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reflectiverambling_nalana 's review for:
The Blue Maiden
by Anna Nóyes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After the death of their mother Beata "Bae" and her older sister are two spirits left to be cultivated by the physical and philosophical nature of their small island home. Their father, the local pastor, frequently locked away in his ruminations is determined to keep the memories of their mother locked up as tightly as her abandoned bedroom. A door is such a flimsy barrier for willful girls. The sisters scramble to latch onto the bits and pieces of history that's left in her wake. Bae constantly thirsts for stories if her mother, of their local lore, of the things that we only learn from the world around us. Guided by Ulrika's tales and a precious heirloom, the sisters try to navigate the social system they've been cast to. As the seasons change so do the sisters, drifting down their own paths, as they map out their own mark on this land. Some things that bloom are familiar to the seemingly timeless patterns the off cast community has maintained. But some truths of nature, of those hidden secrets revealed, are bound to create their own unique impressions.
This novel of tribute to the consistencies and contradictions that exist concurrently in nature, personality, stories, and across time. There is a slow pace to the narrative that echoes the gradual shifts in the land itself. Crops, businesses, natures, faces, some have been found on the island since the opening generation. Some have cycled out and returned. Some are planted. There isn't an element to this story that isn't touched by this pattern and the rhythm of the land even if isn't directly correlated.
The pastor, pious and dedicated to his profession and faith, is a proponent of doctors and science. Yet he insists in the importance of very traditional roles for his daughters. Being the elder sister and oldest women, Ulrika is left with a household on her shoulders. She is the one set to spinning tales and holding moral for her sister and father instead of flourishing in her own adventures --or so it seems. He is a man who aims to lead by example, but sometimes is reluctant in this. where as other characters in this profession are usually seen as cold, callous, and stringent for the most part he seems pliant and a victim of his own frailities. Though he is not without his tempers and own shadows.
To its credit, this novel has a writing style that is concise and yet seems incredibly lyrical. There is a very tactile nature to the sentences building a sturdy image and atmosphere. The delivery of the narrative by Alyssa Bresnahan is one that is not quiet haunting but sticky and luring, perfect for a novel that tries to center itself around generational stories that pass core morals from one age to another. It also has a complex web of character traits that can pull the reader one way and the other when they're regarding how they feel about any of our players.
In spite of this, "The Blue Maiden" feels rather average. While it doesn't feel like the intent, there are no incredibly unique. Its narrative pieces are haphazardly strewn about. It is more of a quick study, a cartoon or abstract, instead of a photo-realistic rendering.
Starting out as an exploration of local myth, of childlike faith, belief in adventure and the ability of sheer will to create, it fizzles with the early adulthood of the sisters to begin a more domestic drama. There is an element of mental health that's role is never clearly defined. I had anticipated it might be this confusion, this envisioning, that would bring the characters back to the original tale. Perhaps cause this story to lean to magical realism and be a metaphor that ties together the tone of the first half to the conclusion. The abrupt shift to an ending, while there is some cylindrical resonance, leaves this feeling incomplete.
What was most frustrating was the shift in attitude between the sisters. While there is a traumatic event that shakes Bae's identity, this later takes form in deep seeded resentments that there were no inclinations of as a child. While it would have caused reveals too soon, I also felt myself craving more of Ulrika's story and that of their local naturalist and acquaintance of their mother, Bruna. It was such a sudden melancholy that seemed out of place with the willful child whose inner spark now changed with the wind.
"The Blue Maiden" is in its whole a beautiful work in its parts, but not a masterpiece. It does feel like a novel that should be savored, and if a reader is there to absorb the feel of time and the way a place molds itself into us they will find something to enjoy. I just wish it left me knowing it was a tale that would long linger.
This novel of tribute to the consistencies and contradictions that exist concurrently in nature, personality, stories, and across time. There is a slow pace to the narrative that echoes the gradual shifts in the land itself. Crops, businesses, natures, faces, some have been found on the island since the opening generation. Some have cycled out and returned. Some are planted. There isn't an element to this story that isn't touched by this pattern and the rhythm of the land even if isn't directly correlated.
The pastor, pious and dedicated to his profession and faith, is a proponent of doctors and science. Yet he insists in the importance of very traditional roles for his daughters. Being the elder sister and oldest women, Ulrika is left with a household on her shoulders. She is the one set to spinning tales and holding moral for her sister and father instead of flourishing in her own adventures --or so it seems. He is a man who aims to lead by example, but sometimes is reluctant in this. where as other characters in this profession are usually seen as cold, callous, and stringent for the most part he seems pliant and a victim of his own frailities. Though he is not without his tempers and own shadows.
To its credit, this novel has a writing style that is concise and yet seems incredibly lyrical. There is a very tactile nature to the sentences building a sturdy image and atmosphere. The delivery of the narrative by Alyssa Bresnahan is one that is not quiet haunting but sticky and luring, perfect for a novel that tries to center itself around generational stories that pass core morals from one age to another. It also has a complex web of character traits that can pull the reader one way and the other when they're regarding how they feel about any of our players.
In spite of this, "The Blue Maiden" feels rather average. While it doesn't feel like the intent, there are no incredibly unique. Its narrative pieces are haphazardly strewn about. It is more of a quick study, a cartoon or abstract, instead of a photo-realistic rendering.
Starting out as an exploration of local myth, of childlike faith, belief in adventure and the ability of sheer will to create, it fizzles with the early adulthood of the sisters to begin a more domestic drama. There is an element of mental health that's role is never clearly defined. I had anticipated it might be this confusion, this envisioning, that would bring the characters back to the original tale. Perhaps cause this story to lean to magical realism and be a metaphor that ties together the tone of the first half to the conclusion. The abrupt shift to an ending, while there is some cylindrical resonance, leaves this feeling incomplete.
What was most frustrating was the shift in attitude between the sisters. While there is a traumatic event that shakes Bae's identity, this later takes form in deep seeded resentments that there were no inclinations of as a child. While it would have caused reveals too soon, I also felt myself craving more of Ulrika's story and that of their local naturalist and acquaintance of their mother, Bruna. It was such a sudden melancholy that seemed out of place with the willful child whose inner spark now changed with the wind.
"The Blue Maiden" is in its whole a beautiful work in its parts, but not a masterpiece. It does feel like a novel that should be savored, and if a reader is there to absorb the feel of time and the way a place molds itself into us they will find something to enjoy. I just wish it left me knowing it was a tale that would long linger.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail