Literary version of a genre novel
Oct. 10th, 2022 09:36 amThings in Jars: A Novel by Jess Kidd (Amazon affiliate link)
I read a library copy of this book in fits and starts over the last week while traveling and conference-attending and whatnot. And this is a few jumbled thoughts, rather than a review.
Overall I liked it, but I didn't love it. I wanted to, and had it been a genre novel with the tropes and narrative you'd expect to find in one, I'd have finished it then turned to Amazon to hunt down news of the sequel, and perhaps pre-order it. As it was I got to the end, pleasantly surprised that the ending wasn't the 100% downer that I'd been expecting (because in Literature happy endings are oft considered childish), closed the book and thought "I wish this had been a tropier, cheesier story."
( cut for spoilers in a spoilery discussion )
I read a library copy of this book in fits and starts over the last week while traveling and conference-attending and whatnot. And this is a few jumbled thoughts, rather than a review.
In this “miraculous and thrilling” (Diane Setterfield, #1 New York Times bestselling author) mystery for fans of The Essex Serpent and The Book of Speculation, Victorian London comes to life as an intrepid female sleuth wades through a murky world of collectors and criminals to recover a remarkable child.On the surface this sounds like one of a slew of recent historical fantasy/paranormal genre novels, but it's actually firmly stuck over in the magical realism side of capital-L Literature, as the subtitle "A Novel" wants you to know. I'd forgotten that when I started—it had sat on my phone for a couple of weeks and the library email reminding me it was due in a few days alerted me of its existence—so the sudden realization that it was in omniscient POV instead of tight third was a bit of whiplash. But once I realized that, the lyricism of the prose drew me on through the story, while at the same time keeping a distance between me and the characters.
Bridie Devine—flame-haired, pipe-smoking detective extraordinaire—is confronted with the most baffling puzzle yet: the kidnapping of Christabel Berwick, secret daughter of Sir Edmund Athelstan Berwick, and a peculiar child whose reputed supernatural powers have captured the unwanted attention of collectors in this age of discovery.
Winding her way through the sooty streets of Victorian London, Bridie won’t rest until she finds the young girl, even if it means unearthing secrets about her past that she’d rather keep buried. Luckily, her search is aided by an enchanting cast of characters, including a seven-foot-tall housemaid; a melancholic, tattoo-covered ghost; and an avuncular apothecary. But secrets abound in this foggy underworld where nothing is quite what it seems.
Blending darkness and light, Things in Jars is a stunning, “richly woven tapestry of fantasy, folklore, and history” (Booklist, starred review) that explores what it means to be human in inhumane times.
Overall I liked it, but I didn't love it. I wanted to, and had it been a genre novel with the tropes and narrative you'd expect to find in one, I'd have finished it then turned to Amazon to hunt down news of the sequel, and perhaps pre-order it. As it was I got to the end, pleasantly surprised that the ending wasn't the 100% downer that I'd been expecting (because in Literature happy endings are oft considered childish), closed the book and thought "I wish this had been a tropier, cheesier story."
( cut for spoilers in a spoilery discussion )