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A review by eyeowna
A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
So in the late 1800s, a gay couple comprising of a genius botanist and a taxidermist create a Frankenstein-esque sentient plant daughter (who is also gay) while living in a huge beautiful Victorian greenhouse.
I had a really fun time reading this. My background as an English lit major was a pro and con here. Pro: I enjoyed this queer found family take on (cozy) horror. This book is for anyone who read Frankenstein and wanted to shake Victor and say “treat your undead child right, you coward!!” The references to Victorian culture/technology and literature were fun. The flowery narrative style was mostly convincing for all this. The narration is quirky and very British in that way that can’t help making little jokes/being witty and silly (I am a fan of this).
Con: I wanted to nitpick so badly the entire time. I enjoyed the research/botanical aspects and the Frankenstein-monster is firmly sci-fi/fantasy. I still wondered what was scientifically period accurate (I’m going to go on an internet rabbit hole about this soon). More so, the queer aspects of the novel felt modern to me. At one point, the botanist disparages a past colleague/ex for living a “respectable” heterosexual life on the surface while hiding his homosexual tendencies. The need for secrecy and the criminalization of homosexuality is here for all characters, but the discussion and approach to this still just felt modern to me.
Also, the main couple’s characterization felt the least consistent and developed to me, which is a shame. They seemed to dramatically feel whatever they needed to for the plot at any given time. The character Jenny and the plant daughter were more consistent, but less developed.
Not really cons, I enjoyed them, but I noticed!!! : There are little modern internet gay jokes sprinkled throughout, such as how gay people can’t sit correctly in chairs. The word “queer” is used a lot in the Victorian sense but you can feel the modern cheekiness about it each time.
Anyway, I stopped my literary brain early on and read this as a Victorian gothic-style queer cozy horror fairy tale. Because of that, this was a quick read and I had a great time. I loved the horrifying plant woman 🌿
I had a really fun time reading this. My background as an English lit major was a pro and con here. Pro: I enjoyed this queer found family take on (cozy) horror. This book is for anyone who read Frankenstein and wanted to shake Victor and say “treat your undead child right, you coward!!” The references to Victorian culture/technology and literature were fun. The flowery narrative style was mostly convincing for all this. The narration is quirky and very British in that way that can’t help making little jokes/being witty and silly (I am a fan of this).
Con: I wanted to nitpick so badly the entire time. I enjoyed the research/botanical aspects and the Frankenstein-monster is firmly sci-fi/fantasy. I still wondered what was scientifically period accurate (I’m going to go on an internet rabbit hole about this soon). More so, the queer aspects of the novel felt modern to me. At one point, the botanist disparages a past colleague/ex for living a “respectable” heterosexual life on the surface while hiding his homosexual tendencies. The need for secrecy and the criminalization of homosexuality is here for all characters, but the discussion and approach to this still just felt modern to me.
Also, the main couple’s characterization felt the least consistent and developed to me, which is a shame. They seemed to dramatically feel whatever they needed to for the plot at any given time. The character Jenny and the plant daughter were more consistent, but less developed.
Not really cons, I enjoyed them, but I noticed!!! : There are little modern internet gay jokes sprinkled throughout, such as how gay people can’t sit correctly in chairs. The word “queer” is used a lot in the Victorian sense but you can feel the modern cheekiness about it each time.
Anyway, I stopped my literary brain early on and read this as a Victorian gothic-style queer cozy horror fairy tale. Because of that, this was a quick read and I had a great time. I loved the horrifying plant woman 🌿