Meg Rosoff – The Bride’s Farewell
Have you read How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff? It is Ah.May.Zing. Ironic and self-aware teenage narrator embarks on highly inappropriate relationship with cousin in the middle of epic war? YES PLEASE. I thought that Meg Rosoff was going to become my teenage-reading Margaret Atwood, where every book surprises and delights me in new ways. Instead she’s become my teenage-reading Anita Shreve, where I really enjoyed Fortunes Rocks and desperately keep reading Shreve to find the newFortunes Rocks, and am continually frustrated and disappointed.
This is the problem of writing the perfect book. And yes, I am a stupid reader for wanting an author to write the same book over and over again. I don’t deny that.
The Bride’s Farewell, however, does an excellent job of being brilliant while not being How I Live Now.
In The Bride’s Farewell Pell has decided that she is way too independent and gutsy to marry some wishy-washy not-half-so-spirited-as-her boy and start churning out children. She and her silent youngest brother steal away and are determined to survive on Pell’s horse-whispering skills, even though these are Unspecified Ye Olden Days where girls find it hard to pursue horse-whispering careers and really should submit to the children-churning as quickly as possible.
It starts off reeeeeeeealllllly sllllllooooowly with much predictable being hungry and dirty and rejected. In fact, after about fifty pages, I was ready to give up. Too much futile riding around the countryside.
But then! Things hugely pick up; with much unexpected and shocking backstory and many equally unexpected and shocking plot twists. Meg Rosoff is the Mistress of not pulling her punches simply because she is writing for the young people. No false hopes or sweet reunions here. Instead we will unflinchingly look at How Unspeakably Awful the Unspecified Ye Olden Days can be, especially for the young ladies, with just enough redemption to leave you feeling breathless rather than hopeless.
Is it ok to say that I really dislike the front cover? It’s so romancey and wistful and does not convey at all Pell’s gutsy spirit.
Posted on April 25, 2011, in Uncategorized and tagged books, feminism, fiction, meg rosoff, reading, teenage fiction, the bride's farewell, young adult. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
I call this ‘Fingersmith Syndrome,’ where every book Sarah Waters writes from now on will be good, but will not be Fingersmith. I may as well call it ‘How I Live Now Syndrome.’ For the record, Rosoff’s ‘What I Was’ came close, for me, to being that good again.
This is a dangerous game, really, and could apply to all authors! Why didn’t Eliot just keep on writing Middlemarch? On the other hand, then you get Phillipa Gregory continually trying and failing to rewrite the Other Boleyn Girl, without the success. Soooooo…..ok, I have no conclusion.
I was disappointed by How I Live Now. Also, a bit traumatized by Ding’s death. I haven’t been able to forgive Rosoff enough to try another book.
I’ve actually never read Meg Rosoff, but I get what you mean about Margaret Atwood. I’m almost afraid to keep reading her books in case one disappoints me, but so far they’re all amazing.
Ah, I have a funny relationship with Margaret Atwood, because I absolutely LOVE some of her books – The Blind Assasin and The Robber Bride – but I don’t enjoy the more recent, environmental/dystopian stuff at all. The one I keep meaning to re-read is Cat’s Eye, because at the time I didn’t enjoy it, but I think I’d have a different perspective now.
I’ve mostly been reading the older ones – The Blind Assassin, The Robber Bride, The Edible Woman. I read The Handmaid’s Tale in college, but otherwise haven’t picked up and of the dystopian books yet. I have copies of Oryx & Crake and Year of the Flood on my bookshelf, just haven’t read them yet. I’m saving them for a special occasion, or something
The Good News: I checked my LibraryThing catalogue and HOORAY! I already have How I Live Now.
The Bad News: Now I want The Bride’s Farewell as well.
Ah, well go with How I Live Now first and you’ll see what I mean!