Scan barcode
A review by twentycharm
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
2.0
Edit: I have since completed the book and in short, I am glad that I continued on and agree that the last third of the story is much more impactful. While I am still not a fan of the storytelling, I wholeheartedly appreciate Marie Lu's meaning behind it.
As for my previous issue with the lack of historical elements in this novel, I have to say I’ve been humbled by the Author’s Note and some further research on the Mozart siblings, confirming the events in this novel (minus the magic) are fairly close to reality, with even the name ‘Kingdom of Back’ originating from Nannerl and Woferl themselves. Thus, I apologise for my own lack of understanding on this topic.
Review written during my original DNF @ 64%:
I really, really wanted to enjoy this but I could not. It started off alright; I liked the prologue and the concept of hearing another side of Mozart's story. However, while the fantasy world was fairly solid, it was barely developed, and not in an intentionally mysterious way (more on this later).
And though I found the musical references and descriptions of their real-world travels to be rather enjoyable, Nannerl's passion clearly seeping into every performance and practice, the pitfall here was her complete indecisiveness (or delusion?) on the Kingdom of Back, constantly referring to it as lucid dreams, even halfway into the book.
Yet, despite her disbelief, she still kept looking out for in her day-to-day life and pondering how her quests in the Kingdom had impacted her reality. I feel this inconsistency does not add to the story, other than making it slightly less linear and simply more frustrating.
But in spite of this, I was committed to finishing the story, because I was still interested in Nannerl's outcome and especially her bond with Woferl. I admire her for not holding her own setbacks against him and instead helping him develop his skill, even when his success only seemed to make her disappear more.
What my last straw was, then, was While I understand it is hard to rationalise in an emotional state, especially fear, I found this to be too much (even though I checked and it blows over within maybe another 20 pages).
Now for the nitty gritty, aka spoilers:
Back to the Kingdom's setup, which was beautiful as promised, but sadly one-dimensional. Although I was glad there was more to Hyacinth, basically him turning out evil, I still feel the quests Nannerl underwent were too shallow; simply describing the world, facing some sort of fear, completing the task, then being gaslighted by Hyacinth.
I understand the intention to create a sort of mystery about how the Kingdom ended up in ruins, as well as the backstories of the creatures Nannerl encountered, but again it seemed too easy to guess and not high enough in stakes to care enough about.
As for Nannerl’s own life, I feel her original wish of being remembered forever slowly blurred as the story continued, as its definition kept changing. At first it was impossible, then she had said perhaps performing for important people like Kings and Queens, who were remembered, would lead to herself being remembered, which was fulfilled. Then there was the new thing about immortality, which I still haven’t figured out is literal or metaphorical.
My final issue with this book is its marketing as historical fiction when I feel it is barely one. Other than women having no rights and slight references to the French and Indian War or other historical events, and of course the historical figure Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I did not see many historical insights or key points that added to my understanding of the time. Thus, I feel it is better referred to as a fantasy novel.
Thank you to Times Distribution for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review, and thank you for your time in reading this. I hope you have a great day!
As for my previous issue with the lack of historical elements in this novel, I have to say I’ve been humbled by the Author’s Note and some further research on the Mozart siblings, confirming the events in this novel (minus the magic) are fairly close to reality, with even the name ‘Kingdom of Back’ originating from Nannerl and Woferl themselves. Thus, I apologise for my own lack of understanding on this topic.
Review written during my original DNF @ 64%:
I really, really wanted to enjoy this but I could not. It started off alright; I liked the prologue and the concept of hearing another side of Mozart's story. However, while the fantasy world was fairly solid, it was barely developed, and not in an intentionally mysterious way (more on this later).
And though I found the musical references and descriptions of their real-world travels to be rather enjoyable, Nannerl's passion clearly seeping into every performance and practice, the pitfall here was her complete indecisiveness (or delusion?) on the Kingdom of Back, constantly referring to it as lucid dreams, even halfway into the book.
Yet, despite her disbelief, she still kept looking out for
Spoiler
HyacinthBut in spite of this, I was committed to finishing the story, because I was still interested in Nannerl's outcome and especially her bond with Woferl. I admire her for not holding her own setbacks against him and instead helping him develop his skill, even when his success only seemed to make her disappear more.
What my last straw was, then, was
Spoiler
their argument that caused them to stop speaking, similar to a romance’s third-act misunderstanding, which could have been prevented by proper communication.Now for the nitty gritty, aka spoilers:
Back to the Kingdom's setup, which was beautiful as promised, but sadly one-dimensional. Although I was glad there was more to Hyacinth, basically him turning out evil, I still feel the quests Nannerl underwent were too shallow; simply describing the world, facing some sort of fear, completing the task, then being gaslighted by Hyacinth.
I understand the intention to create a sort of mystery about how the Kingdom ended up in ruins, as well as the backstories of the creatures Nannerl encountered, but again it seemed too easy to guess and not high enough in stakes to care enough about.
As for Nannerl’s own life, I feel her original wish of being remembered forever slowly blurred as the story continued, as its definition kept changing. At first it was impossible, then she had said perhaps performing for important people like Kings and Queens, who were remembered, would lead to herself being remembered, which was fulfilled. Then there was the new thing about immortality, which I still haven’t figured out is literal or metaphorical.
My final issue with this book is its marketing as historical fiction when I feel it is barely one. Other than women having no rights and slight references to the French and Indian War or other historical events, and of course the historical figure Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I did not see many historical insights or key points that added to my understanding of the time. Thus, I feel it is better referred to as a fantasy novel.
Thank you to Times Distribution for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review, and thank you for your time in reading this. I hope you have a great day!