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geraldinerowe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Saving Lucia is challenging and fascinating in equal parts. Challenging mainly because it is written in a somewhat Joycian style (the eponymous Lucia is James Joyce's daughter) with touches of Beckett and others thrown in for good measure. I appreciate that device, but the inclusion of speech marks would've halved the time it took me to read this short book. I'm still not entirely sure what it was trying to say. Who is to say who is mad and who is not? The appalling treatment of women throughout the history of psychiatric medicine? That the cure can cause the illness? Whatever its message, the whole is a fascinating flight of fancy (of both the author and the two main characters) based on real people and events. I can recommend reading the afterword for an interesting insight into the author's research.
tonyfrobisher's review
5.0
Let Madness Take Flight
Who is mad?
I took my time reading Saving Lucia. The narrative style is personal and has a unique voice that draws you in, as if a confidante.
Who is mad? A question that is illustrated in generous, expansive erudition. The stories of four women; enclosed, imprisoned, confined within in a mental asylum - primarily focusing on Violet Gibson and Lucia Joyce. Gibson who attempted to assassinate Mussolini and was locked away in the asylum subsequently and Joyce, the daughter of James Joyce.
The book unravels slowly, the questions posed about madness, mental illness, the judgement of society towards those deemed 'mad', the convenience of the time (the first part of last century) to have someone 'burdensome' committed as mad are all treated with sensitivity and honesty. A rare and enlightening treatise on madness, voiced by the afflicted...are they really mad?
Who is mad? Is it the commited or those who commit?
A novel of fiction, though centred on real people and events, Anna Vaught writes with a beautiful turn of phrase.
Take your time and read each page, savour the prose and take flight, join the birds that visit the mad. Perch on their arms and shoulders and stay a while.
A book very different to any I have read, and all the better for it. Highly recommended.
Who is mad?
I took my time reading Saving Lucia. The narrative style is personal and has a unique voice that draws you in, as if a confidante.
Who is mad? A question that is illustrated in generous, expansive erudition. The stories of four women; enclosed, imprisoned, confined within in a mental asylum - primarily focusing on Violet Gibson and Lucia Joyce. Gibson who attempted to assassinate Mussolini and was locked away in the asylum subsequently and Joyce, the daughter of James Joyce.
The book unravels slowly, the questions posed about madness, mental illness, the judgement of society towards those deemed 'mad', the convenience of the time (the first part of last century) to have someone 'burdensome' committed as mad are all treated with sensitivity and honesty. A rare and enlightening treatise on madness, voiced by the afflicted...are they really mad?
Who is mad? Is it the commited or those who commit?
A novel of fiction, though centred on real people and events, Anna Vaught writes with a beautiful turn of phrase.
Take your time and read each page, savour the prose and take flight, join the birds that visit the mad. Perch on their arms and shoulders and stay a while.
A book very different to any I have read, and all the better for it. Highly recommended.
thereadingparamedic's review
4.0
Anna Vaught is one of those writers who I am absolutely in awe of. I read the first page & was utterly transfixed by her prose. I’m always drawn to books about women, written by women, and Saving Lucia does not disappoint. Just brilliant.
grogu_djarin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
mcglassa's review
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
petekeeley's review
4.0
Another great book from Bluemoose. Such a fantastic. It left me wanting to find out more about the women involved. A unique and compelling book. Highly recommended
ladyr's review
3.0
This is a short novel at just over 180 pages but it has lovely big themes. It was fascinating to read about the lives of these four women and I found myself googling them as soon as I finished the book to learn more.
I’ve read several books about women in mental hospitals and it never continues to shock me about their conditions and treatment and how debasing much of it was.
The plot of this novel is brilliant and takes you on a wonderful journey without giving too much away.
I feel bad giving such a book 3 stars as the author is a talented writer and this is sure to get rave reviews.
However I personally struggled with the style of this book which - in an attempt to mirror the “madness” of the ladies and the flitting between past and present - has a very particular style which I found disruptive and confusing at times. This very much detracted from my overall enjoyment. I think it will very much appeal to other readers & I can see this book being a big literary success.
I’ve read several books about women in mental hospitals and it never continues to shock me about their conditions and treatment and how debasing much of it was.
The plot of this novel is brilliant and takes you on a wonderful journey without giving too much away.
I feel bad giving such a book 3 stars as the author is a talented writer and this is sure to get rave reviews.
