The Gifts - Liz Hyder - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Liz Hyder

GENRE: Historical Fantasy

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: A historical fantasy written in literary fiction style. Won’t work for every reader due to the slow pacing and the writing approach, but I liked the plot. Triggers galore!

Story Synopsis:

1840, England.

Etta: A young woman of mixed parentage, Etta is dealing with the grief of her pet dog’s passing when two huge wings suddenly rip themselves from her shoulders.

Edward: An ambitious surgeon, Edward is tired of being under the shadow of his best friend Samuel. When an opportunity possibly leading to fame and fortune comes his way, Edward knows he mustn’t let it go.

Alice: Edward’s wife and hobby painter, Alice knows Edward is up to something, but can’t get him to reveal more.

Natalya: Cast out from her community, Natalya is making her way to her cousin in London, unaware of what lies in store for her.

Mary: A poor but clever young woman, Mary finds herself investigating a weird rumour in London about the ‘Angel of the Thames.’

How the lives of these five characters get crazily intertwined forms the rest of the bizarre plot.

The story comes to us in the third-person perspective of these five characters.

Bookish Yays:

😍 The unique plot, combining historical fiction and magical realism in a literary writing style. When it comes to magical realism, over-explaining kills the fun. The author reveals just enough details to keep us invested, but doesn’t explain/justify the reasons for the fantastical elements. This keeps the magic alive.

😍 The story covers some excellent themes, especially highlighting how the craze for science and the obsession over religion can have common roots. Both are a wait for a ‘Eureka’ moment, a miracle. Usually, one is based in logic and the other in faith. But this book depicts how an overlap is possible. It becomes quite thought-provoking.

😍 Surprisingly for a historical fiction work, there are many strong female characters. The leading ladies are all shown realistically (limited by the men in their lives), yet they aren’t doormats. They create their own space, and can fight for themselves when the time comes.

😍 The 1840s atmosphere is convincingly recreated. (With a feminist twist, of course.)

😍 I rarely have a soft spot for foreshadowing, but this book uses it effectively. I liked the hinted tidbits that sealed the gap between scenes without disclosing major spoilers.

😍 Mary’s arc was my favourite as it contains all the necessary ingredients for a memorable character and an impactful track. Her rapport with Richard is charming. The other women’s arcs are also quite well-written. Most of the secondary characters make a mark in their limited roles; only a few are stereotypical.

😍 There is a minor homosexual track. Though mainly hinted at, I still loved how it was woven seamlessly into the plot.

😍 The ending worked very well for me. It didn’t force a perfect solution; rather, the plot led itself to a believable culmination.

Bookish So-Sos:

😐 I enjoyed seeing the scenes from five different points of view, four of which were women. The third person narration ensures that the proceeding is somewhat easy. However, five perspectives automatically means plenty of characters and, as the story progresses, plenty of interconnections as well. It takes some time to remember who is who. Moreover, the switch in character perspectives sometimes happens too often. Though this isn’t too confusing because of the third person, it takes some time to get attuned to.

Bookish Nays:

😟 While slower pacing is to be expected in a character-oriented novel, the progress drops almost to a standstill in the middle. For an almost 450 page book, this is a substantial hurdle as it creates a dip in the interest level.

😟 There are a few highly triggering scenes concerning dogs. While a couple of these scenes might have been essential to detail the nature of that specific character, the rest felt forced in. This might be traumatising for sensitive animal lovers, so proceed with caution. I had to zoom through those sections because it was too much for me, but I also didn’t want to keep the book aside. Furthermore, there are dark scenes connected to the medical procedures of those times.

😟 While I am okay with the magical-realism bits remaining unexplained, I did want an explanation of the realistic parts of the plot that were left hanging. These weren’t major loopholes, but they stuck out like gaps in the jigsaw.

All in all, I enjoyed this unusual historical fantasy. If you like character-oriented novels, don’t mind (or can skip over) triggering scenes, and have no problem with multiple perspectives or magical realism, do give this a try. As the long list of ‘ifs’ indicates, this isn’t a book for everyone.

I must add that this is a novel to be read, not heard. With a mix of long and short chapters, multiple characters, and interlinked arcs, this won't be a comfortable audiobook even if you are an attuned listener.

My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Gifts”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.