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A review by justgeekingby
The Grief Nurse by Angie Spoto
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
3.0
Lynx is a grief nurse, an indentured servant who has the ability to remove grief. Only the affluent are awarded grief nurses, and Lynx lives with the Asters on the island of Mount Sorcha. Although she grew up alongside their youngest child Andromeda, she is not part of the family, looked upon with fear and distaste as well as necessity. Or jealousy by those who don’t have access to her gifts.
It is a life that Lynx longs to be free from. Following the death of one of their sons, Sculptor, the Asters hold a party to celebrate his life with Lynx, their grief nurse, on full display. Everything is going according to plan until Sculptor’s betrothed shows up with his will, which includes the inheritance of a grief nurse.
When more deaths occur and all the guests are trapped on the island by a heavy storm, Lynx finds herself in a world of secrets, drama and uncertainty as she deals with her own feelings and memories as well as those of the Asters.
Initially, I gave The Grief Nurse by Angie Spoto a four-star rating, as this haunting gothic novel seemed like a wonderful read at first. After reconsidering certain elements of the book, specifically the world-building, I decided to change it to a three-star rating. Spoto has created an intriguing world that interrogates the idea of grief and the role that negative emotions play in our lives. I enjoyed the overall story, and the mystery was satisfying, however, the gaps in the world-building kept niggling at me.
In the dystopian world of The Grief Nurse, being ‘Bright’ is the optimal state that affluent people seek, and they talk about losing that Brightness or becoming ‘Bright’ again when they feel grief. Grief is split into three emotions; Heartache, Dread and Sorrow. To take grief from a person, a grief nurse needs to hold their token, an object that they always have on them. This is the first point where there is a hole in Spoto’s world-building, as she never explains how a token is created. The use of Tokens prevents people from having to touch a grief nurse’s skin, something that is considered repugnant as it’s believed touching a grief nurse will lead to a contamination of grief.
Only the rich are allowed a grief nurse, and there is a waiting list for them. The social and political dynamics around grief nurses were well-developed and enriched the story. Likewise, the insight we are given into the grief nurse’s early life and training is well written. Again some details are lacking, and in this case, as a disabled reader, I find them quite problematic.
The physical appearance of grief nurses is very distinctive; white hair and eyes pale. At the start of the book, there is a scene with Andromeda reading divinatory cards for Lynx, and one of the cards is called ‘The Grief Nurse’. It is of a woman with white hair and white eyes holding a moon, and surrounded by other moons. This is the only suggestion in the book (some relation to the moon) as to why grief nurses have such a pale appearance, and it is very weak at best.
Considering how the novel ends, and the themes of exoticism and discrimination in The Grief Nurse, it concerns me that grief nurses have the same appearance as people with albinism and that no explanation is offered as to why this is so.
The biggest hole in the world building for me was the ‘Faders’. I was so confused by what they were, that I took a break while reading to look for answers online, hoping to find an interview with Spoto with an explanation. Instead, I found other reviews mentioning the same thing. Described as having grief that tasted different to grief nurses, and a mutual hunger, that often became sexual, between a grief nurse and a Fader, they are considered perverts by society. Faders also have a chance to give birth to a grief nurse child, something that is seen as prosperous for poor families and a scandal for rich families.
But what is the difference between a normal person and a Fader? Alongside Faders, some people seem to replenish grief more quickly. At first, I thought that these people may represent people with mental health conditions, however, I think that those who replenish grief too quickly may have anxiety. While Faders have mental health conditions. This is complete guesswork because Spoto seems to have created Faders as a means to create grief nurses and cause drama and distress, but has not anchored them in her world-building.
Visually, The Grief Nurse is stunning. Spoto names Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington as an influence, and I can see that influence in the way she describes the powers of grief nurses and how they view the world. I particularly liked the way she developed the concept of grief and how it appears and tastes differently depending on the person, shaped by their experiences.
I think that part of the problem with this book is that Spoto was a little too visual, and while she was busy painting gorgeous visuals with her words, she wasn’t connecting the dots behind the scenes. For example, the grief witches have a tree inside them and everything that happens with Lynx makes perfect sense… apart from, why is there a tree inside her? Why do grief witches have trees? And yes, the author does just get to say ‘I made this, it’s there because I said so!’ to a certain degree but when there are just so many holes it just feels unfinished.
