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A review by meghan111
Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre
5.0
Dude, this is so great and tells its story in such an interesting slipstream weird fiction way. Famed 17th century beauty Venetia Stanley and her husband Sir Kenelm Digby come to life in ways that highlight both the modernity of their age and the radical differences in what people thought and believed about the world.
This is before the Scientific Revolution. Kenelm Digby's interests are wide-ranging - his Powder of Sympathy can heal wounds at a distance of miles, his cookbook is the first to suggest bacon and eggs as a good breakfast, and he vigorously pursues astronomy and alchemy.
His wife is the main character of the book, though, and her story illuminates the parallels between the weird, risky beauty treatments of centuries ago and the weird, risky scientific beauty treatments of our age. Snails, lead paint, clips to pull back the face skin, and as the book title suggests, wine made from snake venom are employed by upper class ladies of the advanced age of 30 or so in attempts to prolong and recapture youthful beauty. It is so interesting and the story comes together in such sophisticated ways.
I loved that in this novel, Kenelm and to a lesser extent Venetia are haunted by the future, meaning that a stray Lou Reed or Bowie lyric slips in, or a reference to Crick and Watson, World War II, or biotechnology advances. It made me contemplate the continuum of science, art, and the progress of centuries. It was also just plain fun to read.
This is before the Scientific Revolution. Kenelm Digby's interests are wide-ranging - his Powder of Sympathy can heal wounds at a distance of miles, his cookbook is the first to suggest bacon and eggs as a good breakfast, and he vigorously pursues astronomy and alchemy.
His wife is the main character of the book, though, and her story illuminates the parallels between the weird, risky beauty treatments of centuries ago and the weird, risky scientific beauty treatments of our age. Snails, lead paint, clips to pull back the face skin, and as the book title suggests, wine made from snake venom are employed by upper class ladies of the advanced age of 30 or so in attempts to prolong and recapture youthful beauty. It is so interesting and the story comes together in such sophisticated ways.
I loved that in this novel, Kenelm and to a lesser extent Venetia are haunted by the future, meaning that a stray Lou Reed or Bowie lyric slips in, or a reference to Crick and Watson, World War II, or biotechnology advances. It made me contemplate the continuum of science, art, and the progress of centuries. It was also just plain fun to read.