Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by wildcard
Carmilla and Laura by S.D. Simper
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
i would hate to review this book in numbers, but i find it even harder to put my thoughts into words. what i say will sound dramatic because, with reproach, it is that dramatic to me
to start with a lovely detail: to turn le fanu's iconic dr hesselius, who archives the supernatural and the metaphysical into prof hesselius, waiting on her flight to a conference is brilliant. to open and close with the sentiment of remembering, honouring past loves (not) forgotten is a choice that i very much enjoyed. the epilogue was cute. and nobody should be above smiling at a twilight reference.
regarding formal elements: le fanu's carmilla is not a longer story, yet this feels significantly faster paced. i believe it may be due to the original being more stifled in its emotiveness, laura in particular being given a different kind of intensity much earlier. i might have liked a slower progression for laura but i do not particularly mind this aspect, more of an observation.
now, i struggle to find the means to explain, but i do not know what to think about the choice to make laura's and carmilla's relationship explicitly erotic early on. i understand the significance. i understand that this is a story about shame and liberation from shame. surviving with the shame, living with the shame. perhaps it is what i mentioned above, that it feels too fast-paced. but laura breaking free from the shackles of shame is barely contained into a thought before it is suppressed again. she claims that shame has no place in her bed, immediately after she bends to the inquiries of the concerned inhabitants of the castle, confessing that she has dreamt, shamefully. carmilla denies dreaming. le fanu's laura is not allowed the time it takes to process her feelings, still in a haze of confusion by the end of the novella. here, laura's emotions overtake her, acutely aware of their implications at every point. perhaps what i expected was something in between, a place where both characters would build expectations of the other without confessing; growing towards each other in search of something they could not find within themselves. that act of letting go of shame fell short for me. it was there, it was vivid, but it lacked the momentum needed to feel liberating. girls are caterpillars until the summer heralds their transformation into butterflies. what i'm trying to say, laura, to me, is still that caterpillar.
there is much else i would need to say, but i may have to sit with my thoughts for a while longer before i can.
a final note... did i misunderstand: is what laura's father said about his wife's mother true?
"it appears to be the painting of one countess mircalla karnstein. mircalla is not a name in my lineage, but my late wife's mother's maiden name was karnstein." (p. 50)
if laura's grandmother's maiden name was karnstein, then...?
to start with a lovely detail: to turn le fanu's iconic dr hesselius, who archives the supernatural and the metaphysical into prof hesselius, waiting on her flight to a conference is brilliant. to open and close with the sentiment of remembering, honouring past loves (not) forgotten is a choice that i very much enjoyed. the epilogue was cute. and nobody should be above smiling at a twilight reference.
regarding formal elements: le fanu's carmilla is not a longer story, yet this feels significantly faster paced. i believe it may be due to the original being more stifled in its emotiveness, laura in particular being given a different kind of intensity much earlier. i might have liked a slower progression for laura but i do not particularly mind this aspect, more of an observation.
now, i struggle to find the means to explain, but i do not know what to think about the choice to make laura's and carmilla's relationship explicitly erotic early on. i understand the significance. i understand that this is a story about shame and liberation from shame. surviving with the shame, living with the shame. perhaps it is what i mentioned above, that it feels too fast-paced. but laura breaking free from the shackles of shame is barely contained into a thought before it is suppressed again. she claims that shame has no place in her bed, immediately after she bends to the inquiries of the concerned inhabitants of the castle, confessing that she has dreamt, shamefully. carmilla denies dreaming. le fanu's laura is not allowed the time it takes to process her feelings, still in a haze of confusion by the end of the novella. here, laura's emotions overtake her, acutely aware of their implications at every point. perhaps what i expected was something in between, a place where both characters would build expectations of the other without confessing; growing towards each other in search of something they could not find within themselves. that act of letting go of shame fell short for me. it was there, it was vivid, but it lacked the momentum needed to feel liberating. girls are caterpillars until the summer heralds their transformation into butterflies. what i'm trying to say, laura, to me, is still that caterpillar.
there is much else i would need to say, but i may have to sit with my thoughts for a while longer before i can.
a final note... did i misunderstand: is what laura's father said about his wife's mother true?
"it appears to be the painting of one countess mircalla karnstein. mircalla is not a name in my lineage, but my late wife's mother's maiden name was karnstein." (p. 50)
if laura's grandmother's maiden name was karnstein, then...?