Wilkins, Kim: The Veil of Gold
The Veil of Gold
Writer: Kim Wilkins
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 495
This is one of those cases where I pretty much got the book based on the cover. And that's saying something, since it's only available in the US as a hardback. But I did read the premise, noted it was a fantasy that focused on Russia, and decided that was pretty much all I needed to know. Besides, it's a pretty cover, though if I remember right, I think it was the spine of this book that got my attention before I ever saw the cover.
Anyway. When I read Ekaterina Sedia's A Secret History of Moscow and Sergei Lukyanenko's The Night Watch, this was what I was looking for: a solid fantasy which uses the basis of Russian history and folklore to create and maintain an engaging but different story. The irony is that the author of this particular tale isn't even Russian, but Australian (she grew up in Australia, anyway; she was born in London). I don't know what that says about me to the style of story or what, and I do know that I would've been more confused if Sedia's A Secret History of Moscow hadn't given me a down-and-dirty dose of Russian mythology. But Sedia's book was an urban fantasy, with place as much a character as the people, whereas this, The Veil of Gold, is contemporary. Place is important, yes, but not as important as the magic.
The premise: When a statue of a golden bear is discovered in the walls of a bathhouse, Rosa believes it was no accident: the bear wants to be found. Her uncle believes it's of great worth, but Rosa, who inherited a touch of magic from her mother, knows better. She knows the bear is very, very important. She contacts her former lover Daniel to help figure out the mystery, but along the way, Daniel, along with the bear, go missing in a landscape of impossibility, leaving Rosa in the real world with few ways to find him. Her search leads her to the Chenchikov family, and the Chenchikov family leads to more secrets, putting Rosa at risk and decreasing her chances to ever find Daniel, let alone learn what's so important about the golden bear.
Spoilers, yo.
The prose sucked me in immediately, as did the characterizations of the three main protagonists, Rosa, Daniel, and Em. Daniel particularly so, because his character brought to mind a good friend of mine, and while I think my friend is made of stronger stuff, I could easily see my friend acting, with ease, in Daniel's role, and that was particularly enjoyable, as I don't always have strong images of characters when I read (no matter how descriptive the author is).
The Veil of Gold is a frame story. We meet "Papa Grigory," who, through-out the book, tells us the tale of the present, as well as the history of the golden bear and how she acted as an observer through-out Russian history and the breaking of worlds. Once, magic was free to roam Russia, but when a ruler converted to Christianity, the worlds split into two: the Mir and the Skazki. The Mir is the real world, and the Skazki is where all magical creatures and myths reside, and all of those creatures and myths are particularly dangerous to humans.
It's the world of the Skakzi that Daniel and Em get sucked into, thanks to the golden bear, as they accidentally pass through a veil between the worlds. Rosa tries to follow them, but learns she doesn't have enough magic. Anatoly, the patriarch of the Chenchikov family and also a volkhv, offers to teach her the magic she needs if she'll stay with the family to tutor his son and help his wife around the house. These duties belonged to his daughter Elizavetta, but she's taken with a mysterious illness that threatens her life.
At first, it didn't seem that the stories would ever meet. The Chenchikov family seemed like a bump in the road, but it developed and got deeper: Rosa learns that the real reason Elizavetta is sick is because she accidentally killed her first husband (who she loved deeply) and his revenant is haunting her, calling her back and sucking away her life force. Anatoly is using all the magic in his possession, which includes stealing the magic away from Ilya, Elizavetta's second husband, and Rosa, in order to banish the spirit, to no avail. Rosa learns the truth: Elizavetta is still in love with her first husband, so much so that her inability to let him go (there's tons of pictures, and she sleeps with a lock of hair under her mattress) keeps him tied to her and this world.
If there's one flaw that I noticed in the story, it's this: Rosa unravels the truth of this family. She uses that truth to set Ilya free from the magic that's keeping him there, then she uses it to force Anatoly into helping her cross the veil. What puzzled me was this: when she learns that it's Elizavetta causing the revenant of her late husband to return, why doesn't she share that information with Anatoly? In theory, she knows he's using magic (HER magic) to banish the revenant, and that it's a wasted effort. Shouldn't she approach him and let him know WHY the magic isn't working so he knows that he doesn't need to keep stealing it?
Aside from that, the way Wilkins pulls the story together is really satisfying. Though I am suddenly reminded of another quibble: Rosa entered the Skazki at the same place Daniel and Em did, and she meets the leshii, just like Daniel and Em. What I don't understand is how Rosa found Papa Grigory's place so easily, and they didn't. Does his protective bubble also hide it from sight, so he purposely showed it to Rosa when she crossed? It's the most logical answer, but not one explained.
I also enjoyed Daniel's and Em's series of misadventures. Things fit together pretty well, and I liked how the Skazki had rules, and I liked how both characters were weighed down by human needs, like how one misadventure starts because Em needed to pee. Em was an interesting character, and I was sorry for her loss, but it was a good death. And frankly, there's just so much to love about the world-building of the Skazki that I don't know where to begin. Again, it goes back to the internal rules of the place: the inhabitants want gold, the inhabitants can and will kill humans (some in grotesque and frightening ways), and if you'll escape your NATURAL death by living in the Skazki (aka, the way you're fated to die), but if you can still die there unnaturally, and your soul will be stuck there forever.
In many ways, it was a difficult book to put down because of the characterization, world-building, and the story. I felt like I learned more about Russia and its folklore, even though it's told through the fictional veil. And the prose was very lovely to read through. I've heard some complaints about the end, but I thought the resolution was pretty obvious, and not really abrupt. What questions are left to be answered? Oh, one could wonder what becomes of Totchka and whether or not modern doctors can cure her, but I suspect that's a given, and if it's not a given, then the author would have a sequel on her hands. So you can assume the girl's safe until told otherwise. Likewise, it's obvious that Daniel recognizes Rosa in Elizavetta's body, and the only question there is why the mother and the little brother don't recognize the difference. I suspect the mom will, even if the boy doesn't. But I do expect a happy ending for Rosa and Daniel, now that she's found her way to cheat her natural death.
And can I say I really loved Rosa's secret? I was expecting something really big and magical, and what we get instead is a very simple, very human disease that pushes Rosa to living dangerously, fully, but without attachments. That, I thought, was poignant, though I am curious what'll become of her actual body. Will it stay in Skazki until the body of Elizavetta dies? Not sure, but again, I don't think that's important. What's important is the resolution of Daniel and Rosa, and I think it's a lovely resolution.
My Rating
Must Have: since she's an Australian author, Wilkins's work is going to be very hard to find in the States (her American debut, The Autumn Castle, is already out of print), so I suggest if you're the slightest bit interested, you've got to give this book a shot. It's a lovely contemporary fantasy that educates as much as it entertains, and it uses a non-traditional backdrop for its magic and folklore (did I mention how much I loved Rosa's use of magic? SO MUCH.). Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel and fans of Ekaterina Sedia's A Secret History of Moscow and even Catherynne Valente's The Orphan's Tales or fans of Charles de Lint should not let this book slip from your grasp. It's a lovely read with lovely prose, and I'm really, really glad I got seduced by the cover art on this one. REALLY glad. Next time Wilkins releases something in the US, you can bet I'm picking it up ASAP.
Next up:
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice