anitaxlit's reviews
258 reviews

Reading Harrow the Ninth was a fever dream. This universe of decay, ghosts and death gripped me by the throat and didn't let go until I finished. At night, I slept poorly, plagued by dreams of the story. This might speak more of my tendency toward obsessive thinking BUT hear me out. It was still an incredible experience. A fantastic read. There have been books I enjoyed, characters I loved, stories that stayed with me... But I don't know that I've ever been as invested as I am on this universe. In my review of Gideon the Ninth I mentioned the impressive character work, and this is still true for the sequel. Everyone we knew from the first book gained in depth and new interesting unhinged peeps were introduced (hi Mercymorn I am free to go out this friday; also God????).

The second person narrator makes you feel like you *are* Harrow. Gideon the Ninth was already confusing af, even when the MC felt more or less situated in her world and circumstances. In this book, Harrow is lost and confused herself, she's been thrust into a scary and unfamiliar situation and she cannot find purchase in her surroundings. I won't go into more detail for fear of spoiling things, but with this in mind you will correctly guess that "wtf!?" was my main mood.

STILL. You just have to embrace the confusion. Maybe get a reading buddy to scream at. There will be questions. There will be ~feelings~. And in between it all, you will slowly start to fill in some of the blanks Gideon the Ninth left, and you will end up with a much clearer picture of the Locked Tomb universe. A fuckton of questions too, don't be mistaken, but now I feel I understand the way this world works a lot better, if not some of the particular incidents.

I laughed a lot, bc Tamsyn Muir is a comedy queen. I cried, bc Harrow the Ninth is about grief, for others and for oneself, that rips you apart. I lost sleep, bc the story is addictive and there came a point where I gasped every other page. I said "I'll go to bed when I finish this chapter" and yelled "wtf is going on!!!" more times than I can count. As a language and English geek, I adored the richness of the writing. And as a queer woman I was delighted and felt *seen*. 

Gideon, first flower of my House. Harrow, my umbral sovereign. How to live without you until the publication of Nona the Ninth?

Las protagonistas de Casas Vacías no pueden escapar de la maternidad. Una madre que perdió a su hijo y la mujer que se lo quitó. Viven la maternidad como dos pesadillas paralelas, y entre las dos comparten esta: la de darse cuenta que ser madre a veces es ser consumida, aislada y silenciada. Con voces muy distintas te acercan a ellas para contarte sus experiencias al oído y que las vivas de bien cerquita. Conforme avanza el libro, la narración de la primera mujer se dispersa y pierde fuerza, mientras que la segunda gana en energía frenética.

Cuando acabé de leer no estaba muy segura de si me había gustado, pero después de rumiarlo creo que ha sido una lectura importante. Hasta ahora nadie me había dicho tan claro: «Tener hijos es difícil, si tienes suerte, y puede ser horrible, si no la tienes». Ni la política ni la sociedad ni la biología dejan que me olvide de la maternidad, así que, al menos, quiero pensar en ella de la mano de mujeres extraordinarias como mis amigas o Brenda Navarro. Menuda novela debut se ha marcado. 

This was the perfect conclusion to the Simon Snow trilogy and I will miss these characters dearly <3