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Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) ReviewAs a rule, I generally find the fiction directed at young women frustrating. So often, it's populated by Kicky Young Heroines with *just enough* strength and self-reliance to be bothered when they ultimately have to be rescued by the male love interest, but not quite enough to get out of trouble without his help. Too many authors lack the skill to create dramatic tension without placing the main character in a danger she just can't escape on her own, and the most dramatically convenient means of rescue is usually her love interest. The underlying message of, "no matter how strong you are, you're still a girl and girls get rescued by men who think they're pretty," is pervasive.So, it was with certain reservations that I picked up Maggie Stiefvater's "Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception" on the recommendation of a friend. In my head I was already trying to think of diplomatic ways to compliment a Young Adult Faerie Book without having to point out Kicky Ineffectual Heroines and overly perky and harmless (or unreasonably malicious and evil) fae.
"Lament" blew all that right out of the water.
First, the core of the story is about women. Deirdre's relationship with her mother and grandmother, her relationship with her aunt, her relationship with the Faerie Queen, all played out across the story of a young woman making the choices that will determine the course of her life. The love story, though woven through the tale, supports the focus on Deirdre instead of overwhelming it; this is a refreshing change from the languishing heroine waiting for life to start for her and bemoaning her singlehood (usually because 'normal guys' can't handle her Special Uniqueness) until magically the perfect guy comes along who just happens to be [insert dramatic and predictable otherworldly cliche].
Part of this comes from the fact that Stiefvater balances the love interest with a strong core friendship that it can't replace, and part of it comes from the fact that like many of us, Deirdre has to make most of her really hard decisions alone, and she's faced with a lot of very realistic complication in the way she has to balance the relationships in her life. Stiefvater places her protagonist in situations where she has to acknowledge and consider the very different sorts of love and relationships in her life, and can't simply let fear or infatuation guide her choices. It creates a much better dramatic tension and a much better read than simply placing her in an inescapable danger.
Stiefvater's fae were another pleasant surprise. Instead of the benign, ethereal beauties or the deliberately evil monsters I've come to expect from popular fiction (not to mention the giggly little winged flower sprites), the fae in "Lament" are complex and subtle. The word most appropriate to the faeries of the older tales is 'perilous', and these fae most certainly are. Are they good guys? Are they bad guys? Neither, really; they're somewhere outside of morality and bound to older, simpler, more brutal laws than human perception of right and wrong. Stiefvater *nails* the notion of the faerie bargain and the faerie favor perfectly, capturing the layers of gift, threat, and obligation. She manages to make them alien and familiar enough to be completely unsettling.
The book is a satisfying and well-crafted read. I finished it in a single sitting, and have read it again since. And having done so, I can recommend it without reservation or hesitiation. Read this book. Seriously.Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception (Gathering of Faerie) Overview
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