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A review by burtini
The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne
5.0
Mother Gothel tells the story of the woman behind the story of Rapunzel, the woman Haelwise before she came to hold Rapunzel in the tower as her captive. This book is fiercely feminist, it’s not the most subtle in the sense that the majority of the characters are women but they’re well built, fascinating women.
Plot wise the pacing is a little off in that you spend quite a bit of time with Haelwise first at home with her mother, and then in the tower learning her gift with Kurenburg/Mother Gothel, and in this stationary moments, this book is more about character development. For me, I didn’t have an issue with this, it just depends what you want from a book, to go somewhere or to know and understand someone/something. Essentially, for me, the book has more of that purpose, it’s not about taking you far but taking you to the character of Haelwise and helping you know her, a character you thought you knew from very little in stories. It’s a book about how women are so much more than what we appear to be, whether what you can see is of our choosing or not, we have our own truth in a world spoken by men and this book speaks it loudly to the reader.
The women in this book are warriors in their own battles, they’re loving, wise, protective and underestimated.
I particularly liked Hael’s relationship with her mother, but there were so many strong female characters brought to the page I was almost spoilt, I would have loved to have more from Beatrice as even in her few scenes she commanded such power.
This book is about motherhood, sisterhood and the spirituality of womanhood and I adored every moment of it. Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
Plot wise the pacing is a little off in that you spend quite a bit of time with Haelwise first at home with her mother, and then in the tower learning her gift with Kurenburg/Mother Gothel, and in this stationary moments, this book is more about character development. For me, I didn’t have an issue with this, it just depends what you want from a book, to go somewhere or to know and understand someone/something. Essentially, for me, the book has more of that purpose, it’s not about taking you far but taking you to the character of Haelwise and helping you know her, a character you thought you knew from very little in stories. It’s a book about how women are so much more than what we appear to be, whether what you can see is of our choosing or not, we have our own truth in a world spoken by men and this book speaks it loudly to the reader.
The women in this book are warriors in their own battles, they’re loving, wise, protective and underestimated.
I particularly liked Hael’s relationship with her mother, but there were so many strong female characters brought to the page I was almost spoilt, I would have loved to have more from Beatrice as even in her few scenes she commanded such power.
This book is about motherhood, sisterhood and the spirituality of womanhood and I adored every moment of it. Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.