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A review by thepurplebookwyrm
Among Others by Jo Walton
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This one was a bit different.
Genre-wise, Among Others barely qualifies as fantasy, but it didn't feel like magical realism to me either (thank goodness). Still, it does this thing where you're never entirely sure if the fantastical elements are real, or the result of the main character's fanciful perception of reality – well, up to a certain point at least. As such, I would classify this novel as 'lite domestic fantasy'.
Set between 1979 and 1980, Among Others is written as the diary of a girl named Mori (short for Morwenna), a disabled teenager from Wales who lost her twin in a car accident, and fled from her home (or rather her crazy witch of a mother, literally or not, that's up to you to figure out) to eventually land at the feet of her estranged father and his three sisters. From there, she is shipped off to boarding school in Shropshire. And stuff happens, somewhat.
Yeah, this book doesn't have much in the way of plot; it is very much a 'slice of life' story, which is why the diary format worked perfectly for it. This also means Among Others is a character-driven story more than anything else.
It is, additionally, a story that pays homage to what I'll term 'bibliophilia', SFF literature (so many real-life works and authors are name-dropped in the text), and SFF fandom. I wouldn't say the theming is particularly deep in this novel, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't strongly vibe with the genuine love it expresses towards, well, books, reading, stories and, more importantly, speculative stories. And towards the creative communities that book lovers and nerds weave together.
Among Others, to my mind, also features a thematic motif centred on the magic inherent in everyday life. Like I said, the realness of the book's fantasy elements is pretty ambiguous for most of the story; Mori says she sees, and talks to fairies (who speak Welsh, that was a nice touch), and that she and her twin used to play with them as a children. Mori says she can do magic as well, but also that magic is always – conveniently enough, ahem – 'plausibly deniable' (parallels are repeatedly drawn to Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven with regards to this point, which was another, very nice touch). As such, magic, and fairies, can potentially be seen, and understood, through the lens of grief, and alienation, since Mori has to come to terms with the death of her twin, and struggles to fit in because she's... different. Yes, I'll admit I kind of read her as neurodivergent, to some degree, though I didn't relate all that much to her, ultimately, in terms of deeper personality, which was a little disappointing (and also I'm twice her age so that didn't help in terms of getting annoyed at her immaturity, lol).
I didn't really like the story's fantasy climax and, on the whole, its speculative elements lacked cohesion. Among Others, in essence, had a promising but clumsily executed premise... yet it also held a certain sweetness, warmth and gentle luminescence I found pleasant and relaxing. As such, it was definitely worth reading at least once.
PS: Mori's casual 'hibernophobia' was really grating though. Like bish you're Welsh, and you think English people are strange... why you so xenophobic towards that one Irish girl then?! 😆
Genre-wise, Among Others barely qualifies as fantasy, but it didn't feel like magical realism to me either (thank goodness). Still, it does this thing where you're never entirely sure if the fantastical elements are real, or the result of the main character's fanciful perception of reality – well, up to a certain point at least. As such, I would classify this novel as 'lite domestic fantasy'.
Set between 1979 and 1980, Among Others is written as the diary of a girl named Mori (short for Morwenna), a disabled teenager from Wales who lost her twin in a car accident, and fled from her home (or rather her crazy witch of a mother, literally or not, that's up to you to figure out) to eventually land at the feet of her estranged father and his three sisters. From there, she is shipped off to boarding school in Shropshire. And stuff happens, somewhat.
Yeah, this book doesn't have much in the way of plot; it is very much a 'slice of life' story, which is why the diary format worked perfectly for it. This also means Among Others is a character-driven story more than anything else.
It is, additionally, a story that pays homage to what I'll term 'bibliophilia', SFF literature (so many real-life works and authors are name-dropped in the text), and SFF fandom. I wouldn't say the theming is particularly deep in this novel, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't strongly vibe with the genuine love it expresses towards, well, books, reading, stories and, more importantly, speculative stories. And towards the creative communities that book lovers and nerds weave together.
Among Others, to my mind, also features a thematic motif centred on the magic inherent in everyday life. Like I said, the realness of the book's fantasy elements is pretty ambiguous for most of the story; Mori says she sees, and talks to fairies (who speak Welsh, that was a nice touch), and that she and her twin used to play with them as a children. Mori says she can do magic as well, but also that magic is always – conveniently enough, ahem – 'plausibly deniable' (parallels are repeatedly drawn to Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven with regards to this point, which was another, very nice touch). As such, magic, and fairies, can potentially be seen, and understood, through the lens of grief, and alienation, since Mori has to come to terms with the death of her twin, and struggles to fit in because she's... different. Yes, I'll admit I kind of read her as neurodivergent, to some degree, though I didn't relate all that much to her, ultimately, in terms of deeper personality, which was a little disappointing (and also I'm twice her age so that didn't help in terms of getting annoyed at her immaturity, lol).
I didn't really like the story's fantasy climax and, on the whole, its speculative elements lacked cohesion. Among Others, in essence, had a promising but clumsily executed premise... yet it also held a certain sweetness, warmth and gentle luminescence I found pleasant and relaxing. As such, it was definitely worth reading at least once.
PS: Mori's casual 'hibernophobia' was really grating though. Like bish you're Welsh, and you think English people are strange... why you so xenophobic towards that one Irish girl then?! 😆