Briony Larkin is wicked. Shes had to live all 17 years of her life with the knowledge that she was responsible for her identical twin sister Roses brain defect and her Stepmothers death. Thats because Briony is a witch: she can see the Old Ones, the magical creatures that live in and near the swamp, and if anyone in the Swampsea finds out that shes a witch, then she will be hanged.
When Eldric arrives in the Swampsea, he is like a breath of fresh air in Brionys life. Eldric makes her come alive in ways she didnt even know she could anymore. But witches dont love, and witches dont cry, and if Eldric doesnt watch out, Brionys going to be the cause of his death.
CHIME has received countless starred reviews and a nearly equal array of praise and protestation from bloggers. Suffice it to say that I went into this book with equal parts anticipation and trepidation. A book couldnt possibly live up to all that praise, I thought. At best, I thought, I will like this book, but I wont love it.
But oh, I loved it. Oh, how I did. CHIME completely won me over, and I am in nonstop raptures about its genius. Seriously. It might be a good thing you are not in my vicinity right now. Otherwise Id be floating and spinning in circles around you in my enrapturement.
When I say that CHIME won me over, it really did have to win me over. The first 150 or so pages were craAaAaAaAazy! I was really confused, because the book throws us right in the middle of Brionys narration, and shes not exactly the most objective of narrators. She is a great example of a successful unreliable narrator, because everything she narrates is colored by her own charged perception of things.
Briony is so vehement in her self-hatred that she very nearly makes us hate her as well. A person who spends her whole life thinking that shes wicked and hating herself will obviously have a great deal of trouble thinking otherwise. And yet Briony also has a wicked sense of humorand by wicked, I mean in the best way possible. She is like a magical, irresistible combination of Anne Shirleys whimsy andwell, I cant think of who her wit is like, but yeah, shes a combination of wit and whimsy, which makes her completely and utterly cool.
Brionys narration may be confusing at first, but if you give yourself a solid chunk of time to read CHIME, by page 200 you will be so engrossed in these characters stories that you will not want to put this book down. Perhaps most incredible is how well we come to know and love supporting characters such as Eldric and Rose through Brionys voice. Eldric, the boy-man with an irrepressible love of kind-hearted playing. Rose, brain-damaged but still beautifully artistic, and all the more precious for her unique and childlike take on the world. CHIME celebrates childhood and play, and suggests that the best kind of love comes from these nearly magical moments of youthfulness.
There is so much more I could say about CHIME, and so much more within this book that deserves to be talked about. But I could go on and on for pages and pages, and nothing would compare to reading this book yourself, to see if it is, too, your brand of magic. I wasnt expecting to love CHIME, but now its one of my favorite books of all time, an impressive accomplishment of writing magic. Now excuse me, while I go and reread it.
When Eldric arrives in the Swampsea, he is like a breath of fresh air in Brionys life. Eldric makes her come alive in ways she didnt even know she could anymore. But witches dont love, and witches dont cry, and if Eldric doesnt watch out, Brionys going to be the cause of his death.
CHIME has received countless starred reviews and a nearly equal array of praise and protestation from bloggers. Suffice it to say that I went into this book with equal parts anticipation and trepidation. A book couldnt possibly live up to all that praise, I thought. At best, I thought, I will like this book, but I wont love it.
But oh, I loved it. Oh, how I did. CHIME completely won me over, and I am in nonstop raptures about its genius. Seriously. It might be a good thing you are not in my vicinity right now. Otherwise Id be floating and spinning in circles around you in my enrapturement.
When I say that CHIME won me over, it really did have to win me over. The first 150 or so pages were craAaAaAaAazy! I was really confused, because the book throws us right in the middle of Brionys narration, and shes not exactly the most objective of narrators. She is a great example of a successful unreliable narrator, because everything she narrates is colored by her own charged perception of things.
Briony is so vehement in her self-hatred that she very nearly makes us hate her as well. A person who spends her whole life thinking that shes wicked and hating herself will obviously have a great deal of trouble thinking otherwise. And yet Briony also has a wicked sense of humorand by wicked, I mean in the best way possible. She is like a magical, irresistible combination of Anne Shirleys whimsy andwell, I cant think of who her wit is like, but yeah, shes a combination of wit and whimsy, which makes her completely and utterly cool.
Brionys narration may be confusing at first, but if you give yourself a solid chunk of time to read CHIME, by page 200 you will be so engrossed in these characters stories that you will not want to put this book down. Perhaps most incredible is how well we come to know and love supporting characters such as Eldric and Rose through Brionys voice. Eldric, the boy-man with an irrepressible love of kind-hearted playing. Rose, brain-damaged but still beautifully artistic, and all the more precious for her unique and childlike take on the world. CHIME celebrates childhood and play, and suggests that the best kind of love comes from these nearly magical moments of youthfulness.
There is so much more I could say about CHIME, and so much more within this book that deserves to be talked about. But I could go on and on for pages and pages, and nothing would compare to reading this book yourself, to see if it is, too, your brand of magic. I wasnt expecting to love CHIME, but now its one of my favorite books of all time, an impressive accomplishment of writing magic. Now excuse me, while I go and reread it.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
