Rinsai Rossetti
Auteur van The Girl With Borrowed Wings
Werken van Rinsai Rossetti
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The Girl with Borrowed Wings door Rinsai Rossetti
Saw this book reviewed in the NY Times, and thought it sounded interesting; however, it was a little too much romance and teenage silliness for my liking. Frenenqer Paje is the obedient daughter of a controlling father and vacuous mother, who rescues a caged cat from the souk (Arab marketplace) in an oasis. The cat is actually a Free Person male named Sangris, who helps Nenner discover herself by whisking her off to faraway places. Rossetti's descriptive prose is the highlight here. 2.5 stars.
I've read quite a few good books this year, including one or two that aren't part of series, or are debut novels. But I think this may be the best one yet. The story is simple, but it's one of those times when "simple" makes the story that much more powerful.
Frenequer Paje belongs nowhere, can claim no nationality or birthright. From the beginning she has been her father's creature, bowed down under the weight of his impossible expectations and trapped in a cycle of suffocation within her own small home in the middle of the desert. Sometimes she swears she can feel wings struggling to break free, but so long as she is smothered by her parents, freedom is only a faraway dream.
And then Frenequer, in a small fit of rebellion, rescues a dying cat from an animal market. That night, she awakes to find a lean, black-haired, yellow-eyed, winged boy climbing out her window. And suddenly freedom is within grasp, because that boy is a Free Person, a being born without walls or rules in their bodies, minds, and spirits. And he's willing to show her the world that exists outside the desert and beyond. But the walls holding Frenequer are not just the ones in her house, and the barriers erected by fear, repression, and shame will take much more than one boy's wings to surmount.
This is one of those books where I feel I can use words like 'lovely', 'lyrical', 'triumphant', and 'heartbreaking' to describe it, and it isn't flowery exaggeration. The prose is breathtaking, especially because it's written in the first person. And the first person window is used here to the fullest; you live through every sweet, painful, beautiful, conflicted thought and moment with Frenequer inside and outside her mind. When she struggles, you struggle. When she feels, you feel. You see what she sees, and that is what a truly well-done first person novel is made to do. The sensory detail is balanced perfectly with internal feeling, the showing with telling; it's just unreal. This is one of the few books I've read where all the components together make it feel almost poetic, although it's written as a novel.
And my gods, the romance. I read books like this and I wonder how I could stand to read one of those bland cookie cutter romances ever again. The relationship that forms between Frenequer and the mischievous, innocent, playful, wild boy she names Sangris is just...incredible. I would say very, very near perfection. The arc of it is rich with development, power, and honest conflict. There are no invented, forced relationship bumps here, and for once internal struggles take precedence over external forces. And every step of their road, whether it be forward, backward, or sideways, resonated through every one of my emotions. As for the "swoonworthy" side of it, please look no further. Rossetti is not trying to make this romance steamy or doe-eyed; it is far too deep and important for that. But she, as few authors have ever seemed to be able to, writes the interactions between Frenequer and Sangris as charged with something soft, fragile, fierce, intimate, and achingly human. It was just something that needs to be experienced, as I honestly think words are not adequate here.
And upon seeing how few reviews The Girl With the Borrowed Wings has and thinking of how I only discovered it through a small glowing review in a local newspaper, I realize how severely underrated it is, and I hope this review will encourage others to add this gorgeous novel to their to-read list.… (meer)
Frenequer Paje belongs nowhere, can claim no nationality or birthright. From the beginning she has been her father's creature, bowed down under the weight of his impossible expectations and trapped in a cycle of suffocation within her own small home in the middle of the desert. Sometimes she swears she can feel wings struggling to break free, but so long as she is smothered by her parents, freedom is only a faraway dream.
And then Frenequer, in a small fit of rebellion, rescues a dying cat from an animal market. That night, she awakes to find a lean, black-haired, yellow-eyed, winged boy climbing out her window. And suddenly freedom is within grasp, because that boy is a Free Person, a being born without walls or rules in their bodies, minds, and spirits. And he's willing to show her the world that exists outside the desert and beyond. But the walls holding Frenequer are not just the ones in her house, and the barriers erected by fear, repression, and shame will take much more than one boy's wings to surmount.
This is one of those books where I feel I can use words like 'lovely', 'lyrical', 'triumphant', and 'heartbreaking' to describe it, and it isn't flowery exaggeration. The prose is breathtaking, especially because it's written in the first person. And the first person window is used here to the fullest; you live through every sweet, painful, beautiful, conflicted thought and moment with Frenequer inside and outside her mind. When she struggles, you struggle. When she feels, you feel. You see what she sees, and that is what a truly well-done first person novel is made to do. The sensory detail is balanced perfectly with internal feeling, the showing with telling; it's just unreal. This is one of the few books I've read where all the components together make it feel almost poetic, although it's written as a novel.
And my gods, the romance. I read books like this and I wonder how I could stand to read one of those bland cookie cutter romances ever again. The relationship that forms between Frenequer and the mischievous, innocent, playful, wild boy she names Sangris is just...incredible. I would say very, very near perfection. The arc of it is rich with development, power, and honest conflict. There are no invented, forced relationship bumps here, and for once internal struggles take precedence over external forces. And every step of their road, whether it be forward, backward, or sideways, resonated through every one of my emotions. As for the "swoonworthy" side of it, please look no further. Rossetti is not trying to make this romance steamy or doe-eyed; it is far too deep and important for that. But she, as few authors have ever seemed to be able to, writes the interactions between Frenequer and Sangris as charged with something soft, fragile, fierce, intimate, and achingly human. It was just something that needs to be experienced, as I honestly think words are not adequate here.
And upon seeing how few reviews The Girl With the Borrowed Wings has and thinking of how I only discovered it through a small glowing review in a local newspaper, I realize how severely underrated it is, and I hope this review will encourage others to add this gorgeous novel to their to-read list.… (meer)
Frenenqer lives a cloistered life in a desert oasis town, where her overbearing, cold father controls every aspect of her life. She yearns for a way out, until one day she meets a free person - a shapeshifter with wings who can carry her to freedom.
Prijzen
Statistieken
- Werken
- 1
- Leden
- 100
- Populariteit
- #190,120
- Waardering
- 3.4
- Besprekingen
- 5
- ISBNs
- 3
- Talen
- 1