A review by conspystery
Morgan is my Name, by Sophie Keetch

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

 First, a massive thank you to Netgalley, Sophie Keetch, and Penguin Random House for allowing me to read an ARC of Morgan is My Name in exchange for an honest review! I didn’t realize this book was the first in a planned trilogy when I read it, but once I realized that, everything made a lot more sense. This book is a solid setup for a series, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

I love Keetch’s take on the Arthurian setting. I think the success here comes from how rooted this book is in Morgan’s perspective; everything is filtered through her eyes. Tintagel Castle is given its atmosphere by Morgan’s experience of it, and so we as the audience are uniquely immersed in how it changes when Uther takes power.
Spoiler Even when we see Arthur towards the end (which itself is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of his interactions with Morgan in future books!) he doesn’t immediately consume the narrative, as I feel like often happens in Arthurian lit. Morgan quite reasonably has her own concerns about Arthur, but Arthur himself isn’t at the center of them, so he doesn’t overwhelm the story.
Every corner of the world that we see feels not only like we are there, but like we are there as Morgan, which I think is crucial to this book’s introspective narrative style. 

One particular detail about the setting I really enjoy is the worldbuilding around magic-- magic isn’t an over-the-top, wondrous gift of vibrance to the world as many versions of Arthuriana seem to prefer, rather an intensely powerful yet hushed, secretive force that’s almost ominous in its presence. Regardless of one’s familiarity with the title character’s story, the seemingly innocent against-the-rules allure Morgan initially finds in magic carries a sharp sense of foreboding that subtly curdles the rest of the world around it as the novel continues. This fascinating, darker Arthuriana roots its lighter moments in Morgan’s own lightness. The setting bends around her. It’s extremely satisfying, immersive, and engaging.

Keetch’s emphasis on Morgan’s voice drives the narrative forward in many more ways than the setting, though. I don’t know if I’d call Morgan a completely unreliable narrator, but the presentation of the supporting cast in this novel seems to be heavily influenced by Morgan’s own mindset. I think Sir Accolon, Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, and Morgan’s eventual husband are all great examples of Morgan’s perception lording over objectivity, mostly in a very good way. The prose itself reflects the centering Morgan is My Name commits to; there are paragraphs upon paragraphs delving into Morgan’s introspection in her own voice, and I for one adore the level of detail afforded to her thought processes through the novel. While I don’t think the writing is necessarily a total standout, it’s solid and approachable in its more languid moments of reflective stream-of-consciousness, and the moments where it is confrontational and action-driven work well without breaking the flow at all. The slow pacing complements the prose style and narrative focus. It reminds me a little bit of a more prosaic, less mythologically grandiose Circe by Madeline Miller.

Obviously, this book’s success hinges entirely on Keetch’s development of Morgan into a realistically flawed, well-rounded, interesting character; Keetch does a decent job on this front. My only issue here is that because this kind of feminist retelling of myth has become a lot more popular and widespread in recent years-- a trend I am extremely glad to see-- it’s a lot more difficult to make these stories and main characters stand out. Morgan, to me at least, is fascinating but not totally exceptional or unique for a work like this. Her relationships with Accolon and her eventual husband don’t help there; the romance in this book takes a lot of power away from its narrative for me, and even the subversion we see with the husband feels tired and a little overdone. The novel is aided in that regard by the remainder of its supporting cast (Morgan’s family, Merlin and the Lady of the Lake, and Lady Alys and Tressa add a lot of color in particular) and setting, but I feel like it isn’t quite as defined and distinct as it would like to be. 

With how well-written and interesting I found it to be anyway, though, I’m optimistic that future books in this trilogy will expand upon the world of Morgan is My Name and help it carve out its own space in the genre. This book and series have an absurd amount of potential to be phenomenal; I’m so excited to see Keetch’s work come into its own here! 
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