Dezireen Austin: April 2020

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Review: All the Wind in the World

All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an odd combination of genres, as has been mentioned before, but unlike some reviewers, I think the writer makes it work.
Firstly, life isn't slotted by 'genres'; it's messy and sometimes unknowable, so the story line may seem implausible for your average movie audience, but for me, it reflected reality. It seems dystopian with its bleak landscape and setting; it seems fantasy with its suggestion of talismans and ghosts; it is definitely a romance, though the romantic relationship is awkward, rocky and full of questions at the end.
Secondly, although the romance wasn't neat and tidy, sometimes love isn't that way. Lovers live with questions, sometimes secrets, and die with them, too. I didn't find the ending disappointing. I found it hauntingly real and unfinished: I believe the heroic couple will find healing and forgiveness for each other in their future.
Finally, the writing is beautifully lyrical though, agreeably with one other reviewer, there is a lack of physical descriptions of the characters. I think it's because the story line is driven more by their personalities and this allows us to imagine what the characters look like for ourselves, perhaps ingraining our own life experiences and personal imagery into the story line.
There are few curse words, implications of sex, homosexuality and drunkenness and a wild Lord-of-the-Flies uprising toward the end.

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