nannahnannah's review
3.0
Hmmm. This is a tough book to review, or even to form an opinion on. On one hand it's the most creative work I've ever (Ever) read, but on the other ... did I enjoy it? Or just its craft?
This is one of those stories that's a story within a story within a story within a story (etc., etc., etc.,). Layers upon layers of stuff. It's enjoyable, but the downside is if you put the book down for a while and leave it for a bit later, good luck trying to remember who's speaking or telling the tale! I wish the chapter headings also told who was telling the story as well as whose story it was. :S That would've made things a lot easier for me. Then again, I might just be a bit scatter-brained, who knows.
In any case, In the Night Garden put simply is about two children in a VERY loose retelling of the Arabian Nights. The young son of a Sultan meets a mysterious "demon girl" (named for a birthmark around her eyes, making her look almost raccoon-like) in the gardens. Her birthmark is actually extremely tiny words written around her eyes: seemingly unending stories. She tells him these stories night after night, getting him in trouble.
Their story takes up very little page time, actually. The meat of the book is the stories this girl tells, which are intricate and Very Unusual--and mostly? Extremely creative. I've never encountered a more creative author. These stories (basically two novellas made up of short stories) are unlike anything else I've ever read. They wind around each other and are full of unusual creatures, strange plots, and plot twists that I'd never see coming in 1000 years.
But are they enjoyable? Uhhhh ... sometimes. I did enjoy the first novella (overall story) for the most part. The second ... maybe wasn't to my taste. But I don't think I'd ever pick this book back up again, unless it was to study the way Catherynne M. Valente writes.Because even though I might not enjoy everything written, I have to admit that she is a master storyteller and that her style is amazing.. I mean, sometimes things felt a little "thesaurus-y", but the way sentences were played with was so masterful.
But as to content ... I could do without the incest. And the transphobia (aka "the hermaphrodite showed her true nature by revealing her breasts and wearing make up etc.). It completely removed me from her writing and made me less interested in the stories. Same with the fact that her creativity is SO extensive ... and yet with all these creatures and cultures, there are Still two genders and everyone is heterosexual? What is this??
Anyway, her writing and storytelling are so wonderful, but the actual stories left me lukewarm. I just don't know how to feel about them.
This is one of those stories that's a story within a story within a story within a story (etc., etc., etc.,). Layers upon layers of stuff. It's enjoyable, but the downside is if you put the book down for a while and leave it for a bit later, good luck trying to remember who's speaking or telling the tale! I wish the chapter headings also told who was telling the story as well as whose story it was. :S That would've made things a lot easier for me. Then again, I might just be a bit scatter-brained, who knows.
In any case, In the Night Garden put simply is about two children in a VERY loose retelling of the Arabian Nights. The young son of a Sultan meets a mysterious "demon girl" (named for a birthmark around her eyes, making her look almost raccoon-like) in the gardens. Her birthmark is actually extremely tiny words written around her eyes: seemingly unending stories. She tells him these stories night after night, getting him in trouble.
Their story takes up very little page time, actually. The meat of the book is the stories this girl tells, which are intricate and Very Unusual--and mostly? Extremely creative. I've never encountered a more creative author. These stories (basically two novellas made up of short stories) are unlike anything else I've ever read. They wind around each other and are full of unusual creatures, strange plots, and plot twists that I'd never see coming in 1000 years.
But are they enjoyable? Uhhhh ... sometimes. I did enjoy the first novella (overall story) for the most part. The second ... maybe wasn't to my taste. But I don't think I'd ever pick this book back up again, unless it was to study the way Catherynne M. Valente writes.Because even though I might not enjoy everything written, I have to admit that she is a master storyteller and that her style is amazing.. I mean, sometimes things felt a little "thesaurus-y", but the way sentences were played with was so masterful.
But as to content ... I could do without the incest. And the transphobia (aka "the hermaphrodite showed her true nature by revealing her breasts and wearing make up etc.). It completely removed me from her writing and made me less interested in the stories. Same with the fact that her creativity is SO extensive ... and yet with all these creatures and cultures, there are Still two genders and everyone is heterosexual? What is this??
Anyway, her writing and storytelling are so wonderful, but the actual stories left me lukewarm. I just don't know how to feel about them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gore, and Transphobia
Moderate: Incest
also: detailed body horror
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