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A review by jakegreyxx
The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn
4.0
This book was dark, intense, and horrifying, but it was also poetic, and beautifully written. From the moment it began, I was intrigued, filled with curiosity and a feeling that gnawed at me with a need to know how it would end.
It starts off following Emilie, checking herself into the hospital psych ward, but it becomes clear very quickly that things are not quite right, not what they seem. After being placed into the high-security ward due to a lack of beds, she fights to keep her sanity amidst the chaos caused by other patients. The main way she does this is by writing in her journal, keeping track of what she’s been experiencing and how she got to this point. Then, she begins to receive letters tucked inside her journal that turn out to be journal entries from Emily (with a y), who stayed in the asylum centuries earlier.
Emily’s entries document her life, telling us about the journey that led to her being locked up, and continuing on through her time in the asylum. They start off a little dark, and scattered between Emilie’s entries, as you get deeper into the book, they become more frequent, soon taking over almost entirely, and the things happening become darker and more horrifying.
For the most part, there’s no way of realising how much time has passed, but suddenly there were a few mentions of the amount of time she’s been in there, and it’s a hell of a lot longer than you would think just from having read the book up to that point.
I really loved the poetic phrasing, giving the book an eerie feeling and adding to the darkness of the themes. There were overlapping features and symbols that appeared in both timelines, which I thought were quite clever. It draws extra emotion and depth, and makes for some beautiful writing in the midst of a slow crawl towards insanity.
It starts off following Emilie, checking herself into the hospital psych ward, but it becomes clear very quickly that things are not quite right, not what they seem. After being placed into the high-security ward due to a lack of beds, she fights to keep her sanity amidst the chaos caused by other patients. The main way she does this is by writing in her journal, keeping track of what she’s been experiencing and how she got to this point. Then, she begins to receive letters tucked inside her journal that turn out to be journal entries from Emily (with a y), who stayed in the asylum centuries earlier.
Emily’s entries document her life, telling us about the journey that led to her being locked up, and continuing on through her time in the asylum. They start off a little dark, and scattered between Emilie’s entries, as you get deeper into the book, they become more frequent, soon taking over almost entirely, and the things happening become darker and more horrifying.
For the most part, there’s no way of realising how much time has passed, but suddenly there were a few mentions of the amount of time she’s been in there, and it’s a hell of a lot longer than you would think just from having read the book up to that point.
I really loved the poetic phrasing, giving the book an eerie feeling and adding to the darkness of the themes. There were overlapping features and symbols that appeared in both timelines, which I thought were quite clever. It draws extra emotion and depth, and makes for some beautiful writing in the midst of a slow crawl towards insanity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment