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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
I've been on a Catriona Ward kick, so it's been interesting to go back to her debut novel, which felt like exactly that. A little rough, certainly meandering, but the promise of future works shown through in what would eventually become, in my opinion, calling cards of Ward's work: expertise in nonlinear storytelling and truly surprising twists. As for Rawblood, I only recommend it if you are explicitly seeking out to read all of Ward's work. If not, when her second book Little Eve tightens her craft while providing the historic gothic meditations that are both centerpieces of her early work that l, frankly, I am glad Ward strayed from since as beautiful as the prose is, overall I believe it weakens the intrigue and slowly building terror that works so well (and now that I think of it, this historic yet muddling bent is also what I disliked most about Looking Glass Sound). From someone who has devoured all of Ward's books, my top recommendations are the Sundial and Last House on Needless Street, and Little Eve; Rawblood brings up the rear with Looking Glass Sound as meditations that meander for too long.
slow-paced
I refuse to DNF books because I feel like I at least owe it to these authors to finish their books. But MY GODS how I wish I would’ve DNFd this one.
I thought I would really enjoy it because I love gothic horror but I just found myself constantly wishing this story would just end. Got to the end and was relieved that it was finally over.
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
'The void is all there is. You gleam for a moment as you fall. You wink out in the black.'
Raised by her father in a strange, crooked house, Iris grows up believing her family is afflicted by a terrible disease, Horror Autoxicus, brought on by strong feelings. Cautioned to live carefully, Iris struggles to keep her hands off Tom the stable boy, and off her father's medical texts, and hurtles through her childhood to eventually discover she's been lied to all her life. There is no hereditary disease - but she soon learns that this does not mean there is no inheritance.
Ward's debut sits a little apart from her other works - this novel is dense, sprawling and gothic in the most traditional sense. The quality of her prose really shines here - the imagery is vivid and at times unexpected but always appropriate and evocative. Hopping between chronologies and first-person perspectives, each voice is distinct, telling us something about the speaker in the diction and sentence construction even before the narrative is accounted for.
This is doubtless the most difficult of Ward's novels - it feels old-school, trusts the reader with a lot, and I immensely enjoyed unravelling the yarn. That said, it isn't perfect, sometimes indulging in too much backstory, I think for the sake of tension, but at the expense of relevance. It leaves me wondering exactly what its thesis was, but this is more because it requires a little critical reflection, rather than because it lacks a thesis at all. It's certainly interested in the scientific ego and in medical abuse, but I think at its centre it's about the intertwining of love and cruelty, and what this says of love. It's about choosing how to get hurt, Orpheus turning, the narrow line between embrace and straitjacket.
I thought I was left wanting more of an explanation at the end, but as I write this I'm cognisant of all the thoughts this provoked, so maybe I didn't actually want that after all. Hard recommend for fans of really good ghost stories, steer clear if you're after a quick thrill.
Raised by her father in a strange, crooked house, Iris grows up believing her family is afflicted by a terrible disease, Horror Autoxicus, brought on by strong feelings. Cautioned to live carefully, Iris struggles to keep her hands off Tom the stable boy, and off her father's medical texts, and hurtles through her childhood to eventually discover she's been lied to all her life. There is no hereditary disease - but she soon learns that this does not mean there is no inheritance.
Ward's debut sits a little apart from her other works - this novel is dense, sprawling and gothic in the most traditional sense. The quality of her prose really shines here - the imagery is vivid and at times unexpected but always appropriate and evocative. Hopping between chronologies and first-person perspectives, each voice is distinct, telling us something about the speaker in the diction and sentence construction even before the narrative is accounted for.
This is doubtless the most difficult of Ward's novels - it feels old-school, trusts the reader with a lot, and I immensely enjoyed unravelling the yarn. That said, it isn't perfect, sometimes indulging in too much backstory, I think for the sake of tension, but at the expense of relevance. It leaves me wondering exactly what its thesis was, but this is more because it requires a little critical reflection, rather than because it lacks a thesis at all. It's certainly interested in the scientific ego and in medical abuse, but I think at its centre it's about the intertwining of love and cruelty, and what this says of love. It's about choosing how to get hurt, Orpheus turning, the narrow line between embrace and straitjacket.
I thought I was left wanting more of an explanation at the end, but as I write this I'm cognisant of all the thoughts this provoked, so maybe I didn't actually want that after all. Hard recommend for fans of really good ghost stories, steer clear if you're after a quick thrill.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Literally, what was even happening in this book? I made it to page 120 and was sick of having to google every freaking chapter to piece together what was happening. I loved the last house on needless street, so I thought I would love this one. Alas....
dark