Book Review: Grimwell by Michael Belanger

Reviewed by Samantha Hui

A book-lover’s fantasy, replete with humor, creativity, and an appreciation for the power of storytelling

“To be a character in a book—let alone in your own life—you had to speak up. Get yourself on the page.”

Michael Belanger’s Grimwell is a multi-genre mashup—a fantasy comedy about the power and limitations of storytelling. 

Through books, movies, and spoken stories, we have the ability to gain new perspectives and adopt new hopes and dreams. But stories without action can leave a person feeling stuck and resentful toward the life they lead. Grimwell is sure to charm readers with its witty characters, action-packed adventure, and relatable personal dilemmas.  

“The truth is, much like you, Dear Reader, Eldrid Babble was afraid.”

Derek Winnebaker’s imagination far outweighs his aspirations. He imagines alternate lives as philosopher, doctor, genome scientist, or anything that would save him from the doldrums of his daily routine. 

With a head full of stories and a lack of direction, ten years pass by with Derek still brewing, mixing, and serving coffee at the Read and Bean Coffee Shop inside the Pemberton Library. Well into his thirties, Derek envies everyone’s seemingly seamless transitions into adulthood: his brother achieved his goals of becoming a famous TV actor; his ex-girlfriend is now married with a child on the way; the coffee shop owner’s careless son is now Derek’s yuppie, indolent manager. 

“The truth was, he had no reason to decorate. He had reached a point in his life where the need for survival had overtaken any other impulse.”

Derek occupies his time and quiets his feelings by burying himself in shelves upon shelves of library books, reading anything and everything from philosophy to classic novels to self-help books. When a strange, alluring fantasy book titled The Strange Life and Times of Eldrid Babble ends up in his possession, Derek finally finds himself as the main character of his own life—boldly asking out his crush at the bar, standing up to the bullies in his life, and speaking hard truths—but at a bizarre and treacherous cost. 

“A dark, twisted sitcom where the main character suddenly wakes up with a tail.”

Michael Belanger’s writing style in this book is fearless, creating a deeply entertaining, funny, and heartfelt story. Derek’s story is interrupted with passages from the made-up fantasy novel The Strange Life and Times of Eldrid Babble. The narrator of the in-story novel is Chester Felten, WWII veteran turned insurance salesman who stumbled his way into Grimwell, a world inhabited by trolls, talking trees, and grimkins. Contrastingly, the scenes where Derek watches episodes of his brother’s SciFi TV show are written as an actual screenplay with slug-lines, action lines, and cheesy dialogue. In the fluidity of genre and style, readers are thoroughly immersed into Derek’s perspective as he experiences boredom, entertainment, and shock. This book is laugh-out-loud-in-the-crowded-coffee-shop funny. 

“Meanwhile, he exhaustively searched the internet for information about tails, which only yielded results about people with vestigial bones in their body. Nothing about suddenly waking up with a fluffy, long, and—if Derek was being honest with himself—luxurious tail.”

The anachronism of Derek’s modern struggles, Chester’s experience with the tragedy of war, and the ancient world of Grimwell create a dynamic, charming story that is a great entry point for those who might be hesitant to dive into the fantasy genre. Through different perspectives, writing styles, and time periods, Grimwell reminds readers that while books have the power to inspire us, we are the ones who need to create change. 

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