Scan barcode
A review by ladytiara
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski
4.0
The Midnight Lie is a really beautiful book. It's a fantasy, a romance, and a nuanced look at abusive relationships. It reminded me a bit of Strange the Dreamer, another fantasy about a seemingly ordinary person who embraces an extraordinary life.
Nirrim lives in the ward. She's a Half Kith and her kind are bound to live within the walls of the ward. The Half Kith live under draconian laws. They aren't allowed any bright colored or fancy clothes. Everything they wear must be gray or brown. Their food must be plain, and anything sweet is forbidden. If they caught breaking the laws, the penalty is a tithe: they may have their blood drained or a finger removed or something worse. Nirrim works in a bakery where anything sweet is sold to the Middlings, the next class up. Anything colorful or fine produced by the Half Kith goes to the Middlings or the High Kith, the highest class. (The huge dichotomy between the classes is reminiscent of District 12 compared with the Capitol in the Hunger Games.) Nirrim's life isn't bad, even with these restrictions. She grew up in an orphanage and was then taken in by Raven, a Middling who runs a bakery in the ward. Nirrim works in the bakery, and because she's an expert forger, she helps Raven make passports for people who want to sneak out of the ward.
Nirrim is thrown into prison one day on spurious charges. In the cell next to her is Sid, a young woman from somewhere else. She frees Nirrim from the prison and asks her many questions about the ward. Nirrim's answer to every question is "it's always been that way." But Sid's question start to make Nirrim think about why things are the way they are in the ward, and once she starts asking questions, things will never be the same. Not only does she begin to question everything she knows, she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Sid.
Rutkoski has a way with words. Take this passage:
"It occurred to me that all the rules that mandated that we live behind the wall had one purpose: to make the Half Kith forget how to wish for things. We had been taught not to want more than we had. I realized that wanting is a kind of power even if you don't get what you want. Wanting illuminates everything you need, and how the world has failed you."
The book has an interesting portrayal of abusive relationships. Raven, the woman who took Nirrim in, alternates between tenderness and abuse. It's obvious to the reader and to everyone around Nirrim that Raven is awful, but Nirrim is an orphan who's never known love or affection, so it makes sense that she feels an attachment and a sense of duty to Raven. It's hard to read, but the the dynamics of an abusive relationship ring true. Nirrim also has a relationship of a sort with a fellow Half Kith named Aden. He loves her and she feels an obligation to him even though she doesn't feel the same ("He kissed me and I let him. Sometimes it can feel so good to give someone what they want that it is the next best thing to getting what you want."). Aden is a classic "nice guy," turning on Nirrim as soon as he doesn't get his way. These relationships contrast with Sid, who although not without her own baggage, actually respects Nirrim as her own person and pushes her to see the world in new ways.
My only issue with the book is that the pacing is a bit slow. There's a lot of character development, and the romance is very well done, but the plot lags a bit in the middle, only to pick up a lot of steam near the end of the book. The plot twists at the end are fantastic, and I'm dying to see where things go in the next book, but there could have been a bit more action in the middle.
I received an ARC from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
Nirrim lives in the ward. She's a Half Kith and her kind are bound to live within the walls of the ward. The Half Kith live under draconian laws. They aren't allowed any bright colored or fancy clothes. Everything they wear must be gray or brown. Their food must be plain, and anything sweet is forbidden. If they caught breaking the laws, the penalty is a tithe: they may have their blood drained or a finger removed or something worse. Nirrim works in a bakery where anything sweet is sold to the Middlings, the next class up. Anything colorful or fine produced by the Half Kith goes to the Middlings or the High Kith, the highest class. (The huge dichotomy between the classes is reminiscent of District 12 compared with the Capitol in the Hunger Games.) Nirrim's life isn't bad, even with these restrictions. She grew up in an orphanage and was then taken in by Raven, a Middling who runs a bakery in the ward. Nirrim works in the bakery, and because she's an expert forger, she helps Raven make passports for people who want to sneak out of the ward.
Nirrim is thrown into prison one day on spurious charges. In the cell next to her is Sid, a young woman from somewhere else. She frees Nirrim from the prison and asks her many questions about the ward. Nirrim's answer to every question is "it's always been that way." But Sid's question start to make Nirrim think about why things are the way they are in the ward, and once she starts asking questions, things will never be the same. Not only does she begin to question everything she knows, she finds herself drawn to the enigmatic Sid.
Rutkoski has a way with words. Take this passage:
"It occurred to me that all the rules that mandated that we live behind the wall had one purpose: to make the Half Kith forget how to wish for things. We had been taught not to want more than we had. I realized that wanting is a kind of power even if you don't get what you want. Wanting illuminates everything you need, and how the world has failed you."
The book has an interesting portrayal of abusive relationships. Raven, the woman who took Nirrim in, alternates between tenderness and abuse. It's obvious to the reader and to everyone around Nirrim that Raven is awful, but Nirrim is an orphan who's never known love or affection, so it makes sense that she feels an attachment and a sense of duty to Raven. It's hard to read, but the the dynamics of an abusive relationship ring true. Nirrim also has a relationship of a sort with a fellow Half Kith named Aden. He loves her and she feels an obligation to him even though she doesn't feel the same ("He kissed me and I let him. Sometimes it can feel so good to give someone what they want that it is the next best thing to getting what you want."). Aden is a classic "nice guy," turning on Nirrim as soon as he doesn't get his way. These relationships contrast with Sid, who although not without her own baggage, actually respects Nirrim as her own person and pushes her to see the world in new ways.
My only issue with the book is that the pacing is a bit slow. There's a lot of character development, and the romance is very well done, but the plot lags a bit in the middle, only to pick up a lot of steam near the end of the book. The plot twists at the end are fantastic, and I'm dying to see where things go in the next book, but there could have been a bit more action in the middle.
I received an ARC from the publisher through Amazon Vine.