Kay's Bookshelf

While reading this I realized that my favorite character of them all is in fact Miss Moore, the art teacher that encourages reading and thinking out of the box, and I am very looking forward to see whether she will keep these characteristics in the next book. Gemma is still a brave girl, trying to do what’s right, although she doesn’t always make the right choices (but hey, she’s sixteen, what can anyone expect). I very much liked the romantic development(s), much better than in the previous book, where I wasn’t that smitten with the idea of romance between those two particular characters. While I liked Gemma to bits, I cannot say the same about her two girlfriends: Felicity strikes me as selfish most times, and Ann tries to be too much like Felicity for me to actually find her to my taste. I was quite sorry to discover that, because these characters were parts of the reason I enjoyed Book 1.

Now, if I have found some of the characters to be a wee bit lacking, I cannot say the same about the plot. Mysteries abound and clues are lacking, as Gemma has no idea who to trust and where to turn for help. More parts of the Realms are introduced, complete with fascinating inhabitants, more or less friendly (a group worth noting are the Untouchables, who paint their hands for protection and who reminded me very much of the Untouchables in India).

Another colorful backdrop was the Bethlem Royal Hospital (aka Bedlam) — “visiting” it was quite interesting to me because I’ve been hearing about it for ages, and only now I have realized I knew nothing whatsoever about it other than its nickname and purpose. While I am not sure its depiction is that accurate (all the nurses and personnel were very kind to the patients, while in real life quite the opposite is said about it), it was interesting to have some images to attach to the name nevertheless.

A quote I liked, from an interview with Libba Bray about this book:

“My hope is that each of the characters comes to a greater understanding of herself—or himself, in the case of Kartik. If you feel you have a voice, if you don’t feel powerless, you’re less likely to act out in frustration and rage and hopelessness. You’re likely to feel less threatened and more willing to listen to other people’s voices as well. And that, my friend, wouldn’t make the world a perfect place, but it’s a decent place to start.”

show spoiler

Thoughts on the ending: Everything was nicely wrapped up, while also hinting at some future conflicts. I was particularly surprised by show spoiler

What I liked most: The talk between Miss Moore and the girls when they visited a gallery. My favorite ideas were:

“What if evil doesn’t really exist? What if evil is something dreamed up by man, and there is nothing to struggle against except our own limitations? The constant battle between our will, our desires, and our choices?”

and, about Lucifer:

“Do you think they missed him terribly when he fell? Did God cry over his lost angel, I wonder?”

What I liked least: The dynamics of the relationship between Felicity and her parents is somewhat changed, and it is a bit too different for me to happily accept it. show spoiler

Recommend it to? Anyone who has read and liked the first book, of course. I do think it can work as a standalone too, as the author was very careful to always explain what happened previously in regards to a matter.

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This book is a sequel to:
A Great and Terrible Beauty

This book is followed by:
The Sweet Far Thing

Written by the same author:
Going Bovine

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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Understandably enough I was fond of the way Frederik related to his secret: he had a small cardboard city hidden in the attic, with two residents made out of threadless wooden spools, with their heads being acorns. Frederik thinks they may feel lonely, and goes on to search for a way to get the pair a boat to go sailing, “to hunt for more family”. I found that to be a cute idea, and also the very reason why the path of Frederik and the little girl with the matches will intersect, albeit for a very short while.

This is another one of those stories where everyone is good and the atmosphere is relaxed. The queen was my favorite from this point of view, as she was quite a clumsy creature, always stepping on the hems of her dresses; a detail that could have made her ridiculous to the reader, but as she also treated everyone quite nicely, I ended up being amused by her in a good way.

A part of the product description of the book on Amazon.com (something I didn’t think about myself but is obvious once it’s been pointed out):

When it was first translated from Danish and published in England in the mid-nineteenth century, audiences likely interpreted the Little Match Girl′s dying visions of lights and a grandmother in heaven as metaphors of religious salvation. Maguire′s new piece, entitled “Matchless,” reilluminates Andersen′s classic, using his storytelling magic to rekindle Andersen′s original intentions, and to suggest transcendence, the permanence of spirit, and the continuity that links the living and the dead.

Another thing I have loved from the very first is the title. Which I find beautiful :)
I have no idea whether I am right or not, but I took it to be a play on words, as matchless means both with no matches (just like the little girl was after all her matches have burned) and without a match, alone, as two of the characters in the book happen to be. Also, at one point the girl’s mother’s eyes were mentioned to be matchless (as in unique), and I enjoyed having yet another meaning to play with. Isn’t it great that one single word title can be interpreted in so many ways? :)

Thoughts on the ending: It’s quite cute, made even more so by the pictures. How else :)

What I liked most: The fact that the author has managed to take such a gloomy story and turn it into a happy one without actually changing anything of importance…

What I liked least: …however, I was nevertheless a bit disappointed by the fact that the original story wasn’t changed; for some reason I was expecting otherwise. Didn’t bother me that much though as the whole was happy enough overall.

Recommend it to? Everyone. It a very short read (272 lines, according to one reviewer), and the pics (drawn by the author himself) are really nice :)

Written by the same author:
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister
Wicked

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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Both Luther and Nora are just so… sketchy. There’s nothing much to be said about them other than they love their daughter. Luther is a bit cheap (understandably enough given that he was an accountant) and Nora is just an upper-class housewife. At least I was glad to see that their relationship was strong enough to resist both the attacks of their neighbors and the pangs of regret Nora sometimes felt at having to skip certain parts of the festivities along with the bad ones.

Now that I think about it I don’t quite know why I have started reading this book, having seen the movie a while ago and not quite enjoying it (it had a happy ending but that’s all I ever liked about it). If anything the book was blander than the movie (at least the movie sort of annoyed me seeing all those nosy and aggressive neighbors that seemed to have missed all of was Christmas is truly about — interestingly enough, even though the book sort of had the very same scenes, they failed to raise any actual feeling from me).

Furthermore, I sort of fail to understand the point the author is trying to make: skipping the mindless consumerism of Christmas is bad? I for one cannot but root for the Kranks, both because it’s their right to do what they choose with their time and money and also because Christmas is not about the tree you put up or the things you buy — nevertheless I had the impression that the narrator/author was secretly finding their plight ridiculous, and had a “serves them right” moment at the end where they have to hurriedly prepare everything they resisted preparing until then, with the predictable difficulties this implies (such as nothing actually useful left in stores).

What I liked most: I was a bit amused at the way Luther treated those who wanted to sell him stuff to help various charities: he didn’t buy anything at the moment but he promised them he’ll buy for the same amount or larger in the spring/summer/whenever they were raising money again. Which didn’t quite help his money saving goal :P

What I liked least: Meh. It was too bland overall for anything to actually stand out. What was it with Marty though?

Recommend it? Well, most people at Amazon liked it so don’t let me put you off. It’s a very short book so you might want to give it a try :)

Written by the same author:
Runaway Jury

The links to amazon.com and bookdepository.co.uk are affiliate links. If you click one of them and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price. This being said, rest assured that the few cents I might thus make will never influence what I say or do not say about any book reviewed on the site.

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