarian when I read this book for the first time, so don't judge me.

There are several other parts of the book I remember, but they are less important and are harder to describe without giving spoilers. Still, I hope the list above is of some interest. I personally find it fascinating to think about the little details that we remember, even above things of seemingly greater significance. If anyone wants to let me know what little things they remember from books they read as a child, I'd love to hear.

Also, although I say these are only small details, that doesn't mean they haven't had an impact. To this day, I love reading books with found families, detailed descriptions, and delicious food. Annika may also in some ways be the predecessor for every other gentle but strong protagonist I've loved since then.

Maybe it is not objective importance that makes us remember things, but the act of remembering which makes something important, if only to ourselves. The things I remember about The Star of Kazan matter to me, so perhaps that in itself makes them significant.