**SPOILER WARNING**
In my opinion, I could see this book being used in a literature class because it seems like this is some sort of social commentary. About what exactly, you may ask? I really have no idea. It seems to be some sort of mix of female oppression and classes/societies in a post-apocalyptic world. Well, the classes are pretty obvious to draw up: The Professors, the Soldiers, the Barbarians, and Out People.
But, I didn't read this book for a class and just for my own enjoyment. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it. Actually, I almost put it down a few times because it was getting harder and more dull to read. I wouldn't say I hated it, hence why I gave it two stars, but it went downhill for me. I love books about post-apocalyptic worlds, and I had a few hours to kill in the bookstore I work at, where I read this novella. The back cover describes it to be a "dangerous, erotic love story", a "magical romance", and "a gripping adventure story". While I can kind of agree with it being an adventure story (but not that gripping), I cannot call it romantic at all. To me, a "magical romance" sounds how you would describe a Disney Princess movie. A "dangerous, erotic love story" sounds like the tagline for a book like Fifty Shades of Stupid, but would give you that basic idea. If you want one of those two things, don't read this book expecting them. There is no romance or anything erotic about it, except... Rape. That might deter some of you already, but let me continue.
The main character, Marianne, was touted as being such a bright and bold young woman, whose "ruling passion [is] always anger rather than fear", but honestly, she didn't really do anything. She liked looking at her father's (A Professor) books, but that was really it for the intelligence part. Later, when she decides to leave her community behind to live with the Barbarians and realizes it wasn't the best idea afterwards, what does she do? Nothing. Well, she does try to leave, but ends up getting raped by the Barbarian that murdered her brother many years before, Jewel, and is forced to marry him. I read another review of this book on Good Reads, and agree with it in that that rape scene was just... ugh.
Now for those of you that don't like reading about rape, there wasn't anything that graphic about this scene, so you won't be scarred for life. It just made me shake my head. I don't mind rape being used in stories, but left the wrong kind of impact on the characters. I don't want to say there's a RIGHT way to do a rape scene in a book, but it needs to leave some sort of impact on the characters! Jewel didn't seem to care, and neither did Marianne, who should be the most concerned one of all?! After that, wouldn't she try to leave and make it on her own? Nope. -__-
Now if Marianne was written to have more faults in her character, then I think I would have been able to sympathize with her more. But, Carter described her character one way and did the exact opposite later, so it made me face palm more than feel bad for her.
As for the rest of the characters... I ended up liking a few of the characters over Marianne, but there was just not enough to them to make me really care about them or their societies. They do not have enough realism or humanity for my taste and needed a lot more flesh to them.
In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this book to read for fun. I would say if you need to analyze a book for a class, especially on feminism, this may work for you. If I could describe it in one word, it would be... ugh. Just that. :-( However, I won't let this deter me away from Angela Carter. I have good things about her other novels, so I hope the next book I read by her is better than this... fingers crossed!
In my opinion, I could see this book being used in a literature class because it seems like this is some sort of social commentary. About what exactly, you may ask? I really have no idea. It seems to be some sort of mix of female oppression and classes/societies in a post-apocalyptic world. Well, the classes are pretty obvious to draw up: The Professors, the Soldiers, the Barbarians, and Out People.
But, I didn't read this book for a class and just for my own enjoyment. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it. Actually, I almost put it down a few times because it was getting harder and more dull to read. I wouldn't say I hated it, hence why I gave it two stars, but it went downhill for me. I love books about post-apocalyptic worlds, and I had a few hours to kill in the bookstore I work at, where I read this novella. The back cover describes it to be a "dangerous, erotic love story", a "magical romance", and "a gripping adventure story". While I can kind of agree with it being an adventure story (but not that gripping), I cannot call it romantic at all. To me, a "magical romance" sounds how you would describe a Disney Princess movie. A "dangerous, erotic love story" sounds like the tagline for a book like Fifty Shades of Stupid, but would give you that basic idea. If you want one of those two things, don't read this book expecting them. There is no romance or anything erotic about it, except... Rape. That might deter some of you already, but let me continue.
The main character, Marianne, was touted as being such a bright and bold young woman, whose "ruling passion [is] always anger rather than fear", but honestly, she didn't really do anything. She liked looking at her father's (A Professor) books, but that was really it for the intelligence part. Later, when she decides to leave her community behind to live with the Barbarians and realizes it wasn't the best idea afterwards, what does she do? Nothing. Well, she does try to leave, but ends up getting raped by the Barbarian that murdered her brother many years before, Jewel, and is forced to marry him. I read another review of this book on Good Reads, and agree with it in that that rape scene was just... ugh.
Now for those of you that don't like reading about rape, there wasn't anything that graphic about this scene, so you won't be scarred for life. It just made me shake my head. I don't mind rape being used in stories, but left the wrong kind of impact on the characters. I don't want to say there's a RIGHT way to do a rape scene in a book, but it needs to leave some sort of impact on the characters! Jewel didn't seem to care, and neither did Marianne, who should be the most concerned one of all?! After that, wouldn't she try to leave and make it on her own? Nope. -__-
Now if Marianne was written to have more faults in her character, then I think I would have been able to sympathize with her more. But, Carter described her character one way and did the exact opposite later, so it made me face palm more than feel bad for her.
As for the rest of the characters... I ended up liking a few of the characters over Marianne, but there was just not enough to them to make me really care about them or their societies. They do not have enough realism or humanity for my taste and needed a lot more flesh to them.
In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this book to read for fun. I would say if you need to analyze a book for a class, especially on feminism, this may work for you. If I could describe it in one word, it would be... ugh. Just that. :-( However, I won't let this deter me away from Angela Carter. I have good things about her other novels, so I hope the next book I read by her is better than this... fingers crossed!
