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ejpass 's review for:
This Rebel Heart
by Katherine Locke
5/5 stars
Recommended to people who like: revolution, historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, multiple POVs, rebellion, LBTQ+ characters
Big thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and Katherine Locke for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This might actually be my favorite book of the year. It has revolution and change and social justice all wrapped up in a nice historical fantasy/magical realism bow with LGBTQ+ characters (yes, multiple) and set in a country that often doesn't get attention, particularly in YA fiction. Locke says so many good things about change and revolution in this book and I love it.
This book is set in Cold War Hungary, which has, like so many other European countries, not dealt with its role in WWII and the Holocaust. It's a haunting story to be telling, and so familiar to ones that come out of countries that are perhaps more familiar to people, like Poland and East Germany, but it is unique as well. I liked learning Hungary through Csilla's eyes, both its sins and its beauties. The AVH, or the secret police, has been tearing families apart and has played the active role of suppressing freedom of expression. Yet at the same time there is still this place where a revolution is possible. Where it was possible. Locke wrote the city well, I think, and that powder keg is a palpable undercurrent throughout the book, at times more obvious than others.
I also thought the metaphors and motifs Locke included were poignant. Truth vs. lies is a major part of the book. The Nazis utilized propaganda, the Soviets lie again and again, and everyone living under the fear of the AVH lies daily to protect themselves and to gloss over the things that happened. Because it's easier, because they're afraid, because it's what works. I like that we as readers get to work out with Csilla what the truth, or rather, truths, is. Another powerful metaphor running through the book is personal choice. People choose each day how they react to things, and sometimes that choice does include keeping your head down to keep yourself safe, and sometimes that means deciding to stand up because doing nothing hasn't gotten anyone anywhere. Csilla 100% starts out as a character who does nothing to protect herself and her aunt, and sometimes this means staying quiet, but she's also forced to reckon with this choice in the book and whether that's the choice she wants to be making when it means condemning others.
The way Locke deals with the Holocaust is important as well. I think in general there's this glossing over of what happened after. After the Allies won. After the concentration camps were liberated. After the Nazi officials were round up. The fact of the matter is, most Nazis were left free without reprimand or punishment. The people who informed on their neighbors or who guarded the ghettoes went on with their lives as if nothing had happened. In Eastern Europe, a lot of concentration camp guards and Nazi officials worked with the secret police in their respective countries. This book acknowledges that and really grapples with what that means for a country and for people personally.
The colorless city was a nice touch too. This is a bit where the magical realism comes into play, since I hadn't really thought Locke meant it literally when she said Budapest had turned gray. But, no, the city and its people have literally been painted in monochrome, with no color peeking through. Does it come from people's passivity or from the active acceptance of violence against others? That question isn't really answered in the book, but I can see it going either way, or both ways. I like that this was sort of left up for interpretation.
For the characters themselves, Csilla is definitely the main character. She gets the most POV chapters and most of the story centers around her and her story. Csilla survived the Holocaust, largely thanks to the Danube, which she and her parents jumped into when they were being deported. When the rubble settled, it was just the three of them and her aunt left. At the start of the story, her parents have been dead for four years and it is down to just two. Suffice to say, the crimes of the city have shaped Csilla into the person she is. Someone who is careful and keeps her head down, giving her party lines (literally) and doing her best not to attract more notice than necessary. Csilla essentially becomes another person over the course of this book. She becomes louder and more sure of herself, decides to fight for what she thinks is right and not just for survival. She comes into herself in other ways, too, not just with the revolution, but also with her parents and the legacy her father has left behind. Csilla's story, both past and present, directly ties into the major metaphors of this book, and it's interesting to see how she decides to tackle them. I, for one, very much love revolutionary!Csilla.
Azriel is the other main POV character, though there are a couple others sprinkled in in some places. Azriel is a bit of a mysterious character at first, though it's fairly easy to figure out why, to the point where I'm not sure if it's a spoiler or not, but I won't mention it in case it is. Azriel carries such a heavy burden, but he's also invested in what happens. He has a big heart for those around him and doesn't like to see suffering, though like Csilla, he's also seen plenty of it. His transformation in the book is less intense and involves preparing for what seems like the inevitable while also accepting that there are points where things can change depending on human action. Also, for those wondering where the LBGTQ+ comes in, Azriel is genderfluid or genderqueer, among other things.
Tamas is the final main character, though he doesn't get a POV, likely because he's often with Csilla and Azriel anyway and also likely because he can't be used to tell the same sorts of stories they can. Tamas is, in part, what kicks off this whole revolution and triggers Csilla's need to decide whether to continue on the road she's on or change course. He becomes somewhat of the face and leader of the revolution, being one of the first students to decide to stand up against the Soviets and the regime of terror. Tamas grows over the course of the book from someone who's wary of catching the AVH's eye, even for someone he cares about, to being someone equally happy being diplomatic as he is holding a gun and fighting for his freedoms.
Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas are in a polyamorous relationship, which starts right around the time the revolution begins. Considering the Hungarian Revolution/Uprising began Oct. 23rd and lasted until the beginning of November, the three have really only known each other for maybe three weeks, possibly a month, by the end of the book. While the numbers read like it's instalove, and there is certainly that connection between the three of them from the start, with the intensity of everything that happens in the book and the way war and shared trauma can bond people, it doesn't read or feel like instalove. Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas genuinely read like they care about and want to be with one another, no matter what comes. I'm really glad that Locke went with that triad since it's very clear on-page that there's romantic possibilities between the three main characters and so many authors just brush off what could be a perfectly good polyamorous relationship for a love triangle instead.
Aside from our three main characters, there is also Ilona, Csilla's aunt who survived the war. I liked Ilona for a couple of reasons. For one, she so clearly cares about Csilla. She's willing to do things that she might not otherwise want to do if it weren't for her, and her love also comes through in her worry for Csilla. I also like Ilona because she has some very clear markers of trauma that I liked that Locke explored. With Ilona there is no, 'oh it's over and I'm all good now and ignoring what happened,' instead it's 'that happened and it sucked and I will probably never collect the pieces of myself.'
There is also Zsu, Csilla's friend from her job. Zsu actually came across as pretty annoying to me at first and I kind of preferred their other friend, Aliz, but over the course of the book Zsu grows alongside Csilla and I ended up really liking the person she became. She showed a lot of grit and leadership in the book, and I liked that along with her ingenuity.
Marton is the final major side-character, and he also works with Csilla (are you catching a theme here?). He's a character that grows into the story as events unfold, though he is present from the beginning. Marton ends up having some interesting depths to him and I think his character, too, plays into the metaphors of lies and truths and history.
The ending to the book is left open, able to be interpreted in whichever way the reader desires. If you read textually, or if you know the history behind the revolution, then the ending is perhaps obvious. But the fact of the matter is, Locke did create the possibility for more than one ending. I want to believe the positive one, even if the realist in me is pulling me the other way. There is so much hope and so much love, and I think the open ending is really the only way the book could have ended.
Recommended to people who like: revolution, historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, multiple POVs, rebellion, LBTQ+ characters
Big thanks to Netgalley, Random House, and Katherine Locke for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
They accepted all the truths and all the lies and weighed them equally against each other. But some lies outweighed some truths. Some lies were so egregious that refusing to acknowledge them was akin to committing the crime over and over again, every day.
This might actually be my favorite book of the year. It has revolution and change and social justice all wrapped up in a nice historical fantasy/magical realism bow with LGBTQ+ characters (yes, multiple) and set in a country that often doesn't get attention, particularly in YA fiction. Locke says so many good things about change and revolution in this book and I love it.
This book is set in Cold War Hungary, which has, like so many other European countries, not dealt with its role in WWII and the Holocaust. It's a haunting story to be telling, and so familiar to ones that come out of countries that are perhaps more familiar to people, like Poland and East Germany, but it is unique as well. I liked learning Hungary through Csilla's eyes, both its sins and its beauties. The AVH, or the secret police, has been tearing families apart and has played the active role of suppressing freedom of expression. Yet at the same time there is still this place where a revolution is possible. Where it was possible. Locke wrote the city well, I think, and that powder keg is a palpable undercurrent throughout the book, at times more obvious than others.
I also thought the metaphors and motifs Locke included were poignant. Truth vs. lies is a major part of the book. The Nazis utilized propaganda, the Soviets lie again and again, and everyone living under the fear of the AVH lies daily to protect themselves and to gloss over the things that happened. Because it's easier, because they're afraid, because it's what works. I like that we as readers get to work out with Csilla what the truth, or rather, truths, is. Another powerful metaphor running through the book is personal choice. People choose each day how they react to things, and sometimes that choice does include keeping your head down to keep yourself safe, and sometimes that means deciding to stand up because doing nothing hasn't gotten anyone anywhere. Csilla 100% starts out as a character who does nothing to protect herself and her aunt, and sometimes this means staying quiet, but she's also forced to reckon with this choice in the book and whether that's the choice she wants to be making when it means condemning others.
The way Locke deals with the Holocaust is important as well. I think in general there's this glossing over of what happened after. After the Allies won. After the concentration camps were liberated. After the Nazi officials were round up. The fact of the matter is, most Nazis were left free without reprimand or punishment. The people who informed on their neighbors or who guarded the ghettoes went on with their lives as if nothing had happened. In Eastern Europe, a lot of concentration camp guards and Nazi officials worked with the secret police in their respective countries. This book acknowledges that and really grapples with what that means for a country and for people personally.
