A review by nytephoenyx
Gallant by V.E. Schwab

dark reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

My absolute favorite part of Gallant was the same lilting brushstrokes that painted Schwab’s voice in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The language in this book is beautiful and I can’t get enough of it. I have always liked Schwab’s imagination – beautiful world filled with slithering corruption – but her voice has changed over the years. This new evolution is a lullaby and I am enamored.

As for the story in Gallant itself? It’s a little bit ghost story, a little bit orphan’s song, and a little bit Coraline. The darkness lives effortlessly on the edges of Olivia’s consciousness. The world building here is interesting – Gallant is in our-world-that-was, but somehow Schwab makes it all feel like a Victorian fairytale. And I do think it’s saying something that Olivia would rather stay at a haunted house than a poor excuse for a finishing school aimed to swallow up poor girls and spit out competent wives. It’s a small note of the story – at least it was for me – but it’s a thought I keep coming back to.

If you like ghost stories, you’ll probably like Gallant. It’s got the feel of Stranger Things in its earlier seasons, but it’s also a quiet book. And I say that not just because of Olivia – who is non-verbal – but because it is tucked away in a corner of the quiet countryside and the evil only affects a small handful of people rather than corrupting an entire town. And yet… Gallant echoes the feel of Addie LaRue in more than just tone. The relationship between devil and sorrowful girl is becoming a theme. I don’t mind it, but it feels as though the two stories could have been planted from the same seed. One grew taller, stronger than the other, but their roots are nonetheless entangled.

The plot of Gallant moves quickly, the characters rounded enough to be interesting but not so much that the reader is teased into thinking they are anything more that background silhouettes. The pace is a slow, steady drum beat and those familiar with Schwab’s other work will recognize the cadence. Gallant unfurls its story like the slow blossom of a summer rose. It takes patience, but the reader is rewarded with vibrant imagery and memorable worlds. I enjoyed it for a one-off read, but I’m not hungry for more of Olivia’s story. This taste was enough for me.

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