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The story explores science, religion, obsession, feminism, the patriarchy, nature and so much more. I found it so powerful and extraordinary - I hadn’t read anything like it before.
She had left the mine feeling “so angry and upset about it, the brutality of it, the rawness. It is awful. It’s real, extraordinary exploitation, and it’s a fact that kids are still working in mines now around the world. It’s not gone away.” October 1840. A young woman staggers alone and frightened, running for her life through a forest in Shropshire as something impossible begins to happen: a huge pair of wings that should only belong to those above us rip from her shoulders creating something that surely cannot be real amongst mere mortals.
It’s a book to take your time over and to savour.
The Gifts was an astonishing book to start the year off with. Honestly, I am absolutely blown away by Liz Hyder’s magical, immersive and compelling novel.
Set in 1840 England and narrated from five different points of view The Gifts is a slow-burn gothic tale of a doctor's obsession with the women with wings. I loved that book fell into many categories such as historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism and a touch of mystery. I was already struggling with the writing and the fact that we often switch viewpoint or who is being written about in the midst of a paragraph. So you start the paragraph with Annie and then suddenly you are reading about Etta and you are like, wait, who the hell is Etta and how did she suddenly appear? This happens a LOT and I found it really irritating. Liz Hyder’s prose is richly textured with an intensity and a feminism that is both captivating and thrilling to read. 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. A stirring tale of female empowerment, full of vivid imagery and evocative settings... The Gifts' scope is impressive and sure to win Hyder new fans." ― The Observer (UK)
The cover art was breathtaking and there are occasional illustrations scattered throughout. The print edition is rounded out with a bibliography, suggested questions for reading groups, and a note from the author on the inspirations for ‘The Gifts’. 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.
I’m left with this thought that gets me right here *pounds fist into heart area* - is it really STILL so scandalous that a woman can have the audacity to grow a pair of powerful wings and set herself free? Told in Newt’s distinctive voice – a fictional dialect drawing on regional vocabularies from around the UK – the book sees Hyder’s characters go to some very dark places. Liz Hyder has made historical magical realism the most magically realistic reading experience. It is relatable, brutally true to present life and beautifully presented with a language that sings. The characters are right there, you can feel them walking around in your mind. The setting and imagery vivid, you can almost taste it, smell it.
The Gifts
In an age defined by men, it will take something extraordinary to show four women who they truly are…. After a year of reading the horrific stories of the very young children who were sent down mines, this time in England, she wrote Bearmouth in four weeks. In her dystopia, children are sent down the mines as young as four, and live and work there, sending money to their families on the surface, hoping “the Mayker” will reward them in the next life.
Alice: Edward’s wife and hobby painter, Alice knows Edward is up to something, but can’t get him to reveal more. It’s one of those books that makes you resent the world for interrupting your reading time! It’s a book to take your time over and to savour.A rich, perfectly crafted and structured novel from the author of the brilliant Bearmouth (which is YA; this is general fiction). It’s impossible not to be affected and deeply moved by reading about Annie, Etta, Natalya and Mary. This is especially so when they are surviving in a world dominated by men.
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