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A review by erica_o
All the Murmuring Bones by A.G. Slatter
5.0
I've been in a bit of an unfortunate mental state this year.
Nothing over and above what we're all going through, mind you.
The depression, exhaustion, burned-outedness, all of the other stuff, it's not dispersing and it's having a terrible side effect on me: I have not enjoyed the books I've recently read, which was especially disheartening when the four books I'd pre-ordered with wonderfully high excitement all got here and I didn't connect to any of them.
I haven't enjoyed reading at all.
Which makes me sad.
And the spiral spirals.
I'd put All the Murmuring Bones on hold the minute we got it in the library but had to wait awhile because there were other people already on hold for it. My turn to take it home finally came up mid-June.
I'll admit, I let it sit on our ottoman for a week, maybe ten days, because of the whole inability to read joyfully thing but one day, I went outside to the hammock and brought this with me.
Can I just tell you how incredibly relieved I felt to be interested in the story from the first page?
I don't know if it's Slatter's writing style, if it was the comfort of being back in this world, or if the story just struck the right way in the moment and I'm not sure that I care, I was just happy to be happy reading again.
Quick summary:
Orphaned Miren O’Malley’s grandfather dies and her grandmother immediately puts into play a plan to restore their family's former glory but at the price of Miren's freedom and the freedom of Miren's future children. Finding evidence amongst her grandfather's papers that her parents may still be alive, Miren is determined to escape the crumbling family estate, an arranged marriage to a spiteful and cruel cousin, and her pinched little life to discover the truth about her origins.
It seems a little grimdark at times, there's a lot of supernatural murdery stuff happening in and around the landscape plus there are decrepit family manors and burnt rooms that hold the memory of dead babies but, ultimately, it's a softer story, a little quiet and dreamy, filled with herb gardens and plant-witchery, about family and belonging and why it's not so great to make deals with hungry, sharp-toothed sea people.
If you've read any of Slatter's short story collections or her novellas, you'll recognize bits and pieces throughout this story; I let out a squeak of excitement when the Weeping Gate was mentioned. If you haven't, though, this is an excellent place to start.
Thank you, Angela, for this gift that you didn't know you were giving me even though I suspect every author secretly hopes this is exactly the gift they're giving readers. You made reading lovely again.
Also...
...it's not a secret anymore.
Nothing over and above what we're all going through, mind you.
The depression, exhaustion, burned-outedness, all of the other stuff, it's not dispersing and it's having a terrible side effect on me: I have not enjoyed the books I've recently read, which was especially disheartening when the four books I'd pre-ordered with wonderfully high excitement all got here and I didn't connect to any of them.
I haven't enjoyed reading at all.
Which makes me sad.
And the spiral spirals.
I'd put All the Murmuring Bones on hold the minute we got it in the library but had to wait awhile because there were other people already on hold for it. My turn to take it home finally came up mid-June.
I'll admit, I let it sit on our ottoman for a week, maybe ten days, because of the whole inability to read joyfully thing but one day, I went outside to the hammock and brought this with me.
Can I just tell you how incredibly relieved I felt to be interested in the story from the first page?
I don't know if it's Slatter's writing style, if it was the comfort of being back in this world, or if the story just struck the right way in the moment and I'm not sure that I care, I was just happy to be happy reading again.
Quick summary:
Orphaned Miren O’Malley’s grandfather dies and her grandmother immediately puts into play a plan to restore their family's former glory but at the price of Miren's freedom and the freedom of Miren's future children. Finding evidence amongst her grandfather's papers that her parents may still be alive, Miren is determined to escape the crumbling family estate, an arranged marriage to a spiteful and cruel cousin, and her pinched little life to discover the truth about her origins.
It seems a little grimdark at times, there's a lot of supernatural murdery stuff happening in and around the landscape plus there are decrepit family manors and burnt rooms that hold the memory of dead babies but, ultimately, it's a softer story, a little quiet and dreamy, filled with herb gardens and plant-witchery, about family and belonging and why it's not so great to make deals with hungry, sharp-toothed sea people.
If you've read any of Slatter's short story collections or her novellas, you'll recognize bits and pieces throughout this story; I let out a squeak of excitement when the Weeping Gate was mentioned. If you haven't, though, this is an excellent place to start.
Thank you, Angela, for this gift that you didn't know you were giving me even though I suspect every author secretly hopes this is exactly the gift they're giving readers. You made reading lovely again.
Also...
...it's not a secret anymore.