However I personally struggled with the style of this book which - in an attempt to mirror the “madness” of the ladies and the flitting between past and present - has a very particular style which I found disruptive and confusing at times. This very much detracted from my overall enjoyment. I think it will very much appeal to other readers & I can see this book being a big literary success.
waregemma's review
2.0
I was so excited about the plot of this book. These are people in history I know so little about, the themes were interesting, I loved the asylum setting.
The way it was narrated though was so confusing. I appreciate that the author was showing us the glimpse of the tormented minds, but did she have to do it whilst making me feel insane also. I spent long stretches reading parts thinking it was Lucia's point of view, then she would make a reference to being in Rome and I would realise that in fact the "I" in this scenario was Violet, so I had to go back and start that section again. It took me so long to get through that I lost interest on several occasions and it would take me so long to get back on top of it once I had put it down.
In the end it felt a little too much like a chore.
The way it was narrated though was so confusing. I appreciate that the author was showing us the glimpse of the tormented minds, but did she have to do it whilst making me feel insane also. I spent long stretches reading parts thinking it was Lucia's point of view, then she would make a reference to being in Rome and I would realise that in fact the "I" in this scenario was Violet, so I had to go back and start that section again. It took me so long to get through that I lost interest on several occasions and it would take me so long to get back on top of it once I had put it down.
In the end it felt a little too much like a chore.
jane_davis's review
5.0
Those marvellous people at Bluemoose Books have an uncanny knack for spotting the genius of quirky gems, and this novel is no exception. I started reading with no preconceptions, unsure if what I was reading was magical realism. It didn’t matter. I was quickly captivated by the strength of the writing and happy to ‘trust’ the book’s narrator, Lucia, daughter of James Joyce.
The cast of characters should be enough to temp you: together with Lucia, there is The Honourable Violet Gibson, whose 1926 attempt to assassinate Mussolini failed; Anna O, who helped Freud develop his theory of psychoanalysis because of what she herself called The Talking Care; finally Blanche Whittman, a patient at the Salpêtrière, Paris, known as the ‘Queen of the Hysterics’ and used by Charcot, then, one of the most famous doctors in the world, to demonstrate the effects of hypnosis.
The fact that our narrator is a resident of St Andrew’s psychiatric hospital means that she has the potential to be the ultimate unreliable witness. She is clearly struggling to manage her churning thoughts, obsessions and compulsions (this often disrupts the narrative), but there is also clarity of thought (the sanity within the madness), friendship and moments of sheer joy. Of the underlying questions the book explores, perhaps one of the most significant is who defines madness and who gets to judge that someone else is mad? Was Violet Gibson any madder than Mussolini, or the mediums who conducted the séance the four attend, for example? The most poignant question, however, that the four have to grapple with is why family and friends – the people they thought loved them, the people they trusted – have apparently abandoned them.
If the author had given me speech marks (and I do think the book needed them), I’d have been a very happy bunny indeed.
The cast of characters should be enough to temp you: together with Lucia, there is The Honourable Violet Gibson, whose 1926 attempt to assassinate Mussolini failed; Anna O, who helped Freud develop his theory of psychoanalysis because of what she herself called The Talking Care; finally Blanche Whittman, a patient at the Salpêtrière, Paris, known as the ‘Queen of the Hysterics’ and used by Charcot, then, one of the most famous doctors in the world, to demonstrate the effects of hypnosis.
The fact that our narrator is a resident of St Andrew’s psychiatric hospital means that she has the potential to be the ultimate unreliable witness. She is clearly struggling to manage her churning thoughts, obsessions and compulsions (this often disrupts the narrative), but there is also clarity of thought (the sanity within the madness), friendship and moments of sheer joy. Of the underlying questions the book explores, perhaps one of the most significant is who defines madness and who gets to judge that someone else is mad? Was Violet Gibson any madder than Mussolini, or the mediums who conducted the séance the four attend, for example? The most poignant question, however, that the four have to grapple with is why family and friends – the people they thought loved them, the people they trusted – have apparently abandoned them.
If the author had given me speech marks (and I do think the book needed them), I’d have been a very happy bunny indeed.
kingjason's review
4.0
My review is on my blog, if you wanna read it then click on the link, I would copy it here but there are pictures and links.
https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/01/14/saving-lucia-by-anna-vaught/
https://felcherman.wordpress.com/2020/01/14/saving-lucia-by-anna-vaught/