Author: Jacqueline Carey
Published: 2001
Genre: fiction-fantasy
Started: Jun.24/11
Finished: Jul. 15/11
So how will this work? I will add to this as I read if anything leaps to mind about the book. I will try to follow this pattern for all my books.
Jul.1/11
Initial Impressions (306 pages in):
So far I am really enjoying this book. The story is intriguing and compelling and the character and story drew me in almost immediately. Points in abundance to Miss Carey. The story is about an alternate Europe in which gods and angels exist and in which the most beautiful country in this world is Terre D'ange, a place in which it is believed angels settled and the race of people dwelling there when the story starts are decedents of those angels. Born into this world is Phedre, a girl born to be a courtesan and with the gift (or curse...as the reader may decide) to always feel pain and pleasure as one. It is her story told with her voice that is being shared.
The story is sensual and sexual. Carey is very good at writing sexual encounters without being vulgar about it but rather making it something beautiful and artful which is the very epitome of the culture of this land. So far I am enthralled. The world is beautiful and I am a sucker for stories of intrigue. Perhaps because I find it so compelling but hard to write myself. There are hints though that the story is going to get darker and that sadness and despair are going to be main emotions. I am hooked though.
Jul.11/11
Taking me longer to read than usual it seems.
(525 pages in)
Carey is very good at throwing in unexpected twists. The story went in an entirely different direction from what I was expecting. There are certainly disturbing aspects to the story but so far I am still enjoying it and though I am not reading as often as I like I know that I will continue to read her books.
She is unafraid to kill off characters if the story demands it, even if they seem important to the story or have been enough at the forefront for the reader to develop an attachment to the characters. The book is long, also, but there does not feel like there are instances that could have been edited out. It feels, to me, that there are no wasted words or scenes.
she is also very good at handling the 1st person narrator and keep the voice of the character true. I do always feel like it is Phedre speaking and telling her story and do not feel as i read that the author is leaking into the voice of the character. For me 1st person has always been difficult to manage. I prefer 3rd person limited in my own writing but Carey is very good at giving a sense of a character telling her story to an audience.
I am well past the halfway point of the book now and look forward to reading the rest.
Jul.19/11
(Final Impressions)
As I don't doubt I have said above, this book is beautifully written and a pleasure to read. It took me longer to read but that was mostly not the fault of the book. While it is about 900 pages long which would take me a while regardless, in this case I was busy and didn't read as fast as I would have liked. But that has no bearing on how I feel about this book.
Jacqueline Carey is, in my opinion, incredibly talented. She was able to take the sexual themes that are integral to this story and make them beautiful and artful rather than vulgar. She took a step beyond the illusion which many authors use rather than overt presentation of such things and was open with what happens in the encounters the main character has. At the same time, however, she did not stray into the vulgar as other authors may have a tendency for. In addition these story is one of spies and intrigue. anyone who has read other novels which involves the "game of houses" would enjoy this story. I would not describe this story as high fantasy or even traditional fantasy per se as the what magic does occur is very subtle and used only in tiny doses but it is something that makes the story refreshing and different.
I have to be impressed by Jacqueline Carey's willingness to carry out what the story seems to demand rather than what the reader might hope for. In many instances I felt that she could have gone in another way which some readers might have preferred but she unflinchingly went forward with what was more tragic and more poignant in the long run and in the way it was these instances that added to the beauty of the story. There is much at stake in Kushiel's Dart and I think it is partly because of Carey's willingness to have the worst happen even if the reader might be bothered by it. She does not flinch at killing characters the reader might have developed an attachment too, nor does she have any problem sending her character into exile with only the barest hints of what may happen later.
Kushiel's Dart is written as a first person narrative and so she is able to drop hints through the voice of the main character as to what might happen in the future, however she is very good at using it more for the sake of foreshadowing rather than as a tool to reassure the reader that all ended Happily Ever After...which may or may not happen and which may be interpreted by the reader. Really her story is a book about survival in the face of the greatest adversity and about courage and strength under fire. I would ask whether a story can be said to end Happily Ever After (H-E-A for my purposes) when there is so much tragedy before the ending. In the end Carey left me with the feeling that while one part of a story ends it does not mean it is finished. Of course this is the first in a series so that might be said to be the intent. Of course, in my opinion, it is subtle...the sense that as long as there is life the story is never really over.
I am looking forward to reading the next in this series though I don't necessarily know when it will be. I know there is so much more I could say about this book but I think I have mentioned the most important parts without adding spoilers.
Would I recommend this book: Absolutely
Who would I recommend this book to?
Anyone who is interested in original ideas would enjoy this book, as would anyone who enjoys beautifully written imagery and characters that are fascinating and compelling. Anyone who does not mind darker themes or who finds darker undertones to make a book more compelling would likely enjoy this. The story is complex and involved and places a great deal of emphasis on intrigue. Anyone who has ever enjoyed stories of intrigue and the game of houses would certainly enjoy this story. It is handled very well by Carey.
Who would I not recommend this book to?
This not a book for someone who is looking for a light read. While beautifully written, this book has quite dark undertones and is not brain candy in any way. Anyone who may be sensitive religiously might also feel offended as would anyone who is offended by sexual themes as that is one of the main themes of this story and is integral to the plot. Anyone who has an especial aversion to the darker aspects of sex that leads along the line of BDSM would not enjoy this book. As the main character is one marked by the god/angel Kushiel to suffer pain and pleasure as one...obviously this is an important aspect to the story and while not too graphically presented could make anyone who is uncomfortable with such things enjoy this story less than one who doesn't mind such themes.
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