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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I love a dark fairytale, and this one is quite the adventure. I very much enjoyed this book, even if some of the creepier elements were hard to read.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’ve had Victor LaValle on my TBR for a long time, and I decided to read The Changeling in February for black history month. I’m not sure exactly what genre this falls in—sort of horror, but not really terrifying, sort-of urban fantasy but much more subtle. Maybe magical realism. But whatever the genre, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale that is half contemporary literary fiction and half absolutely delightfully horrifically batshit crazy.
Apollo Kagwa and his wife, Emma, live in New York City. She is a librarian and he’s a bookseller, trying to find the rare books that he can sell to support them. After their baby, Brian, is born, their sweet romance starts to change. Emma receives images, photos of Brian, that flash onto her phone and then disappear. She grows distant and struggles to take care of the baby, and then the story really turns when she—well, does something awful. This takes Apollo across New York City in pursuit of trying to figure out what actually happened to him and his family.
The blend of old fairy tale legends, marriage and parenthood, the fringes of the book industry (both To Kill a Mockingbird and Outside Over There play pivotal roles), an island in the East River, a trip across Forest Park—so many things, all working within the changeling legend. It was chilling and haunting and hopeful, dark and menacing but it made me smile a few times.
I listened to this on audio; it is narrated by the author and he does an excellent job. I’ll definitely be reading more of Victor LaValle’s work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
I'm torn about this one. On the one hand, I found the story engaging, but on the other, the writing style really failed to resonate with me. It was too much telling, not enough showing for my taste. Something about it felt a little... half-baked maybe, which made it hard for me to connect with the characters or get immersed in the story. It felt like LaValle was trying to say big things about gender roles in modern families, but that fell flat for me. Also, it was less scary than I was expecting. Still, the premise was a fairly original twist on a less-visited area of folklore, and the author worked modern technology into that in interesting ways, so it wasn't a total dud.
I enjoyed the read. Unsettling and great merging of folklore and modern times. The end felt a little jumbled story telling wise but I liked the ending.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i want to try to come back to this some day, but any mentions of babies is extremely upsetting for me right now, so i’m choosing to keep myself safe.