Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare
17 March- 21 March 2018
Rating
2 stars (it was okay)
Genre, audience, triggers
Young adult sci-fi/steampunk fantasy
Synopsis from Goodreads
Can she write a world gone wrong?
A certain pen, a certain book, and a certain person can craft entirely new worlds through a branch of science called scriptology. Elsa comes from one such world that was written into creation, where her mother―a noted scriptologist―constantly alters and expands their reality.
But when her home is attacked and her mother kidnapped, Elsa is forced to cross into the real world and use her own scriptology gifts to find her. In an alternative Victorian Italy, Elsa finds a secret society of young scientists with a gift for mechanics, alchemy, or scriptology―and meets Leo, a gorgeous mechanist with a smart mouth and tragic past. She recruits the help of these fellow geniuses just as an assassin arrives on their doorstep.
In this thrilling debut, worlds collide as Elsa unveils a deep political conspiracy seeking to unlock the most dangerous weapon ever created―and only she can stop it.
Booktube review
Initial impression
The cover is simple and elegant. I was so excited when I read the synopsis. Magic that enables people called scriptologists to literally write worlds into existence? It sounds so awesome I was dying to get my hands on the book immediately. Also, it’s set in Victorian Italy (I’m not sure that’s actually a thing), which is unusual, so I’m keen to give it a go.
Personal Feelings/Spoilers
I went into this read with very high expectations based on the synopsis alone. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was disappointed. Ink, Iron and Glass was not a bad book. It was just extremely underwhelming. I can’t even tease out exactly where the problems lay, so my usual headings are a very basic guideline at best.
Writing Style
One of the problems I had with Ink, Iron and Glass was the writing style. It’s not terrible. But there was no suspense where there should have been suspense. The emotional punches just weren’t there. When Elsa and Leo finally confront the bad guy, they have a fairly perfunctory conversation, and then they leave unharmed. It was easy enough to read though. Perhaps it was too simple? Sometimes it was almost clinical in the descriptions. My issues with the writing style go hand in hand with problems with the plot, so we’ll move on.
Plot
There is nothing wrong with the plot per se. I can’t say it was predictable, but I was never actually surprised after the first few pages.
To sum up the whole plot as succinctly as possible, Elsa’s mother is kidnapped from Veldana, resulting in Elsa going to Earth to rescue her. With the help of three new friends (who are all geniuses/mad) she tracks down her mother after facing some trials, and rescues her from the bad guy.
In this alternative history of the Italian peninsula, there are geniuses who are adept in one of the three sciences, mechanics, alchemy, and scriptology. Scriptologists have the ability to literally write (or scribe) worlds into existence, using special ink to write in a ‘worldbook.’ Here is my first problem: none of the ‘sciences’ are actually explained in the book. The reader is expected to know what alchemy and mechanics consists of, and those categories are quite broad. Alchemy, in this book, seems to include mixing medicines, antidotes, and perfumes, as well as creating entirely new living creatures. Â Scriptology itself is described in a little more detail, but reads more like magic than science. That, to me, means that it is completely misrepresented.
As previously mentioned, there were no huge surprises. For example, even before The Oracle told Elsa that someone betrayed her mother, Elsa had deduced that Montaigne had betrayed her. So it came as no surprise when we find out later that, shockingly, Montaigne did indeed betray Elsa’s mother.
The other thing that irked me was how bland the plot was. The characters faced no real challenges. Oh, there’s a runaway train? I have just the thing for that! You need to dig up a grave? Funny you should mention it, because Faraz has a machine that does just that in his workshop. Everything seemed very convenient.
I also had a hard time accepting an alternative history where science had progressed to the point where they could cloak castles, and they had a fully automated house (like on the tv show Eureka)
Characters
The two main characters are Elsa and Leo. Elsa is a polymath (meaning she is adept at the three sciences), who lives with her mother in a world called Veldana. Leo is an orphaned mechanist living at Casa della Pazzia. The two main supporting characters were Porzia, the scriptologist daughter of the headmistress of Casa; and Faraz, an orphaned alchemist living at Casa.
