Part adventure story, part critique of toxic masculinity, The Enchanted Flute is a retelling of the story of Pan and Syrinx. Rebecca is a skilled flautist, but her single mum cannot afford to buy her a flute. When Rebecca is inexplicably drawn to a flute in a pawnshop window, she becomes the owner of a heavily discounted flute which, “in some eerie way had been playing her.” Since the flute will play only one melody, Debussy’s Syrinx, Becky refuses to play it and tries to find out more about it by returning the flute to the previous owner, who lives at Arcadia House.
And that’s where the adventures begin.
It appears that Becky was expected at Arcadia House, where Dr Faunus, an old man with goat feet, grows younger while she plays to him. When Becky and Johnny, a school mate who followed her to the house, try to escape they find themselves transported to ancient Arcadia, where life is less about magic than survival. Here the minor characters of Greek mythology – random fauns and nymphs, an aged King Basilius, and a drunken Silenus who isn’t all that fussy about what – or who - goes into his stew – compete to possess the flute which will restore Arcadia to its former glory. Or not.
Norcliffe can chart a ripping adventure, flipping from climax to climax, keeping the reader in the dark along with the heroes, and never quite letting the reader quite guess the motivations of the villains. It quickly becomes apparent that the myth of Syrinx – which describes a nymph turned to a reed to escape the lascivious god Pan, who cuts her down and turns her into a set of panpipes – is a metaphor for men who seek to possess women for their own desires. As Becky puts it, her music teacher’s “lovely story” tells of “Just another dirty old man chasing a much younger girl and cutting her down when he couldn’t get her where he wanted her.” This is played out in Arcadia where Becky and Johnny become pawns in an age-old skirmish between the fauns and nymphs. Add to that Silenus’ unsettling hospitality (but delicious stews!) and an enigmatic figure on a motorised tricycle and you have the ingredients of an exciting moral tale.
There are some unexplored subplots here (Becky’s absent father, Johnny’s drunken father, Artemis’ intervention in the Syrinx story), and the resolution is not well foregrounded, but the world building is strong and the characters relatable. Although it’s written in third person, we view Arcadia through Becky and Johnny’s confusion:
“He hadn’t gone more than a few metres before his courage evaporated and he slowed down considerably. It may have been the fact that the gravel path that now led to the front door was littered with bones. The bones, split and broken, had been dried and whitened by the sun and now in the gathering dusk contrasted starkly against the grey of the stones.
The second thing that stopped Johnny in his stride and caused him to look back at Becky for support, was the noise he could hear clearly coming from inside the cottage. It seemed to be wild singing above the rasping wheeze of something like a concertina.”
This mix of creepy fairytale and mundane reaction keeps the reader anchored in Becky and Johnny’s reality as they sift through the shifting Arcadian alliances. These are everyday heroes responding to the unknown much as we would.
This is a story that will suit music students and adventure lovers alike. While the message is perhaps a little dark for middle school readers, the sexual intent of the Fauns is never spelled out and the prologue in which Becky receives the re-gift of the flute without fear makes it clear that the story has a happy resolution. It would be well placed in a library for middle school- mid teen readers. ( )

Becky’s mother can’t really afford the flute in the pawn shop but she buys it for Becky anyway. Becky is very grateful until she tries to play it and discovers that the flute will only play one tune and it is a tune that she has never learnt. The flute leads her and Jonny to a house and then into a different world – a world where everyone wants Becky and her flute.
This is another engaging fantasy story written by the author of The Loblolly Boy. Set in a mythical world, it is full of intrigue and just the right amount of danger. It would appeal to readers (especially girls) aged 10 and up. ( )