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holybeesandbooks 's review for:
The Marsh King's Daughter
by Karen Dionne
The thing I loved best about the book is how the story is interwoven with Andersen's fairy tale of The Marsh King's Daughter. That, more than anything, helped me to find meaning in the story and better understand Helena. This is important, because I found myself really irritated with Helena for most of the book, to the point that I couldn't decide if it was bad writing or brilliant writing that was really giving me a taste of how messy and complicated it must be for children who come from abusive households.
The other thing that stood out is that, unlike many books I've read over the past few years, this one did nothing to make me fall in love with the landscape. There's a certain romanticism about off-the-grid living, but this one was appropriately tempered with the realities of bugs, humidity, cold, etc. such that I have zero inclination to see Michigan marshes, much less live there. This feels more honest.
The only other thing I'll say is that if you're delicate about animals, you need to brace yourself. There are hunting scenes and some issues around dogs. The hunting scenes usually don't bother me, but there is one in particular that is very detailed, upsetting (to me), and goes on forever. I had to skip ahead because I just couldn't take it. If you want to know more in advance, I recommend checking out the website "Does the Dog Die," which will spill the beans on potentially upsetting animal situations in books and movies - I find it invaluable.
The other thing that stood out is that, unlike many books I've read over the past few years, this one did nothing to make me fall in love with the landscape. There's a certain romanticism about off-the-grid living, but this one was appropriately tempered with the realities of bugs, humidity, cold, etc. such that I have zero inclination to see Michigan marshes, much less live there. This feels more honest.
The only other thing I'll say is that if you're delicate about animals, you need to brace yourself. There are hunting scenes and some issues around dogs. The hunting scenes usually don't bother me, but there is one in particular that is very detailed, upsetting (to me), and goes on forever. I had to skip ahead because I just couldn't take it. If you want to know more in advance, I recommend checking out the website "Does the Dog Die," which will spill the beans on potentially upsetting animal situations in books and movies - I find it invaluable.