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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
Most Ardently: A Pride & Prejudice Remix by Gabe Cole Novoa
1 review
readthesparrow's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Thank you to the publishers for providing an e-ARC through Netgalley!
REVIEW
I have conflicted feelings about Most Ardently.
On one hand, it was a quick, fluffy read, which did an excellent job at portraying the suffocating experience of being queer and closeted in an extremely hetero normative, misogynistic, gender essentialist society. I liked Oliver's relationship with Jane--I always love to see healthy, supportive sibling relationships in fiction.
The narrative is, at its core, YA wish fulfillment featuring a gay trans man x Pride and Prejudice. It's an easy, quick read.
Additionally, as someone who has no strong feelings about the Pride and Prejudice novel, nor has watched the 2005 movie, I still enjoyed the book as I read it and feel that, in this particular case, having read the original brought very little extra to the retelling reading experience. So this can totally be read without having read the original.
On the other hand, once I thought about the narrative beyond that very surface level wish fulfillment, I found to have several problems with Most Ardently.
I'll get the less in-depth one out of the way first.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the last quarter of the book feels very rushed. The ending is a happy one, yes, but I personally found it unfulfilling due to how rushed it was. For example,Mrs. Bennet--despite being extremely gender essentialist throughout the novel and disapproving of Oliver wearing trousers--immediately turns around and not only fully accepts but fully understands the concept of Oliver being a man. I'm not saying she should have rejected Oliver or not been accepting, but the choice to felt in opposition to her character. As a queer person, I would have liked to see a more realistic moment of an accepting but uneducated parent, rather than the sudden, perfect about heel to being cool with Oliver not being a woman that we got.
The more in-depth issue I have has to do with how the narrative handles gender.
First, most of the female characters essentially stop being characters at all. The sisters (beside Jane) barely exist, and Mrs. Bennet is even more shallow and annoying than she is in the original novel. Oliver's friendship with Charlotte, as discussed more in-depth below, is purely a device to have a side conflict.
Pride and Prejudice is such an iconic novel because of its sharp, witty social critique. While this novel retains most of the wit from the original, particularly in the dialogue, it only offers social critique on a very basic surface level: misogyny bad, queer people should be able to be happy.
There are moments where the novel begins to approach that social critique. Conversations between Oliver and his best friend, Charlotte, explore what it means to be a queer AFAB person in this society.
Charlotte's position is that marriage is a matter of survival, especially for people who are of a lower social class, and that marriage is an option that Oliver may eventually have to consider. Oliver's position is that marriage would be suffocating for him, and that entering a marriage would not be survival but death.
Both of these stances are valid. As a queer person, I am intimately aware that choices about gender expression, marriage, and financial support often have to be made as a question of survival, and the answer to those questions differ depending on the person. On the other hand, queer people do deserve joy and acceptance, and shouldn't have to hide themselves simply just to survive. However, deciding to come out and choose "authenticity" is not an option for many, many people.
However, the novel does not fully explore this dichotomy in a nuanced, caring way.
This conflict comes to a head in an argument between the two when Charlotte tells him that she is marrying Collins. (Quote taken from the e-ARC copy. May differ in final version.)
REVIEW
I have conflicted feelings about Most Ardently.
On one hand, it was a quick, fluffy read, which did an excellent job at portraying the suffocating experience of being queer and closeted in an extremely hetero normative, misogynistic, gender essentialist society. I liked Oliver's relationship with Jane--I always love to see healthy, supportive sibling relationships in fiction.
The narrative is, at its core, YA wish fulfillment featuring a gay trans man x Pride and Prejudice. It's an easy, quick read.
Additionally, as someone who has no strong feelings about the Pride and Prejudice novel, nor has watched the 2005 movie, I still enjoyed the book as I read it and feel that, in this particular case, having read the original brought very little extra to the retelling reading experience. So this can totally be read without having read the original.
On the other hand, once I thought about the narrative beyond that very surface level wish fulfillment, I found to have several problems with Most Ardently.
I'll get the less in-depth one out of the way first.
