The Vespertine, by Saundra Mitchell
Release Date: March 7, 2011
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Pages: 293
Received: Net Galley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Summary
In the summer of 1899, country girl Amelia is sent to stay with relatives in Baltimore for the social season in order to find a suitable husband. The season begins joyfully with friendships and a number of attractive young men, but Amelia’s fun is interrupted by startling visions that appear to her in the light of the setting sun. Amelia and her cousin Zora begin accepting callers for private readings. As the town clamors for Amelia to read their futures, Amelia finds her heart pulled toward the decidedly unsuitable Nathaniel, an artist below her station. Balancing the fine line between propriety and passion, tension grows as Amelia’s visions show her increasingly disturbing events.
Review
The book opens in the fall of 1899, after the events of the story have already transpired. We learn that tragedy has struck and Amelia has been left a ruined madwoman. To say this is an ominous opening is an understatement. I was saturated with a feeling of dread throughout the entire story, knowing that whatever happened would ultimately lead to a tragic end.
I was completely captivated. My mind was racing with questions right from the start. What happened to Amelia? What drove her mad? What is the nature of the tragedy? The dark allusions to cursed visions pulled me in further. I couldn’t wait to find out the story surrounding these visions and how the paranormal aspect would be woven into the story.
On the other hand, however, this somber beginning tainted my enjoyment of the romance. We know from the start that Amelia is a ruined woman, and in 1899 that usually meant a woman trusted her heart to an untrustworthy man. Knowing how Amelia’s relationship ended up, I had a very hard time liking Nathaniel. I constantly viewed him with suspicion and resentment.
In some ways, though, Nathaniel was an attractive romantic lead. There were some sensual scenes that I couldn’t help but get caught up in. Mitchell has a real gift with words and it shines in these scenes. Their behavior is basically PG-13, but her writing made these scenes smolder. There were a number of sentences throughout the book (both in the sexy scenes and in others) that caught my attention to the point where I stopped to reread and admire them. I also must point out how impressed I was by Michell's ability to so convincingly write in an 1899 tone and style. This is a big change from her previous book (modern, American Southern) and really makes her stand out to me as a convincing and versatile author.
Still, despite these scenes, I never really warmed up to Nathaniel. He took far too many liberties, and while there is something dangerously attractive about a man flaunting social conventions for love, it turns distasteful when he has just as little regard for the reputation of his lady. I did not like that about him, and in turn I also thought less of Amelia for allowing this sort of ruination.
It also struck me as rather rude of Amelia to so blatantly flaunt her social breaches while she was a guest in her family’s home. I may sound stuffy, but her behavior was a reflection upon them, and she seemed to care very little about how her actions would affect their reputations. I had a hard time liking Amelia as a character and feeling much sympathy for her eventual circumstances.
Even with my dislike of the two main characters, I still enjoyed this book. The side characters, while not developed as much as I would have liked, were interesting and fun to read about. I was much more invested in their stories and romances. The mysterious impending tragedy kept suspense high and I practically flew through the chapters to find out what would happen next.
I was confused by the paranormal aspects of the story. Amelia’s abilities were explained well enough in action, but I was frustrated at the lack of reason behind her talents. I have no idea why she receives visions and why only at sunset (and only in the presence of the sun, I think?). Is this ability a common or accepted occurrence in Amelia’s world? I don’t know and I would have liked to have read an explanation. The other abilities completely puzzled me. What exactly were they? Were they connected to Amelia's abilities? I just didn’t understand them at all.
The climax of the story is astounding. I wasn’t expecting it at all. With the ominous lead up and hints at something absolutely terrible happening, I was wondering if the eventual reveal would live up to the hype. All I can say without spoiling the ending is that it most certainly did live up to the hype. I have to give Mitchell credit here, she delivered.
My lower rating is because of my personal dislike of Amelia and Nathaniel and my confusion over the paranormal aspects of the book. The story overall was enjoyable, so take my rating with a grain of salt and read this one for yourself. You might also be interested in checking out Logan E. Turner's review. She loved The Vespertine so much her review is even motivating me to do a reread!
Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key
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The Red Cloak: Follows a girl named Meg who is shy and does not want to wear the bright red cloak her mother dyed for her. Her mother sends Meg to visit her grandmother and bring back a bowl used for stew. To avoid being seen in the cloak, Meg cuts through the woods. There, she encounters a wood cutter who decides to hold her hostage in order to get a ransom from her parents. He likely intends to kill her. Meg attracts a wolf and then tosses the stew bowl at the wood cutter. Attracted by the scent of the stew, the wolf goes after the wood cutter and traps him in a tree. Meg escapes. She is then noticed by a group of attractive boys who seem to admire her cloak. She decides having a “look-at-me-red” cloak might not be such a bad thing after all.
The Red Riding Hood Doll: Georgette is a dressmaker and a spinster who longs for a child. A disgruntled customer refuses a cloak Georgette made, and so Georgette decides to reuse the fabric. She sews into the night and creates a beautiful and very life-like doll with a long red cloak. Her mother wants to use the doll as a sample, but Georgette insists the doll is more like a child to her. Customers admire the doll and want to buy it, but Georgette refuses. Saddened, she wanders into the woods one night with her doll and falls asleep. When she wakes, she discovers the doll has been turned into a real girl, but she is not the child Georgette hoped for. A group of boys approach and begin flirting in a very unseemly manner. Georgette’s doll responds positively and runs off with the boys. Georgette decides children might be too much trouble after all and considers getting a cat instead.
