A Spindle Splintered, by Alix E Harrow

[sophia_sol]

I was introduced to Harrow's writing in a previous Hugo year with her debut novel, Ten Thousand Doors of January, which was making a stylistic statement that REALLY didn't land for me. So I was a bit trepidatious heading into this book, which is on the hugo novella nominee list this year. But, although I don't love everything this book is doing, I actually really liked it, I'm glad to say!

A Spindle Splintered is a fractured fairy tale, and exactly the kind of thing I would have devoured as a kid. Characters from multiple versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale end up interacting and able to affect each other's stories! It's very fun, and I loved how clear it was that the author ALSO loves fairy tales and loves the inherent nature of mutability within them. And I loved the main character Zinnia and her various coping mechanisms for dealing with knowing she's a dying girl with a time limit on her life

However, I did not love the way that the book leaned so hard into the cliches for various of these stories, most especially the story of Primrose, the second-most-important Sleeping Beauty of the book. It felt like it was simultaneously trying to poke fun at the ridiculousness of the story and the setting AND ALSO take the difficulties of Primrose's life seriously, and the clash between those two modes made it feel really off-balance to me. It was basically fine for the various other Sleeping Beauties who show up at the very end to help save the day, because they're ultimately minor characters so it feels more okay for them to be avatars of cliche. But for Primrose....her story was central to the whole thing, as it's the story the main character Zinnia escapes into, and it just didn't work for me.

Also the author has fun putting in little easter eggs for the reader, like a "Harold, they're lesbians" joke, and you know what, memes like that stuck into books continue to be jarring imo.

BUT there are some things the book gets really right, and my favourite thing it does is the best friendship between Zinnia and Charm, where it's like, straddling the line between platonic and romantic, and the exact nature of it might be complicated, but the depth of love between them is NOT complicated and they just love and care for each other SO MUCH. Anyway, love that for canon, but for fanfic: post-canon (post Zinnia's finding-herself adventures) Primrose/Zinnia/Charm, am I right?

Comments

[lirazel]

you know what, memes like that stuck into books continue to be jarring imo.


Agreed. Unless it's a book about chatty millennial memelords. Otherwise: I HATE this.

I feel like it's been a while since I've gotten to read a book review by you, and I missed it! This was fun to read!

[sophia_sol]

yeah and this is a case where like. an entire character's name was determined solely to be able to stick this meme in later, which is WAY too much bending your story around your jokes for my taste!

I feel like it's been a while since I've gotten to read a book review by you, and I missed it! This was fun to read!

aww, thanks! and yeah this is the first book I've finished in three weeks or so, I think I only have so much room in my brain to devote to "taking in new narratives" and it's mostly been going to watching Nirvana in Fire of late. I'm trying to find ways to get more book reading back though! Because I'm only halfway into NiF and I don't think I can take being bookless for that much longer.

[lirazel]

Ugh, that makes it even worse!!!

Oh, I understand! I have heard that NiF very much takes over the brain!

[sophia_sol]

Yeah, you get me, NiF is taking over my brain SO much! And I don't begrudge it the brain space because it's just so so so good, but also, a tv show cannot be everything to me.

[chestnut_pod]

Ah, so happy to hear that this might be worth a shot! I did actually quite like The Ten Thousand Doors of January, but I really, really didn't like The Once and Future Witches and so felt leery of this new book. But, memes and all, it does actually sound like something I could get along with. Thank you!!

[sophia_sol]

Ah yeah, I just went and found your review of The Once and Future Witches, and that sounds like a firm no thanks from me too! I hope you do indeed get along with A Spindle Splintered :)

[chestnut_pod]

I'm honestly impressed you found it! I should start something like your tagging system…

[sophia_sol]

well you have, uh, sliiiiightly fewer book posts than I do so I was able to brute-force finding it without issue! But I cannot argue that it is VERY nice to have one's posts well-organized with a robust tagging system :D I can't imagine book blogging any other way at this point, tbh!