I was waiting through the entire book to actually care about the characters. I don’t hate them, but I have no interest in their quest, or in their feelings. The four main characters, while having different backstories, all spoke exactly the same way. Intelligent, witty and sarcastic. It was the same character with four different faces.
My favourite character was Skander, an alchemical creature created by Faraz. He has one eye, wings and tentacles, and sits on Faraz’s shoulder like a parrot. He is legitimately the best character in this whole book. A close second would be Casa, who treats its child occupants like they’re hellspawn.
Recommended for
Die hard steampunk fans maybe? I generally wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
(Dates read)
12 March-16 March 2018
(Rating)
I rate The Tattooist 3 stars out of 5. It was a well written and compelling.
(Genre, appropriate audience, trigger warnings)
Historical Fiction, adult audience (at least 16 years +), trigger warnings for violence, non-consensual sex, concentration camps
“To save one, is to save the world”
(Synopsis)
The Tattooist is inspired by the true story of Lale, a Slovakian Jew, who becomes the Tatowierer of Auschwitz & Birkenau. It follows his life and work in the camps, his interactions with the guards and other prisoners, and most of all, his budding romance with Gita, another Slovakian Jew.
From Goodreads
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival – literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims’ arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught, he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.
There have been many books about the Holocaust – and there will be many more. What makes this one so memorable is Lale Sokolov’s incredible zest for life. He understood exactly what was in store for him and his fellow prisoners, and he was determined to survive – not just to survive but to leave the camp with his dignity and integrity intact, to live his life to the full. Terrible though this story is, it is also a story of hope and of courage. It is also – almost unbelievably – a love story. Waiting in line to be tattooed, terrified and shaking, was a young girl. For Lale – a dandy, a jack-the-lad, a bit of a chancer – it was love at first sight, and he determined not only to survive himself but to ensure that Gita did, too. His story – their story – will make you weep, but you will also find it uplifting. It shows the very best of humanity in the very worst of circumstances.
Like many survivors, Lale and Gita told few people their story after the war. They eventually made their way to Australia, where they raised a son and had a successful life. But when Gita died, Lale felt he could no longer carry the burden of their past alone. He chose to tell his story.
(Initial impressions/why it attracted me)
Honestly, I probably would not have chosen to read this book at all if it hadn’t appeared on a popular nightly news show here in Australia. I saw the tail end of the feature, and The Tattooist was portrayed as a love story. That piqued by interest. ‘A love story in Auschwitz?’ I thought. ‘They survived and grew old together? Well damn, that’s a story I want to read about.’ So here I am.
(Writing style)
The Tattooist is written in the third person present tense. Despite not being a fan of this particular writing style myself, Heather Morris has made it work. It gives an immediacy to the events which is both powerful and captivating.
(Plot)
Put simply, this is a Holocaust survivor story. What makes it different is that it is also a love story.
The setting is primarily in the camps of Auschwitz- Birkenau in Poland between 1942 and 1945. Our main character is Ludwig ‘Lale’ Eisenberg, a Slovakian Jew, who is on the first transport to Auschwitz. The prologue starts with Lale and Gita’s meeting, then chapter one jumps back to the start of Lale’s journey to Auschwitz. The turning point comes quickly for Lale. After only a few weeks he becomes assistant Tattooist, and he tattoos Gita. It is love at first sight. A few weeks after that, he inherits the main job. As the Tattooist, Lale is given special privileges. He gets more rations, a single room, and more freedom to move around. This enables him to help people.
Being a smart young man, Lale observes everything. He is soon able to get a supply chain going to benefit the prisoners, right under the noses of the SS. He procures food and medicine, and bribes the guards for favours and information, at great risk to himself and others. But Lale doesn’t seek risks for the thrill of it, he finds the risks necessary. Just as he sees his meetings with Gita as necessary. It is both terrifying and satisfying to read about their love story as it unfolds.
