Step 2: (This is for all my writing friends out there) Don’t write a story destined for failure. I personally don’t want to know the ending ahead of time. Maybe Perez is lucky and there are enough innocent readers who’ve never heard of this classic story. I mean she did get published, but still. This isn’t like your typical Jane Eyre retelling. You know the one detail of the story, like Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, and the entire premise is ruined.
Is my rant over? Maybe….
“They loved while they burned and they burned while they loved.”
Down to the writing details. Perez took the classic structure and created, essentially, an interesting prequel. We have the entire story leading up till the moment… It can be hard skirting around no spoilers. In addition, Perez decided to use a very uncommon protagonist, Essy’s handmaid. This was her strength and her demise. Key to a good retelling is making the story unique enough that readers who know the premise can fully enjoy the differences. This can be tricky deciding what can be different and what features can be twisted and manipulated.
Not my cup of tea.
Perez also decided to tackle linguistics. She chose to create a loose rendering of ancient and Medieval languages. Did it lend to the story? I don’t think so. Many times Perez just references to the different languages spoken, not actually showing the words. Once she used it as a message between two of the characters, which did lend well, but other times she used it as a learning tool for Branwen. This was a nice touch but ultimately could have been left out. It tended to slow the story down and forced the reader to break flow and memorize the words. Choosing to add in a whole new language is not something to take lightly and unless you’re a langustics genius, maybe not one to tackle at all.
Though all Tristan and Iseult stories have some short of magical element, Perez decided to make magic a forefront of her story. I enjoyed this. It added an element that allowed the story to feel different. Like I said before, that’s essential to a good retelling.
“Not you without me, not me without you.”
Now to my last very important point - likable characters. Characters, even those we are supposed to love to hate, need to have some semblance of likability. This is ultimately Perez’s downfall. Essy, in my opinion, is nowhere near a likable character. Was that done on purpose to make the ending easier? If it was, then that was a bad idea. Unlikable characters can ruin a story, blocking out all the good parts. Do I see Branwen’s moments when I look at Sweet Black Waves? No. All I can remember is how much I really despised Essy’s character.
Essy is a spoiled brat the whole time. Not once does she do something outside of her character motivation, but it felt like she was created just to keep the story on track. Oh we need to get to point B, so make sure Essy steers the story that way. Even if you don’t know the original Tristan and Iseult story, I think Essy makes the ending very obvious. So obvious.
There was no foreshadowing. The whole thing was spelled out in bold, sky writing.
Ok…. so maybe I need a cool of period between finishing a book and writing a blog. But I want to tell you my first knee jerk reaction to a story. To be honest, this book made me very angry. Today’s feelings are 2.5 stars. There are some parts I liked. That one decision not so much - something I have to keep skirting around (stupid spoilers). And probably the real reason for my anger. The one artistic decision Perez made that I can’t talk about.
So far my current read is way more enjoyable.
I just hope karma doesn’t come back and bite me in the butt later.
Happy Reading
Love Kait
Reading Challenge: 85/100
