Marian WomackCritiques

A surprisingly disappointing read. None of the characters really came to life for me, the writing style was clunky and disjointed and awkward. A lot of the plot was “all men are evil, using and abusing women for no other reason than that they’re women”. It felt to me like a rather desperate attempt at writing Strong Women, except that our Strong Women are constantly talking about men, and all the other women are Victims who need saving from these evil men.
It all fizzled out at the end, nothing really resolved, but no cliffhangers either; no doubt there’s a sequel planned, but I won’t be picking that up. Would not recommend to anyone.

Had no clue what was going on until the end, and even then I had to read other reviews to be sure.½

I will not leave a star review as I did not finish.

There was a lot to love. I picked this book up on the basis on the title, which immediately rang bells of recognition in my head (GEORGE MACDONALD REFERENCE!) It was indeed a George MacDonald reference, a meandering exploration of the dark side of fairytales, among other things.

I don't feel the book quite pulled together at crucial points, however, and I ended up abandoning it, with great reluctance. I lost sense of the threads and where it was going, what the characters were doing, and their motivations.

I love the voice and the beautiful narration style, and the eerie setting and atmosphere. I would even read another book by this author in future, on the strength of that writing. But structurally, this book doesn't work for me - it needs, imho, another HEAVY edit pass to make head or tail of what is going on. It needs to start in a different place and possibly from the MC's point of view (instead of the character it does start with).

I do not think that is just me being finicky. I've read Etched City, which has erratic/loose structure and is 95% imagery, 5% plot, and I LOVE that book. I've read a lot of Wolfe, which requires much patience, and I've read Ada Palmer, which is convoluted in the best way. In general I'm okay with overwhelming, unusual stories. This, to me, felt not quite finished.

That said, someone who is less of a structure whore might be able to read it and enjoy it.

Womack blends near-future climate-anxiety kitchen sink dramas (a la Kate Marvel) with weird surroundings and storylines and compelling characters to create a story collection that is unlike anything else I've ever read. Highly recommended.