Mélusine by Sarah Monette
Title: Mélusine
Author: Sarah Monette
Pages: 496 (paperback edition)
Year of publication: 2005
Category: Fiction -- fantasy
Grade: A-
Finished on: 29 December 2006
Mélusine is told by two first-narrators, the wizard Felix Harrowgate and the cat-burgular Mildmay. I love unreliable narration a whole lot, and I can also be a big fan of getting to see a story from various people's points of view, and getting them both within one really well-written novel should be about my favorite thing in the world. But here's the thing: I love Mildmay with the fire of a thousand suns, but in Felix's sections I spent most of my time just being like, "Shut up and get me back to Mildmay." It's funny, because I found this novel through mistful's rec, which I just skimmed really quickly, long enough to get out of it that there would be gay wizards and maybe some incest, and I went into it hoping for just that. And Felix is the gay wizard in question (you learn that on about page two), but I just couldn't identify with him at all. The writing is beautiful, though, and you'll see what I mean about falling completely, madly in love with Mildmay if you read it. I'm off to buy the sequel, The Virtu, today, because I just can't wait to see what happens to him. And, okay, maybe to Felix, but only peripherally. Mildmay's sections -- and Sarah Monette's writing and worldbuilding in general -- are worth reading the book for.
Author: Sarah Monette
Pages: 496 (paperback edition)
Year of publication: 2005
Category: Fiction -- fantasy
Grade: A-
Finished on: 29 December 2006
Mélusine is told by two first-narrators, the wizard Felix Harrowgate and the cat-burgular Mildmay. I love unreliable narration a whole lot, and I can also be a big fan of getting to see a story from various people's points of view, and getting them both within one really well-written novel should be about my favorite thing in the world. But here's the thing: I love Mildmay with the fire of a thousand suns, but in Felix's sections I spent most of my time just being like, "Shut up and get me back to Mildmay." It's funny, because I found this novel through mistful's rec, which I just skimmed really quickly, long enough to get out of it that there would be gay wizards and maybe some incest, and I went into it hoping for just that. And Felix is the gay wizard in question (you learn that on about page two), but I just couldn't identify with him at all. The writing is beautiful, though, and you'll see what I mean about falling completely, madly in love with Mildmay if you read it. I'm off to buy the sequel, The Virtu, today, because I just can't wait to see what happens to him. And, okay, maybe to Felix, but only peripherally. Mildmay's sections -- and Sarah Monette's writing and worldbuilding in general -- are worth reading the book for.