beachy reads: "Impossible" by Nancy Werlin

In Impossible, author Nancy Werlin brings the lyrics to “Scarborough Fair” to life.  Have you ever thought about the words to the Simon & Garfunkle song?  Werlin says that she was listening to it one day and started to really pay attention for the first time, which left her “puzzled and then a little horrified.”  She says she started to ask herself questions: why does the man ask the woman to perform these impossible tasks?  Why does he hate her?  What did she ever do to him?  Are these tasks actually impossible, after all?  From this, the novel grew. 

I really, really liked this book.  It’s engaging, suspenseful and romantic and is a nice blend of fantasy and reality.  It reminds me of Twilight in some ways.  The main character is a relatable, normal, modern high school girl whose life is interrupted by a secret fantasy world that she’s forced to integrate into her public life.  I think anyone who likes Twilight would probably enjoy this, too.  It’s only missing Edward.

There are literally dozens of different versions of "Scarborough Fair," which have been traced all the way back to the Middle Ages, probably evolving from a Scottish ballad known as “The Elfin Knight.”  The elf character is a lot like the devil.  It's such a beautiful song, but there's definitely a creepy element to the lyrics.  Here's the Simon & Garfunkle version:

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? 

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Remember me to one who lives there

She once was a true love of mine

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Without no seams nor needlework

Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Tell her to find me an acre of land

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Between the salt water and the sea strand

Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Tell her to reap it in a sickle of leather

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

And to gather it all in a bunch of heather

Then she’ll be a true love of mine

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? 

Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Remember me to one who lives there

She once was a true love of mine