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bloodmaarked's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Infertility, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Rape, Car accident, Child death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Self harm
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Sexual content, and Grief
for the car accident warning: obviously, there were no cars in 1840s Britain! but there was an accident with a horse and carriage which was quite shocking. also for the death of parent warning: there are several, but they all happen off-page. for drug abuse: several people are drugged multiple times against their will. for rape: a woman is "medically" examined internally while unconscious (and unconsenting). it isn't sexual but she is essentially raped.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
swalk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- 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
4.5
Set in the Victorian era - 1840, when women were second class citizens and poverty levels were high, this tale follows the frustrating lives of four women after a winged woman is dragged from the Thames. A wonderfully dark historical fiction, with a sprinkling of magical realism, the slowly interlinking tales really bind this narrative together. (I have given a brief outline of each woman below, as it was a little hard to remember each at first).
Natalia - Scottish traveller and gifted storyteller who journeys by ship to London after being disowned by her family.
Etta - A talented and entirely unappreciated botanist, who lives with her cruel half brother after her fathers demise.
Mary - An excellent writer, who lives with her uncle Joss, a grieving drunk, but a successful journalist whom she often covers for when he is in a drunken stupor.
Annie - Skilled artist and lonely wife of Edward - an ambitious surgeon who is desperate for prowess and status as he overlooks his wife’s sadness as they struggle with infertility.
This really is a brilliant and beautiful book, it took me about 25% to get into it properly, but thoroughly worth it as I couldn’t stop listening after that.
CW - Dissection, vivisection, amputation, graphic, infertility
Natalia - Scottish traveller and gifted storyteller who journeys by ship to London after being disowned by her family.
Etta - A talented and entirely unappreciated botanist, who lives with her cruel half brother after her fathers demise.
Mary - An excellent writer, who lives with her uncle Joss, a grieving drunk, but a successful journalist whom she often covers for when he is in a drunken stupor.
Annie - Skilled artist and lonely wife of Edward - an ambitious surgeon who is desperate for prowess and status as he overlooks his wife’s sadness as they struggle with infertility.
This really is a brilliant and beautiful book, it took me about 25% to get into it properly, but thoroughly worth it as I couldn’t stop listening after that.
CW - Dissection, vivisection, amputation, graphic, infertility
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Body horror
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Sexism
Minor: Classism, Alcoholism, and Fire/Fire injury
ellereadsbookslike's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
~Short Synopsis~
October 1840. A storyteller, A botanist, A journalist, An artist. One man's obsession with angels will bring 4 very different women together.
~Review~
I don't want to mention much about plot as the mystery is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book and I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of that. It is multiple POV with 5 different narrators and it did take me while to remember everyone and to understand what was going on. But after a while things really started to click and I felt myself getting more and more hooked. The book also has very short and snappy chapters which helps keep the pace going but that also may be why it took me awhile to feel like I knew each character.
I enjoyed the really quite sinister atmosphere that Hyder creates and there was something very gothic about the feel of it. I think the writing style was my favourite thing about this book. It's beautifully descriptive and I loved the scenes where we really explored the characters' relationship with nature and the wild.
A feminist historical fiction with elements of magical realism that is perfect for fans of The Winter Garden and The Miniaturist.
October 1840. A storyteller, A botanist, A journalist, An artist. One man's obsession with angels will bring 4 very different women together.
~Review~
I don't want to mention much about plot as the mystery is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book and I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of that. It is multiple POV with 5 different narrators and it did take me while to remember everyone and to understand what was going on. But after a while things really started to click and I felt myself getting more and more hooked. The book also has very short and snappy chapters which helps keep the pace going but that also may be why it took me awhile to feel like I knew each character.
I enjoyed the really quite sinister atmosphere that Hyder creates and there was something very gothic about the feel of it. I think the writing style was my favourite thing about this book. It's beautifully descriptive and I loved the scenes where we really explored the characters' relationship with nature and the wild.
A feminist historical fiction with elements of magical realism that is perfect for fans of The Winter Garden and The Miniaturist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
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