Book Review: The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

The Lost (The Lost #1) by Sarah Beth Durst
Genre: Fantasy/ Mythic Fiction
Publisher: Harlequin/Mira
Date Published: May 2014
Author Information: Goodreads | Website | Twitter
Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Blurb (from Goodreads): It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassable dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing--and what she's running from--before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found...

Against the backdrop of this desolate and mystical town, Sarah Beth Durst writes an arresting, fantastical novel of one woman's impossible journey...and her quest to find her fate.


Why I read it: The blurb looked intriguing, and I loved the cover. Happily the novel was as good as I expected!

My thoughts:

I really liked this one.

It begins with somebody called Lauren driving out of town, doing her best to ignore her life. She doesn’t call in sick. She doesn’t let her mother know she’ll be home late. She just leaves. It’s a very quiet breakdown: a lone girl speeding in a car on the highway, shutting off the static on the radio because listening seems “self-consciously melodramatic.” Still, it’s dangerous to go on such escapades when there is magic realism afoot, as our heroine Lauren later ends up trapped in a little town called Lost – seemingly the home of all the abandoned and misplaced things in America.

Honestly? It’s a great start to a good novel.

Lost itself was brilliant. It’s described like one of those American hick towns you only see in the movies: just another town in the middle of nowhere, complete with dirty motel and run-down diner. However, Lost’s suburbs are made up of abandoned and foreclosed houses, and the streets are dangerous. They’re patrolled by feral dogs; littered with trash, odd socks, and broken glass. There’s no escape – beyond Lost, there’s only desert, and a soul-destroying dust storm. And yes, I mean that literally.

Lauren is understandably pissed when she works out what’s happening – she doesn’t want to be stranded in a settlement that shouldn’t even exist, not when her mother is sick at home. She’s made increasingly unhappy when the Missing Man, the only person with the power to return people to their lives, disappears. This forces her to team up with Claire the knife-wielding six year old (who is completely unrealistic but adorable all the same) and a guy named Peter, who I’ll talk about later. On the whole, though, I really liked Lauren. She made good choices in this book, and was generally very competent in a subdued, undramatic way that I found appealing. It’s mostly for her that I’m so excited about the sequel.

However, underpinning this book is a romance… and this had problems! Peter is described as arty rebel boy: a good-looking, tattooed fellow who favours the colour black and is exactly Lauren’s type. So far, so good. But a huge power imbalance quickly develops between the two of them. Lauren is a newcomer to Lost. She doesn’t know how to scavenge and survive on the fringes; she hasn’t the faintest clue about the lay of the land and the local inhabitants. Peter, however, has lived in Lost for years. He’s also MUCH older than her (and possibly not human?). Worse, he has some creeptastic tendencies - like sleeping in her wardrobe without permission, and regularly putting her down because “he likes her”. To be fair, both the narrative and Lauren call him out on some of this behaviour, but not consistently. (Although I admit I still enjoyed their budding romance despite this.)

A note on diversity: There’s a decent mix of genders here. All the main characters seem to be white, although one semi-important secondary character (Victoria the waitress) is described as having rich brown skin. There’s also no queer content: all relationships are heterosexual ones, and everyone appears cisgender. This strikes me as a wasted opportunity for a town of “lost” people, and I hope we’ll see a wider range of people in the sequel.

But those complaints aside, I really enjoyed this novel. It was well-written, and even made me cry at one stage! The overall worldbuilding and uses of magic were very metaphorical, but if you’re a fan of magical realism, I would definitely recommend this.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Thanks Netgalley & Harlequin!

Book Review: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente

Title: Deathless
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Genre: Fantasy
Date Published: 29th March 2011
Publisher: Tor Books
Ranking: 3 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary: Koschei the Deathless is to Russian folklore what devils or wicked witches are to European culture: a menacing, evil figure; the villain of countless stories which have been passed on through story and text for generations. But Koschei has never before been seen through the eyes of Catherynne Valente, whose modernized and transformed take on the legend brings the action to modern times, spanning many of the great developments of Russian history in the twentieth century.

Deathless, however, is no dry, historical tome: it lights up like fire as the young Marya Morevna transforms from a clever child of the revolution, to Koschei’s beautiful bride, to his eventual undoing. Along the way there are Stalinist house elves, magical quests, secrecy and bureaucracy, and games of lust and power. All told, Deathless is a collision of magical history and actual history, of revolution and mythology, of love and death, which will bring Russian myth back to life in a stunning new incarnation

Why I read it: I thought I was fairly well-read when it comes to mythology. Reading The Secret History of Moscow last year made me realise I wasn’t, so I searched for more novels inspired by Russian myth and discovered Deathless. It’s been on my TBR pile ever since.

My Review:

I’m not quite sure what to think of Valente’s Deathless. It’s a feminist retelling of a classic tale, this time set in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Sounds fascinating, right? And it was, at least to start – after the first half of the book, I found myself increasing disinterested. The writing was stunning, but the plot kept floundering. 

Part one begins with Marya’s childhood, balancing history and myth extremely well. Marya sees her older sisters married off to birds, one by one, in a passage that could be lifted straight from a fairytale. However, the long pale house she inhabits is firmly settled in Russia – right down to the committee of domovye (house elves) that are fervent supporters of the changing world, and revel in their new-found ability to make trouble via paperwork.

Later in the novel, Koschei spirits Marya away to his realm. I loved the setting here. We see forests of firebirds, fountains of blood, houses constructed of living skin, magic galore, and of course the ever-present influence of the Party. There is also Marya and Koschei’s compelling relationship to enjoy: dark and passionate, with strong S&M elements. It’s rare to see such relationships represented well (or at all) in fiction, and I especially liked how the dominant partner shifted back and forth throughout the novel.

And yet.

As the book progresses, it becomes clear that there’s no overarching theme to the parts. Marya grows older – something I appreciated, as she is portrayed as a formidable yet flawed woman. Yet her days fly by with Koschei, with Ivan, with herself, her sisters, her house. She is buffeted by historical events. There is a war, including the grim Siege of Leningrad. And there is still magic. But the power of the novel seemed to slip away, and at times, the lack of plot tempted me to give up on it entirely. (I’m glad I didn’t, if only for the writing.)

Basically? This was a great novel with significant flaws.

The Cover: Surprisingly, I don't have much to say about this one. Aside from that it's well designed and representative of the novel, and I like it.