Rosie GarlandCritiques

DNF

the writing style wasn’t for me

I want to read this SO BADLY! Whyyyyyy is it not released in the US?

This was on my library wishlist even before I read Rosie Garland’s Night Brother, and without knowing a thing about it. I was just intrigued by the title and tantalised by the cover: I thought it might be a bit like Emma Geen’s Many Selves of Katherine North, but of course I was thinking too literally. Set in the Devon village of Braunton in the plague year of 1349, it in fact tells the story of Thomas, the village priest; Anne, his housekeeper and would-be wife; and the strange, mute girl who is discovered half-drowned in a bog after a terrible storm. As Death draws its wings close around Braunton, these three find themselves at the heart of a struggle between small-mindedness and broad vision, played out in microcosm in the kitchen and barn of Thomas’s meagre home.

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/08/07/vixen-rosie-garland/

I would like to thank HarperCollins UK for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this book.

The Night Brother is a unique and unusual read and is unlike anything that I've read before. It's also a book that is hard to discuss without spoilers so this review will be rather brief and to the point.

At its heart, The Night Brother is a historical fiction novel but it also has a touch of magical realism and fantasy. It explores both gender identity and fluidity, and sibling rivalry. The plot was original and unique and the writing style appealing, but the overall concept wasn't clearly explained in the end.

I did enjoy it, the authors writing was engaging, it was a pleasure to read and it easily held my attention, but I am left with lots of questions. For example: Why was this happening to Edie and Gnome? Is it a curse placed on them and their family? Who placed it, when and for what reason? If it wasn't a curse then what was it? Was it medical? Psychological? There's was no clear explanation given. Had there been then this would probably have been a 4 star read for me but the lack of explanation knocks it down to 3 stars.

Edie and her brother Herbert, nicknamed Gnome, do everything together. As children, growing up above their mother's pub in late 19th-century Manchester, they roam the streets by night, sneaking into firework shows and exploring their town. But, as the years go on, Edie begins to resent Gnome. Every night he drags her out, forcing her to be more daring and naughtier than she wants to be. By day she's left empty and ragged. And the worst thing is that Ma and Nan tell her Gnome doesn't even exist. But he does. He comes every night, regular as clockwork, and Edie begins to dream of ways to control him...

For the full review, due to go live on 12 May 2017, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/05/12/the-night-brother-rosie-garland½

I read this book on my flight from Switzerland to Australia. Usually long haul flights tend to soften the sparkle of most reading experiences, in fact one could argue that they soften the sparkle of almost every experience. It is something about the snoring, the crying babies… not to mention the recycled stale air and the horrible reheated plane food. Despite all of that going against my time with Rosie Garland’s book, I found myself not just enjoying it, but loving the book.

I bought Garland’s novel on a whim. I was in the book store, looking for something, unsure what exactly, and came across the book wedged at the back of the shelf. I bought the book based on the cover and while I am well aware of all the sayings that go with this action, I was not disappointed at all. Thank god for whims!

This book is written from three perspectives, Thomas, Anne, and Vixen/the maid (although her ‘real’ name is never actually given and throughout reading the book I often wondered if she knew her name at all), and what I like about the novel is that it teaches you something without being too overt with the message. For me, Garland was telling me: to check my beliefs, find out ‘who I am’, and once you know who you are hold on to it tight.

Thomas is a priest in a small rural town called Brauntone. He is conservative, pious, and a strict follower of the ‘word of god’. And I deliberately use quotation marks here, because Thomas is essentially a follower of his own conservative interpretation. His beliefs make him a frustrating paradox. He wishes that his fellow villagers see his as kind and caring, yet he will beat Anne to show her how wrong she is in the ‘eyes of god’. He cannot receive any criticism, but is good at dishing it out, and although he seems secure in his beliefs he is actually quite an insecure man.

Anne goes to work as the housekeeper for Thomas in the hopes that he would take her as ‘wife’. Although he isn’t allowed to officially marry, Anne had hoped they could live together as husband and wife. Thomas, however, is completely against this and uses Anne as an almost slave in his house. Anne, is a very naive woman at the beginning of the novel. She is unsure of herself and believes that a life of quasi-marital bliss will bring her everything she has desired. The fact that she ends up being on a different end of the sexual orientation spectrum at the end of the novel is just one obvious example of how she changes as a person.

