The tale starts with our young protagonist, Dashti, signing away her life for the next seven years. After her family dies, she becomes a maid for Titor’s Garden royalty, a princess called Lady Saren, on the same day that Saren’s father, the Lord of Titor’s Garden, casts her away to live in a tower by herself for the next seven years. This is meant as punishment for Saren refusing to marry Lord Khasar of Thoughts of Under, who is infamously known for her cruelty. Dashti decides to join her lady, swearing herself to her as a maid. After three years, Dashti finally manages to break them out of the tower. However, in the Eight Realms, things have drastically changed. At Saren’s refusal to marry him, Lord Khasar had plagued her homeland, forcing the two to travel to the last remaining realm: Song of Evela. There, they work as maids until Dashti realizes that she must stop Lord Khasar from taking over Song of Evela to protect her lady.
Book of a Thousand Days is told in an epistolary format, written by Dashti’s hand. It’s an interesting way of showcasing what happens throughout her their travels with Lady Saren together. Although Lady Saren is pretty useless compared to her, she remains fiercely loyal to her Saren, and sings her comforting songs, braids her hair, and cooks for her, even when she could be so much better off on her own. At one point, she recorded that she hated her lady.- good time to pull a quote with page number- what does this say about Dashti’s character?
The entire story is written in a fairytale format, with a hero, Dashti, a villain, Khasar, and a legendary love story, a format made even more interesting by the diary entries. I really enjoyed how the author characterized Dashti. She stands up for justice, is loyal even when all odds are against her, and she doesn’t give up. Even though she owes Lady Saren nothing, she still abides by all the lessons her mother taught her: to persevere with bravery and loyalty even through challenges. In fact, she doesn’t even fear death, believing her mother will be waiting for her in the afterlife.