The Tattooist is not a lengthy read. Had I the time, I could have read the whole book in well under four hours. It’s fairly fast paced, and it jumps from scene to scene. There is no filler, so the reader is not left bored in between the action. It’s mostly from Lale’s perspective, but we occasionally follow Gita too (I also recall at least one instance of a minor character being the focus).
I think it’s the kind of book that has more impact if you already know a bit about Auschwitz, because it doesn’t explain the significance of events on a greater scale. The story revolves around Lale and Gita, and the horrors that occurred there are mostly mentioned in passing, as the characters find out about them. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the horrors are minimised, but they just aren’t dwelled upon after they occur. I think this is intentional, because that is how Lale and Gita survived. They could only deal with one tragedy at a time, and if they held on to all of them, they would give up hope.
And that is what this story is ultimately about. Hope. Of course it is also about love, and survival, and courage, and the choice between kindness and cruelty. But the overall feeling is hope.
(Characters)
I think it’s difficult to write about characterisation in a non-fiction book. Obviously when the source material is coming from the memories of living human beings there is going a whole lot of subjectivity and bias. That being said, I think the characterisation of the main characters was handled well. The side characters weren’t explored in depth, only insofar as their experiences and characters affected Lale (and Gita).
Lale’s character is established very quickly. He is an intelligent, curious, pragmatic and brave. He’s also unbelievably lucky. Seriously. The man well and truly used up his quota, but always seemed to have more. I think Lale is the kind of person I would strive to be if I were put in a similar situation. Someone who survives, but not at the cost of other people. Someone who is willing to help others who are worse off, even if I had to get my hands dirty.
Gita is less memorable as a distinct character. I cared for Gita only because Lale did, not because I liked her character. I assume this is because the author had no access to Gita’s memory of the events, only Lale’s, so it is necessarily coloured by his thoughts and feelings, and limited, largely, to what he experienced.
While Lale is truly the foundation of this story, there were many other characters I felt drawn to. It was often characters who appeared only briefly who affected me the most. In them I was able to see both the cruelty and the humanity that exists, and even persists, in such extreme circumstances. It was the kindness of strangers that moved me. The Romani prisoners adopting Lale and giving him a family. A torturer’s promise to help Lale protect his collaborators by killing him before he gave up their names. A receptionist willing to add another name to a list of boys being transferred in order to save a teenager’s life. A man willing to drag a sick stranger’s body off a death cart, and the people in Block 7 who hid him for a week and nursed him back to health. A civilian who is willing to smuggle food and medicine into camp at risk to his family’s life. An apprentice tattooist who was tortured by Josef Mengele, and still retained his fighting spirit. A woman who was raped by the commandant, but was brave enough to use her position to help others, despite being traumatised.
It was all of these people who really affected me.
(Who I’d recommend it for)
I’d recommend this book for those interested in other Holocaust stories, such as The Diary of Anne Frank, Schindler’s List, or Rena’s Promise.
Hey all,
Just a quick list of some of my favourite books that I plan to re-read and review (plus their sequels)
The Star Touched Queen- Roshani Chokshi
Strange the Dreamer- Laini Taylor
The Raven Boys- Maggie Stiefvater
The Wrath and the Dawn- Renee Ahdieh
Howl’s Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
Hey guys,
Here’s a list of my planned reads for March:
The Tattooist of Auschwitz- Heather Morris
Ink, Iron, and Glass- Gwendolyn Clare
The Queen’s Rising- Rebecca Ross
Children of Blood and Bone- Toni Adeyemi
Welcome fellow readers, to my humble blog.
I’m a 28 year old female from Australia, with a background in Asian Studies and Japanese.
This page is intended to serve as a book review blog. My interests vary from young adult fiction, to fantasy, to historical non-fiction. I dabble in everything, so feel free to make suggestions.
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Cheers,
Ana.
Black Goddess Reviews 