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quinnorsomething 's review for:
Sour Cherry
by Natalia Theodoridou
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was almost a five-star read- a dreamy Bluebeard retelling that gives agency to the victims of a cruel husband and father. The unnamed narrator is attempting to explain this story to her child and so tells it in the form of a fairy tale.
As the story goes, a woman named Agnes (not the narrator) is hired to nurse a local lord’s son following the death of her own baby. Agnes loves the child, but even she can tell there is something wrong with him. He smells of dirt, his fingers grow inhumanly fast, and his very existence causes crops to fail and animals to die. He has a tendency towards cruelty, and when he grows up every woman he touches becomes a ghost.
His first wife gives birth to a son, Tristan, and the narrative eventually switches over to him. This was easily my favorite part of the book. Tristan doesn’t have his father’s cruel nature, and his journey from little boy to young man was equal parts touching and devastating. The writing is lush and gorgeous throughout, but the chapters with Tristan had the strongest “fairy tale” quality.
Unfortunately, the book grew repetitive and somewhat tedious to finish. There was only so much I could read about forests and parties and girls dying and becoming ghosts. The story was stronger when it focused on just Agnes and the boy, the boy and his wife, and eventually Tristan.
There’s an earlier plotline involving a shopkeeper that I also enjoyed, but as the narrative dipped in and out of the “real world” I felt myself losing interest. The fairy tale is simply a framing device, an allegory for spousal domestic violence, and I think that’s what kept me from feeling fully immersed in the story. I would have enjoyed it more if the fairy tale was the story, full stop. Still, this is a fantastic debut from a talented author.
As the story goes, a woman named Agnes (not the narrator) is hired to nurse a local lord’s son following the death of her own baby. Agnes loves the child, but even she can tell there is something wrong with him. He smells of dirt, his fingers grow inhumanly fast, and his very existence causes crops to fail and animals to die. He has a tendency towards cruelty, and when he grows up every woman he touches becomes a ghost.
His first wife gives birth to a son, Tristan, and the narrative eventually switches over to him. This was easily my favorite part of the book. Tristan doesn’t have his father’s cruel nature, and his journey from little boy to young man was equal parts touching and devastating. The writing is lush and gorgeous throughout, but the chapters with Tristan had the strongest “fairy tale” quality.
Unfortunately, the book grew repetitive and somewhat tedious to finish. There was only so much I could read about forests and parties and girls dying and becoming ghosts. The story was stronger when it focused on just Agnes and the boy, the boy and his wife, and eventually Tristan.
There’s an earlier plotline involving a shopkeeper that I also enjoyed, but as the narrative dipped in and out of the “real world” I felt myself losing interest. The fairy tale is simply a framing device, an allegory for spousal domestic violence, and I think that’s what kept me from feeling fully immersed in the story. I would have enjoyed it more if the fairy tale was the story, full stop. Still, this is a fantastic debut from a talented author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Violence