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A review by allisonjpmiller
The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna
5.0
The premise of The Lost Girl is so good it'd be impossible for a single novel to answer every question it raises. Although Mandanna doesn't explore the loose threads of the echoes and the Loom to the detailed extent I would've liked, this hardly detracts from the novel itself, which is tightly and beautifully written. When I finished, I was faced with that weird envy/awe that comes with reading something that's such a resounding success on multiple levels. Wow.
Mandanna makes no secret of the fact that she was inspired to write this book after reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but her spin on the idea of "stitching life from dust" is compelling and fresh in its own right. The sense that it is wrong for the echoes to exist at all, contrasted with their undeniable humanity, provides an eerie tension throughout the novel. You hate the Weavers – the self-made gods who create the echoes and then dictate every aspect of their lives. You sympathize deeply with their creations. But as a reader, I found layers and shades in these impulses by the end. I wasn't left with anything remotely black-and-white.
I didn't know what to think of Eva at first, but I grew to love her as she began to define herself apart from Amarra, while still accepting the parts of her identity that will always be tied to her "other." In many ways, this is the perfect coming-of-age metaphor. I appreciated the almost fable-like quality of the story's world. Enough is explained that the internal logic holds together, but plenty more remains a mystery, and that's fine; it's simply not necessary for the tale Mandanna is telling.
I also loved Sean. He is realistically drawn, a boy that could actually exist in our world, and yet he's given enough spark to make him equally believable as Eva's catalyst.
I find myself disappointed (gasp!) that this isn't the first of a series... at least, it doesn't look like it will be. I want more where this came from! I already miss the world and the characters. Sigh.
Mandanna makes no secret of the fact that she was inspired to write this book after reading Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but her spin on the idea of "stitching life from dust" is compelling and fresh in its own right. The sense that it is wrong for the echoes to exist at all, contrasted with their undeniable humanity, provides an eerie tension throughout the novel. You hate the Weavers – the self-made gods who create the echoes and then dictate every aspect of their lives. You sympathize deeply with their creations. But as a reader, I found layers and shades in these impulses by the end. I wasn't left with anything remotely black-and-white.
I didn't know what to think of Eva at first, but I grew to love her as she began to define herself apart from Amarra, while still accepting the parts of her identity that will always be tied to her "other." In many ways, this is the perfect coming-of-age metaphor. I appreciated the almost fable-like quality of the story's world. Enough is explained that the internal logic holds together, but plenty more remains a mystery, and that's fine; it's simply not necessary for the tale Mandanna is telling.
I also loved Sean. He is realistically drawn, a boy that could actually exist in our world, and yet he's given enough spark to make him equally believable as Eva's catalyst.
I find myself disappointed (gasp!) that this isn't the first of a series... at least, it doesn't look like it will be. I want more where this came from! I already miss the world and the characters. Sigh.