The Reader's Shire - Book Reviews

Book Review: The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.
Author: Leslye Walton
Series: -
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Romance.
Format: Kindle Edition
Length: 301 pages.
Publication date: March 13, 2014
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 4.10 out of 5 stars
My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

"To many, I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale."

With a title as long as that, you'd expect the novel to be just as dramatic and in that case, you won't be disappointed. This book is very difficult to review because I've never read anything quite like it. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with my review because I just can't find the right words to express my unsure feelings. There were good parts and there were boring parts. There were parts where I felt really gooey. Scenes where I felt uncomfortable. Chapters where I felt my eyes closing. Endings where I felt downright horrified. Strange and beautiful are perhaps, what this unusual novel really is.

"Love, as most know, follows its own timeline, disregarding our intentions or well-rehearsed plans."

This book was very disturbing. Welton created a bittersweet tale about love - mutual, obessive, romantic. It was about obsessions, PTSD, regret and devastating betrayals told through several POVs - three generations of Roux women, the love interests and the employees. Despite some minor and flat characters, I liked most of them despite how much they disgusted me. The plot was quite interesting and the writing was gorgeous. At times I felt like I was reading poetry rather than prose. The metaphors and similies were just so good, that's why.

"Happiness had a pungent scent, like the sourest lime or lemon. Broken hearts smelled surprisingly sweet. Sadness filled the air with a salty, sea-like redolence; death smelled like sadness. People carried their own distinct personal fragrances."

Unfortunately, something was missing. I didn't really get it. I got it somewhat, yeah but I didn't really get what deemed this as a five-star worthy book. Have you ever read a book where you agree with every positive thing the majority believes but you didn't personally feel it yourself? If yes, then you probably understand how I feel about this book. And it makes me feel very guilty and wrong because practically everyone has rated this five stars. I'm sorry. I really wanted to love this book and sacrifice my soul to it like everyone else has but I just liked it. (Three and a half stars means I liked it) That's it. No more, no less.

For starters, the sudden plot twists were... surprising, I'll admit that, but unexplained and just brought out of nowhere. I imagined the author laughing nastily and declaring "Here's another plot twist, reader. Figure it out somehow or be confused!". Maybe it's because the characters' names were difficult to remember or maybe because of the constant deaths and the time lapse.

The pacing was atrocious and awfully slow too. I was so confused at times. Like, why am I not being able to keep up? What is happening? Who are you and how did you just die? Seriously, is it my fault that I couldn't give my full, undivided attention to every single word of this book? Is it lack of intelligence? Not to mention the useless, boring and annoyingly detailed descriptions of unimportant things. I practically skimmed those parts. I do like purple prose but to an extent. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender had extensive descriptions and was lacking dialogue. I'm not a huge fan of flowery writing. I prefer the writing to be semi-formal and natural. Sometimes, it got too much. Too much that I lost my interest and started skimming.

As for the ending, I understand that a good story doesn't reveal everything but the ending felt disappointing, incomplete and a little...underwhelming. It could've been explored and it didn't even answer most of the reader's the questions. Did Ava ever let go of the traumatic and awful experience? Did she finally accept and celebrate her magical wings with open hands? Did Emiliene ever let go of her demons? Did Gabe and Vivian get married? What happened to Henry and Lisa Lovelorn? Did John Griffiths ever move on or did he just waste away like Mama Roux? I guess we'll have to fill in the blanks ourself.

"Children betrayed their parents by becoming their own people."

The only elements of this book which I'm certain I loved are the characterization and the settings.

One of my favourites was Emeliene's bakery. I could imagine the aroma of bakery bread, gstrong coffee and faint smoke spreading in the atmosphere. The variety of cakes with different flavours, numerous cream-filled pastries and the colourful french deserts. The sound of the oven and the chatters of hungry customers. All of this beautiful imagery lurking with the eerie magic. I can't be the only one who's mouth started watering. I really like cake. In fact, I'm going to bake some right now.

"If the past had taught her anything, it was that as long as she didn't love someone, he wasn't as likely to die or disappear."

The women in this story were intriguing too. I was fascinated by Emeline's past and how her family's gruesome deaths and potential suitors' betrayals affected her life. How those experiences turned her into a spectre of a woman who casted an invisible wall between her and her family and was unable or unwilling to love anyone with her heart. Silly, lovesick and dreamy Vivian refusing to let go of her schoolgirl crush. Ava and her wings and her thirst for normality. The only one I didn't like was Mama Roux (I'm sorry but how can children not know their mother's name?).

I liked the way Welton portrayed the men in her story. Henry's condition, his communicating style - using different words in different languages. Hopeful, fatherly and intelligent Gabe. John Griffith's fantasies of pleasing his father and living the american dream turning into regret and realizing far too late that whatever he betrayed and abandoned was the one he truly yearned for. Nathaniel, the religeon fanatic's disturbing awe at Ava's wings turning into an unhealthy, creepy obsession and a form of insanity.

All of these characters were flawed and bizarre. None of them really had happy endings but that's what made me like them so much. I felt for them during their heartbreaks, their regrets, their moments of fear, when they finally moved on, etc.

"Love makes us such fools"

The ghostly aspect of this novel was also exciting and a little bit scary. I was so intrigued by "the sad man" and other dead members of Emeliene's family being seen by her and her grandson. I suppose it was PTSD but it was also a paranormal element of this book.

"Unmarried women woke in the night with tears in their eyes, not because they were alone, but because there wasn't any cake left."

I am not denying that Welton is a very talented writer. Her ideas were great, the characters had depth, the stories were solid but her storytelling was bland. At the end of the day, I felt like I was reading a collection of short stories rather than a full, compiled novel. And although I really liked the pretty words and the interesting concept, this book did not touch my heart's strings. I don't think it will always stay with me and I won't be very honest if I give it 5 stars. I'm sorry.

To those who haven't read this book, please don't let my rating discourage you from reading it. Maybe it's just me. Wait, scratch that. It's probably just me. Really, go ahead and read and love this book, because I'm just being very stupid and irrational. I don't know...I want to reread it. Who knows? Maybe next time, it will get 5 stars from me too.

And lastly, to those who fell in love with this book, I merely say: Mon cœur entier pendant ma vie entière.

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