Revisions Update, and the Long-Promised Review

[rj_anderson]

I received my second round of revisions on Knife today, with a few more suggestions for clarifying and streamlining the plot, plus line-by-line edits. The letter was six pages long, and the manuscript was marked up on nearly every page. Eep!

No, really, it's all good -- that is, I can see how all the suggestions my editor has made will play into making the book clearer and more readable, without sacrificing the elements of the book that are truly essential and/or dearest to my heart. But it's going to be a lot of work. And I only have until May 1st to get it all done -- so forgive me, dear friends, if you don't see as much of me for the next three or four weeks!

Before I go, though, I must let my yea be yea (as the apostle James would say), and give you at least a brief review of elizabethcbunce's lyrically written yet very real-feeling novel A Curse Dark as Gold.

Superficially this book is a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin legend, but in execution it's far more than that -- it's a novel of character and of family, it has the feeling of a historical novel with its seamlessly interwoven (ha) research into the craft of milling cloth, there is a strong mystery element, a well-drawn romance, and it's also a ghost story. Lots of different threads there! And yet the author weaves them all together beautifully.

The behavior of Bunce's characters is not always easy to watch -- Charlotte undergoes severe testing and struggles both externally and internally, and there were times when I wanted to grab her by both shoulders and shake her for her stubbornness -- but they are believable and consistent, and the resolution of the various character arcs feels earned rather than contrived. There's plenty of tension and action to keep the reader engaged, and the style is lovely and evocative without losing readability in the process.

And even though the major elements of the Rumplestiltskin legend remain intact, the author layers them with a story all her own and puts a fresh twist and perspective on the old fairy tale that keeps the reader in just the right amount of suspense. Well done, elizabethcbunce -- and her fabulous editor cherylklein!

Comments

[olmue.livejournal.com]

Good luck on your revisions--you can do this!! Just don't forget to breathe some every day. :)

[jmprince.livejournal.com]

Isn't that book amazing?! I love it!

[faerie-writer.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth's book is definitely on my to-read list! :D

[snickelish.livejournal.com]

Sounds like lots of work, but good work. Good luck.

[tapinger.livejournal.com]

I read Curse a couple days ago, and for some reason I want to ask you if you've read Sally Gardner's I, Coriander.

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

I have read I, Coriander, though I didn't particularly care for it.

[tapinger.livejournal.com]

I wondered. I thought it might be the sort of thing you'd like, but the fairies are sinister and there isn't a lot of humor that I remember. I didn't think it was great, but I did appreciate the mother's motivations with regard to her eternal soul, and the detail of the candles burning while she wrote.

I mostly agree with your assessment of A Curse Dark as Gold, although the romance seemed rather sudden to me. (Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with romance and I bet it probably does occur suddenly, or at least sneak up on people.) Foundling is in my to-read pile...