Little Red Riding Hood’s Family: Roselle’s mother sprains her ankle while joking around with her family one day, so Roselle offers to go and visit her grandmother in her mother’s stead. Roselle puts on her cloak and walks through the woods to her grandmother’s house. When she arrives, she hears thuds coming from the bedroom. She goes to investigate and find her grandmother—in her wolf form—sorting through her closet looking for her shoes. Grandmother is happy to see Roselle and the reader learns that Grandmother is a werewolf, and very kind. The reader also learns that Roselle is a witch. A vampire comes into the cottage, but Roselle takes care of him with her magic by turning him into a frog before he can do anyone harm. Roselle and Grandmother then eat together.
Granny and the Wolf: Nelda is a wealthy elderly woman being courted by a wood cutter named Gladwyn. She is not at all interested in him, accurately feeling Gladwyn is only after her money. While on her way to sell tarts in the village, Nelda happens upon a female wolf caught in one of Gladwyn’s animal traps. She rescues the wolf and gives her some treats. The wolf follows Nelda back to her home and Nelda bandages her up and feeds her more treats. The two become fast friends. Nelda’s granddaughter Scarlet then comes over, but Nelda decides she must hide the wolf. Scarlet’s father is very worrisome and would not like it if Nelda had a pet wolf. She hides the wolf in her bedroom and lets Scarlet in. Scarlet wants to try on a dress Nelda is sewing for her, but the dress is in her bedroom. Nelda hides the wolf in her wardrobe and then helps Scarlet into her dress. Gladwyn then comes over and Nelda needs to hide Scarlet so Gladwyn doesn’t make comments about Nelda spending so much money on her granddaughter. She hides Scarlet under the table. The wolf begins whining and Gladwyn wonders what is going on. Nelda claims it is her grandchild ill and in bed. Gladwyn insists he see her. Nelda takes the wolf out of the wardrobe, puts her in the bed and puts a hat on her. Gladwyn is fooled, but remarks on how hairy she is. Nelda claims it is a family trait, hoping to also dissuade Gladwyn’s feelings for her in the process. Scarlet’s father then arrives, and Nelda tells Gladwyn that he must leave for her son is very protective of her and will hurt Gladwyn if he sees him. Gladwyn flees. Scarlet’s father enters and asks to borrow an ax. He then leaves. Scarlet comes out and questions Nelda on her “other grandchild.” Nelda comes clean and Scarlet, Nelda, and the wolf happily eat dinner together.
Deems the Wood Gatherer: Deems is a kind hearted but very poor-sighted wood gatherer. The story follows him as he gathers wood one day. He comes across the wolf and the three little pigs, but due to his poor eyesight he mistakes the wolf for a man. He helps the wolf break into the little pigs’ house, assuming he is helping a father get back into his home of which his children have locked him out. He then accidentally steps on the gingerbread man. He then comes across Hansel and Gretel walking through the woods with their parents. Appalled at seeing children waste food (dropping bread crumbs) he picks them up. He then brings the wood he gathered to his “kind” neighbor with a house made of candy. He remarks that she will be very happy with all of the wood he’s bringing her because she had said she is having a lot of children for dinner.
Why Willy and His Brother Won’t Ever Amount to Anything: Isolda is a young girl who happens upon a baby fox, but the fox is frightened away by her neighbor Willy who believes he is saving her from a wolf. Isolda remarks that neither Willy nor his brother will ever amount to anything because they are dreamers. Willy and his brother Jakob later “save” Isolda and her grandmother from a stuffed animal wolf. Grandmother says that those Grimm brothers will never amount to anything. The narrator states that she was right, because all they ever became were writers.
The Little Red Headache: A wolf is sleeping until a little girl in a red cloak steps on his tail. He wakes and she begins screaming, giving him a splitting headache. She runs away and leaves her basket of food behind. The wolf, trying to be nice, picks up the basket and follows her in an attempt to return her basket. She runs away screaming again. The wolf decides to go to the cottage in the woods, thinking she is probably heading there. A grandmother opens the door and screams, thinking the wolf is there to eat her. She hides in the wardrobe. Hearing the girl approaching, the wolf tries to hide in the bed. She sees him and begins screaming. Granny begins screaming again. The wolf, with a gigantic headache at this point, jumps out of bed, out the door, and leaves. He runs into a woodcutter who screams, but the wolf just keeps running.
Little Red Riding Hood’s Little Red Riding Hood: An old fairy godmother is asked to grant a gift to her goddaughter Ruby. Donning a red cloak, she goes to see the little girl, but misspeaks when granting the gift. She accidentally grants the cloak intelligence, but because she is old she is only able to do one bit of magic per day. She decides to give the cloak to the baby. The intelligent cloak mends itself, alters its colors to what Ruby is wearing, etc. Ruby, unfortunately, is pretty dumb, and so she often finds herself in trouble. Ruby encounters a wolf in the woods who wishes to eat her. The cloak attempts to help her by snagging itself on doorways to hold her back and covering her mouth to keep her from admitting she is alone, but Ruby thwarts the “stupid” cloak. The wolf masquerades as Ruby’s grandmother. The cloak throws itself on the wolf and Ruby starts screaming because the wolf “grandmother” had promised Ruby a gift. A woodcutter hears her screams and comes to help. The wolf, with the cloak still on its face, jumps out the window realizing that this is more trouble than it is worth. The cloak agrees, and slinks away out the window where it is picked up by another person. The cloak is passed down through the years until it comes to be owned by Superman.