A review by niffler_for_words
The Blue Maiden by Anna Nóyes

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Ghosts come in fog, the villagers have always said.”

The Blue Maiden was a very different book, between reality and visions. Walking on a tight rope, it interrogates us on our humanity, our bestiality, our relationship with Nature and the World. After a heavy and long prologue, the use of present tense doesn’t dynamise the story. On the contrary, it suspends the action, freezing it in place in a blurry incertitude. It adds tension. 
We can’t say what is true, what is from the sisters’ imagination, if they invent it, if Bea has visions or if we are trapped in a magical –or cursed– world. That’s the beauty of this book, we glide in that uncertainty, wave in the melancholy created by the flawless writing, making us sure that bad things are coming, ready to knock at the door.
Who is the crazy one here? Who acts good? Who misbehaves? We never know as religion and naturalism contront in turn, then wave with each other.
None of the characters are black, or white, they are all subtle shades of grey, and the author leaves to us the task to taste, think, judge, and choose. The magnificent descriptions of Nature are a counterpart to the Human’s craziness, and also contribute to freeze the story. In this regards (and –of course– because the sisterhood links), it reminded me a bit of The Virgin Suicides, where beauty announces the darkness to come. It’s a beautiful reflexion about Humans, Nature, and Bestiality, about what it means and feels to grow up, to become an adult and find yourself. 
If you look for an escape through Fantasy and a magical world, this probably isn’t the right book. On the other hand, if you want to live an experience (I don’t have a better world), to feel that island, to get lost and wander in a fog full of discoveries, then plough into this short read. I loved that strange but fascinating immersion. 

Thank you NetGalley, Anna Noyes and Atlantic Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.