hrj

The Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret Lovett was one of my comfort *and* inspiration reads for a long time. The little boy Trad, who has been raised by his nasty grandfather since the parents he barely remembers died, finds and rescues an injured old man. The man is more than he seems at first, and he and the boy set out on a journey to the capital through a fairly realistic medieval countryside where the poor are preyed upon by the well-to-do and the church as much as by criminals like the suavely wicked Diamond, who appears several times during the story. And it turns out that Trad is not what he seems either.

The book turns around several classic tropes. Trad has no problem being disguised as a girl, for example (although he is not thrilled when he is offered a doll at one point). The mountebank musician Marlo is also not the stereotype he appears to be at first, even though he is not in any sort of disguise. And the story ends completely right at its climax, with no followup at all, and yet I've always loved the ending.

There's a discussion of this book and its publishing history here.. 'ware spoilers, though.