A teenage artist deals with the loss of her arm and how it changes her life and people around her. The free verse format works very well, giving it a stark realism.
The feel is more lean first person narrative then poetry, so readers who are not fond of the latter she not be frightened off.
I liked the device of inter-cutting her own voice with letters she receives from strangers while recovering.
I enjoyed reading Martin's latest novel, but even 100 pages into it I began to feel a growing dread that this was not going to be a book to equal A STORM OF SWORDS. The narrative pace crept when it should have galloped. Over-long passages were devoted to what people ate for breakfast, local scenery or history. Ever more viewpoint characters were introduced, meaning that less time was available to advance the story of existing characters.
All of this detail is great fodder for ancillary projects: compendiums, encyclopedias, tie-in games, etc. But a rousing story it does not make.
There are some great touches. In particular, in the Reek chapters, Martin does for Theon… Read more
A strongly-written and atmospheric novel, Lovecraftian in its theme, yet quite original and subtle in its approach. A book to be savored. The characters were also memorable: Dancy (who appears on the cover) in particular made a particularly strong impression, but all were well-drawn as (generally troubled) individuals. The second Kiernan novel I have read (after SILK, which was also excellent, but very different in tone), and shows the versatility of this fine writer. I look forward to reading her other works.