As other reviewers have pointed out, the last quarter of the book feels very rushed. The ending is a happy one, yes, but I personally found it unfulfilling due to how rushed it was. For example,
The more in-depth issue I have has to do with how the narrative handles gender.
First, most of the female characters essentially stop being characters at all. The sisters (beside Jane) barely exist, and Mrs. Bennet is even more shallow and annoying than she is in the original novel. Oliver's friendship with Charlotte, as discussed more in-depth below, is purely a device to have a side conflict.
Pride and Prejudice is such an iconic novel because of its sharp, witty social critique. While this novel retains most of the wit from the original, particularly in the dialogue, it only offers social critique on a very basic surface level: misogyny bad, queer people should be able to be happy.
There are moments where the novel begins to approach that social critique. Conversations between Oliver and his best friend, Charlotte, explore what it means to be a queer AFAB person in this society.
Charlotte's position is that marriage is a matter of survival, especially for people who are of a lower social class, and that marriage is an option that Oliver may eventually have to consider. Oliver's position is that marriage would be suffocating for him, and that entering a marriage would not be survival but death.
Both of these stances are valid. As a queer person, I am intimately aware that choices about gender expression, marriage, and financial support often have to be made as a question of survival, and the answer to those questions differ depending on the person. On the other hand, queer people do deserve joy and acceptance, and shouldn't have to hide themselves simply just to survive. However, deciding to come out and choose "authenticity" is not an option for many, many people.
However, the novel does not fully explore this dichotomy in a nuanced, caring way.
This conflict comes to a head in an argument between the two when Charlotte tells him that she is marrying Collins. (Quote taken from the e-ARC copy. May differ in final version.)
"But you aren't friends with Lu!" Oliver protested. "How will you ever be happy pretending to love someone you never could? You're in love with Lu, not Collins!"
"But I can't marry Lu, can I?!" Charlotte cried. Oliver's mouth snapped closed as his friend wiped at her glassy eyes. He'd never seen Charlotte cry before, and he'd certainly never imagined the first time would be because of him.
"Of course I would marry Lu if could, Oliver, but it's impossible!" she went on. "And even without marriage—which, by the way, would be crushing to me in and of itself—we'd never survive on our own. I can't—" Her voice tightened with emotion, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I can't live in a fantasy that will never happen. It's time to grow up. This is the best I could possibly hope for."
Oliver was frozen, his friend's pain blazing hot in his chest, mingling with his own. It wasn't until he tried to speak that he realized his own voice was strangled with the tears he was fighting to keep at bay. "I can't accept that," he said. "I refuse to settle for a future that will deny me the happiness I deserve-the happiness we both deserve."
"Then don't," Charlotte said, her voice frosting over. "But if it never comes to pass, don't say I didn't warn you."
(Emphasis mine)
Charlotte has to make a horrible, difficult choice--the best choice she can make, considering her position.
After the wedding, Oliver visits Charlotte; during this visit Charlotte says that
In other words, once that specific argument between them is over, the narrative washes its hands of her. The reality of Charlotte's difficult choice, the danger it inherently puts her in, and
That last point also leads me into another, minor complaint; Oliver is extremely self-centered, in a way that seems unintended. This makes him extremely dislikable in moments when we are supposed to empathize with him (see discussion re: Charlotte).
The ending also does not reckon with or consider the power Oliver now holds as a man, nor does its characters actively challenge gender roles. For example, the fact that Oliver can now inherit property is a gender-affirming moment, not a horrifying reflection of misogyny. Oliver does not consider how he can use his manhood to help those around him, or the new power it gives him over his sisters and how that may change his relationship with them.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimately, Most Ardently is just fine and that's it. Inoffensive if you don't think about it and might hit that feel-good wish fulfillment vibe for some readers. However, if you want a well-written woman or a thoughtful, nuanced exploration of queerness, you'll need to look somewhere else.
Thank you again to the publishers for the e-ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Homophobia, and Lesbophobia
The suicidal thoughts never become planning or specific ideation.
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