Scan barcode
A review by danibene
Without Tess by Marcella Pixley
4.0
I've read so many novels centering around dead family members that I'm never too excited to read another even if it does have a promising summary. It takes a lot for one of these stories to stand out, and, to my delight, Without Tess managed to have enough of a dark side to differentiate it from all the other "dead family" books I've come across.
What makes this book stand out is its emphasis on the relationship between Lizzie and Tess before Tess passed away. In fact, I would say more of the book is made up of memories and flashbacks than of the present, which I often disliked as much as I liked. Because of the immense amount of time spent in the past, it never really seemed like Lizzie went through that much growth in the present. I never felt like I got to know the people who were trying to help her, which made it harder for me to see how exactly what influence they had upon her, or even how they tried to get over Tess's death themselves.
However, despite that qualm, I loved the time set in the past and always wanted even more. There's something frightening and magical about the way Tess is characterized through Lizzie's stories and her own included poetry; she begins as whimsical and imaginative but as the novel goes on there is a psychotic dark side that appears so subtly but powerfully that I was always compelled to keep reading to find out what Tess was really all about. I also enjoyed this past narration because it provided a basis for much of the rest of the characters' actions in the present, because Tess's influence was so powerful that it carried on years later into even the lives of people she wasn't close to.
Despite my initial skepticism because of the unassuming premise, I found Without Tess to be surprisingly dark but beautifully written and compelling novel.
What makes this book stand out is its emphasis on the relationship between Lizzie and Tess before Tess passed away. In fact, I would say more of the book is made up of memories and flashbacks than of the present, which I often disliked as much as I liked. Because of the immense amount of time spent in the past, it never really seemed like Lizzie went through that much growth in the present. I never felt like I got to know the people who were trying to help her, which made it harder for me to see how exactly what influence they had upon her, or even how they tried to get over Tess's death themselves.
However, despite that qualm, I loved the time set in the past and always wanted even more. There's something frightening and magical about the way Tess is characterized through Lizzie's stories and her own included poetry; she begins as whimsical and imaginative but as the novel goes on there is a psychotic dark side that appears so subtly but powerfully that I was always compelled to keep reading to find out what Tess was really all about. I also enjoyed this past narration because it provided a basis for much of the rest of the characters' actions in the present, because Tess's influence was so powerful that it carried on years later into even the lives of people she wasn't close to.
Despite my initial skepticism because of the unassuming premise, I found Without Tess to be surprisingly dark but beautifully written and compelling novel.