When I came to the end of Libba Bray's Victorian-themed novel of the supernatural, I was a little disappointed. Loose ends hadn't been tied up to my satisfaction. I had just fallen in love with some of the characters, and it had taken me much of the book to learn to sympathize with them.
And then, I was gratified to find out that yes, this book has a sequel.
I liked so many things about this book. Though it raised some minor questions in my mind, in the end, it was truly a fun and compelling read that has made me anxious for the next installment. Firstly, it's a playful look at tradition--the literary tradition of the ghostly Victorian tale, in a direct line from Henry James's somewhat stuffy classic The Turn of the Screw, and another Victorian literary tradition of the young woman who defies convention yet remains within societally safe boundaries, à la Bronte. Whether or not you actually enjoy Victorian literature, there's something about the setting that is strangely attractive. Bray has depicted that setting in loving detail that no doubt required a ton of research and reading, and I commend her for that. It's certainly a believable and vivid look at how society worked at the time.
The beginning is set in colonial India--another subtle allusion to the Victorian obsession with their "strange and exotic" colonies--already setting a tone for the unusual life of the main character. This is where I started asking a few questions. Bearing in mind that Gemma Doyle has had an unusual life in an unusual family, is recently starting to experience unearthly visions, and recently lost a mother whom she's just found out is involved with the supernatural, is it still believable that she'd be so outspoken and daring? Was her character too anachronistic, too much a modern-day woman?
What I decided was that I liked the idea that there were extraordinary women here and there in the Victorian age--maybe more commonly than the male-authored books documenting the time period might have us believe. I liked Gemma Doyle, and her fiery, smart personality, and the fact that she was not without her own weaknesses. I liked that all of her new friends at the strange Spence Academy boarding school started off surprisingly unlikeable, and then had to earn my sympathy. That was a great technique for keeping me on edge throughout the whole novel--I never knew if or when one of the friends might betray Gemma, because they all had their own problems, their own fears and weaknesses. And lastly, I am a sucker for the supernatural angle and the idea of grand shadowy conspiracies.
If you like the Victorian setting, if you like reading about strong women who truly defy convention, and/or if you like stories about supernatural powers getting out of hand, then you will probably enjoy this one. Though I occasionally wondered if a Victorian girl could possibly ever be that sassy, I thought this book was a lot of fun, and I look forward to reading more.
1 comment:
I will enter into this book critique with a... proviso: I am not a fan of the typical ghost story. One of the reasons I shrugged off YA mystery writer Kathryn Reiss' work is that she loves that touch of 'spooky,' and I feel that most of the time it's a mechanical plot device and leaves a lot to be desired in terms of actual narrative tension, etc. etc. Done well, suspense in a novel can change everything. Done poorly -- ghoulies for the sake of making you squeal -- it's just dumb. That being said, I wasn't all that hot on this book... But hear me out.
I give Bray high marks for her characterization, because the girls in this boarding school were very real to me. I give Bray an A+ for her access to the inner mind of her characters, and for making their motivations clear. The themes of confinement (Victorian London) and freedom (the spiritualist realms and colonial India) are worth thinking over more deeply. There were many undercurrents that went on this the story -- about truth, light and darkness, feminists and women speaking out -- but unfortunately they were never fully developed. Colonialism itself is a fathom's deep topic which, in light of the searing attraction between the heroine, Gemma, and an Indian boy, assigned to threaten her, is strange when it isn't even acknowledged.
I give Bray minus points for a muddy plot with unclear menace motivation (Okay, ultimate evil wants to invade you, but why?). Many teen girls pick this up for the 'in between Potter fix' and find it satisfying, but the shivery Gothic horror feeling, the routinely predictable British boarding school masters and mistresses (except for that one teacher who is a bright light and at odds with the rest of the teaching staff, so gets sacked -- also traditional, see Dead Poets Society for reference), the séances and the rest just don't quite add up to a can't-put-it-down book whose supercharged marketing buzz doesn't make sense to me.
There is romance in this book, which will give young girls looking for it another shiver. There is magic and spells, though they are mostly incomprehensible. The blood sacrifice is disturbing, and the fact that a child is sacrificed is ...unacceptable, to me. Though it is an accidental occurrence, it really makes me think that it was added just for the horror -- and it left me feeling that I didn't really know what the author's motives were after all.
I was charmed to hear Libba Bray talk about emotionalism in writing, and discuss with writers at the SCBWI Summer Conference how to get in touch with their essential selves and silence their inner critic. Far be it from me to join with her critics, but I do wonder what the hoopla was about her. Delacorte is marketing her briskly -- the book was published in 2004, and already it's on Audiobook and in Palm form, so maybe she's Delacorte's answer to 'the Rowling Woman' perhaps, but I don't know if she'll ever be able to follow-through with what is really wanted on the strength of her writing alone. There is a movement toward mystery in YA writing, and overall, a nation-wide interest in the occult, and this is where Bray has wisely found her niche. I feel like she's exploiting something she doesn't understand well enough to explain.
I don't know... This seems to be a book that is heavy on the mysticism, and leaves too many questions unanswered.
Post a Comment