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A review by thecaseofbooks
The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna
4.0
I read an eARC of this book so thank you to @netgalley , @jemckoxon and @angryrobotbooks for allowing this.
I really enjoyed The Green Man books by Juliet E McKenna so when I saw she’d written a retelling of Arthurian legend from the lens of the female characters, it was a must read for me. I would advise checking content warnings as there is content that could be distressing.
We primarily follow Nimue who has wild magic. The book is set over many years, starting with Ygraine and the birth of Arthur, and going right up to the end of his story. Nimue is present for the stories of Ygraine, Morgana and Guinevere.
A core theme in this book is the way women are treated as property by men, and the consequences they face if they try to rebel, or take agency over their own lives. It’s brutal and cruel. Also the sheer amount of unappreciated labour women do to take care of all of the unseen details needed to keep men fed, organised and happy. Very few men come off well in this book. They’re largely bossy, self-interested and arrogant.
I did thoroughly enjoy this, I was invested throughout. I was a tiny bit confused by some of the earlier time jumps but when I realised what was happening it was fine from that point onwards.
This was one of the better retellings I’ve read. It keeps core details from the legend, preferring instead to relay the tale from the perspective of other, less seen characters. It wasn’t trying to change the narrative too much, or villainise the male characters just for being men. It treats them as products of the culture at the time, rather than all bad. This allowed you to separate out the really malicious characters. Nimue often succeeds against perilous odds because of her ability and her respect for others and because she uses her magic responsibly. This is in stark contrast to Merlin who uses his recklessly and doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process, earning him enemies amongst his own folk.
I enjoyed this and I’d gladly read more from this author.
I really enjoyed The Green Man books by Juliet E McKenna so when I saw she’d written a retelling of Arthurian legend from the lens of the female characters, it was a must read for me. I would advise checking content warnings as there is content that could be distressing.
We primarily follow Nimue who has wild magic. The book is set over many years, starting with Ygraine and the birth of Arthur, and going right up to the end of his story. Nimue is present for the stories of Ygraine, Morgana and Guinevere.
A core theme in this book is the way women are treated as property by men, and the consequences they face if they try to rebel, or take agency over their own lives. It’s brutal and cruel. Also the sheer amount of unappreciated labour women do to take care of all of the unseen details needed to keep men fed, organised and happy. Very few men come off well in this book. They’re largely bossy, self-interested and arrogant.
I did thoroughly enjoy this, I was invested throughout. I was a tiny bit confused by some of the earlier time jumps but when I realised what was happening it was fine from that point onwards.
This was one of the better retellings I’ve read. It keeps core details from the legend, preferring instead to relay the tale from the perspective of other, less seen characters. It wasn’t trying to change the narrative too much, or villainise the male characters just for being men. It treats them as products of the culture at the time, rather than all bad. This allowed you to separate out the really malicious characters. Nimue often succeeds against perilous odds because of her ability and her respect for others and because she uses her magic responsibly. This is in stark contrast to Merlin who uses his recklessly and doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process, earning him enemies amongst his own folk.
I enjoyed this and I’d gladly read more from this author.