A review by cleothegreat
The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal

4.0

She slits her eyes, keeps the lids smooth. She writes, 'I thought there be some power at work after all'

"'After all'?"

After all the ugly that has happen. After all the medicine and madness and sorrow.

Madness, madness, madness!

This was such a dark book. Set in medieval Scandinavia, this novel follows two protagonists as they discover the horrifying secrets and plots embedded within the history of a castle and it's inhabitants. Though it doesn't make any effort to sugarcoat gore or general unpleasantness, this book stays true to the time period it was set in and proves to be a mystifying read. (Not to mention that cover makes it a wonderful edition on my shelf.)

One thing I'd like to make note of is this: don't expect there to be much of a friendship between the two protagonists. It was something I wanted to see more of, but sadly, it didn't happen till the last quarter of the book.

Nonetheless, this novel is lovely but please refrain from indulging in it till after you're done eating. It is wickedly disturbing but it makes this book all the more compelling.