The strangeness of this book is exactly what made it so so so beautiful and unforgettable.
Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author: Leslye Walton
Genre: YA, Magical Realism
Publication: October 1st 2014, Walker Books
Format: Paperback, 300 pages
Rating: 5 unicorns
This is one of the first magical realism books
I have read, if not THE first, and I am so happy I chose it as an introduction
to this genre. IT WAS THE BEST it´s important that you understand this before we begin.
I didn´t understand what was happening most of
the book and three days after finishing it I am still quite* confused. Some
things were just written on the page, without any explanation, and you were
left right there to figure it out for yourself. Now, usually I don´t like this
whole I´m-not-talking-to-you attitude of a book, but it just worked so well with the whole atmosphere
of the story.
For such a short book, I felt like I got three
different books about the three generations of Roux women. Every character was
so real and by the end it felt like, even though I didn´t understand them, I
knew them all so well.
I loved how many magical elements were
incorporated in the story, completing Ava´s own mysteriousness. For example,
Pierrette who just happened to turn into a bird, or Maman who slowly faded from
existence. All of the Roux siblings´ lives were sad and very full of sorrows,
but especially Emilienne´s who had to carry the others´ deaths on her shoulders
for the rest of her life.
Viviane and Ava were followed by the same
suffering and sorrow that seems to come hand in hand with love in this book.
Jack Griffith was honestly my most disliked character (considering the fact
that Nathaniel Sorrows was in this book, that is something) for the way that he
broke Viviane´s heart and for the way he let her live in that hurt for 15
years.
Overall, the one thing that kept going through
my head was the fact that NO ONE in this book was truly happy (I cried a little
bit just because of this). It felt so magical, but also so sad. And that´s exactly what made it feel real and why I LOVED
IT SOOOOOO MUCH.
At this point, my feeling are so jumbled in my
head and all I want to do is stare at a wall and contemplate the meaning of
life and love. And can anyone explain why the genius that Leslye Walton is
hasn´t written another book yet? Thank you very much
Those were my not very clear but very praising
word for this book. Tell me how you felt. Thanks byeeeee
P.S. I know I´m reading this a century after everyone
else but I still wanna know what others think.
*VERY VERY VERY
You made me curious....
ReplyDeleteHappy to hear that!
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