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A review by thebakersbooks
Let the Mountains Be My Grave by Francesca Tacchi
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"Every day is a good day to kill Nazis, I always say." Any story with that opening line is immediately among my favorite literary works, so it's unsurprising that I loved this brilliant sucker-punch of a novella.
Listen, I'm a huge fan of novellas, but I wanted this to be about ten times its actual length. It's very well executed in the short format—great establishment of emotional stakes, very tense, fantastic characterization—but I want a novel, damn it!
I liked everything about this book, but the historical contextualization is where it shines brightest. (This is unsurprising to anyone who knows author Francesca Tacchi from xir excellent Twitter threads on Italian and antifascist history.) The worldbuilding blends Italic folklore with a touch of eldritch horror, all set against the backdrop of the partisan struggle for Italy in 1944. I particularly appreciated how the narrative focused the partisans, groups of Italian antifascists who organized to expel Mussolini and then the Nazis, and who are often overlooked in discussions of WWII in favor of lionizing the Allied invasion of occupied Italy despite their significant contributions to freeing their homeland.
The fictional aspects of the novella are also excellent, of course. The four characters who feature most heavily all have well-defined voices and motives despite the short time they each get on page; main character Veleno gets the most development, and I liked how his backstory allowed for explanation of the magic/deities without it feeling forced. I appreciated the inclusion of a Jewish character (view spoiler).
This novella will likely appeal to readers who enjoyed Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark and T. Frohock's Los Nefilim series.
Content notes: mention of WWII atrocities; Nazis; war-typical violence; suicidal urges and ideation
Listen, I'm a huge fan of novellas, but I wanted this to be about ten times its actual length. It's very well executed in the short format—great establishment of emotional stakes, very tense, fantastic characterization—but I want a novel, damn it!
I liked everything about this book, but the historical contextualization is where it shines brightest. (This is unsurprising to anyone who knows author Francesca Tacchi from xir excellent Twitter threads on Italian and antifascist history.) The worldbuilding blends Italic folklore with a touch of eldritch horror, all set against the backdrop of the partisan struggle for Italy in 1944. I particularly appreciated how the narrative focused the partisans, groups of Italian antifascists who organized to expel Mussolini and then the Nazis, and who are often overlooked in discussions of WWII in favor of lionizing the Allied invasion of occupied Italy despite their significant contributions to freeing their homeland.
The fictional aspects of the novella are also excellent, of course. The four characters who feature most heavily all have well-defined voices and motives despite the short time they each get on page; main character Veleno gets the most development, and I liked how his backstory allowed for explanation of the magic/deities without it feeling forced. I appreciated the inclusion of a Jewish character (view spoiler).
This novella will likely appeal to readers who enjoyed Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark and T. Frohock's Los Nefilim series.
Content notes: mention of WWII atrocities; Nazis; war-typical violence; suicidal urges and ideation
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and War
Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, and Genocide