A review by libraryofcalliope
The Furies by Katie Lowe

3.0

The Furies is a Dark Academia novel. A genre that fascinates me. This did deviate a little from the standards of the genre in the ambiguity of the existence of the furies whereas usually novels like these demonstrate how the blame lies in human hands no matter their appeals to classical gods and goddesses which is a message I like from Dark Academia and I think this novel would have benefited from. The story follows a girl, Violet, starting an elite girls school for her A Levels (they call them A Levels but an Aesthetics A Level does not exist and neither does most of the classes she takes. It also seems to use an American version of what universities look for, I admit this broke my suspension of disbelief, I’d have preferred her qualifications to be nameless). Once there she meets Robin, a controlling domineering girl that makes Violet feel special. She introduces her to her friends and eventually she joins the secret extra classes on Female Rage run by Annabel the typical enigmatic teacher you expect from the genre. The strengths of this novel lies in the complex relationship between Violet and Robin and the mysteries that underline it (before Violet started the school, Robin’s best friend Emily disappeared and she and Violet look somewhat alike). But sometimes this came at the expense of other characters. Grace and Alex, the other members of the main foursome gang, get barely any development. We know they’re in a relationship, that Alex is rich and she stands up to Robin and Grace’s dad is abusive but that’s kinda it? I would have loved more detail and time given to them. Maybe a change in perspective for a chapter? Also a lot of questions were not answered. We never find out really what happened to Emily (mainly we get theories?) which is the driving force for most of the novel. Lowe did use the motif of the furies really well though. The furies were female mythical beings that persecuted men who’d done wrong (namely Orestes from The Orestia) and I loved the focus on female rage in this novel. I just wanted more.