In my zeal to read a new book by Sarah Addison Allen, I found that I had inhaled this book in two sittings. Oops. No savoring the prose here. But a frIn my zeal to read a new book by Sarah Addison Allen, I found that I had inhaled this book in two sittings. Oops. No savoring the prose here. But a friend had sent me an ARC so I feel the need to write a more reasoned review and I wanted another chance to take my time with the book anyway. So I've read this twice within about two weeks. It was just as good the second time.
*I read an early review copy. Quotes may be different in the finished version.*
"If the people around you don't love you just as you are, find new people. They're out there."
I love stories of found families and I got a delightful one here. The world has tried to break each member in a different way but they're survivors. Teenaged Zoey is still hopeful and open. Charlotte is distant and skittish. Mac holds so strongly to the past that he can't see his future. There are other members of the tribe (even some ghostly ones) but I don't want to give any plot points away. These characters complement each other well and begin long-overdue healing processes.
"There are birds, and then there are other birds. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they don't fly. Maybe they don't fit in. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be an other bird than just the same old thing."
The fictional location of Mallow Island, near Charleston, SC, is a delight. Ms. Allen shines when she describes the healing powers of food and she has done it again in Other Birds. I can practically smell the marshmallows and confections. I can almost taste Mac's cornmeal-based, love-infused dishes. The Dellawisp condos are a charming haven out of time. The dellawisp birds themselves are adorable little scolds and thieves. Add this to the list of fictional places I wish I could visit.
There is some darkness. There's nothing very graphic but child abuse, neglect, and abandonment definitely make an appearance. So do drug abuse and untreated mental illness. I don't think any of this is described to a degree that would bother most people but particularly sensitive readers should be aware.
And that brings me to another theme of the book that I enjoyed--letting go. Whether it's holding a bit less tightly to the memory of a loved one, or leaving emotional or physical trauma in the past, letting go is sometimes the healthiest choice we can make for ourselves. The author doesn't imply that it's easy--one character has seen a therapist for years. Another becomes more and more lost as she doesn't seek the help she needs. But the message that it's okay and even necessary to move on shines through.
"Children, don't hold on to old love so hard you forget to live. Old love isn't the only love you'll ever have. And I can tell you from this side that it never really goes away, anyway. So let go. Whatever you're holding on to, let go."
In the end, this is another book from Sarah Addison Allen that just makes my heart happy. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs a mood-booster and doesn't mind occasional deft touches of magic. ...more
The House of the Spirits follows three generations of the Trueba family through struggles, triumph, and war in an unnamed South American country. EsteThe House of the Spirits follows three generations of the Trueba family through struggles, triumph, and war in an unnamed South American country. Esteban, the patriarch, enters adulthood almost penniless. Through hard work and brutal oversight of his tenant farmers, he eventually becomes a power player in his country. Yet his family is so different from him, he can’t even comprehend their point of view. His wife is a seer and mystic. His daughter falls in love with the wrong man. His sons renounce their wealth for lives of austerity or spiritualism. His granddaughter gets caught up in the country’s violent politics. But through it all, the Trueba line continues.
I’m just not the reader for magical realism in literature. Oh, I do just fine with Sarah Addison Allen’s light touches of fantasy in otherwise contemporary novels. But a huge black beast of an unknown species adopting a family? Spirits wandering the house? Curses? Mermaid girls? All in dark historical fiction? I just get confused. Add in a cast of characters that I either actively dislike or I’m simply indifferent to and I’m going to struggle. That was the case here.
I did appreciate the family saga at the heart of the book:
“I write, she wrote, that memory is fragile and the space of a single life is brief, passing so quickly that we never get a chance to see the relationship between events; we cannot gauge the consequences of our acts, and we believe in the fiction of past, present, and future, but it may also be true that everything happens simultaneously�.
By observing three generations of this family, we do get to see patterns emerging. Sometimes they’re family quirks (green hair), and sometimes they’re much darker eye-for-an-eye fare.
This family is a microcosm of the country too. Small seeds eventually lead to earth-shattering events. It’s hard to discuss this without getting into spoilers, but karma doesn’t always pay you back; sometimes she gets your family. And when you view those with different political beliefs from you as the enemy, where do you draw the line?
“[The] country is at war, whether war against international Communism or its own people it’s hard to tell�.
One day you might wake up and find that you’ve become the enemy too. This part was chilling to read considering how divided the United States currently is.
“To Senator Trueba, all political parties except his own were potentially Marxist, and he could not distinguish one ideology from another.�
Some of us don’t even attempt to see things from another point of view, and that stands true for all political parties.
