This first installment in this fantasy series is excellent, and a promise of more great things to come. I understand that this book is the recipient oThis first installment in this fantasy series is excellent, and a promise of more great things to come. I understand that this book is the recipient of many awards and I can see why. I'm just so excited to read a fantasy that is NOT YA!! This is definitely not. The language and sexual situations are pretty graphic.
I'm not too proud to admit that it did take me a while to understand the secret of the three different narrators. The non-linear format is presented beautifully. The world building is complex and exciting. At the end of the book, there are still many questions to be answered, but I feel a connection to the characters. This world is harsh and unforgiving, but there's magic aplenty. I'm very anxious to discover more of this world and what makes it tick!...more
I was so excited to start the year with this book! It has been on my tbr for far too long and has been highly praised by friends that I trust. It did I was so excited to start the year with this book! It has been on my tbr for far too long and has been highly praised by friends that I trust. It did not disappoint! Set in New York during WWII, it gives us a journey through the growth of comic books from crude, simplistic children's stories toward the more complex, adult-themed stories that they ultimately become. The story explores the pursuit of the American Dream by immigrants in the early 20th century, as well as the desperate situation of those trying to escape the horrors of those trapped in the thick of the War. The characters are engaging and the prose is lovely. In a shameless display of lethargy, I'm ending my review here and padding it by including a link to a friend's (Violet Wells) review, which I agree with wholeheartedly....more
What to say about this book? First of all, this is my second Ania Ahlborn book, and like the first, I don't think I'll be forgetting it soon. The firsWhat to say about this book? First of all, this is my second Ania Ahlborn book, and like the first, I don't think I'll be forgetting it soon. The first was The Shuddering, and for some reason, it really had an impact on me. It's been over a year since I read it, but it still pops into my head from time to time. I think this will be the case with Brother, as well.
It's so different from The Shuddering--I definitely would not have immediately known it was the same author. Brother, while horrific, is not a horror story in the "sleep-with-the-light-on" paranormal style. It is more in the "how much evil are human beings capable of" vein.
*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***
This is one messed up family. The reader knows (but Michael doesn't) how he became a part of it. There's the taciturn dad, Wade, his ruthless and bloodthirsty wife Claudine, and their three children: Lauralynne, Ray, and Misty Dawn. Ray kidnapped Michael from his own yard when he was four, but Michael is raised being told that his own family abandoned him and the Morrows took him in out of the goodness of their hearts. Michael is raised amidst horrors that are difficult to comprehend. I'm not going to go into the plot, but I will be honest and point out that I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer because I kinda had to have it spelled out to me what the purpose of the young women's murders was. I attributed it to just bloodthirsty sport, but turns out that there was a more practical reason!
I found this to be an interesting character study. For one thing, there's the contrast between the reactions of the different characters to their abuse. The abuse is generational: turns out that Momma's own parents abused her in some terrible ways, as well. We never find out what causes Wade to turn to this lifestyle, other than that he was in the war. Claudine's abuse turns her into a monster, as does Ray's. The two daughters and Michael are damaged but retain their humanity. As the reader, you get annoyed with Michael and wish desperately that he would leave, do SOMETHING other than just go along with the terrible things Ray keeps throwing at him. I can understand, though, that if you have never known anything else, have had this total obedience ingrained in you through harsh punitive measures, it is not easy to break those barriers. Add to that a lack of education and an almost complete isolation from the outside world, and Michael's hesitation to just ride off into the sunset is at least comprehensible. To crown all of that, there is a tremendous burden of guilt and self-loathing, and the solid belief in his own worthlessness.
Again, I did not see the twist coming at the end of the book, either, and was taken aback by the scope of Ray's/Reb's revenge. I was only sad that his death was so quick and relatively painless. I wished that both Momma and Ray could have experienced long, drawn out, and extremely painful deaths, but it was not to be.
I think I will be processing this book for a while. I will definitely continue to read this author!!...more
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