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Book Review
May. 7th, 2023 07:55 pmMisfortune
by Wesley Stace
This novel is set in the mid-19th century and concerns Rose Loveall. As a baby, Rose was abandoned on a rubbish heap and then rescued by an aristocrat, Geoffroy Loveall. Consumed with lifelong grief over his long-dead younger sister while also pressured by his awful mother to continue the family line, Geoffroy declares Rose his true heir and quickly marries the family librarian, Anonyma, to seal the deal. The only wrench in the works is that Rose, while raised as a girl, is actually of the male sex. After a happy childhood, Rose's adolescence proves too much for continuing the subterfuge and causes a set of horrible, grasping relatives to use the truth of Rose's birth to usurp the family seat. Rose then begins a journey of self-discovery and restitution.
I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the Dickensian elements of eccentric characters, despicable relatives, and quirky journeys. I could see where some plot elements were going fairly early on, but it was so much fun to get there. I also liked the exploration of gender and identity, which is somewhat ahead of its time, as Misfortune was published in 2005. Rose's genderqueerness and the process of Rose's explorations of gender and identity are portrayed beautifully and with both sensitivity and humor (in terms of sharing Rose's sense of humor, not laughing at Rose). All of the secondary characters were also delightful, even the villains. The ending was quite satisfying, too.
by Wesley Stace
This novel is set in the mid-19th century and concerns Rose Loveall. As a baby, Rose was abandoned on a rubbish heap and then rescued by an aristocrat, Geoffroy Loveall. Consumed with lifelong grief over his long-dead younger sister while also pressured by his awful mother to continue the family line, Geoffroy declares Rose his true heir and quickly marries the family librarian, Anonyma, to seal the deal. The only wrench in the works is that Rose, while raised as a girl, is actually of the male sex. After a happy childhood, Rose's adolescence proves too much for continuing the subterfuge and causes a set of horrible, grasping relatives to use the truth of Rose's birth to usurp the family seat. Rose then begins a journey of self-discovery and restitution.
I very much enjoyed this book. I loved the Dickensian elements of eccentric characters, despicable relatives, and quirky journeys. I could see where some plot elements were going fairly early on, but it was so much fun to get there. I also liked the exploration of gender and identity, which is somewhat ahead of its time, as Misfortune was published in 2005. Rose's genderqueerness and the process of Rose's explorations of gender and identity are portrayed beautifully and with both sensitivity and humor (in terms of sharing Rose's sense of humor, not laughing at Rose). All of the secondary characters were also delightful, even the villains. The ending was quite satisfying, too.