The last third of the book is the most difficult to read emotionally but it’s also the part that finally caught my attention. The first two-thirds meandered around a lot of episodes that felt irrelevant and tangential to me. I just wanted to get on with the story. But once the revolution started, events happened quickly and I finally started flipping pages instead of finding any excuse to check my social media.
Ultimately, the book does end on a note of hope.
“It was then I understood that the days of Colonel García and all those like him are numbered, because they have not been able to destroy the spirit of these women.�
The translation by Magda Bogin is well done.
This book is a modern classic and a lot of people love it. I can see why, but for my taste, it could have been tightened up a lot. Readers who enjoy magical realism and don’t rely as heavily on likeable characters as I do will enjoy it more than I did....more
Elizabeth Woodville, a young widow who stands to lose everything after her husband’s death, makes a desperate move and petitions King Edward IV to resElizabeth Woodville, a young widow who stands to lose everything after her husband’s death, makes a desperate move and petitions King Edward IV to restore her late husband’s lands to her as he travels the road past her father’s estate. She gets more than she dreamed of when the attraction between her and the king is instant and irresistible. The two marry in a secret ceremony and Edward crowns her the Queen of England.
But the country has been at war for too long. Threats to Elizabeth’s family and children and Edward’s throne crop up at every turn. Can she navigate the treacherous times and keep her loved ones safe?
I read The Other Boleyn Girl and The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory years ago and enjoyed them both. I have some understanding of England’s history under Henry VIII though and I know pitifully little about the Wars of the Roses. That lack affected my enjoyment of The White Queen a bit. There’s a family tree at the beginning but it doesn’t actually show anyone who appears in the book. I was so confused! I still don’t understand why the publisher included that family tree. It might show the beginning of the wars but it wasn’t helpful at all with this period.
There’s a fantastical element woven throughout the novel that I didn’t care for either. Elizabeth is descended from a water goddess, Melusina, so Elizabeth and her mother have magical powers. They cast spells and curses and have strange forebodings. They hear Melusina singing when someone in their family is about to die. I’m making it sound like more of a plot device than it actually was but the fact that the author included it at all bothered me. I love reading fantasy and I don’t generally mind magical realism, but these fantastical touches felt out of place in a book about real people and events.
I liked Elizabeth herself though. Just think about the courage she showed as a woman petitioning the king in person–not in court, but on the side of the road. And that’s just the beginning. When she’s queen, she makes sure to place her family in positions of power too. She learns some of the art of intrigue and dips her toes into those waters to hold onto what’s rightfully hers. The Elizabeth in these pages is a force to be reckoned with.
I did enjoy learning a bit more about this period of history. As events unfolded, I realized that Elizabeth’s sons were the mysterious “Princes in the Tower� (which I only know about because of Sent, a middle grade book). And now that I’ve finished The White Queen, I’m curious to find out how the throne went from the Yorks and Lancasters to the Tudors. This feels like something I should know more about but as an American, England’s vast history is daunting.
Those who know more about this period in history will probably like this more than I did. The history confused me a bit but Elizabeth was a strong character whom I enjoyed reading about....more
Jack and Mabel always expected to have a large family. But the years passed and they had only one stillborn child. Mabel’s broken heart can’t tolerateJack and Mabel always expected to have a large family. But the years passed and they had only one stillborn child. Mabel’s broken heart can’t tolerate being around her siblings and their large families any longer so she and Jack decide to move to Alaska.
But life is still hard in Alaska, especially during the long, dark winters. When the first snowstorm of the season arrives, Jack and Mabel playfully build a snow girl, complete with coat, mittens, and a sweet smile. Imagine their astonishment when they find that the snow girl has vanished overnight and small footprints lead away into the woods.
I enjoyed this but as a woman who has chosen not to have children, I don’t think it speaks to me the same way it speaks to mothers or those who long to hold little ones in their arms. But even I found Mabel and Jack’s plight heartbreaking and rushed to find out exactly what was going on with the little snow girl. Was she magic? Was she an orphan who coincidentally found the childless couple on the night they built a snow girl?
“We never know what is going to happen, do we? Life is is always throwing us this way and that. That’s where the adventure is. Not knowing where you’ll end up or how you’ll fare. It’s all a mystery, and when we say any different, we’re just lying to ourselves. Tell me, when have you felt most alive?�
The combination of the harsh frontier life, the magic of the snow girl (was it magic?), and the vivid descriptions of the beautiful Alaskan scenery kept me turning pages.
There are a few scenes that might be triggers for some readers, as noted in the details above. I otherwise recommend it for readers who are looking for a touch of magic in a long, cold winter....more
JG (Introverted Reader)
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