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vigil's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
i picked this up on a whim because i liked the cover at the library, and ultimately i'm glad that i did.
i really enjoyed the prose and atmosphere of the book, so much so that despite my (currently in flux) feelings about the ending i'm totally interested in picking up another book from her. going into this, my only awareness of the story was the basic description on the backcover, (sidenote: this cover is absolutely stunning on both sides) a modern fairytale about a mother attempting to retrieve her daughter. as the narrative moved forward, it began to weave in other myths and folklore, to varying degrees of success, but in regards to its advertised and original intention, i think it did it very well.
i was almost immediately pulled in by the hazy atmosphere of the story, befitting both the fairytale aspect, and the character one, as fay is lost in her own grief. i would have liked to see more urgency regarding that in the story, as i don't know if i was feeling my own anticipation, or something actually being built into the story. considering the ending, i'm leaning towards the former. i enjoyed fay as a character, but the writing for her made her come across much younger than she actually was at times. unfortunately, i felt like she was the one character that was fleshed out the most, and everyone more or less existing as plot devicesor as the vehicle to provide the twist ending.
i think this idea and its execution was inventive and very intriguing, but is cramped by the lack of narrative space. personally speaking, i think making this book longer would've given it the room it needed to breathe. especially in regard to the twist ending, which in my opinion, is already somewhat odd, but bogged down by how vague, abrupt, short, and thus unsatisfying it is. if you can't figure out a way to properly justify and explain a twist, especially in an ending, its probably cheap, and better left behind. this ending especially did not seem to line up with the narrative or protagonist that we've been getting familiar with.i mean. if you establish a character willing to lose every aspect of herself for her daughter, why would you have her willing stay with the man who murdered her, with no established build up? i understood the thematic purpose of the final epilogue, but i think this book suffered from more symbolism than sense.
i really enjoyed the prose and atmosphere of the book, so much so that despite my (currently in flux) feelings about the ending i'm totally interested in picking up another book from her. going into this, my only awareness of the story was the basic description on the backcover, (sidenote: this cover is absolutely stunning on both sides) a modern fairytale about a mother attempting to retrieve her daughter. as the narrative moved forward, it began to weave in other myths and folklore, to varying degrees of success, but in regards to its advertised and original intention, i think it did it very well.
i was almost immediately pulled in by the hazy atmosphere of the story, befitting both the fairytale aspect, and the character one, as fay is lost in her own grief. i would have liked to see more urgency regarding that in the story, as i don't know if i was feeling my own anticipation, or something actually being built into the story. considering the ending, i'm leaning towards the former. i enjoyed fay as a character, but the writing for her made her come across much younger than she actually was at times. unfortunately, i felt like she was the one character that was fleshed out the most, and everyone more or less existing as plot devices
i think this idea and its execution was inventive and very intriguing, but is cramped by the lack of narrative space. personally speaking, i think making this book longer would've given it the room it needed to breathe. especially in regard to the twist ending, which in my opinion, is already somewhat odd, but bogged down by how vague, abrupt, short, and thus unsatisfying it is. if you can't figure out a way to properly justify and explain a twist, especially in an ending, its probably cheap, and better left behind. this ending especially did not seem to line up with the narrative or protagonist that we've been getting familiar with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicide, and Mental illness
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