Reviews

Waking Beauty by Paul Witcover

darbyart's review

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1.0

I am so annoyed with the book that I don't think I will even finish it. I think I got it at a used bookstore years ago. So I picked it up the other night and within the first page and even after a few pages it is losing me. It is talking about all these places, people, and things that have no meaning to me because the author is not explaining them....at first. He begins to but not complete enough to make me -get it- at all and become a part of the book. The book is divided not only into chapters but parts. So I am reading part 1 and trying to be patient hoping they explain what all the names of their gods, legends and so forth mean. The title of the book Waking Beauty comes from a legend of their community/world/whatever....and the men get strapped down at night, nose plugged and tubes put in their throat - because otherwise they will be intoxicated by the call of Beauty. The men's wives/mothers look after them while they sleep. Men can smell Beauty and basically be so intoxicated by her smell that they follow her anywhere. She from the sounds of it kills them to gain power. I really can't tell you if that is for certain as the book just was so confusing to me.

But I do kind of get caught up into what seems like the 2 main characters Cy and Rose. They are about to married. Where they live - men are in charge (despite them being tied down at night). Cy at one point says that Rose is so pretty that all the men seem to give into her so he was going to have to take a firm hand to her. So as I said I got caught up in seeing where Cy and Rose go in the story...well that lasted 1 night. I am doing a spoiler....

Rose didn't strap Cy down on their wedding night and Beauty came and got him. So the town calls for her to be taken away and banished from their sight as she no long exists because she failed her husband. They have a man come in shave her hair off (something she was known for) and then chain her up leading her out of town. And from what I could tell she was being taken to another town where she would be a prostitute. Okay there ends part 1. I started reading part 2 and ALL NEW NAMES, ALL new legends, all new stories and no where am I finding Rose. I finally figure out Rose basically has a new name/title ((Cat - that is what they call prostitutes in the book)) but I can't follow what the heck is going on so I gave up I have closed the book and I am not picking it up again.

novelinsights's review

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3.0

This was a high fantasy with complex and unique lore/world building that was very different from anything I've ever read before. I particularly liked the simularters. That said, it is also pretty intense; I'm the kind of person who isn't really fazed by what they read, but if you are you may not like this. There's sexual violence, torture, pedophilia, self-mutilation, etc.

One thing that I did really struggle with was how incredibly sexist the culture in this world was. I almost DNF'ed it a couple times because of that, although the other reviews were good enough that I stuck with it in hopes of redemption. The sexist culture was undermined in the latter half of the book, although I would have liked slightly more emphasis on how wrong the sexism in particular was.

The writing style was also a bit dense. There were a lot of infodumps and periods where characters took some time out to tell stories of their culture's lore. The information was kind of needed, as the plot calls back to and builds upon that lore, but I think there might have been a better way to incorporate it.

Another thing about the writing that was strange to me was that sometimes it would give summaries of events that had happened earlier in the book, much in the way that a sequel would if it referred to something from Book 1. I wasn't sure if this was done because there was just so much going on that beta readers got confused and needed reminded, but to me it felt repetitive.

I also noticed an inconsistency in one scene with Sylvestris. He is in a dangerous situation and expresses concern about hurting his hands, as they're the most delicate part of him. Then, when someone approaches, he's described as putting his hands up to protect himself, which is illogical if that's the part of him that needs protecting. I'm sure it was just an oversight, but I noticed it.

In any case, it was an interesting book. It probably isn't for a lot of people, but if you like unique and complex fantasy it might be for you. Also, this might appeal to fans of horror that involves puppets (especially marionettes), but that is only a small part of the story so don't go into the book expecting it to be about that primarily.

lizshayne's review

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3.0

The weirdness of this book is beyond desciption. I had vague memories of reading it as a young teenager and completely not getting it. I reread it when I was somewhat older and realized that, while I had, in fact, missed some of the weirder gender-dynamic elements, my inability to figure out what was going on had nothing to do with age and everything to do with this incresibly confusing and, despite everything, oddly compelling (in the Kevin Sonney sense of the term) text. I kinda want to read it again and see if it makes more sense this time around.

xterminal's review

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1.0

Paul Witcover, Waking Beauty (Harper, 1997)

After three long months of wrestling with this monstrosity, I finally gave up. "Ponderous" is the best word to describe Witcover's style, which plods along with no consideration for the reader whatsoever, and little more for the characters therein. Things happen to the characters, all of which are described in lush detail, but somehow the detail never manages to convey any emotion whatsoever. If you've managed to learn to care about what happens to anyone in this book within the first fifty pages, you're doing a whole lot better than I did. And it never gets better. (zero, of course)
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