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apostrophen's review
5.0
I've never tried to write historical fiction. The closest I've come is "Elsewhen," which kinda-sorta takes place post World War II, but in a place that isn't quite real, and is being visited by someone from today. I did do research for it - I had to figure out what the former train station looked like and how it operated in Ottawa before being torn out before the centennial, and I did my best to get the uniform correct, and the build of the train at the time, but that was about it. It was recent enough history that I didn't need a new lexicon. Also, like I said, it wasn't really the past, more like a memory.
I think historical fiction authors have an extra weight on the difficulty of writing. The adage "show, don't tell" becomes all the more difficult - it's not like a character would ever think to herself in descriptive detail about the things she was doing. It would make no sense for a contemporary story to explain all the steps (and reasons and customs) behind brewing up a cafe au lait, and it would bore the reader. But in historical fiction, there's a finer line to walk. If I have no idea what something is, there has to be enough context and hints tucked in the work for me to suss it out, without breaking the narrative flow or descending to outright instruction.
I don't envy those who work to achieve that balance, but I sure enjoy reading the results.
"A Slender Tether (part I)," by Jess Wells
I'm cheating a little for today's Short Stories 365 in that the first part of A Slender Tether is a novella than a short story, but it's my blog, so I'll bust my own rules as often as I'd like. Besides, it's still short(er) fiction, and that was the goal in having these daily discussions. Also, I finished part one a few minutes ago, and I need to gush.
This first part of the book is about Christine de Pizan, a woman who (from the post-script) "was Europe's first woman known to have earned her living as a writer." What Wells does so cleverly, though, is not tell us the story of Christine's success, but her agonies that led up to her even having the chance to begin to fulfill that achievement. Christine is a woman of passions - it is so obvious that she is intelligent and just wants to be able to learn and read and display her talent (and, perhaps, her arrogance), but this is a time and place (the medieval era) that these things are not done.
Her mother makes a remarkable foil in this piece - on the one hand I wanted to scream at the mother who is constantly working against Christine's desires to be a scribe, to write, to do anything that allows her to be a scholar, but on the other hand this is exactly what her mother should do, from a historical context. Her mother wants her daughter to be successful and that absolutely doesn't equal being a scholar. It's wonderfully done: the two women are a perfect pair, each trying to be the thing that they feel is right at a time when the options are so incredibly limited.
Moreover, that balance I mentioned between "show and tell" is perfect. In context, the whole of the story makes sense, even when I didn't have a real grasp on terms (or, more often, roles or vocations). The prose skillfully gives enough detail to clue in the reader without knocking the narrative aside.
Christine de Pizan is a fantastic character, and one you can tell Wells has a great deal of respect for. Within the historical documents and what pieces of the past that could be found, Wells has spun this woman's tale into an intriguing and engrossing story that will set readers seeking more.
"A Slender Tether (part II)," by Jess Wells
If I was cheating a little yesterday in this Short Stories 365 project by saying that the first part of A Slender Tether falls under my scope, I'm on firmer ground today with part two. This smaller second tale tucked between the other stories is "The Gong Farmer's Tale" and it has all the strengths I mentioned yesterday - Wells has an incredible ability to teach without diatribe, tells a wickedly engrossing tale full of empathy (and, in this case, more than a little sympathy), and knows her history cold.
And I do mean cold.
This story, of the "Little Ice Age" that hit Europe in the medieval era (about which I knew nothing), is done deftly. On the surface this is the story of a doctor who loses his way and - perhaps - might find it again, but it's also a much deeper tale about how something can take on a life of its own, and how legends are made, built, and cherished from roots that could be completely false.
Jess Wells is just bloody brilliant. Go. Buy. Read.
"A Slender Tether (Part III)," by Jess Wells
The third piece of A Slender Tether - "The Vat-Man's Promise" - once again lets Wells shine at the storytelling I'm realizing she makes seem to effortless: history, living and breathing in the form of captivating characters and richly themed narrative. This is, once again, a time in Europe about which I know nearly nothing, but Wells provides all I needed to immerse myself completely in the story with gentle cues from context and natural conversations.
The third tale is one of desperation and desire to be free and independent - a theme strong through all the three tales - but this time in the form of a woman from a once-wealthy family who knows her brother is setting her up to be married off to ensure a better future for the (now failing) family shipping business. In another fashion, there is a man who runs a paper-making mill, and he finds his own desperation after an accident leaves his vision severely impaired - and a paper-maker is only as good as his eye for detail. A third character - a huntsman - is left with an injured dog, and he too now faces failure. Last, a singer whose looks are failing him and who is quick approaching having no coin at all is present for a terrible accident - or perhaps an opportunity. These vastly different people combine in a unique way, and bluffs, lies, and selfish-acts create new paths for all involved. Against the backdrop of a time where all your choices seem almost made from birth, the women especially in Wells' stories are the ones who fight hardest to find an option that will set their life in their own hands.
