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A review by jadejade
alone and palely loitering by Julian Stuart
5.0
Some context: When I picked up this novella, I was in a reading slump. And it's not like I hadn't tried to get out of my slump; several DNFs lived next to my bedside table. I couldn't quite remember when I last finished a book of any length that was not either filled with pictures or aimed at small children. This novella is - neither of those things.
I had had the pleasure of reading some of this author's other works and thought, why not? I bought this novella on the strength of the author's writing alone.
When the novella arrived, I ran a bath and settled in. I had no idea what the story was about before I started reading, I didn't even know the genre. This could have ended so badly.
I loved it.
I didn't pick up on the clues about the upcoming twist, but that's down to my lack of knowledge of Irish mythology. Yet this did not hamper my enjoyment in any way; I just wanted to see how this tale would end.
I devoured this novella in one sitting. Reading slump ended!
From the author's notes, the author wrote this to see if they could write a completely ungendered main character, both because they identify as agender, and so that whatever the reader would like to assume about the main character, the reader would be free to do so.
I had had the pleasure of reading some of this author's other works and thought, why not? I bought this novella on the strength of the author's writing alone.
When the novella arrived, I ran a bath and settled in. I had no idea what the story was about before I started reading, I didn't even know the genre. This could have ended so badly.
I loved it.
I didn't pick up on the clues about the upcoming twist, but that's down to my lack of knowledge of Irish mythology. Yet this did not hamper my enjoyment in any way; I just wanted to see how this tale would end.
I devoured this novella in one sitting. Reading slump ended!
From the author's notes, the author wrote this to see if they could write a completely ungendered main character, both because they identify as agender, and so that whatever the reader would like to assume about the main character, the reader would be free to do so.