This all being said, I still kept coming back to a three-star rather than a lower rating. This is Spoto’s debut novel, and I’ve added her next book to my TBR because her writing style is beautiful and unique.
It is a life that Lynx longs to be free from. Following the death of one of their sons, Sculptor, the Asters hold a party to celebrate his life with Lynx, their grief nurse, on full display. Everything is going according to plan until Sculptor’s betrothed shows up with his will, which includes the inheritance of a grief nurse.
When more deaths occur and all the guests are trapped on the island by a heavy storm, Lynx finds herself in a world of secrets, drama and uncertainty as she deals with her own feelings and memories as well as those of the Asters.
Initially, I gave The Grief Nurse by Angie Spoto a four-star rating, as this haunting gothic novel seemed like a wonderful read at first. After reconsidering certain elements of the book, specifically the world-building, I decided to change it to a three-star rating. Spoto has created an intriguing world that interrogates the idea of grief and the role that negative emotions play in our lives. I enjoyed the overall story, and the mystery was satisfying, however, the gaps in the world-building kept niggling at me.
In the dystopian world of The Grief Nurse, being ‘Bright’ is the optimal state that affluent people seek, and they talk about losing that Brightness or becoming ‘Bright’ again when they feel grief. Grief is split into three emotions; Heartache, Dread and Sorrow. To take grief from a person, a grief nurse needs to hold their token, an object that they always have on them. This is the first point where there is a hole in Spoto’s world-building, as she never explains how a token is created. The use of Tokens prevents people from having to touch a grief nurse’s skin, something that is considered repugnant as it’s believed touching a grief nurse will lead to a contamination of grief.
Only the rich are allowed a grief nurse, and there is a waiting list for them. The social and political dynamics around grief nurses were well-developed and enriched the story. Likewise, the insight we are given into the grief nurse’s early life and training is well written. Again some details are lacking, and in this case, as a disabled reader, I find them quite problematic.
The physical appearance of grief nurses is very distinctive; white hair and eyes pale. At the start of the book, there is a scene with Andromeda reading divinatory cards for Lynx, and one of the cards is called ‘The Grief Nurse’. It is of a woman with white hair and white eyes holding a moon, and surrounded by other moons. This is the only suggestion in the book (some relation to the moon) as to why grief nurses have such a pale appearance, and it is very weak at best.
Considering how the novel ends, and the themes of exoticism and discrimination in The Grief Nurse, it concerns me that grief nurses have the same appearance as people with albinism and that no explanation is offered as to why this is so.
The biggest hole in the world building for me was the ‘Faders’. I was so confused by what they were, that I took a break while reading to look for answers online, hoping to find an interview with Spoto with an explanation. Instead, I found other reviews mentioning the same thing. Described as having grief that tasted different to grief nurses, and a mutual hunger, that often became sexual, between a grief nurse and a Fader, they are considered perverts by society. Faders also have a chance to give birth to a grief nurse child, something that is seen as prosperous for poor families and a scandal for rich families.
But what is the difference between a normal person and a Fader? Alongside Faders, some people seem to replenish grief more quickly. At first, I thought that these people may represent people with mental health conditions, however, I think that those who replenish grief too quickly may have anxiety. While Faders have mental health conditions. This is complete guesswork because Spoto seems to have created Faders as a means to create grief nurses and cause drama and distress, but has not anchored them in her world-building.
Visually, The Grief Nurse is stunning. Spoto names Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington as an influence, and I can see that influence in the way she describes the powers of grief nurses and how they view the world. I particularly liked the way she developed the concept of grief and how it appears and tastes differently depending on the person, shaped by their experiences.
I think that part of the problem with this book is that Spoto was a little too visual, and while she was busy painting gorgeous visuals with her words, she wasn’t connecting the dots behind the scenes. For example, the grief witches have a tree inside them and everything that happens with Lynx makes perfect sense… apart from, why is there a tree inside her? Why do grief witches have trees? And yes, the author does just get to say ‘I made this, it’s there because I said so!’ to a certain degree but when there are just so many holes it just feels unfinished.
This all being said, I still kept coming back to a three-star rather than a lower rating. This is Spoto’s debut novel, and I’ve added her next book to my TBR because her writing style is beautiful and unique.
Content Warnings