Scan barcode
aurora69006's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
zmull's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a Jo Walton fan. She's a no questions buy for me. So, it brings me no joy to say this her first book I didn't particularly like. It's a total muddle of a book. Part of it is about a "real world" author and is told in first person by her... muse, maybe? The narrator is spark of life that she uses to bring her characters to life. Sort of. He speaks to her. The author is clearly a bit autobiographical, but also not. The author and the narrator have decided to try to find a way for the author to live on in a fantasy world from one of her books where death has been defeated. It's a pretty good premise for a book and these sections are the best parts. The other thread, set in the fantasy world, is a mismash of Jo Walton tropes. There's time travel, Renaissance Florence, literal gods, Marsilio Ficino makes his third (?) appearance in a Walton novel, and lots of discussion of ethics and philosophy. Plus, she throws in characters from Twelfth Night and the Tempest to manage the plot, such that it is. This whole thread is very undercooked. There are a lot of characters and none of them get the focus they deserve.
Here's my recommendation. Buy a copy or request your local library buy a copy. Read all Jo Walton's other books first. Then come back to this one.
Here's my recommendation. Buy a copy or request your local library buy a copy. Read all Jo Walton's other books first. Then come back to this one.
kleonard's review against another edition
2.0
This heavily meta-conceptual novel is divided into two kinds of narration: a second/third-person narration by an author's imaginary friend/alter ego/internal voice, and a fantasy novel, drawing heavily on Shakespeare, that the author is writing during the timeframe of the book. I enjoyed the imaginary friend narrative a lot--it's engaging and different and a pleasure to read. It is full of fun and quirky and useful references to other books and written works. But the other half--the Shakespeare-influenced world in which Miranda has sons with both Caliban and Ferdinand (Called Ferrante) and in which visitors from the "real world" drop in and in which technological progress has been halted in exchange for an end to death--rapidly became too pedantic, much like Walton's Thessaly novels. So this is very much a mixed bag for me.
jimincarnate's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jenmarta's review against another edition
2.0
If this book had been longer, I wouldn’t have minded it being half a tourist’s guide to Firenze. I loved the premise and wanted more from the journey. It started so strong!
bibliomania_express's review
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Or What You Will by Jo Walton is a fascinating novel about life, stories, death, the act of creation, and love. It's a bit metafictional, as our narrator is a spark of inspiration, or maybe something more, that loves inside the head of Sylvia Harrison. A renowned fantasy author, Sylvia is particularly attached to the world of Illyria, which she based on Renaissance Firenze in Italy. Now our narrator has a daring plan to move himself and an aged Sylvia into Illyria. To do so he must tell their stories. Alongside this, he must weave together a story in Illyria to aid their escape.
I wasn't sure about this book at first. For all it's intriguing premise, it starts rather slow. But once the story shifted to the first parts in Illyria, I was hooked. I enjoyed the fantastical Illyrian sections, where characters live forever but do not progress unless they choose to, and where characters like Miranda from the Tempest and the major players from Twelfth Night mingle with real people from Italian history.
Once that got going, I was also more interested in Sylvia's story. I love that Walton shapes the narrative to show us who Sylvia is, what her life was like, and yet also challenges cycles of abuse and explores different types of love. It's really a meditation on life, legacy, and the power of stories.
I wasn't sure about this book at first. For all it's intriguing premise, it starts rather slow. But once the story shifted to the first parts in Illyria, I was hooked. I enjoyed the fantastical Illyrian sections, where characters live forever but do not progress unless they choose to, and where characters like Miranda from the Tempest and the major players from Twelfth Night mingle with real people from Italian history.
Once that got going, I was also more interested in Sylvia's story. I love that Walton shapes the narrative to show us who Sylvia is, what her life was like, and yet also challenges cycles of abuse and explores different types of love. It's really a meditation on life, legacy, and the power of stories.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Violence, Racism, Death, and Terminal illness
cassandra67b07's review against another edition
5.0
update--Releases this week! Go get it.
Big thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian/Tor for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story that readers will either love desperately or hate and never finish and I imagine Walton knows this and thus the references to Sylvia's one-star reviews. No matter, readers who love Shakespeare, love art and good food, and love ideas will love this book. It's hard not to see this book as a tribute, a love letter, to Walton's readers over the years. It's all there: the dragon from the King's Peace books, Ficino and Pico from Thessaly, all of Florence from Lent wrapped up in one big meta-discussion on artistic creation and subcreation.
I'm still so gobsmacked by this book that it's hard to review it rationally and writing a synopsis is pointless because the story took me places I never expected to go. But they are wondrous places and I so want them to be real. Illyria, Brunelleschi's walk into canvas, Teatro del Sale, Miranda's house--all were marvels. And the ending, well who else could such a changeable spirit be but the one who carries out his mistress's imaginings and makes them come alive.
This is a marvel of a book and especially to be reading it now during the COVID-19 pandemic, it gives me hope that the best of people will prevail and find a way through.
I also read this with some sadness as I had to cancel a long-planned trip to Florence this spring due to the pandemic and quarantine. But Walton's story gave me hope I will get there in the end.
Big thank you to Netgalley and Macmillian/Tor for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story that readers will either love desperately or hate and never finish and I imagine Walton knows this and thus the references to Sylvia's one-star reviews. No matter, readers who love Shakespeare, love art and good food, and love ideas will love this book. It's hard not to see this book as a tribute, a love letter, to Walton's readers over the years. It's all there: the dragon from the King's Peace books, Ficino and Pico from Thessaly, all of Florence from Lent wrapped up in one big meta-discussion on artistic creation and subcreation.
I'm still so gobsmacked by this book that it's hard to review it rationally and writing a synopsis is pointless because the story took me places I never expected to go. But they are wondrous places and I so want them to be real. Illyria, Brunelleschi's walk into canvas, Teatro del Sale, Miranda's house--all were marvels. And the ending, well who else could such a changeable spirit be but the one who carries out his mistress's imaginings and makes them come alive.
This is a marvel of a book and especially to be reading it now during the COVID-19 pandemic, it gives me hope that the best of people will prevail and find a way through.
I also read this with some sadness as I had to cancel a long-planned trip to Florence this spring due to the pandemic and quarantine. But Walton's story gave me hope I will get there in the end.
mollyoneillwrites's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book, as much as I love everything Jo Walton writes. It’s strange but lovely, exploring the nature of authorship, reality and family. Reading Jo Walton is like drinking cool water on a hot day, deceptively simple but pure and revitalising.
sgmiller46's review against another edition
4.0
Super weird, loved the Italian references, loved the SFF Shakespeare and the main character/ writer, love having an older woman as a protagonist.
rbreade's review against another edition
If, from the title, you guessed this novel in some way concerns Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, give yourself a pat on the back. In fact, that play and The Tempest are here combined in a most delightful manner as the narrator--anonymous until almost the end, when "he" finally receives a name--contrives to find a way to save both himself--itself?--and its (his?) creator, the writer of Renaissance-inflected fantasies, Sylvia Harrison, who is dying. How they purport to do this is ingenious, and along the way we, the readers, are treated to Walton's lovely prose and some fascinating details about life in Renaissance Italy, ancient Rome, the process of writing, among other sundry delectamenta.