I thought that Firing Lines: Three Canadian Women Write the First World War by Debbie Marshall sounded fascinating. Pioneer war reporters Mary MacLeod Moore, Beatrice Nasmyth and Elizabeth Montizambert were some of the first women able to publish articles on topics other than those typically associated with the female realm at the time (homemaking, fashion, beauty, child rearing). They wrote about the impact of war on both those fighting and those not, depicting conflict not as heroic, but as devastating. However, the contents consisted of a collection of anecdotes, without going in depth into their war experiences, and much of the book is spent describing what happened to the three women, their families and friends in the years after WWI. So much of it felt like padding that it left me very disappointed. Thankfully, the bibliography gave me a few interesting titles to explore further.
I love the kind of book that features a smart, socially awkward girl as its main character. Ben Guterson's excellent Winterhouse series delighted me, and I was thrilled to learn that a Canadian author, Marthe Jocelyn, has written such novels. The first volume, The Body under the Piano, tells of the adventures of two 12-year-olds: daydreaming aspiring writer Aggie Morton (strongly inspired by Queen of Crime Agatha Christie, née Miller) and her exquisitely polite, fussy friend Hector Perot (obviously a young Hercule Poirot). Set in Torquay in 1902, this story follows our amateur sleuths as they investigate the death of a deeply unpleasant woman found under the piano of Aggie's dance class. As well as being exceedingly diverting, the book mirrors the social upheaval that immediately followed the death of Queen Victoria, when young people and women started to reject the strict social conventions of the older generations. Also very enjoyable were the "Easter eggs" planted by the author throughout the book, which fans of Agatha Christie will have fun identifying as references to the titles, characters and plot points of her future novels and plays. The audiobook has the perfect narrator, Sarah English, whose variety of accents and excellent French pronunciation made listening a genuine pleasure. I've already borrowed the second book in this series.
After reading A Spindle Splintered, I can say that Alix E. Harrow still occupies the spot near the top of my list of favourite authors that she earned with The Once and Future Witches and The Ten Thousand Doors of January. This novel, a modern-day retelling of Sleeping Beauty, has irrevocably altered my perception of fairy tales and, in particular, the trope of the "wicked fairy." Its main character, Zinnia Gray, has long been obsessed with this story. Who better than she could identify with a cursed princess? She's all too aware that, owing to the rare illness that is slowly shutting down her body, she won't reach the age of 22. At the end of the 21st birthday party thrown by her best friend in an abandoned tower filled with roses, Zinnia pricks her finger on the spindle of a dusty old spinning wheel purchased at the local antique store and is transported to a world where she befriends the not-entirely-helpless Princess Primrose. Her presence disrupts the curse narrative and creates ripples in more than just their two lives. I absolutely adore AEH's biting humour and imagination! Her female characters are always fallible and complex and full of surprises. This is the first novel of a series that I look forward to continuing to read.
The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw is another fairy tale retelling, this time of the Little Mermaid — with a cannibalistic twist. If I were asked to summarize the plot, I would say that it's the story of a widowed mermaid who, on her travels with a genderless plague doctor, encounters a group of quasi-feral children and the three surgeons they worship as saints. One Goodreads reviewer described it as "weird, gross, and oddly romantic," an assessment with which I can only agree, while another commented: "I have no idea what the fuck I just read" and rated it 4 out of 5 stars. Indeed.
Speaking of horror with a touch of queerness, I've fallen under the spell of the first 2 seasons of "Penny Dreadful." Eva Green is mesmerizing, Billie Piper is an absolute badass, and Josh Hartnett can growl in my direction any day. I hope the final season will be available soon on CBC Gem!