Among Others

I really am not sure what I think about this book. There were parts that I absolutely loved, parts that itched under my skin, and parts that flat-out confused me. In the end, it's a book I'm glad I read even if I don't fully understand it.

One of the things I love best is that this is the most diary-like piece of fiction I've ever read. A lot of authors (especially in children's books) will use phrases like, “Let me go back to the beginning...” or “Maybe I should explain.” Well, no you shouldn't because this is not meant to be read by anyone. Diaries are personal and free the author from needing to include exposition. Mor writes like she doesn't intend this to be read by anyone but herself, and as such she never explains anything she isn't working out for herself. This makes for an amazing amount of suspense as reveals happen so very slowly. The reader's mind is always buzzing with questions, and I found myself urgently rushing to the next entry, hoping it would explain the one before. This structure also means fantastic events are dealt with in a very commonplace way because they're common to Mor. It cements the story firmly in reality and is by far my favorite part of the book.

A close second is Walton's use of magic. What a fresh and fantastic take on an old theme. Walton's magic is grounded in connection and seems to only work when that makes sense in the user's mind. Mor's magic is grounded in her sense of the earth and how the earth works and in her connection to the people around her. There are no spellbooks, no classes, and no rules other than the universally imposed ones. It's also infinitely deniable and ends up looking like coincidence. This makes the entire novel entirely deniable, and indeed if you take out the magic, you have a perfectly acceptable coming of age story. If you believe Mor is an unreliable narrator (and she is clearly trying to paint a picture of her own character through her diary), then you could deny all of the magical events in the story. Each one serves to emphasize a change in Mor's life, whether it is a normal adolescent transition or a far more traumatic upheaval specific to her. Whether or not the magic is real, it still serves a purpose in showing Mor's growth and change.

Walton's treatment of fairies is also quite original and yet sensible. She never fully explains what they are or how they are, just gives the readers hints that we can make our own conjectures. Their variety and communication is fascinating, and I wish I understood it better. They are not Mor's focus though, and Walton never lets them steal the show away from her protagonist.

All that said, I still don't find Mor particularly likable. It's odd because I should clearly identify with her. She's an awkward teen without many friends obsessed with books and longing to be older than she is. Everything about that describes my adolescence, but I didn't like myself much then and I don't really like Mor now. It's something in the way she denies feeling and criticizes her classmates and even adults in her life as stupid and dramatic. I think it's appropriate to her history for her to think like this, but she comes off as too harsh for me and really never makes any effort to get to know people beneath their veneer (until Wim), despite expecting them to look beneath hers. I think I'm supposed to admire how contrary she is, and certainly this aspect saves her life, but most of the time I just wish she'd cut other characters a little slack. The references also make it sound like she's desperately trying to be an adult too, but that could be the fact that I'm used to people referencing Heinlein and Zelazny to sound smart. It's different to talk about contemporary authors who were out of the mainstream. Actually, Mor's something of a late 70s hipster.

There's a lot I still don't understand about Mor (I'm still not entirely sure which Mor she is, why she chose to sign Morganna but makes everyone call her Morwenna, which name is on the death certificate of her sister) and I did find watching her cope and change interesting, but part of me reacts to her in the same way I react to all teenagers.

On similar confusing notes, the ending. I think I am so used to Hollywood endings that this one seemed painfully rushed. If this were a movie, the showdown with the fairies and with her mother would be lit up in blockbuster lights and 3D CG. As is, the ending is just another entry in a diary, and an understated one at that. It sort of encourages me in my theory that Mor is using a lot of metaphor to deal with losing her sister and coping with her insane mother (what a risk to have a shadow antagonist like this and only show her for a page at the end). She defeats the fairies by emphasizing her will to live. She defeats her mother by literally rooting herself in the earth. Mor's a clever girl, and it's entirely possible she's crafting a novel out of her life, and I love that, but I wanted a lot more closure than I got. I didn't dislike it, but it left me a little dissatisfied.

Among Others isn't like any book I've ever read, and I'm very happy S&L tossed it my way. It's definitely a story that will stay with me and make me keep asking questions.