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ninjamuse's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Racism, Confinement, Medical content, and Animal death
bandysbooks's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Have you ever read a book and felt completely unsure about what you just read? That's sort of how I'm feeling after reading The Gifts. This book is a mix of historical fiction and fantasy that follows several different women in 1800s England as they confront societal views and pressures. I wanted to love this as it has many of my favorite things...fantasy, historical fiction, women confronting the patriarchy, etc., but something about it just didn't work as well as I'd hoped.
Let me start with the positives....
I really enjoyed the mix of science and religion in this book. We have a villain who is a scientific mind, but becomes convinced that God is sending him signs. The more he comes to believe that he's divinely chosen, the more he loses sight of logic and his morality. I thought that was explored well and in some ways relevant to some of the conflicts in the world today.
I also appreciated the look at women's roles in society. We have four strong, smart women who are basically held captive, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally, by society's wants and needs. I thought this depiction was quite accurate to the times.
I also commend the author for coming up with a unique way to discuss medical development and experimentation in the 1800s. This is a concept that is explored a lot (The Way of All Flesh and Anatomy come to mind as recent examples), but this book takes a completely different approach. I didn't always love the choices the author made, but she certainly can't be accused of repeating previous narratives.
That said, there was a lot that didn't work for me..
While I love the idea of having four different women narrating the story, I felt that it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. Occasionally, the POVs sound too similar and at times it made the story a bit clunky.
There are some pretty graphic depictions of animal abuse and experimentation on a dog. I understand that that might be authentic to the times that this book is set in, but it sort of crops up (at least the first time) with zero warning. I'm not even someone who is particularly squeamish, but had I known that scene was coming I'd have skipped over it. While I get that the author was trying to show who this scientist was ethically, I don't really think such detailed scenes of animal cruelty were necessary. I think it was used for shock value more than anything.
The elements of magical realism (the women sprouting angel wings) were interesting, but only explained in the vaguest of possible ways. There was some insinuation that the wings crop up due to extreme emotional duress, but it's never explained how or why. Is this an act of God? Is this a genetic anomaly? Why does it only happen to some women instead of all women who have suffered severe trauma? I wish the book had gone further in explaining what was happening.
The previous paragraph is quite funny when you consider that otherwise, the telling and explaining was quite heavy handed. We are spoon fed a lot of details about the setting, the characters, and the villain. It's only when it comes to the magical realism that the flow of information dries up. This is one of those cases of the book telling not showing overall.
And the conclusion...I got through the entirety of this book hoping that something profound would happen at the end to save it, but it was a fade to black for the most part. It sort of felt like the author was unsure of how to explain this magical element, so she just avoided it by giving us a vague ending.
All in all, if you enjoy historical fiction about the 1800s with magical realism elements, you might enjoy this one.
*Thank you to Netgalley, Liz Hyder, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the E-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
Let me start with the positives....
I really enjoyed the mix of science and religion in this book. We have a villain who is a scientific mind, but becomes convinced that God is sending him signs. The more he comes to believe that he's divinely chosen, the more he loses sight of logic and his morality. I thought that was explored well and in some ways relevant to some of the conflicts in the world today.
I also appreciated the look at women's roles in society. We have four strong, smart women who are basically held captive, sometimes figuratively and sometimes literally, by society's wants and needs. I thought this depiction was quite accurate to the times.
I also commend the author for coming up with a unique way to discuss medical development and experimentation in the 1800s. This is a concept that is explored a lot (The Way of All Flesh and Anatomy come to mind as recent examples), but this book takes a completely different approach. I didn't always love the choices the author made, but she certainly can't be accused of repeating previous narratives.
That said, there was a lot that didn't work for me..
While I love the idea of having four different women narrating the story, I felt that it wasn't executed as well as it could have been. Occasionally, the POVs sound too similar and at times it made the story a bit clunky.
There are some pretty graphic depictions of animal abuse and experimentation on a dog. I understand that that might be authentic to the times that this book is set in, but it sort of crops up (at least the first time) with zero warning. I'm not even someone who is particularly squeamish, but had I known that scene was coming I'd have skipped over it. While I get that the author was trying to show who this scientist was ethically, I don't really think such detailed scenes of animal cruelty were necessary. I think it was used for shock value more than anything.
The elements of magical realism (the women sprouting angel wings) were interesting, but only explained in the vaguest of possible ways. There was some insinuation that the wings crop up due to extreme emotional duress, but it's never explained how or why. Is this an act of God? Is this a genetic anomaly? Why does it only happen to some women instead of all women who have suffered severe trauma? I wish the book had gone further in explaining what was happening.
The previous paragraph is quite funny when you consider that otherwise, the telling and explaining was quite heavy handed. We are spoon fed a lot of details about the setting, the characters, and the villain. It's only when it comes to the magical realism that the flow of information dries up. This is one of those cases of the book telling not showing overall.
And the conclusion...I got through the entirety of this book hoping that something profound would happen at the end to save it, but it was a fade to black for the most part. It sort of felt like the author was unsure of how to explain this magical element, so she just avoided it by giving us a vague ending.
All in all, if you enjoy historical fiction about the 1800s with magical realism elements, you might enjoy this one.
*Thank you to Netgalley, Liz Hyder, and Sourcebooks Landmark for the E-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Body horror, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Blood, Trafficking, Death, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, and Torture
emily_bg's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A compelling novel, it is a blend of historical and fantasy.
The novel follows the stories of four women Etta, Natalya, Annie, and Mary. Four very different women all brought together.
I absolutely loved this novel
The novel follows the stories of four women Etta, Natalya, Annie, and Mary. Four very different women all brought together.
I absolutely loved this novel
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Animal cruelty, and Infertility
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage
There are some graphic descriptions that some people might find upsettingamylynnknitsreads's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Animal cruelty, and Kidnapping
what_heather_loves's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"'Perhaps', Natalya says, feeling the feathers between her fingers...'Perhaps it is the wildness within us that made us grow our wings. Perhaps it is because we see the world around us so clearly. Because we see it for what it is. A miracle of its own making. Wondrous.' 'Perhaps,' whispers Etta...'Perhaps,' she repeats softly. 'And perhaps the world is not ready for women such as us. Not yet.'"
October 1840 and a miracle, something wondrous, is happening in Shropshire and in London, as two, spirited but very different women develop angel's wings. First Etta, a mixed-race, intelligent, wealthy but outcast aspiring botanist near Ludlow and homeless, storyteller Natalya from Orkney, floundering in London. Two more women slowly become involved, first young aspiring journalist Mary, who lives in poverty with Uncle Jos, grieving the loss of his partner and hoping for love with family friend, Richard. Then kind, painter Annie, lost in her marriage to arrogant and deluded, money- and fame-hungry, 'bodysnatcher' surgeon, Edward, who believes he is doing God's work. As news spreadinf of 'The Angel of the Thames' slowly brings the women's tales together, will the cause of the wings be revealed and will the women find safety and acceptance?
With four protagonists and an ambitious plot, this is a complex, fantastical and extraordinary tale of hope and determination. Each woman has their own chapters, which include the same hand-drawn image at the top, an image that represents them and there are other pencil images throughout the book. I struggled to get into the book initially, because it felt slow and because of the number of protagonists with only a short chapter before moving onto another, but it is worth sticking with. The strong female characters have much adversity, whether racism, poverty or misogyny, which they overcome together with intelligence and sheer determination, following their gut instincts to find their own place in a controlling and patriarchal society. Complex, wondrous and feminist, fans of historical fiction and fantasy will be drawn into the world the author has created.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Kidnapping
Moderate: Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, and Medical content
Minor: Racism
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