Ali Shaw

Two characters minor/supporting characters in this book seem capable of simple and unselfish love. The others are all awkward, grasping, angry, or selfish and have lives filled with dysfunctional relationships. I suppose that we’re supposed to be touched by the transformation that Midas goes through, by navigating love and loss with Ida and his anger with his parents, but I never could connect with his character enough to really care.

In the fictional arctic chain of islands of St. Hauda’s Land, some people catch a strange condition where their bodies gradually turn to glass. Why this happens or how the process works is never really explained. Like a fairy tale, it just is. It is a painful and horrifying process that can take years to develop or may proceed in a matter of minutes. Again, what influences the speed of the change is never explained. I suppose it’s just there to serve the story. For our main character Ida, it begins in her toes and works its way up, as opposed to other characters where it begins in the vital organs. This is convenient for the story because Ida gets plenty of time to hobble around, otherwise unaffected, and impact everyone around her as her vitality is gradually turned immobility.

Obviously, this is not my kind of story. The romance is a little too cloying and I genuinely don’t understand why either of these characters falls in love with the other. The magic is nonsensical, and is really just representational of ideas and emotions, and it’s peopled by unlikeable and neurotic characters. BUT. The prose is really lovely. The author creates a sense of place with texture and emotion and vivid imagery that I really enjoyed. So it was worth the time spent on reading it, but I will be putting it in my donation pile, despite the gorgeous cover art.

Hardcover edition that has been sitting on my shelf since 2013.

I read this book for the Booklikes Halloween Bingo 2019, for the square Stone Cold Horror: Horror that takes place primarily in a winter/cold/snow type setting. The book fits this square because it takes place entirely in the winter, with the snow, ice, and cold all a principle feature of the story.
… (mer)

Extraños sucesos ocurren en el remoto archipiélago de Saint Hauda. Criaturas de una rara belleza sobrevuelan la marisma helada y animales albinos encuentran refugio en los bosques, mientras las medusas iluminan con destellos eléctricos el oscuro fondo del mar. Tras unas breves vacaciones en una de las islas, la joven Ida Maclaird descubre que sus pies se están volviendo de cristal. Alarmada, Ida regresa a Saint Hauda en busca de una explicación a este fenómeno.
Allí se encuentra con Midas Crook, un fotógrafo tímido y solitario, con quien vivirá una historia de amor tan hermosa como urgente, pues la metamorfosis de Ida avanza inexorable. Sin embargo, la apasionada determinación de la joven choca con la aparente parsimonia de la vida en Saint Hauda, donde cada personaje parece esconder oscuros secretos, relacionados entre sí como nudos de una complicada madeja… (mer)

I am rather confused as to whether I liked this book or not. I guess I should start with what I liked:

The writing was lovely, very picturesque and descriptive.
The idea of the story was interesting.

Now on to what I didn't like:

The way the story unfolded fell short for me. Not only that, I had to push myself to keep reading, as much as I wanted to find out what happened in the story, it felt like I was being 'blocked' somehow from doing it. Whilst it was nice and all to read chapters about each characters lives, it stopped the story from flowing.

My biggest peeve regarding the story was how it abruptly ended; I was left feeling as though almost everything was left unanswered. Not only that, but I was left scratching my head trying to figure out what was the point of the 'flying cattle' and the 'white creature' amongst countless other titbits- it was if they had no point other than the excuse to fill pages talking about them.

In regards to the characters, whilst some were enjoyable, I didn't feel like any of their 'relationships' went anywhere, or that any of them actually 'did anything'.

To sum up, I still find it hard to give a definite response regarding whether I liked it or not, overall it has left me with a vague sense of dissatisfaction and apathy.… (mer)