Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by embersbooknook
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
My brain hasn’t fully wrapped itself around this book. I just finished it and I don’t really know how I feel - I feel like all of it was BRILLIANTLY written by Schwab, as ever. Another triumph from a literary standpoint.
I am kind of pissed off at ALL of the main 3 characters though.
Like…I understand why things happened the way they did. I understand why Alice let Lottie poison herself with the grave dirt and then kill her - because she knew Lottie was likely going to kill her if she didn’t.
But the book ends in much the way it begins, with a character you love, knowing they will decay into a monster eventually. And in a way, have already begun that descent with the violent act of killing someone who didn’t have to die.
Overall though I, as a lover of happy endings and a tender hearted person, have mixed feelings about how it all ended, I cannot deny that it really…had to end this way.
That much like Vicious and Victorious, there is no hero you root for, as much as characters you love who are deeply deeply flawed.
I will say I disliked Sabine the entire time. Whilst I completely understand how unhappy she was trapped in the sexist hellscape of her marriage and life with her in-laws, I knew she was a villain from the beginning and her killing the original Sabine, her maker, confirmed my suspicions. She was selfishly insatiable, with a complete lack of feeling for her fellow people, even as a human, and so of course she descended quickly into a horrific sort of person as a vampire.
I liked Charlotte a lot, instantly. She was my favorite character through most of the book. I related with her soft heart, her tender, bright spirit. Her kinder nature. Giada was wonderful - I cried so much when she died even though I saw it coming from a mile away. I was angry at Charlotte’s stupidity in not warning her better, not protecting more of the house than just their apartment.
When Charlotte continued to be selfish, instead of seeking out directly someone who could help her with Sabine, I got angry with her, seeing how incapable she was of facing things head on.
Alice felt relatable but also we definitely read the least from her point of view. I feel like Schwab still did a great job of telling her story, but honestly I think my sadness and frustration stems from wanting to see Charlotte get some sort of relief - some sort of happy ending.
But in a way she became the thing that haunted her - I see that she wouldn’t have let Alice live, and in many ways was just as bad as Sabine because she didn’t stop Sabine or leave sooner.
Alice deserves the peace she won in the end - especially after all she’s been through. I very much hope she finds friends and love along the way to keep her grounded in the midnight soil🌕🌹🌑🥀
I would read that story in a heartbeat, if V.E. Schwab decided to write it.
Matteo and Allesandro had my whole heart…I cried so much when he died. His spirit was so bright, and I also adored that though Matteo grieved, he ultimately respected his love’s choice to remain human.
Weirdly, I think my favorite characters in this story were the ones we didn’t see quite as close up - perhaps because the details and thus finality of their downfalls and tragedies were unknown to me in full. Jack and Antonia were so lovely - I would read a book about them in a heartbeat, though it would likely be just as tragic. I also want to know the whole of Ezra’s story - I loved his steady spirit so much, and how he was determined in every era to create a safe space for those who are different. The scene in his coffee shop was one of my favorite in the whole book.
Thematically, on the philosophical level of what life MEANS, what it IS to live, this book GLOWED.
Schwab wrote eloquently on love, lust, loss, grief, pain, joy, pleasure, and peace. I felt like I was in this book so often, and I *felt* the passage of time, the violent unfurling of all that took place - both the bright parts and the vicious, awful parts. It was a journey I am glad I went on, even though I have so many mixed feelings and wish the ending were happier.
This book felt like a study on the flaws of the idea of immortality, and I think the idea that vampires/immortal beings decay is absolutely, devastatingly brilliant and realistic.
If there were immortals, I think this would be exactly how it would go. Eventually, even if you weren’t a vampire, wouldn’t your heart gutter out in bone deep exhaustion, no longer having the energy or capacity to care? To process an endless loop of history and tragedy and suffering? Wouldn’t you eventually become apathetic to all? And wouldn’t that lead to some dark, dark places?
And so I will say that once again V.E. Schwab has worked their magic.
Once again, I am left with a book that I will think about for years to come, and many themes to mull over endlessly.
Like…I understand why things happened the way they did. I understand why Alice let Lottie poison herself with the grave dirt and then kill her - because she knew Lottie was likely going to kill her if she didn’t.
But the book ends in much the way it begins, with a character you love, knowing they will decay into a monster eventually. And in a way, have already begun that descent with the violent act of killing someone who didn’t have to die.
Overall though I, as a lover of happy endings and a tender hearted person, have mixed feelings about how it all ended, I cannot deny that it really…had to end this way.
That much like Vicious and Victorious, there is no hero you root for, as much as characters you love who are deeply deeply flawed.
I will say I disliked Sabine the entire time.
I liked Charlotte a lot, instantly. She was my favorite character through most of the book. I related with her soft heart, her tender, bright spirit. Her kinder nature.
When Charlotte continued to be selfish, instead of seeking out directly someone who could help her with Sabine, I got angry with her, seeing how incapable she was of facing things head on.
Alice felt relatable but also we definitely read the least from her point of view. I feel like Schwab still did a great job of telling her story,
But in a way she became the thing that haunted her - I see that she wouldn’t have let Alice live, and in many ways was just as bad as Sabine because she didn’t stop Sabine or leave sooner.
Alice deserves the peace she won in the end - especially after all she’s been through. I very much hope she finds friends and love along the way to keep her grounded in the midnight soil🌕🌹🌑🥀
I would read that story in a heartbeat, if V.E. Schwab decided to write it.
Matteo and Allesandro had my whole heart…I cried so much when he died. His spirit was so bright, and I also adored that though Matteo grieved, he ultimately respected his love’s choice to remain human.
Weirdly, I think my favorite characters in this story were the ones we didn’t see quite as close up - perhaps because the details and thus finality of their downfalls and tragedies were unknown to me in full. Jack and Antonia were so lovely - I would read a book about them in a heartbeat, though it would likely be just as tragic. I also want to know the whole of Ezra’s story - I loved his steady spirit so much, and how he was determined in every era to create a safe space for those who are different. The scene in his coffee shop was one of my favorite in the whole book.
Thematically, on the philosophical level of what life MEANS, what it IS to live, this book GLOWED.
Schwab wrote eloquently on love, lust, loss, grief, pain, joy, pleasure, and peace. I felt like I was in this book so often, and I *felt* the passage of time, the violent unfurling of all that took place - both the bright parts and the vicious, awful parts. It was a journey I am glad I went on,
This book felt like a study on the flaws of the idea of immortality, and I think the idea that vampires/immortal beings decay is absolutely, devastatingly brilliant and realistic.
If there were immortals, I think this would be exactly how it would go. Eventually, even if you weren’t a vampire, wouldn’t your heart gutter out in bone deep exhaustion, no longer having the energy or capacity to care? To process an endless loop of history and tragedy and suffering? Wouldn’t you eventually become apathetic to all? And wouldn’t that lead to some dark, dark places?
And so I will say that once again V.E. Schwab has worked their magic.
Once again, I am left with a book that I will think about for years to come, and many themes to mull over endlessly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
While Schwab doesn’t get too detailed, there are definitely some quite disturbing moments and deaths of people the vampires kill, including one of the main characters who does a lot of merciless killing even when she doesn’t have to. Again, it’s not detailed but it could be a bit upsetting so I’d recommend reading when you’re in a good enough place mentally to handle that. also, Maria’s husband is kind of sexually abusive. And Alice’s big sister Catty seems to have committed suicide, but it’s only implied, saying she stepped in front of a car.