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A review by lostlenore_
The Tides Between by Elizabeth Jane Corbett
4.0
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It has been a while since I last read a decent historical fiction novel embedded in the coming-of-age narrative. Corbett’s work fascinates the reader with its delicate approach to the immigration theme and its exquisite attention to detail both linguistically and structurally.
The author handles English with care—she creates such a vivid world, full of vibrant sounds and strong emotions, bound to sweep any reader off their feet from early on. I love when authors use a plethora of words to describe situations, people or items; Corbett’s writing is just that, a confirmation that such authors exist and thrive in our days. Her flair for writing is evident since the first page, the ARC I received did not suffer from poor grammar, syntax, or diction.
I extremely enjoyed the fairy tale elements meddled as they were with Bridie’s coming-of-age journey. Writing a bildungsroman is definitely not an easy job, especially when it comes to commentary on the heated topic of immigration. Never in my life have I read a novel which so prominently featured immigration. This is why I found myself hypnotized by the number of local voices included in Corbett’s fiction. Bridie’s journey towards self-discovery and maturity is paired with Welsh mythology and expatriation. This was successfully carried out in The Tides Between; I feel that no better way there was than to mingle the social with the personal in order for Corbett to shed light on the issues she most wanted. And let me add that trauma and its effects on child psyche are there, as well.
VERDICT:
The Tides Between consists an ingenious debut novel crafted by an author who acknowledges the way to build a bildungsroman by embedding it into the genre of historical fiction. It is original and unique; it is aimed for all readers who wish to travel back time and experience again the long-lost feeling of innocence and purity; it is a book reminding us that fairy tales will never stop existing as long as we hold onto them.
It has been a while since I last read a decent historical fiction novel embedded in the coming-of-age narrative. Corbett’s work fascinates the reader with its delicate approach to the immigration theme and its exquisite attention to detail both linguistically and structurally.
The author handles English with care—she creates such a vivid world, full of vibrant sounds and strong emotions, bound to sweep any reader off their feet from early on. I love when authors use a plethora of words to describe situations, people or items; Corbett’s writing is just that, a confirmation that such authors exist and thrive in our days. Her flair for writing is evident since the first page, the ARC I received did not suffer from poor grammar, syntax, or diction.
I extremely enjoyed the fairy tale elements meddled as they were with Bridie’s coming-of-age journey. Writing a bildungsroman is definitely not an easy job, especially when it comes to commentary on the heated topic of immigration. Never in my life have I read a novel which so prominently featured immigration. This is why I found myself hypnotized by the number of local voices included in Corbett’s fiction. Bridie’s journey towards self-discovery and maturity is paired with Welsh mythology and expatriation. This was successfully carried out in The Tides Between; I feel that no better way there was than to mingle the social with the personal in order for Corbett to shed light on the issues she most wanted. And let me add that trauma and its effects on child psyche are there, as well.
VERDICT:
The Tides Between consists an ingenious debut novel crafted by an author who acknowledges the way to build a bildungsroman by embedding it into the genre of historical fiction. It is original and unique; it is aimed for all readers who wish to travel back time and experience again the long-lost feeling of innocence and purity; it is a book reminding us that fairy tales will never stop existing as long as we hold onto them.