A review by egelantier
The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith
5.0
now that was a surprise. i've picked up the first book completely on a whim, to get distracted, and the beginning was almost laughably standard lesbian noir (if there IS a standar lesbian noir, that is). aud torvingen, a half-norvegian ex-policeman private security person, is cold, contained, gorgeous, violent, irresistible; she picks up women in bars and views people, aside from a couple of friends (or "friends") as objects to be moved at will. but she takes on a case of a distraught woman whose friend got killed, and then - changes.
about fifty pages in this paperback airport thriller premise deepens and unfolds into a beautiful, dense, breathing narrative that had me swallow the whole trilogy in a day and then wander stunned for a couple of days more. it's a surprisingly - adult? grown up? - story about grief, and trauma, and breaking the violence taboos, and reconnecting with your own humanity, and limits of self-defense (half of the third book is practically a self-defense manual, and it's amazing), and mothers and daughters, and various shades of feminism, and the true terror of falling in love. aud's "disturbing lesbian-chick Übermensch" (to quote a goodreads review) traits start out as a potential titillating cliche and get honestly, painfully, respectfully explored and challenged and made real, and her offhand, practical, solid kindness turns out to be a just as solid and needed foundation of her personality.
i've also really loved that aud's orientation was absolutely taken for granted by the narrative, without either excess drama or coy subtlety; it just was there, solid and accepted. almost all the important relationships in the books - romantic, friendly, filial - are about women, in glorious variety.
about fifty pages in this paperback airport thriller premise deepens and unfolds into a beautiful, dense, breathing narrative that had me swallow the whole trilogy in a day and then wander stunned for a couple of days more. it's a surprisingly - adult? grown up? - story about grief, and trauma, and breaking the violence taboos, and reconnecting with your own humanity, and limits of self-defense (half of the third book is practically a self-defense manual, and it's amazing), and mothers and daughters, and various shades of feminism, and the true terror of falling in love. aud's "disturbing lesbian-chick Übermensch" (to quote a goodreads review) traits start out as a potential titillating cliche and get honestly, painfully, respectfully explored and challenged and made real, and her offhand, practical, solid kindness turns out to be a just as solid and needed foundation of her personality.
i've also really loved that aud's orientation was absolutely taken for granted by the narrative, without either excess drama or coy subtlety; it just was there, solid and accepted. almost all the important relationships in the books - romantic, friendly, filial - are about women, in glorious variety.