JB lead an excellent discussion on this book and I apologize if my recap doesn't capture it all quite as intensely. One of the main themes of the book was "Women and Power". What is it about women and power that seem to make people want to contain or control women? How do you think it has changed or not changed in today's society? We discussed that women historically have been kept away from positions of power with the exceptions of some leaders such as Queen Victoria who seemed to be the exception to the rule but were in thier place by "divine right". But why? Do women actually hold the ability to be stronger leaders? Will they lose their beauty by becoming a leader? We discussed how changes, especially during the Victorian era, were happening rapidly in general and many of these changes were breaking conceptions of established societal rules. Among these changes, near the end of the era, were beginning to affect women and their established roles. Today there are more opportunities for women, but is there still a limit to were and what a woman can be? Do women still suffer the consequences of losing their "feminine" status by taking on non-traditional roles and leaderships?
What about Miss Moore? Will she be back again? Is she part of the order? After all, she unblinkingly read the passage about Sarah Rees Toome and Mary Dowd. She is an appealingly strong character that people liked in this book. It was mentioned that she does return in the series, but we will not discuss how or to what extent here.
How do the flaws of the girls real lives affect the way they see and interact in the real? We discussed the strong desires of each girl and whether or not the realms really fulfill their desires. Felicity wants strength because there is something about her situation that has left her desiring power, but does she get the strength she really wants and how could it affect her real life? Pippa wants true love? The realm offers her that, but will it be what she really wants after all and what would happen if she stayed in the real world and married according to her family. Ann wants to be beautiful. She is plain. Would beauty be enough to jump her into a new and accepted position? Her singing is what brings out her beauty. Could she improve her station based on her voice? Gemma wants to know herself. This will affect her in both realms as she tries to make choices that will effect everyone around her.
Is this story original? There are similar elements that can be found in other stories of this similar genre, however the way Bray has put the elements together create a new and exciting story. One of the more interesting and unique things about the book is that the focus is on the female rite-of-passage that is often overlooked. Perhaps this book is designed to bring the gothic novel to a whole new generation.
Lady of shallot poem at the beginning seems to weave throughout the story, both directly and indirectly. Several passages reference the lines of the poem and discussions about the poem are very direct within the story. However, we felt the poem was nearly an outline of the story. The Lady of shallot cannot leave her tower and yet she does. Her fate is wrapped in her choices. Much like the girls themselves. Water plays a large part within the story. Things happen by or in the water several times that move the story in significant ways. There are changes because of the boat and water: The power switch between Felicity and Gemma happens after Gemma discovers Felicity with the gypsy boy at the boat dock. Boat and water are also indicative of changes in the realm.
Audio book is a good way to take in this book as well as reading it. Josephine Bailey, who reads the book, has a strong voice and good characterizaton. She does a nice job reciting Tennyson's poem Lady of shallot without out falling into the sing-song pattern that could so easily happen. Another wonderful rendition of Lady of shallot is the song sung by Loreena McKennet on her album The Visit.
IF YOU LIKE this book: We felt you might like Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King because it has strong female character, Late Victorian era, feminism, outsider character, burdens of guilt.
Bookclub members - Did I miss something? Want to add a little more to what I've mentioned? Please comment to this post or make your own post!
Our next book is A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly.
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