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A review by andyfishsticks
The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer
4.0
4.5/5
i really enjoyed this book ! originally i was going to give it an even 4 stars, but in the days since i’ve finished it, i’ve found my mind wandering back to the story quite a few times, so i feel like it deserves more.
i thought this book had a really interesting premise, and i loved how the various mystical elements were worked into the story. i also really liked that the book got into some of the dad and mom’s history, and i thought the way their histories bled into the present-day narration of their daughters was really well done. the way the mom’s story and character connected to everything was especially cool to me; even though there are only a couple of chapters devoted specifically to her, it becomes clearer and clearer that she’s at the center of everything as you read on. i really enjoyed her, sasha, and zora as characters. the dad did fade into the background for me a bit at times, but i feel like this was either an intentional choice, or just a consequence of me being more invested in stories about women and queer people (or both).
there were only a couple of things that i had mixed feelings about. the first thing is that i felt like zora got slightly less attention as a character compared to sasha. when i finished the book i was like “i definitely would’ve taken an extra chapter from her point of view”; specifically, i would’ve been interested to read more about her initial adjustment to living with her dad and stepmom. the other thing is the “ambiguous” narrator that takes over every few chapters. as a concept, i found this really interesting. i also thought this worked well structurally, and i loved the voice of this narrator (mysterious, a bit creepy, everything i wanted, really). that being said, a few of the chapters from this narrator’s point of view covered so much ground that i found myself getting a little overwhelmed/confused. i also didnt love that we learn who the narrator is at the end; i think it would have been cool for this to stay a mystery, especially since i wondered a couple of times whether the narrator was who they turned out to be.
i really enjoyed this book ! originally i was going to give it an even 4 stars, but in the days since i’ve finished it, i’ve found my mind wandering back to the story quite a few times, so i feel like it deserves more.
i thought this book had a really interesting premise, and i loved how the various mystical elements were worked into the story. i also really liked that the book got into some of the dad and mom’s history, and i thought the way their histories bled into the present-day narration of their daughters was really well done. the way the mom’s story and character connected to everything was especially cool to me; even though there are only a couple of chapters devoted specifically to her, it becomes clearer and clearer that she’s at the center of everything as you read on. i really enjoyed her, sasha, and zora as characters. the dad did fade into the background for me a bit at times, but i feel like this was either an intentional choice, or just a consequence of me being more invested in stories about women and queer people (or both).
there were only a couple of things that i had mixed feelings about. the first thing is that i felt like zora got slightly less attention as a character compared to sasha. when i finished the book i was like “i definitely would’ve taken an extra chapter from her point of view”; specifically, i would’ve been interested to read more about her initial adjustment to living with her dad and stepmom. the other thing is the “ambiguous” narrator that takes over every few chapters. as a concept, i found this really interesting. i also thought this worked well structurally, and i loved the voice of this narrator (mysterious, a bit creepy, everything i wanted, really). that being said, a few of the chapters from this narrator’s point of view covered so much ground that i found myself getting a little overwhelmed/confused. i also didnt love that we learn who the narrator is at the end; i think it would have been cool for this to stay a mystery, especially since i wondered a couple of times whether the narrator was who they turned out to be.