It began with absence and desire.
It began with blood and fear.
To say that the All Souls Trilogy is merely a story of star-crossed lovers would be to do the series an incredible injustice. This three part story is anything but typical in its plot and themes. All Souls is a tale of fear-- accepting it, understanding it, harnessing it, and overcoming it. It is also a story of acceptance -- accepting the faults in your own personality, your friends, your enemies, those you've deemed different than yourself, and finally your regrets. This series follows a smattering of creatures (witches, vampires, and daemons) with supernatural and preternatural abilities as they try their hardest to uncover the meaning of their existence. In just three novels author, Deborah Harkness, has created a world that so closely mirrors real life that it is practically impossible not to find a character, a feeling, or a thought that you can't relate to. Despite these characters sixth senses, vampire hearing abilities, or magical artistry, they are in fact simply human. All of them struggle with finding who they are in relation to the world, their families, and the greater meaning of life.
Beyond the otherworldly aspects of the series Harkness has honed in on her historical acumen and created a story this is brimming with historical insight and whimsy. From Elizabethan England, to Venice, to France and Oxford, Harkness never misses a beat in describing each individual locations unique buildings, smells, sounds, and the feelings that accompany these things. Not only, as readers, are we able to maintain our own opinion of the places described we are also able to understand the meaning of these pivotal places to the main characters and in turn better understand their actions/reactions when faced with returning to these cities. Harkness also has an impressive grasp of countless languages and she employs them consistently throughout the entirety of All Souls. French, Occitan, Greek, German, and Latin are weaved so shrewdly into each chapter that it becomes second nature to not only identify which language is being employed but also understand much of it.
The Book of Life answers all of the questions raised by the previous two novels and provides a powerful lesson in realizing that the differences that we often find in one another may not be all that alienating after all. Having read this final installment (of almost 600 pages) in two days, I can say with certainty that I am going to miss living in the world of Matthew and Diana. Each of these characters has taught me something different about life and given me the opportunity to see the world (even their supernatural world) from a different perspective. I will take these lessons with me on future reading quests and other real-life endeavors. I invite you all to become a fellow of the All Souls, I dare say all of you with find an aspect of this meaningful series that speaks to you in ways that ways that will captivate, motivate, and inspire you.
Colin Firth has a quote that I think sums up my experience with this series. He says,
“When I'm really into a novel, I'm seeing the world differently during that time— not just for the hour or so in the day when I get to read. I'm actually walking around in a haze, spellbound by the book and looking at everything through a different prism.”
Such is the mark that All Souls leaves on its readers. It encompasses them in another world and allows them to live in this world both when lost in its pages and for an indefinite period after that. I expect my everyday experiences for the immediate future (and parts of the rest of my life) to be colored by Harkness' entrancing tale.
--Click on "Began" in the quote preceding this review to visit Deborah Harkness' webpage.
It began with blood and fear.
To say that the All Souls Trilogy is merely a story of star-crossed lovers would be to do the series an incredible injustice. This three part story is anything but typical in its plot and themes. All Souls is a tale of fear-- accepting it, understanding it, harnessing it, and overcoming it. It is also a story of acceptance -- accepting the faults in your own personality, your friends, your enemies, those you've deemed different than yourself, and finally your regrets. This series follows a smattering of creatures (witches, vampires, and daemons) with supernatural and preternatural abilities as they try their hardest to uncover the meaning of their existence. In just three novels author, Deborah Harkness, has created a world that so closely mirrors real life that it is practically impossible not to find a character, a feeling, or a thought that you can't relate to. Despite these characters sixth senses, vampire hearing abilities, or magical artistry, they are in fact simply human. All of them struggle with finding who they are in relation to the world, their families, and the greater meaning of life.
Beyond the otherworldly aspects of the series Harkness has honed in on her historical acumen and created a story this is brimming with historical insight and whimsy. From Elizabethan England, to Venice, to France and Oxford, Harkness never misses a beat in describing each individual locations unique buildings, smells, sounds, and the feelings that accompany these things. Not only, as readers, are we able to maintain our own opinion of the places described we are also able to understand the meaning of these pivotal places to the main characters and in turn better understand their actions/reactions when faced with returning to these cities. Harkness also has an impressive grasp of countless languages and she employs them consistently throughout the entirety of All Souls. French, Occitan, Greek, German, and Latin are weaved so shrewdly into each chapter that it becomes second nature to not only identify which language is being employed but also understand much of it.
The Book of Life answers all of the questions raised by the previous two novels and provides a powerful lesson in realizing that the differences that we often find in one another may not be all that alienating after all. Having read this final installment (of almost 600 pages) in two days, I can say with certainty that I am going to miss living in the world of Matthew and Diana. Each of these characters has taught me something different about life and given me the opportunity to see the world (even their supernatural world) from a different perspective. I will take these lessons with me on future reading quests and other real-life endeavors. I invite you all to become a fellow of the All Souls, I dare say all of you with find an aspect of this meaningful series that speaks to you in ways that ways that will captivate, motivate, and inspire you.
Colin Firth has a quote that I think sums up my experience with this series. He says,
“When I'm really into a novel, I'm seeing the world differently during that time— not just for the hour or so in the day when I get to read. I'm actually walking around in a haze, spellbound by the book and looking at everything through a different prism.”
Such is the mark that All Souls leaves on its readers. It encompasses them in another world and allows them to live in this world both when lost in its pages and for an indefinite period after that. I expect my everyday experiences for the immediate future (and parts of the rest of my life) to be colored by Harkness' entrancing tale.
--Click on "Began" in the quote preceding this review to visit Deborah Harkness' webpage.