The colorless city was a nice touch too. This is a bit where the magical realism comes into play, since I hadn't really thought Locke meant it literally when she said Budapest had turned gray. But, no, the city and its people have literally been painted in monochrome, with no color peeking through. Does it come from people's passivity or from the active acceptance of violence against others? That question isn't really answered in the book, but I can see it going either way, or both ways. I like that this was sort of left up for interpretation.
They were all important, the people who were disappeared and taken. They were all important to someone.
For the characters themselves, Csilla is definitely the main character. She gets the most POV chapters and most of the story centers around her and her story. Csilla survived the Holocaust, largely thanks to the Danube, which she and her parents jumped into when they were being deported. When the rubble settled, it was just the three of them and her aunt left. At the start of the story, her parents have been dead for four years and it is down to just two. Suffice to say, the crimes of the city have shaped Csilla into the person she is. Someone who is careful and keeps her head down, giving her party lines (literally) and doing her best not to attract more notice than necessary. Csilla essentially becomes another person over the course of this book. She becomes louder and more sure of herself, decides to fight for what she thinks is right and not just for survival. She comes into herself in other ways, too, not just with the revolution, but also with her parents and the legacy her father has left behind. Csilla's story, both past and present, directly ties into the major metaphors of this book, and it's interesting to see how she decides to tackle them. I, for one, very much love revolutionary!Csilla.
Azriel is the other main POV character, though there are a couple others sprinkled in in some places. Azriel is a bit of a mysterious character at first, though it's fairly easy to figure out why, to the point where I'm not sure if it's a spoiler or not, but I won't mention it in case it is. Azriel carries such a heavy burden, but he's also invested in what happens. He has a big heart for those around him and doesn't like to see suffering, though like Csilla, he's also seen plenty of it. His transformation in the book is less intense and involves preparing for what seems like the inevitable while also accepting that there are points where things can change depending on human action. Also, for those wondering where the LBGTQ+ comes in, Azriel is genderfluid or genderqueer, among other things.
Tamas is the final main character, though he doesn't get a POV, likely because he's often with Csilla and Azriel anyway and also likely because he can't be used to tell the same sorts of stories they can. Tamas is, in part, what kicks off this whole revolution and triggers Csilla's need to decide whether to continue on the road she's on or change course. He becomes somewhat of the face and leader of the revolution, being one of the first students to decide to stand up against the Soviets and the regime of terror. Tamas grows over the course of the book from someone who's wary of catching the AVH's eye, even for someone he cares about, to being someone equally happy being diplomatic as he is holding a gun and fighting for his freedoms.
Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas are in a polyamorous relationship, which starts right around the time the revolution begins. Considering the Hungarian Revolution/Uprising began Oct. 23rd and lasted until the beginning of November, the three have really only known each other for maybe three weeks, possibly a month, by the end of the book. While the numbers read like it's instalove, and there is certainly that connection between the three of them from the start, with the intensity of everything that happens in the book and the way war and shared trauma can bond people, it doesn't read or feel like instalove. Csilla, Azriel, and Tamas genuinely read like they care about and want to be with one another, no matter what comes. I'm really glad that Locke went with that triad since it's very clear on-page that there's romantic possibilities between the three main characters and so many authors just brush off what could be a perfectly good polyamorous relationship for a love triangle instead.
Aside from our three main characters, there is also Ilona, Csilla's aunt who survived the war. I liked Ilona for a couple of reasons. For one, she so clearly cares about Csilla. She's willing to do things that she might not otherwise want to do if it weren't for her, and her love also comes through in her worry for Csilla. I also like Ilona because she has some very clear markers of trauma that I liked that Locke explored. With Ilona there is no, 'oh it's over and I'm all good now and ignoring what happened,' instead it's 'that happened and it sucked and I will probably never collect the pieces of myself.'
There is also Zsu, Csilla's friend from her job. Zsu actually came across as pretty annoying to me at first and I kind of preferred their other friend, Aliz, but over the course of the book Zsu grows alongside Csilla and I ended up really liking the person she became. She showed a lot of grit and leadership in the book, and I liked that along with her ingenuity.
Marton is the final major side-character, and he also works with Csilla (are you catching a theme here?). He's a character that grows into the story as events unfold, though he is present from the beginning. Marton ends up having some interesting depths to him and I think his character, too, plays into the metaphors of lies and truths and history.
No one is held responsible. Not for that, not for the crimes that have come after. When are we going to talk about what happened? When are we going to deal in truth and not lies? When will people be held responsible for their choices?
The ending to the book is left open, able to be interpreted in whichever way the reader desires. If you read textually, or if you know the history behind the revolution, then the ending is perhaps obvious. But the fact of the matter is, Locke did create the possibility for more than one ending. I want to believe the positive one, even if the realist in me is pulling me the other way. There is so much hope and so much love, and I think the open ending is really the only way the book could have ended.