Of roses, swans and the ordering of fine things in great rooms……….
Paraic O’Donnell’s strange, seductive, immersive Gothic literary creation had me pretty well hooked from the off.
Set in a time which is not immediately clear, it has an eerie, crumbling quality which feels almost Gothic Victorian – except that the dramatic opening involves the arrival of cars to the crumbling mansion which is the main setting. However, at a later point in the novel, where some back story of one of the central characters will be revealed, the mode of personal transport appears to be horses, with the theft of ‘a good horse from a coaching inn’ . As some of what is going on in the book is tied in with a secret society, mysterious powers, and some indication that those connected with the society seem to age more slowly than the rest of us, it’s perfectly possible some kind of Rip Van Winkle effect is happening………………
This is a difficult book to categorise in some ways. It inhabits some kind of nether world which is not exactly magic realism, not at all faery, somewhat fantastical, whilst at the same time much involved with reality, and, even more so with the power, mystery and magic of artistic creation itself. Particularly writing. It’s also a mystery, a thriller. And beautifully written.
Millais – The Lady Of Shallott 1854
Where Paraic O’Donnell has particularly scored is in his creation of character and relationship. Clara is an unusual young girl, an astonishingly gifted artist, and someone with an imagination of great intensity. The true potency of that imagination and artistry will become clear as the story progresses.
‘What art must do is attempt, as nature has, to assemble the tissues of beauty for itself. It must construct its own rose from the raw air, endow it with its colour, its small weight, its tender volutes – even its scent. Art must set this thing before us, must assert its reality in the void of our disbelief. It must make it live’
Clara strains against the impulse to yawn, She is thankful that she has never been made to go to school. It is this sort of thing, she supposes, that children must endure in classrooms all the time
Clara is also mute, and in some ways self-sufficient. She is not emotionally withdrawn, though, and her strongest connection is Eustace, who is a kind of minder, retainer, butler, major domo, possessed of both brains and muscle, and employed by the owner of the crumbling mansion, Crowe. Crowe is dissolute and louche, a genius of a writer, though exactly what he is writing is again, something to discover. He might almost be the writer of everything which ever was. Crowe, Eustace and Clara exist in some kind of equable state. Unfortunately this is shattered at the start of the novel. Definitely the worse for drink, and in a squabble over his latest woman, Crowe kills a would be rival, unleashing the forces of retribution. Those forces will be implemented by shadowy members of the strange secret order Crowe belongs to. Eustace, who is the central character, the central point of view, for most of the novel, is the one who will try to salvage things, to prevent the un-spelt out punishment which Crowe must suffer, as the murder has broken an immutable law of the strange society. Eustace is deeply loyal, there is some strange history to be discovered between him and Crowe, but most of all, he wishes to protect Clara, the mysterious child, and keep her from harm.
Altered Reality Royal Photographic Society Ribbon. Photographer Michael Maguire: Morning Mist
The agents of harm are also a little strange. Chastern is a dying academic, deeply envious of Crowe’s creativity, deeply disdaining his crudity and indulgence in fleshly pursuits. Chastern has his own ‘minder, major-domo, retainer and all the rest, – a sinister, watchful, highly intelligent, dangerous and deadly one.
There are definitely god-games being played, and things get remarkably dark and messy
O’ Donnell creates his immersive story wonderfully well. The book is not presented in linear fashion, there is a lot of cutting back and forth, in time and place, but for the most part this is managed really well, and I enjoyed the gradual unpicking of the past as the story progressed insistently towards ‘what happens next’ page turning suspense
I must confess to a sense of disappointment in the ending of the book, the two final confrontations. The games played with the reader (well, this one) the hints and allusions had been most enjoyable and atmospheric, but I fell out of complete surrender at the end
Nonetheless, a very impressive first novel. If you were intrigued by, for example, The Night Circus, or Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, for both quality of writing and the compulsive, authentic strangeness of the created world, I think this will appeal. Like those two novels, it is much more literary than fantasy fiction.
I must also comment on the delectable cover image, which drew my attention to the book. It is both beautiful, and, having read the book, is in keeping with major themes; far more than ‘the title is swans, a picture of swans’ . The artist is Sinem Erkas
I received this as a review copy from the publishers via NetGalley
Lady Fancifull 
I was fascinated to read your take on this book. I recently reviewed it for nudge books on their site at http://www.nudge-book.com/blog/2016/01/the-maker-of-swans-by-paraic-odonnell/ and was keen to read another perspective. It didn’t quite do it for me. I couldn’t shake off a sense of disappointment throughout and the ending left me flat. I had very high hopes from the beautiful cover and the comparison to “Jonathan Strange…” and it is very well written. It just lacked something …for me the blend between literary and fantasy fiction felt uneasy – maybe I was in a state of post-Xmas grumpiness when I read it. I really enjoyed reading your review though!
