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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Blue Maiden by Anna Noyes and narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan is a stunning audiobook that made my heart ache from start to finish. It was not just the prose, or the storyline, but the gorgeous, emotive narration of Alyssa Bresnahahn
Feeling more like supernatural/ fantasy crossover, this historical fiction is enjoyable, unique in its geography, characters and era. I found myself listening closely, not wanting to miss anything and gripped by the dark mystery of the story
In a time of accussations of witchcraft and community strictures, two sisters are coming of age. The daughters of Pastor Silas, are as different as chalk and cheese and their mother gone. Life is routine until a stranger arrives and turns their existence on its head
A stunning Nordic gothic novel
Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media | Recorded Books, the author Anna Noyes and narrator Alyssa Bresnahan for this outstanding ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
Feeling more like supernatural/ fantasy crossover, this historical fiction is enjoyable, unique in its geography, characters and era. I found myself listening closely, not wanting to miss anything and gripped by the dark mystery of the story
In a time of accussations of witchcraft and community strictures, two sisters are coming of age. The daughters of Pastor Silas, are as different as chalk and cheese and their mother gone. Life is routine until a stranger arrives and turns their existence on its head
A stunning Nordic gothic novel
Thank you to Netgalley, RB Media | Recorded Books, the author Anna Noyes and narrator Alyssa Bresnahan for this outstanding ALC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own
I really thought I would enjoy this read but I think the Audio version is just not translating well. The narrator sounds robotic and this does not help the book at all. I very rarely do not finish a book, especially on audio but I just couldn't keep going.
Maybe e reader/physical read might have been different.
Thanks Net Galley for an advance copy.
Maybe e reader/physical read might have been different.
Thanks Net Galley for an advance copy.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After the death of their mother Beata "Bae" and her older sister are two spirits left to be cultivated by the physical and philosophical nature of their small island home. Their father, the local pastor, frequently locked away in his ruminations is determined to keep the memories of their mother locked up as tightly as her abandoned bedroom. A door is such a flimsy barrier for willful girls. The sisters scramble to latch onto the bits and pieces of history that's left in her wake. Bae constantly thirsts for stories if her mother, of their local lore, of the things that we only learn from the world around us. Guided by Ulrika's tales and a precious heirloom, the sisters try to navigate the social system they've been cast to. As the seasons change so do the sisters, drifting down their own paths, as they map out their own mark on this land. Some things that bloom are familiar to the seemingly timeless patterns the off cast community has maintained. But some truths of nature, of those hidden secrets revealed, are bound to create their own unique impressions.
This novel of tribute to the consistencies and contradictions that exist concurrently in nature, personality, stories, and across time. There is a slow pace to the narrative that echoes the gradual shifts in the land itself. Crops, businesses, natures, faces, some have been found on the island since the opening generation. Some have cycled out and returned. Some are planted. There isn't an element to this story that isn't touched by this pattern and the rhythm of the land even if isn't directly correlated.
The pastor, pious and dedicated to his profession and faith, is a proponent of doctors and science. Yet he insists in the importance of very traditional roles for his daughters. Being the elder sister and oldest women, Ulrika is left with a household on her shoulders. She is the one set to spinning tales and holding moral for her sister and father instead of flourishing in her own adventures --or so it seems. He is a man who aims to lead by example, but sometimes is reluctant in this. where as other characters in this profession are usually seen as cold, callous, and stringent for the most part he seems pliant and a victim of his own frailities. Though he is not without his tempers and own shadows.
To its credit, this novel has a writing style that is concise and yet seems incredibly lyrical. There is a very tactile nature to the sentences building a sturdy image and atmosphere. The delivery of the narrative by Alyssa Bresnahan is one that is not quiet haunting but sticky and luring, perfect for a novel that tries to center itself around generational stories that pass core morals from one age to another. It also has a complex web of character traits that can pull the reader one way and the other when they're regarding how they feel about any of our players.
In spite of this, "The Blue Maiden" feels rather average. While it doesn't feel like the intent, there are no incredibly unique. Its narrative pieces are haphazardly strewn about. It is more of a quick study, a cartoon or abstract, instead of a photo-realistic rendering.
Starting out as an exploration of local myth, of childlike faith, belief in adventure and the ability of sheer will to create, it fizzles with the early adulthood of the sisters to begin a more domestic drama. There is an element of mental health that's role is never clearly defined. I had anticipated it might be this confusion, this envisioning, that would bring the characters back to the original tale. Perhaps cause this story to lean to magical realism and be a metaphor that ties together the tone of the first half to the conclusion. The abrupt shift to an ending, while there is some cylindrical resonance, leaves this feeling incomplete.