If you like historical fiction even a bit, you owe it to yourself to grab this book. If you've never tried historical fiction, I daresay Jess Wells could market herself as the gateway drug for readers. She is accessible without sacrificing the honesty and historical accuracy, and never falls into the trap of rote retelling. History breathes in her words.
I think historical fiction authors have an extra weight on the difficulty of writing. The adage "show, don't tell" becomes all the more difficult - it's not like a character would ever think to herself in descriptive detail about the things she was doing. It would make no sense for a contemporary story to explain all the steps (and reasons and customs) behind brewing up a cafe au lait, and it would bore the reader. But in historical fiction, there's a finer line to walk. If I have no idea what something is, there has to be enough context and hints tucked in the work for me to suss it out, without breaking the narrative flow or descending to outright instruction.
I don't envy those who work to achieve that balance, but I sure enjoy reading the results.
"A Slender Tether (part I)," by Jess Wells
I'm cheating a little for today's Short Stories 365 in that the first part of A Slender Tether is a novella than a short story, but it's my blog, so I'll bust my own rules as often as I'd like. Besides, it's still short(er) fiction, and that was the goal in having these daily discussions. Also, I finished part one a few minutes ago, and I need to gush.
This first part of the book is about Christine de Pizan, a woman who (from the post-script) "was Europe's first woman known to have earned her living as a writer." What Wells does so cleverly, though, is not tell us the story of Christine's success, but her agonies that led up to her even having the chance to begin to fulfill that achievement. Christine is a woman of passions - it is so obvious that she is intelligent and just wants to be able to learn and read and display her talent (and, perhaps, her arrogance), but this is a time and place (the medieval era) that these things are not done.
Her mother makes a remarkable foil in this piece - on the one hand I wanted to scream at the mother who is constantly working against Christine's desires to be a scribe, to write, to do anything that allows her to be a scholar, but on the other hand this is exactly what her mother should do, from a historical context. Her mother wants her daughter to be successful and that absolutely doesn't equal being a scholar. It's wonderfully done: the two women are a perfect pair, each trying to be the thing that they feel is right at a time when the options are so incredibly limited.
Moreover, that balance I mentioned between "show and tell" is perfect. In context, the whole of the story makes sense, even when I didn't have a real grasp on terms (or, more often, roles or vocations). The prose skillfully gives enough detail to clue in the reader without knocking the narrative aside.
Christine de Pizan is a fantastic character, and one you can tell Wells has a great deal of respect for. Within the historical documents and what pieces of the past that could be found, Wells has spun this woman's tale into an intriguing and engrossing story that will set readers seeking more.
"A Slender Tether (part II)," by Jess Wells
If I was cheating a little yesterday in this Short Stories 365 project by saying that the first part of A Slender Tether falls under my scope, I'm on firmer ground today with part two. This smaller second tale tucked between the other stories is "The Gong Farmer's Tale" and it has all the strengths I mentioned yesterday - Wells has an incredible ability to teach without diatribe, tells a wickedly engrossing tale full of empathy (and, in this case, more than a little sympathy), and knows her history cold.
And I do mean cold.
This story, of the "Little Ice Age" that hit Europe in the medieval era (about which I knew nothing), is done deftly. On the surface this is the story of a doctor who loses his way and - perhaps - might find it again, but it's also a much deeper tale about how something can take on a life of its own, and how legends are made, built, and cherished from roots that could be completely false.
Jess Wells is just bloody brilliant. Go. Buy. Read.
"A Slender Tether (Part III)," by Jess Wells
The third piece of A Slender Tether - "The Vat-Man's Promise" - once again lets Wells shine at the storytelling I'm realizing she makes seem to effortless: history, living and breathing in the form of captivating characters and richly themed narrative. This is, once again, a time in Europe about which I know nearly nothing, but Wells provides all I needed to immerse myself completely in the story with gentle cues from context and natural conversations.
The third tale is one of desperation and desire to be free and independent - a theme strong through all the three tales - but this time in the form of a woman from a once-wealthy family who knows her brother is setting her up to be married off to ensure a better future for the (now failing) family shipping business. In another fashion, there is a man who runs a paper-making mill, and he finds his own desperation after an accident leaves his vision severely impaired - and a paper-maker is only as good as his eye for detail. A third character - a huntsman - is left with an injured dog, and he too now faces failure. Last, a singer whose looks are failing him and who is quick approaching having no coin at all is present for a terrible accident - or perhaps an opportunity. These vastly different people combine in a unique way, and bluffs, lies, and selfish-acts create new paths for all involved. Against the backdrop of a time where all your choices seem almost made from birth, the women especially in Wells' stories are the ones who fight hardest to find an option that will set their life in their own hands.
If you like historical fiction even a bit, you owe it to yourself to grab this book. If you've never tried historical fiction, I daresay Jess Wells could market herself as the gateway drug for readers. She is accessible without sacrificing the honesty and historical accuracy, and never falls into the trap of rote retelling. History breathes in her words.
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