sellyoursoul – It's All About the Book

Description

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging – or better left behind entirely.

My Thoughts

I’ve been a fan of Arden’s work since I first read her Winternight Trilogy, which I wrote about here and here. While her previous work has been some of the best fantasy and horror I’ve read, she stretches way beyond those genres here in a book I can only describe as quietly incandescent.

The utter horror of World War I has been documented in so many ways that Arden doesn’t feel obligated to give a history lesson here. Instead, she examines the humanity (and inhumanity) experienced by average people caught up in situations too big and too awful to comprehend without going mad. She beautifully renders the utter heartbreak and the paralyzing fear experienced by soldiers, nurses, and doctors, juxtaposed with love, affection, friendship and the human capacity to just get on with it and worry about details later.

In Winternight, Arden wrote about a place called Midnight and the struggle between Chaos and Order. I recognized some aspects of both those things in some scenes here. The character of Faland reminded me a bit of The Bear – the bringer of chaos, the eater of souls – but the character here was developed in such a way that made me cringe but also want more. The concept that the war was so horrific, that it was murdering the old world and making way for the new, was so carefully balanced with the idea that it was also changing the nature of evil itself is one that has kept me thinking long after finishing the book.

I’m not often completely surprised at twists in a story, but the twist near the end of this one left me entirely nonplussed and drained. Arden’s treatment of relationships – brother & sister, mother and child, friend & enemy – is so intricate and beautiful that some scenes made me cry. That doesn’t often happen.

Despite the chaos and horror, the threads that pull it all together are love and madness. How can humans endure utter madness yet still find their way back to those who love them? How much can one person endure before they give up and what lengths would you go to in order to bring your loved one back from the brink?

This book comes out in early 2024 and I predict it will be on all the “Best of 2024” lists. It is a triumph for Katherine Arden and a gift to us all.

Publication Date: February 13, 2024
Published By: Random House Publishing Group; Ballantine; Del Rey
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Description

A darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping debut novel about a guy who works in Hell (literally) and is on the cusp of a big promotion if only he can get one more member of the wealthy Harrison family to sell their soul.

Peyote Trip has a pretty good gig in the deals department on the fifth floor of Hell. Sure, none of the pens work, the coffee machine has been out of order for a century, and the only drink on offer is Jägermeister, but Pey has a plan—and all he needs is one last member of the Harrison family to sell their soul.

When the Harrisons retreat to the family lake house for the summer, with their daughter Mickey’s precocious new friend, Ruth, in tow, the opportunity Pey has waited a millennium for might finally be in his grasp. And with the help of his charismatic coworker Calamity, he sets a plan in motion.

But things aren’t always as they seem, on Earth or in Hell. And as old secrets and new dangers scrape away at the Harrisons’ shiny surface, revealing the darkness beneath, everyone must face the consequences of their choices.

My Thoughts

This is one of those books that is hard to characterize. Is it a mystery? Horror? Weirdly devised chick/bro lit? Bitingly witty workplace angst? This is ALL that! The author offers brilliantly imagined facets of Hell, ranging from the C-suite to never-ending puddles, and every page offers some new observation about daily life.

Keeping everything straight was a little chaotic, but well worth the effort. This is a multi-layered book that I can see generating some really lively book discussions about what it means to live a decent life. There is a lot to unpack here in terms of what it takes to tip people to the dark side.

If you’re familiar with the legendary story of Dr. Faust, you’ll recognize some of that. There is more of Marlowe’s original Faust here – the successful but unsatisfied man who sells his soul to the Devil for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasure – than Goethe’s intellectual Faust. Why do people want more and what is it about those in our society who are obscenely wealthy and fortunate that makes regular people idolize them? What kind of person would sell their very soul for unlimited wealth? Timely questions I’d say.

Final word – this is some of the best modern satire I’ve read in a long time.