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juushikaTitle: Hex
Author: Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Published: Penguin Audio, 2020
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 225
Total Page Count: 338,575
Text Number: 1198
Read Because: reread, hardback from my personal library
Review: reviewed by Lambda Literary and Lesbrary, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Expelled after a death in the toxicology department, a student's burgeoning obsession with poisonous plants mirrors her longstanding obsession with her academic advisor. Queer dark academia + poisonous plants is a delightful premise. The microchapters, abrasive narrator, and frequent second-person address are fun gimmicks that make this compulsively readable. But the second half flounders in a morass of heterosexual infidelities among supporting characters—the parallels and moments of self-realization work, but there's better ways to explore a relationship defined by longing and frankly it grows tedious. 2.5 stars rounded up—when it works, I like it rather a lot! ...I just wish it worked more.
Title: Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat!
Author: Harriet Muncaster
Published: HarperCollins, 2015
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 25
Total Page Count: 338,600
Text Number: 1199
Read Because: reading the sequel, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Take my opinion with a grain of salt as my ideal sequel would feature sets like "the facing wall of the living room" or "the witch's bedroom, maybe?"—but the cozy, accepting home atmosphere of the first book is a big part of what makes it so special. It's present here, but less central; the emphasis instead is seasonal spectacle. That's the perfect excuse for cute and kitschy props, and the dioramas remain a delightfully unique art style choice that makes me want to reach in and touch/be part of the world. Bonus star for the art, and this is a fun sequel; but it's relatively slight, and not something I'll reread incessantly as I do I Am a Witch's Cat.
Title: The Silent Companions
Author: Laura Purcell
Published: Penguin Books, 2018 (2017)
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 338,950
Text Number: 1200
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: An over the top indulgence of historical gothic tropes, which could be enjoyable, if silly. But this finds its fear in the institutionalization of women as a form of social control (a terrifying concept, I agree, but this is an unremarkable take on something I'm usually susceptible to), the uncanny valley (also terrifying, this is the novel's gimmick—but one wishes it were toned down to something more ambiguous, as the overtly malicious painted cutouts grow ridiculous), the Romani people (played as social commentary on "dark" characters in gothic fiction, which is a nice acknowledgement, but not particularly insightful), and disfigurement.
There's room for the reading that a disfigured child is socially vulnerable, including to malicious supernatural influence. But the ending reveal is everyone's fear that disfigured = uncanny and evil is justified. Is that the note this wants to end on? It was never going to be high art and that's okay, although the narrative justification and pacing of reveals is frankly cheesy. But it has a modicum of trope awareness—and gothic fiction's relationship with ableism and the relative goodness of bodies is prime for interrogation. The relationship between depicting, condoning, and inverting/critiquing a problematic trope is rarely clear-cut, particularly in a period piece; but I consider this an objective fuckup, and it spoils the entire work.
Author: Rebecca Dinerstein Knight
Published: Penguin Audio, 2020
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 225
Total Page Count: 338,575
Text Number: 1198
Read Because: reread, hardback from my personal library
Review: reviewed by Lambda Literary and Lesbrary, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Expelled after a death in the toxicology department, a student's burgeoning obsession with poisonous plants mirrors her longstanding obsession with her academic advisor. Queer dark academia + poisonous plants is a delightful premise. The microchapters, abrasive narrator, and frequent second-person address are fun gimmicks that make this compulsively readable. But the second half flounders in a morass of heterosexual infidelities among supporting characters—the parallels and moments of self-realization work, but there's better ways to explore a relationship defined by longing and frankly it grows tedious. 2.5 stars rounded up—when it works, I like it rather a lot! ...I just wish it worked more.
Title: Happy Halloween, Witch's Cat!
Author: Harriet Muncaster
Published: HarperCollins, 2015
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 25
Total Page Count: 338,600
Text Number: 1199
Read Because: reading the sequel, hardback borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Take my opinion with a grain of salt as my ideal sequel would feature sets like "the facing wall of the living room" or "the witch's bedroom, maybe?"—but the cozy, accepting home atmosphere of the first book is a big part of what makes it so special. It's present here, but less central; the emphasis instead is seasonal spectacle. That's the perfect excuse for cute and kitschy props, and the dioramas remain a delightfully unique art style choice that makes me want to reach in and touch/be part of the world. Bonus star for the art, and this is a fun sequel; but it's relatively slight, and not something I'll reread incessantly as I do I Am a Witch's Cat.
Title: The Silent Companions
Author: Laura Purcell
Published: Penguin Books, 2018 (2017)
Rating: 1.5 of 5
Page Count: 350
Total Page Count: 338,950
Text Number: 1200
Read Because: personal enjoyment, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: An over the top indulgence of historical gothic tropes, which could be enjoyable, if silly. But this finds its fear in the institutionalization of women as a form of social control (a terrifying concept, I agree, but this is an unremarkable take on something I'm usually susceptible to), the uncanny valley (also terrifying, this is the novel's gimmick—but one wishes it were toned down to something more ambiguous, as the overtly malicious painted cutouts grow ridiculous), the Romani people (played as social commentary on "dark" characters in gothic fiction, which is a nice acknowledgement, but not particularly insightful), and disfigurement.
There's room for the reading that a disfigured child is socially vulnerable, including to malicious supernatural influence. But the ending reveal is everyone's fear that disfigured = uncanny and evil is justified. Is that the note this wants to end on? It was never going to be high art and that's okay, although the narrative justification and pacing of reveals is frankly cheesy. But it has a modicum of trope awareness—and gothic fiction's relationship with ableism and the relative goodness of bodies is prime for interrogation. The relationship between depicting, condoning, and inverting/critiquing a problematic trope is rarely clear-cut, particularly in a period piece; but I consider this an objective fuckup, and it spoils the entire work.
