Down with the Shine, Kate Karyus Quinn’s third novel, starts with a prologue that promises a dark, twisted and very unusual book. The promise is strenDown with the Shine, Kate Karyus Quinn’s third novel, starts with a prologue that promises a dark, twisted and very unusual book. The promise is strengthened by our knowledge about Quinn’s previous works, which were always gritty and weird enough to stand out. In Down with the Shine, Quinn takes her unusual approach even further by mixing ideas and genres, albeit with questionable results. It is, it would appear, entirely possible to try a bit too hard to be innovative and fresh. In many ways, this book reminded me of Bad Taste in Boys, but while Bad Taste was purposely silly and hilarious, Down with the Shine failed to be even that.
‘Be careful what you wish for’ is something we’ve all said many times in our lives, but rarely do we really stop to consider the possible consequences of our hidden desires coming true. Quinn explores the cost of wishes made haphazardly by a group of drunken teens, ranging from bat wings to love returned. Not a single wish turns out like the person wanted it to, and the results are often disastrous.
As the daughter of a famous criminal, Lennie always found it hard to fit in. In an effort to join the popular crowd, she brings some of her uncles’ moonshine to a party and follows the tradition of granting wishes, not knowing they would actually come true. Lennie makes many mistakes from the start, but she’s actually the least to blame. The adults in her life failed her spectacularly, and her choice in friends and love interests left a lot to be desired. Her infatuation with her best friend’s brother made little sense from the start, and the more I witnessed their interactions, the more I wanted Lennie far, far away from Smith.
I suppose Quinn was aiming for a darkly humorous tone, but Down with the Shine was neither particularly dark (dismembered bodies notwithstanding), nor was it successful in being humorous. That’s the main difference between this book and Bad Taste in Boys – the latter was ridiculous, but also hilarious. It helped that the book is compulsively readable and entertaining, although never laugh-out-loud funny. Quinn’s prose isn’t thick or pretentious, which makes it very easy to absorb, and she does know how to surprise her readers on every turn. While Down with the Shine isn’t her best work, it can be an enjoyable way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I strongly suspect that a title like Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies will make just about everyone grab this book from the shelf. It’s a title th
I strongly suspect that a title like Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies will make just about everyone grab this book from the shelf. It’s a title that demands attention, but luckily for us (and for debut author Lindsey Ribar) the rest of the book absolutely deserves it. Closer to magical realism than just about anything else, this debut title is funny, quirky and unique.
The story is told by a 17-year-old boy from a family with magical abilities. Member’s of Aspen’s family can reach into people and take things – feelings, affinities, personality traits and even physical characteristic. They do it mostly to keep the Cliff from falling and destroying the inhabitants of Three Peaks. They can also use it for personal gain, the only rule being that they can’t turn on each other.
Our narrator Aspen is no hero. He’s quite the opposite, in fact. His moral compass is seriously malfunctioning and it continually leads him to highly questionable choices. It doesn’t take more than a few pages for us to understand that Aspen won’t be an easy one to like. As he sits and gleefully watches his best friends breaking up, we have to reach deep into ourselves to find some sympathy and understanding. And yet, Aspen turns our feelings around unusually fast. He doesn’t change his personality, if anything he keeps making more and more mistakes, but his dry humor and his almost childlike understanding of his own powers makes him somehow dear to us despite our best efforts. Power corrupts, of course, and when you’ve had such immense power from early childhood and no one strong enough to teach you right from wrong, you can’t become anything other than an anti-hero.
Aspen does a lot of harm along the way, but it does it almost like a child handling his father’s gun, with no real grasp of the consequences. Still, he isn’t entirely blameless and most of his use of magic is absolutely self-serving. Ribar doesn’t offer easy fixes, not even at the end of Aspen’s journey. She merely gives us hope that he might approach things differently in the future.
Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies is unusual from start to finish, filled with original ideas and flawless execution. Ribar’s teenagers are true teens and she doesn’t shy away from them. They engage in casual sex and they drink at every available opportunity. The story is completely free of any type of moralizing, be it about drinking, sex or Aspen’s reckless actions. Things just are, as they are in life, and just like in life, there are no clean solutions.
