The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw ISBN: 9781429979863
Published by Henry Holt and Company on May 1, 2009
Genres: Magical Realism, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 292
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An inventive and richly visual novel about young lovers on a quest to find a cure for a magical ailment, perfect for readers of Alice Hoffman
Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St. Hauda's Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around the icy bogland, albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods, and Ida Maclaird is slowly turning into glass. Ida is an outsider in these parts, a mainlander who has visited the islands only once before. Yet during that one fateful visit the glass transformation began to take hold, and now she has returned in search of a cure.
Midas Crook is a young loner who has lived on the islands his entire life. When he meets Ida, something about her sad, defiant spirit pierces his emotional defenses. As Midas helps Ida come to terms with her affliction, she gradually unpicks the knots of his heart. Love must be paid in precious hours and, as the glass encroaches, time is slipping away fast. Will they find a way to stave off the spread of the glass?
The Girl with Glass Feet is a dazzlingly imaginative and magical first novel, a love story to treasure.
Characters: 8, this book is heavy on the magical realism, contrasted beautifully with a lot of tragedy, so every character feels quirky, defined, and separate from the others. The author takes their time unfolding to you the specific reasons behind some of those quirks, but I found that drew me in even more.
Atmosphere: 9, from the bogs to the icy waters to the ramshackle homes to the forests, the archipelago of islands felt very real and very present. I got the impression it was set in a Nordic country, but it’s never explicitly stated. But the way the physical environment is described, the influence of nature was tangible.
Writing: 9, I cried several times, and I wasn’t lost at any point despite the interplay of human tragedy and wonderment. It was just beautifully written. One of the MCs is disabled (I read it as a degenerative chronic illness) and it felt so good to see my own thoughts and struggles in the context of a fictional character who had agency.
Plot: 8, some flashbacks were a little abrupt and I’m not sure they served the overall story, but the story itself is very engaging. And the B plots (there are several) support the thrust of the main plot, which is essentially carpe diem.
Intrigue: 9, I didn’t expect the story to go where it went, but I’m glad it did- it had impact, and kept me coming back to it long past my bedtime.
Logic: 9, I think it takes a delicate balance to reveal just enough of the logic behind the world to keep your audience from getting frustrated, but not so much that you place human order on this natural-chaos magical aspect. We never get the answers we want about why these things are happening, but it’s so closely tied to nature and the physical setting of this place that this lack of closure is entirely fitting. Man is not the master of the universe, and anyway, the story is more about what you do with the time you have, not about understanding natural mysteries.
Enjoyment: 10, I really loved this and will absolutely read anything else by this author. I have a deep respect for their skill in balancing the world and in breaking my heart.
*Read for the Orilium Academy Magical Readathon Autumn Equinox
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
Sound like a wonderful and magical book.
It really was. Bittersweet, but lovely and I definitely recommend.