The catalyst of the story is Vixen, who is described as having magical powers to transform her appearance, although it is never quite clear how she does it. She comes to Brauntone to escape the plague and death. When she is found by the townspeople, Thomas proclaims her a miracle maid sent from god. Her disguise as an uneducated animal-like girl has everyone bar Anne convinced. And eventually they start to talk. It is Vixen who questions Anne’s blind submission to Thomas and it sparks a change in Anne. Simultaneously, Anne’s kindness and patience spark a change in Vixen and her attitude to not only Anne, but the world.

When the plague reaches the gates of Brauntone, Anne and Vixen try to save as many people in the town as possible by using horse urine (I am not sure if this is an actual historical fact that Garland picked up somewhere or an invention from her own mind).

Thomas never actually learns from his mistakes or his misbeliefs and in the last pages of the book he is a shadowy old figure ignored by everyone in the town. Anne and Vixen, each in their own ways, learns that the time to be who you are is now. And, each in their own ways, pays the the price for not being who they wanted to be sooner. They say that books come to you when you need them most, and I felt that this book was fitting to read at the end of 2015 when new year’s resolutions are always on the tip of everybody’s tongue.

I am so used to cruelty that I do not know what it is to taste sweetness; so used to running that I do not know what it means to stand still. It is not a skill I have ever had to learn. I can lie, cheat, cozen, simper and act a hundred parts, and not one of them is real. My heart has grown as crooked as this disguise I wear. Page 181

Anne has dreamt of a different life and escape came in the form of a marriage to the village priest. Nothing is as it seems and death is creeping around the corner. Pestilence, the plague, the Great Mortality is sweeping across the country and fear is rampant, cloaked in superstition and religious fervour. Out of the blue, a mysterious maid is washed up during a stormy night and Anne's dreams may come true, but not in the way she could have prepared for.

The more I read, the more agitated I became. The further along the story carried me the more I wished I could just abandon it. The book is strange in so many ways including the characters, their thoughts and actions. The only moments that were memorable were so for the wrong reasons, crassness and vulgarity. The book is centred around the plague and ironically I wished I had avoided the book like it was the plague. Moving along and not wasting another moment on this book. Not recommended.½

Set in Victorian England where life is cold and cruel for the poor and different, this is a story of hope and fortitude. Against all incredible odds, is the fortitude to live and love.

Excellently written, Garland takes the reader to the seemly underbelly of England. Eve is born with the very unique deformity of a lion-faced girl. With paws for hands and abundant fur, she is found by Josiah Arroner. In love with the concept of love and normalcy, Eve agrees to marry him.

Too late, she realizes he simply wanted to add her to his "palace of curiosities" where the gentrified and not-so refined can pay a fee to see wonders of the age. As she sits on stage, dressed in elaborate clothing, timidly waving a colorful fan, the audience gaps at her, at times making lewd remarks.

Abel is a man cursed with the fact that he can never die. Living over and over again, forgetting much and longing to be free, many times he attempts to kill himself. Unsuccessful in freeing himself of the chain of perpetual life, Abel resides as a curiosity in "Professor" Josiah Arroner's house of the abnormals.

Exploited by their keeper, they begin a life changing journey.

Three Stars.

This debut novel has set the mark for this year's reading for me. It blew me away and I could not put it down. The author has written a superb tale that captivated me from the very beginning. Garland writes so eloquently that I felt as if I could step into the pages and become part of the story. I'm not sure what genre to put this amazing tale into so I'm calling it historical fantasy. The plot centres around two characters who find themselves in a freak show due to their unusual differences. One seems to have the gift of everlasting life, the other is a woman covered in a furry pelt. The other members of the freak show are equally as fascinating and I feel they could all have their own stories to tell. I loved the build-up to Eve and Abel's relationship and adored the way their tale ended. I never expected this to be such a heart-warming story that's also filled with hope and determination. I'll definitely be looking out for more by Rosie Garland.