Thanks Phil. I wish I could put a knowing finger on what makes a book work or stop working for any reader (particularly this one!) More and more it seems to me that I end up responding to a voice (or not) within quite a short space of time, and hopefully the voice sings to me all through, but sometimes it stops being in tune for me at precise points. This one did near the end, with the unravelling/exposition scene with Chastner, Crowe and others, and then a big flump with the final scene ‘down by the waters’ as it were. Till those points though it was 5 star on my radar all the way. In fact there were many moments when I had to put it down and go and do something else because the mounting sense of menace was disturbing me, and I was heavily invested in both Eustace and Clara, and worried for both of them. So I thought they were really interesting characters and O’Donnell had hooked me with both of them
I love your “voice singing all the way through” idea. That is exactly what I’m looking for in a book. When I started reading this I thought it had five star potential as well, but that singing voice for me became distracted as if a radio wasn’t quite tuned in properly -and I’m still not exactly sure why that was!
It’s interesting Phil, I suspect in many ways our reactions are quite similar, except perhaps that I was kept higher by my initial response, and, touché with the images appreciation, yes, your radio not quite in tune analogy is IT, exactly. Only the reader isn’t immediately aware of why the fine tuning (or where the fine tuning) has been departed from. I find the whole experience of ‘art’ a very curious one, when the voice works for me, I really do feel it as a visceral experience, especially of course in music, but also in writing, and what then ‘goes’ is something registered in my body. Sometimes I can, at least in writing, express that intellectually, but in listening to music that is never possible, I just know the bodysense is registering something isn’t there
As you’d imagine, this one isn’t really for me, but I swithered over it when I first saw it listed purely because of the beautiful cover. I love the yin-yang aspect of it – was that theme carried through in the book?
Kind of, in that oppositions are inherent in the characters, and there is the germ/seed of its opposition. The ‘sides’ have aspects that mirror each other. I realise that will sound evasive and elliptical, but it’s not something spelt out in the book and is something which rather seeps into the reader’s awareness. Though I liked the cover picture hugely, I liked it even more when I had finished reading, and began thinking about how to review and what images to use.
Pity that you don’t really see covers on eread! I did, for example, appreciate the fine cover of the Flanery the further I read the book!
Yes, I thought this was unlikely to burden your TBR! I’m so pleased you didn’t request it, as you might have done a bit of ripping
Sounds interesting, with hints of old Irish fairytales? The cover is stunning!
Isn’t it just! It’s not set in Ireland, but it definitely has an Irish feel
I do like the sound of this, and even of it isn’t quite perfect I think echoes of the books you mention plus the setting might just be enough. Time to see if the library has put it into stock yet….
Yes, I was very pleased to have read it, even if I came down from the wonderful place I’d been in for most of the book at the end
Love the quote about art ending, “It must make it live.” Oh my, how difficult that is to do. I’ve never heard this expressed so well. Must write this down and recall it frequently. It will be my new criteria for a work of art of any kind. I’m thinking that’s the nature of a good book. It convinces you that it lives. I am thrilled by this description.
It’s only soured by the fact that the person who says it is a hiss the villain. It’s rather a good touch actually!
Sounds very interesting! I do like the occasional magical interference in my and this sounds like the next favorite! Thanks!
Great, I hope you enjoy it. It does seem to be finding favour with a range of readers
I’m always attracted by well-written fantastical realities, particularly those with blurred edges with everyday ‘reality’. And yes, I really enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Night Circus – so I’m looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for the introduction.
Oh I’m glad, underrunner, it is an immeesive read, and his ‘world’ is coherent
I’m not a huge reader of fantasy, but you’ve convinced me! I did like The Night Circus and Jonathan Strange, and I really like the quote you pulled out, so I’ll move beyond my usual choices and give this a chance 🙂
It’s literary writers who happen to write in this sort of area, rather than fantasy itself which appeals to me so, fingers crossed. This is more about power, domination, relationship. No dragons, little elves or the serried ranks of hair growing, blood sucking unread haunt these pages!
I read that Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus, is a very description-oriented writer, that she tends to care more about how things are described than the plot. These are things she acknowledges, not accusations. Is this swan book somewhere as descriptive as Morgenstern’s work?
Interesting point. I’d say the story moves along at more of a pace in this one
While I enjoyed Morgenstern’s descriptions, I think some people felt the book couldn’t possibly get any slower!
I was captivated by The Night Circus, and completely absorbed, but I can understand that some might want the plot to have more momentum. This book has more anchor in the ‘real’ world, and there is perhaps more of a suspense/what happens next, going on, because from the start, something dramatic happens, and that sets in place that some other dreadful things are about to happen, danger is on its way, kind of feel