Blog Tour: Twice the Speed of Dark

Book Title: Twice the Speed of Dark

Author: Lulu Allison

Date Started: November 11th 2017

Date Completed: November 22nd 2017

Genres: Contemporary, Magical Realism, Adult
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to Lulu for sending me her lovely book for review ◆

At the heart of Twice the Speed of Dark is the dark subject of domestic violence, but the black hole of Anna’s story is grief. How does one deal with the loss of a child? Where does the responsibility of blame get placed when that loss is the consequence of something darker? And why is justice not final to those involved?

The story of this novel goes in little circles like a cyclone as Anna goes through the transition of her grief. Again and again, she finds herself in the same place, thinking the exact same things. Personally, it circled a little bit much at the start for me; for about a week Anna sits sullenly and writes about the deaths of strangers across the globe. In fairness, it establishes the depths of trouble our protagonist is in.

Written almost like poetry, the exploration of grief reminded me a little bit of Margaret Atwood mixed with Jeanette Winterson: those long, visually-conjuring metaphors of idleness and isolation. By throwing a dash of magical realism into the mix, we go down the Claire Fuller route. (Overall, I wish there’d be more of the magical realism. I liked the way it played about with the timeline and created personas for people that weren’t in Anna’s immediate area of contact.)

The unhealthy cycle Anna is forcing herself through (and there are definitely times when our flawed protagonist makes active decisions to prolong her grief, because anything else feels like a betrayal, or impossible) is almost aesthetically around Anna. The vistas from the holiday she takes to escape the return of her daughter’s murderer are bright and sunny, but it’s like there’s a fog around Anna. While it’s definitely grief that is the focus of this story, I can’t help draw comparisons to other mental health issues.

But, ultimately, Twice the Speed of Dark isn’t just a fly-on-the-wall view of Anna’s grief; it’s also the transitional stages of it that she goes through. Almost ten years after her daughter’s death, things are finally ready to shift a little - sparked by the catalyst of the murderer’s return. While I can’t say that grief is an emotion I’ve yet to have experienced on any real scale, from an outsider’s perspective the book seemed to capture it pretty well. That stuck place where everything feels the same, the physical tension your body gets just from the reminder of circumstances - all things I’m pretty familiar with through depression. But what shifts this for Anna is a somewhat tried-and-tested solution, but a true one nonetheless.

I always like it when stories use the kindness of strangers to provide a different way of looking at things, or even just a quiet nudge outside of what a character would expect. Chance encounters are sometimes criticised in fiction for being just that - fictional. But anyone who’s even just travelled on their own knows that sometimes an unexpected connection with someone you’re unlikely to see again can make a world of difference. Without going too far into spoiling the book, Lulu uses this not so much to solve all of Anna’s problems, but to give her the anonymity from her life that she needs to come to terms with it.

I think it’s interesting that this book is coming out at the same time as the film Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri. The universe has funny little ways of drawing comparisons itself, but the two pieces almost seem to be different forks off the same road. While I haven’t seen the film, I’m aware it’s also about a mother dealing with the murder of her daughter and the injustice of the perpetrator walking around. While Lulu’s novel takes a more meditative and magical realist stance on the subject, I have a feeling the emotional but go-getting feminism in both works will compliment each other well. If you want to prepare for the film, pick up Twice the Speed of Dark - and if not, you might want to after you’ve read this.

Over the next few weeks, Twice the Speed of Dark is touring across the blogger community.

Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour!

You can buy Twice the Speed of Dark straight from Unbound or Amazon
and find Lulu on her Website, Twitter and Instagram.

The Subtle Knife

Book Title: The Subtle Knife

Author: Philip Pullman

Series: His Dark Materials #2

Date Started: October 23rd 2017

Date Completed: November 1st 2017

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Science Fiction
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

When I reread Northern Lights I was a little disappointed that it didn't quite live up to what I remembered as a child. Honestly, I can't actually remember if I ever read the whole series as books - I listened to the radio plays several times over - but I do remember that The Subtle Knife was always my favourite.

The further you go into this series, the more you realise how intimately everything is planned and laid in place. Every detail is part of that plan. It's one massive story split into three parts; arguably each book can't stand totally alone on its own because everything's tied so closely together. Judge that as you will, but I think the feat of proper focus and vision across what must be around 1,000 pages to tell one story is amazing. Pullman knows exactly what he's doing every step of the way, and as the reader you can feel that and let yourself fall in and enjoy the ride.

The Subtle Knife itself actually takes place over a short period of time, but a lot happens in it. These books are a lot slower burning than I remember. I can see why a lot of my peers didn't get hooked on these when they were younger. As magical as they are at that age, it does take its time for things to happen and that can turn some readers off. But I think, in the grand scheme of things, it's all the better for it. We needed the build-up of the first book to understand the gravity of the situation the characters are now in. Jumping between the worlds and that exploration is so much more exciting now that we've experienced being in only a single world: we're stepping out of that comfort zone with Lyra and it makes it all the more exciting.

I like Will a lot. As Much as I love Lyra she can be a brat sometimes. That little annoying twinge I found with her when rereading Northern Lights is definitely a big part of her character, but Will balances her out. He doesn't change her, but he brings out a more patient side. And she likewise pushes him to do bolder things than if he was alone. They work very well as a pair, and the story is better off for it.

It's not quite as magical as I remember, but still very very good. I pick up on a lot more of the intelligence underneath the symbolism and plot these days, and while I appreciate it I think it's funny how the story points were the only thing that really filtered down to me when I was younger. But that is, of course, what makes a brilliant children's book, and why His Dark Materials is such an important series of books. It challenges a lot of things without readers even noticing, and promotes freedom, intelligence and bravery under harmful authority. They're good books to be modern classics.