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A review by shanaqui
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
In the afterword to The Wood at Midwinter, Susanna Clarke mentions that she sees this as part of the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and I agree that it probably would have made a fun footnote there. And as a physical volume it's quite attractive, with a pretty cover, lovely illustrations, etc.
However, there's basically nothing here but heavily Christian vibes and some pretty descriptions of the wood in winter. The main character, Merowdis, is a saint (because we're told that everybody says so), and in this story she gets granted a vision of her future, which is to raise a bear-cub as her own. She's positioned as a sort of Virgin Mary type figure, but to redeem the relationship between humans and animals, and... mostly it just comes across as very churchy, and mostly just vibes.
It's still an attractive little volume, but I wasn't in love with the story (inasfar as there was any).
However, there's basically nothing here but heavily Christian vibes and some pretty descriptions of the wood in winter. The main character, Merowdis, is a saint (because we're told that everybody says so), and in this story she gets granted a vision of her future, which is to raise a bear-cub as her own. She's positioned as a sort of Virgin Mary type figure, but to redeem the relationship between humans and animals, and... mostly it just comes across as very churchy, and mostly just vibes.
It's still an attractive little volume, but I wasn't in love with the story (inasfar as there was any).