Crowley writes a fantasy novel, but a fantasy novel far more complex than those representative of the genre. Not content with solely chronicling events that transpire in a made-up world, Crowley presents the fairy world in conflict with the real world. In addition to elements of the fantasy novel and the fairy tale — for this is an adult fairy tale — Crowley manipulates other genres with great skill. The novel can be read as a bildungsroman, a novel which traces a character from adolescence to maturity, as well as a family saga, like Joyce Carol Oates's Bellefleur (1980). Little, Big contains sections which display Crowley's skill in other forms, including the children's tale, the romance, and the political intrigue.

Combined, these various genres result in a stylistically sophisticated and beautiful novel.

Little, Big, although it bears many similarities to Crowley's earlier work, does depart from those novels in...