What was most frustrating was the shift in attitude between the sisters. While there is a traumatic event that shakes Bae's identity, this later takes form in deep seeded resentments that there were no inclinations of as a child. While it would have caused reveals too soon, I also felt myself craving more of Ulrika's story and that of their local naturalist and acquaintance of their mother, Bruna. It was such a sudden melancholy that seemed out of place with the willful child whose inner spark now changed with the wind.
"The Blue Maiden" is in its whole a beautiful work in its parts, but not a masterpiece. It does feel like a novel that should be savored, and if a reader is there to absorb the feel of time and the way a place molds itself into us they will find something to enjoy. I just wish it left me knowing it was a tale that would long linger.
This novel of tribute to the consistencies and contradictions that exist concurrently in nature, personality, stories, and across time. There is a slow pace to the narrative that echoes the gradual shifts in the land itself. Crops, businesses, natures, faces, some have been found on the island since the opening generation. Some have cycled out and returned. Some are planted. There isn't an element to this story that isn't touched by this pattern and the rhythm of the land even if isn't directly correlated.
The pastor, pious and dedicated to his profession and faith, is a proponent of doctors and science. Yet he insists in the importance of very traditional roles for his daughters. Being the elder sister and oldest women, Ulrika is left with a household on her shoulders. She is the one set to spinning tales and holding moral for her sister and father instead of flourishing in her own adventures --or so it seems. He is a man who aims to lead by example, but sometimes is reluctant in this. where as other characters in this profession are usually seen as cold, callous, and stringent for the most part he seems pliant and a victim of his own frailities. Though he is not without his tempers and own shadows.
To its credit, this novel has a writing style that is concise and yet seems incredibly lyrical. There is a very tactile nature to the sentences building a sturdy image and atmosphere. The delivery of the narrative by Alyssa Bresnahan is one that is not quiet haunting but sticky and luring, perfect for a novel that tries to center itself around generational stories that pass core morals from one age to another. It also has a complex web of character traits that can pull the reader one way and the other when they're regarding how they feel about any of our players.
In spite of this, "The Blue Maiden" feels rather average. While it doesn't feel like the intent, there are no incredibly unique. Its narrative pieces are haphazardly strewn about. It is more of a quick study, a cartoon or abstract, instead of a photo-realistic rendering.
Starting out as an exploration of local myth, of childlike faith, belief in adventure and the ability of sheer will to create, it fizzles with the early adulthood of the sisters to begin a more domestic drama. There is an element of mental health that's role is never clearly defined. I had anticipated it might be this confusion, this envisioning, that would bring the characters back to the original tale. Perhaps cause this story to lean to magical realism and be a metaphor that ties together the tone of the first half to the conclusion. The abrupt shift to an ending, while there is some cylindrical resonance, leaves this feeling incomplete.
What was most frustrating was the shift in attitude between the sisters. While there is a traumatic event that shakes Bae's identity, this later takes form in deep seeded resentments that there were no inclinations of as a child. While it would have caused reveals too soon, I also felt myself craving more of Ulrika's story and that of their local naturalist and acquaintance of their mother, Bruna. It was such a sudden melancholy that seemed out of place with the willful child whose inner spark now changed with the wind.
"The Blue Maiden" is in its whole a beautiful work in its parts, but not a masterpiece. It does feel like a novel that should be savored, and if a reader is there to absorb the feel of time and the way a place molds itself into us they will find something to enjoy. I just wish it left me knowing it was a tale that would long linger.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
This is the story of Bea and her sister Ulrika; two children who mourn the loss of their mother who died while giving birth to Bea. It is this void that is at the center of their lives around which all their hopes and aspirations revolve. The remote island somewhere in Scandinavia is ruled by a patriarchy which used to burn witches at the stake, when women were deemed to become too powerful. In the wake of these women, Bea and Ulrika search their way in life using their mother's notebook as their guide in the natural world that surrounds them.
The prose is excellent, and the style very reminiscent of early magic-realistic works, but leaning more towards hallucinatory realism as reality and dreamlike states of both Bea and Ulrika mingle and flow into each other. I loved how the consciousness of both girls seems to expand to create multitudes and then they come back together as one again, as in sync with the tides and seasons of the island.
