My honour and my pride are in my heart, and not in what the world says
Rating: 2/5
Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read the book, this review will contain spoilers so it’s up to you if you continue…
Soooo I’ve continued with Philippa Gregory’s YA series. Considering I didn't exactly love the first one (Changeling) you might be wondering why I bothered with the second. The problem is that I have the first three from the series compiled into one book, so until I finish all three, it feels a little like I haven’t actually finished the book. So yes, I will continue with it. But no, I’m not really enjoying it.
The repetitive speech is back, and I think I’m going to add unnatural to the list of problems I have with speech throughout this book. Again, considering how talented a writer Gregory is, everything about the speech in The Order of Darkness series feels clunky and unnatural, with things repeated again and again just to make sure the reader knows that Luca’s parents were taken by a slaving ship, and Ishraq is an educated Moor who doesn’t act quite like a woman should. I hate the way these things are repeatedly told to us when Ishraq’s behaviour is evidence of this, and Luca’s parents really shouldn’t come up as frequently as they do. There's no subtlety to the language of the book, and it's especially frustrating when Gregory's other novels are so nuanced.
There is also a lack of solid characterisation, with characters going back and forth in their intelligence (Freize), understanding (Luca), tolerance (Brother Peter), independence (Isolde and Ishraq), whilst their basic emotional relationships with each other change without thorough explanation. Freize is the only character I vaguely like, and whilst he is the character I understand the most - a not so humble servant, witty and flirtatious and more intelligent than people give him credit for - he has zero emotional depth. He clearly has feelings for Ishraq, and that seemed to be going somewhere as she kissed him, but then his questioning of her conversations with Radu Bey resulted in little emotional fallout for him. Ishraq was understandably angry but neither appeared particularly hurt by the betrayal of trust. It didn't feel like a new romantic relationship thwarted by the shadows of doubt, it just felt like the characters kissed because Ishraq needed a way to show her unwillingness to conform. (Whilst we’re here, Ishraq's speech in the Church about the loss of Freize was so unbelievably out of character. Ishraq is private, keeps her cards close to her chest, and takes time to trust people. Yet she pretty much admitted to loving Freize in front of a group of strangers accusing her of causing a storm. Even in a moment of emotional revelation, that wasn’t like her).
I so want to like Ishraq for her independence and learning, but the writing of the novel stops me from enjoying her fully. Her role as a translator and her understanding of the tsunami should be brilliant shows of her strength and independence. However, this is so obviously her only purpose. There is such an overt feminist stance streaming from her, that it overtakes her entire character. I’m all for a feminist stance. But when you create a whole character - a person of colour, an educated woman, a questioner of religion - to simply embody a concept, you fail at creating the diversity and supporting the message you are attempting to. She is the embodiment of a concept, not a character in her own right.
Oh, and the storyline also doesn’t interest me that much, hence why I have largely talked about characterisation in this review. It’s so obviously building to the overall story, that these little adventures in small towns don’t excite me very much. Even the Order of Darkness doesn't interest me. The ending felt so rushed, as if Gregory remembered late into the writing that the Order storyline needed to progress, and so shoved a couple of extra pages in to remind the reader of Luca's purpose. Again, it simply lacked subtlety. These books could just be so much better than they are and it really frustrates me.
Comments