Messy, unhinged, weird, campy, def needed more editing but... I haven't laughed this hard for a book in a long while! It was so magnetic, super immersMessy, unhinged, weird, campy, def needed more editing but... I haven't laughed this hard for a book in a long while! It was so magnetic, super immersive and I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs how silly and fucking brilliant were some lines. Long live evil, if this is what it is!...more
3.5/4, hands down the best thing Veronica Roth has ever written. I'm a sucker for anyone trying to pull a sword out of its spine.3.5/4, hands down the best thing Veronica Roth has ever written. I'm a sucker for anyone trying to pull a sword out of its spine....more
It took me a few days to ponder about this book, and I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't deserve 5 stars just because it's not A dowry of blooIt took me a few days to ponder about this book, and I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't deserve 5 stars just because it's not A dowry of blood. The magnificent jewel ceaseled and carved into every word, every syllable meticulously pigeonholed into the perfect place, with the perfect prose, to tell the terrible story of Constanta. I'm way too fond of that casket of precious words to see anything ever matching and comparable, but nothing will ever be A dowry of blood.
That said, An Education In Malice is another brilliant twist out of ST Gibson's pen and to quote the author: 'Everything she says sounds slightly conspirational'. Gibson has a magnificent prose, everything she writes is evocative, poetic, feral and dense. It's always multilayered, full of lush, tension, brutality and intention. I still find it a brilliant match between her words and the vampire figure, she never forgets about the blood and the lush involved, while she moves through complicated territories within her themes. And I LOVE IT. Absolutely! Plus, her books are one-sitting-reads: you drink them, you don't read them.
An education in Malice is everything the premises says: a gothic dark academia, enemies to lovers, a Carmilla reimagination, a sapphic story. And it's everything these few keywords won't tell you. Its the story of Laura, freshly enrolled in the prestigious Saint Perpetua's College. She is one the few lucky students to attend the famous poetry course by Miss De Lafontaine. There she meets the prodigy and protégée Carmilla, a brilliant talent devoted to the professor and extremely competitive. Well, she was bored before Laura arrived, but now she has competition and nothing will stop the two of them from becoming enemies. Who's the best poet? Who gets the most of De Lafontaine's attention? This competition turns into so much more and it unveils so many secrets and terrible truths.
'Unless keeping us starved for her approval, fighting over scraps of her love like neglected puppies, had always been her aim.'
Laura and Carmilla alternate povs were great to introduce you into their minds and their rivalry. And Carmilla's scenes were extremely uncomfortable, because what she has been through can only end with violence and pain. I just felt like i needed a bit more time in her mind and I would be completely sold to her. Laura is also quiet interesting, because as much as she's the devoted and more diligent student, she's quite affermative with her essence, she's very determined and that was the only kind of sparring partner I would see standing up to Carmilla.
'That she was bringing us deeper into her world not out of the goodness of her heart, but as some sort of punishment. The thought sent a shudder up my spine.'
The themes of devotion and the relationship with the master is very complicated and the mess it creates reverberates through the two main characters. They are not blameless, they are not perfect, they just end up in a game that is bigger than both of them. The sensual elements of the books are perfect in the context, since they give another layers to the skein of feelings and abuse. I don't find many authors capable to do that.
'Love is sacrifice, Professor. Whether it’s you on the butcher’s table or not, someone always bleeds.'
“I am a servant, señor. I have no use for such things.” “Even a servant is permitted a soul, Señorita Cotado.”
I was afraid to read The Familiar becau
“I am a servant, señor. I have no use for such things.” “Even a servant is permitted a soul, Señorita Cotado.”
I was afraid to read The Familiar because we were miles away from what I love, generally speaking, but from what I love about Leigh's writing as well. In fact, she says 'Fear men, not magic'. I should have thought so! But that said, my fears were quite foolish and I should have trusted the process waaaaaay more. Fool premises aside, I'm a huge fan of historical fiction, of fantasy genre, but I don't particularly care about romance and romantasy, because they are way to focused on the development of some aspects that I care nothing about. Well * huge sight of relief * there is romance in The Familiar but it wasn't the main point of the story, on the contrary (and thanks the stars above!) and not as much as I thought.
“No great miracle has ever been worked in Castilian.” “And why is that?” “Because it is a language that spends its power in command and conquest. But you were wrong when you said you didn’t need the words. You do need them. Just as God did when He set this whole miserable clockwork running. Language creates possibility. Sometimes by being used. Sometimes by being kept secret. I will see you again tomorrow, Luzia Cotado.”
What I loved: - The writing. The craft, the magic, the experience is all here. I really loved the way Leigh Bardugo, once again, can turn syllables into something else, something beautiful and cathartic and evocative like very few authors can do. I think I've underlined half of the book, with so many new favorite lines and descriptions. - Luzia Dazzling, quietly perseverant, and captivating, stubborn but also adaptive, resolute and a real survivor. She has the hunger of the survivors, I really really appreciated her. - Santangel I am so happy I liked Santangel, because he wasn't the Darkling. Jokes aside, I thought I would be facing a dark and brooding character, with a twisted side, and well... he sort of is like that, but more in a kind of Phantom of the opera mixed with Howl's way than a Darkling way. He's quiet complex, living under circumstances that made him the way he is but he's also the cutest cupcake ever. He's smart, a plotter, but also fragile... - Themes Many were explored in The Familiar, in an excellent way in my opinion, but there are a few that were so poignant that they made my heart sing! First of all, everything, from the setting, to the struggles of each character seemed so real. The historical context was well executed and made Luzia and Santangel shine, as it did with Doña Valentina, Caterina/Hualit, the contestants etc. It's a book about living in fear when in diaspora, during hard times. Perfect to portrait the jewish experience, but not exclusive (it made me think a lot about the Romanì's experience and the persecution we face since the Renaissance). It’s a testament of survival–to protect the most precious parts of ourselves for ourselves however we must. Belonging as frontier identities, as people that had to make margins their homes. Preservation and perseverance of diaspora people (and their cultures) trying to keep together splintered fragments of themselves. And all you're willing to do to survive. It's a book about the complexity of liminal spaces, about in-between languages, in-between people, in-between magic, in-between generations, in-between classes, in-between stages of life... and what are you if you in-between all these things? This was my favorite part of the book, because it resonated so much with my own experience.
‘You sound like anger but it’s fear i smell’
I think the main issues with The Familiar are two: - Pacing/rhythm. I think there were some issues with the pacing, it felt odd sometimes, like 'when does the story begins?' in one chapter and then like running down the hill followed by a giant mass the next. It made my reading experience quiet frustrating sometimes, maybe because it's the first standalone by Leigh. Don't know, but keep in mind that you have to keep going! - Secondary characters. I really suffered this one. It seemed like all of them were part of a greater picture, but most of them get lost by the end of the book. Uhmpf. There were some excellent and interesting figures, like Valentina and Hualit, like Teoda and Fortùn... I was expecting so much more.
That said, it was an intense ride, with many themes that are absolutely consistent even in this very moment and i appreciated The Familiar far more than i thought i would. Another great work by Leigh Bardugo.
“Never refuse wine, Luzia. You don’t know when you may be ofered it again.”
But talk of the devil was dangerous. It could take root and grow into a hanging tree.