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A review by matildazq
The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
4.0
This is a book that I've saved for a long while, because I knew that I wanted to savor it. That 4-star rating is definitely at least 4.5—really probably 4.75. I didn't give it 5 because it's only merely wonderful, whereas the original novel was extraordinary.
That said, this is really a terrific follow-up, and I applaud its ambition, even if I think that the solid instinct to take the world further led to a story that was a bit more shapeless and not as exquisitely paced. But again, this is far from a disappointment or a sophomore slump. One of the delights of the first novel is how pleasant and nice it is. Those sound like lukewarm, damning-with-faint-praise words, but they're sincere. In an era—particularly of so-called "genre fiction"—where everyone seems to want to "outdark" one another, the first novel was warm and innocent in its way while still having compelling stakes.
The events here are necessarily less "nice," and it would be in authentic to the main characters' nature and relationships if that were not the case. But nothing feels gratuitous and the author's commitment to having no real villain, but instead characters who are driven by the pain they feel and the gaps in their experience is, on the whole, really gratifying.
That said, this is really a terrific follow-up, and I applaud its ambition, even if I think that the solid instinct to take the world further led to a story that was a bit more shapeless and not as exquisitely paced. But again, this is far from a disappointment or a sophomore slump. One of the delights of the first novel is how pleasant and nice it is. Those sound like lukewarm, damning-with-faint-praise words, but they're sincere. In an era—particularly of so-called "genre fiction"—where everyone seems to want to "outdark" one another, the first novel was warm and innocent in its way while still having compelling stakes.
The events here are necessarily less "nice," and it would be in authentic to the main characters' nature and relationships if that were not the case. But nothing feels gratuitous and the author's commitment to having no real villain, but instead characters who are driven by the pain they feel and the gaps in their experience is, on the whole, really gratifying.