Please excuse all the fangirling that is about to ensue. If you knew what I know – how brilliant and utterly gorgeous Mercedes M. Yardley’s new novel Please excuse all the fangirling that is about to ensue. If you knew what I know – how brilliant and utterly gorgeous Mercedes M. Yardley’s new novel is – you would not only forgive me, but you would undoubtedly join me in singing her praise. Before all else, it needs to be said that Pretty Little Dead Girls is a thought-provoking book that allows us many different readings. It can be read superficially and still be described as exceptional, but one could also spend months on allegorical interpretations, trying to find non-literal meanings and likely only partially succeeding.
In her strange, memorable but unassuming way, Yardley manages to raise some very important philosophical and existential issues. Her protagonist, Bryony, has always known that she would one day be murdered, and so did everyone around her. It is a simple fact of life, nothing to fuss about, and everyone who looks into her eyes even once knows that she will end up as someone’s victim. As Bryony waits for her destiny to be fulfilled, people around her keep dying instead. You see, fate tries and aims, and often misses by a narrow margin. So Bryony’s friends die, and she stays alive, at least for the time being.
Narrative-wise, Pretty Little Dead Girls is innovative and very postmodern. Yardley uses metafictive devices to constantly draw attention to the narrative itself. She keeps opening a direct communication between the book (or rather the omniscient narrator) and the readers by asking them to participate with their opinions. Third person omniscient point of view is also a somewhat unusual choice for contemporary literature, but for Yardley, it works extremely well. The effect of this simple choice on the story is tremendous and I dare say brilliant. It speaks volumes about Mercedes M. Yardley and all the things we can expect from her in the future.
Pretty Little Dead Girl is deeply, yet quietly romantic. There is love for Bryony, but like everything else, it comes without much fuss and it remains constant and reliable throughout. It is, I think, the most beautiful thing about this novel – the matter-of-fact approach to everything - life, love and death alike.
This is a weird, whimsical tale perfect for weird, whimsical people; artists and dreamers, creative thinkers and free spirits. Paradoxically, Yardley’s style is oddly formal and playful at the same time, which reflects the overall mood of the story perfectly. If you only take one risk this year, a single read you’re unsure of, choose this one. Even if it’s not your type of story, you’ll be able to appreciate the beauty and the quality of Yardley’s writing.
I, however, revel in this type of thing, and I so rarely get a chance to read something so perfect for me. My heart is full, my mind is blown, and every book I try to read just pales in comparison.
Paula Brackston’s Witch series is actually a series of standalones, with each book set in a different time period, but united by a common theme: a youPaula Brackston’s Witch series is actually a series of standalones, with each book set in a different time period, but united by a common theme: a young witch struggling to find her place. After 17th century England and 19th century Wales, Brackston now takes us to visit the high society of Edwardian England.
At the center of the story is Lilith, a Duke’s daughter and a powerful witch. Lilith’s father just died, and while her brother inherited the title, Lilith inherited something much more important – his position as the Head Witch of the Lazarus Coven, as well as his backbone and his ability to keep the family together. Lilith is young, but she is both powerful and smart, level-headed and emotionally strong. One can help but admire her as she makes the decisions that affect more than just herself and the two men in her life.
At its very center, The Midnight Witch is a story about good vs. evil, but Brackston manages to turn this very basic concept into a truly captivating story. While there are admittedly some inconsistencies in the plot, there is emotional resonance from the opening moments of the story, and the characters are extremely relatable.
If possible, Brackston’s writing is even more elegant than before, combining deep emotionality and superb quality of prose. Even with third person multiple perspectives narrative, by far my least favorite, Brackston keeps a tight rein on her POV characters, never allowing them to take control or blend together. Her narrative mode almost takes us back to European literary realism, albeit with far stronger emotional attachments between us and the characters.
I don’t read historical fiction that often, magical realism or not, but if more authors wrote it like Paula Brackston does, that would change in a heartbeat. These books can be read in any order, so check them all out and see what sounds best, but don’t let them slip by you. They are not to be missed.
Maja (The Nocturnal Library)
>
Books:
magical-realism
(4)
Loading...