Within this beautifully crafted world, the author manages to depict characters that are hard to grasp. Certainly not one-dimensional, both exactly drawn and ephemeral at the same time. The girl's father Silas is a good example; as the pastor of the island he is capable of saying the right things to keep his god fearing flock in check but gives his girls all the freedom they want; he loves them but cannot show it to them; he is tormented by the loss of his wife but cannot speak about her. And all the characters in the book are detailed and layered like this.
It is a tour de force that the author managed to capture so much narrative, atmosphere and beauty in so few pages. If anything that would be my only point of critique: this book could have gone on for many more chapters as every page is just a delight to read.
Bravo !
I wish to express a sincere thank you to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The prose is excellent, and the style very reminiscent of early magic-realistic works, but leaning more towards hallucinatory realism as reality and dreamlike states of both Bea and Ulrika mingle and flow into each other. I loved how the consciousness of both girls seems to expand to create multitudes and then they come back together as one again, as in sync with the tides and seasons of the island.
Within this beautifully crafted world, the author manages to depict characters that are hard to grasp. Certainly not one-dimensional, both exactly drawn and ephemeral at the same time. The girl's father Silas is a good example; as the pastor of the island he is capable of saying the right things to keep his god fearing flock in check but gives his girls all the freedom they want; he loves them but cannot show it to them; he is tormented by the loss of his wife but cannot speak about her. And all the characters in the book are detailed and layered like this.
It is a tour de force that the author managed to capture so much narrative, atmosphere and beauty in so few pages. If anything that would be my only point of critique: this book could have gone on for many more chapters as every page is just a delight to read.
Bravo !
I wish to express a sincere thank you to NetGalley, Grove Atlantic and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Ghosts come in fog, the villagers have always said.”
The Blue Maiden was a very different book, between reality and visions. Walking on a tight rope, it interrogates us on our humanity, our bestiality, our relationship with Nature and the World. After a heavy and long prologue, the use of present tense doesn’t dynamise the story. On the contrary, it suspends the action, freezing it in place in a blurry incertitude. It adds tension.
We can’t say what is true, what is from the sisters’ imagination, if they invent it, if Bea has visions or if we are trapped in a magical –or cursed– world. That’s the beauty of this book, we glide in that uncertainty, wave in the melancholy created by the flawless writing, making us sure that bad things are coming, ready to knock at the door.
Who is the crazy one here? Who acts good? Who misbehaves? We never know as religion and naturalism contront in turn, then wave with each other.
None of the characters are black, or white, they are all subtle shades of grey, and the author leaves to us the task to taste, think, judge, and choose. The magnificent descriptions of Nature are a counterpart to the Human’s craziness, and also contribute to freeze the story. In this regards (and –of course– because the sisterhood links), it reminded me a bit of The Virgin Suicides, where beauty announces the darkness to come. It’s a beautiful reflexion about Humans, Nature, and Bestiality, about what it means and feels to grow up, to become an adult and find yourself.
If you look for an escape through Fantasy and a magical world, this probably isn’t the right book. On the other hand, if you want to live an experience (I don’t have a better world), to feel that island, to get lost and wander in a fog full of discoveries, then plough into this short read. I loved that strange but fascinating immersion.
Thank you NetGalley, Anna Noyes and Atlantic Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
emotional
mysterious
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
Anna Noyes’s The Blue Maiden is a strange book, about a strange pair of sisters. Before we meet the Silasdottir sisters, Noyes shows us the darkest chapter in the history of Berggrund Island. In 1675, a priest manufactured a witch hunt, leading to the death of dozens of women. One of the few survivors only avoided being murdered because she was pregnant. Her descendant is Silas, the father of Ulrika and Beata Silasdottir...
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not enjoy the writing. There was no flow to the book and I found it boring
medium-paced
This book has such a solid premise. It has witches and witch trials in an atmospheric, isolated location. What's not to love?
Unfortunately for me, this book simply didn't work for me. The plot is choppy - we get such short snippets of everyone's lives and are basically guessing or making up what's happening in between. I don't know what I was supposed to take away from this novel. There are uncomfortable themes around incest, every man seemed to want both sisters, and the ending was too vague to wrap anything up with a bow.
Unfortunately for me, this book simply didn't work for me. The plot is choppy - we get such short snippets of everyone's lives and are basically guessing or making up what's happening in between. I don't know what I was supposed to take away from this novel. There are uncomfortable themes around incest, every man seemed to want both sisters, and the ending was too vague to wrap anything up with a bow.
A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest