March 12, 2013

The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan

The Brides of Rollrock Island
Title: The Brides of Rollrock Island
Author: Margo Lanagan
Series: N/A
Source: Won
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: September 11, 2012
Goodreads||The Book Depository
On remote Rollrock Island, men make their living--and fetch their wives--from the sea.

The Witch Misskaella knows how to find the girl at the heart of a seal. She'll coax a beauty from the beast for any man, for a price. And what man wouldn't want a sea-wife, to and to hold, and to keep by his side forever?

But though he may tell himself that he is the master, one look in his new bride's eyes will transform him just as much as it changes her. Both will be ensnared--and the witch will look on, laughing.

In this magical, seaswept novel, Margo Lanagan tells an extraordinary tale of desire, despair, and transformation. With devastatingly beautiful prose, she reveals characters capable of unspeakable cruelty, but also of unspoken love.
Mostly, I thought that The Brides of Rollrock Island was an enchanting and strange book, chocked full of stories and characters that I just had to know more about. But for all of that, I'm sure that it wasn't perfect. I loved it to death, and I can't wait to see more by this author, but I can't discount the fact that the beginning just wasn't for me. It was just to abrupt, and it took me about 100 pages before I got into the story.

After that, though, everything proceeded perfectly! Margo really knows how to write a mysterious story, and her writing was fabulous even in the beginning! It might be the only thing that kept me reading for so long-- which I'm really happy about, because when it's all said and done I really liked this one.

It had heartbreak. It had intrigue. But most of all? It had an ugly old witch, who's the center of all the stories. And yes, I know that it's stereotypical to have an ugly witch. But it's also stereotypical to have a beautiful witch, so where do you wanna go with this? I thought as much.

Anywho, we have an ugly witch, and her name is Misskaella. Honestly, Misskaella actually surprised me. She's a total contradiction. In the beginning, I truly thought that she was just cruelly picked upon. She was so unselfish in taking care of both of her sick parents, and she just took all of her sisters' cruelty. I don't think that she would've turned out the way she had if it wasn't for all of this.

She became something strange-- and like I said, a total contradiction. In the end, I was left confused at how she had truly gotten there. How she truly became the seal witch. I mean, I think I get it, but the mysterious element of how and why isn't really what I'm talking about. I'm talking about how she inherited it.

The Island of Rollrock is a strange place, I'll give it that. But it was also magical and interesting and I never ever wanted to leave once I had gotten there. I never wanted to leave the mystical island, full of the women that came from the sea and their sons. But they have no daughters. Because the sea has reclaimed every last one of them-- how awesome is that?

I love the idea of a person that can emerge from a seal skin, or essentially, the sea. Like I said before, all of the stories included Misskaella, the seal witch. One memorable bit was even told by her! I loved the way that all of the stories came together, and how they were all essentially connected. The apprentice of Misskaella. A father and son who were involved in the seal-wives. A grandmother jilted by her husband and his seal, along with her grandaughter who becomes a part of that world soon. All so beautifully connected. *sigh*

All in all, I really enjoyed The Brides of Rollrock Island. It was enchanting and beautiful and so full of crushed spirits and broken hearts that I couldn't help but love it for what it was. A gorgeously written book.
All the years to come crowded into that time, and I lived them, long and bitter and empty of him. ~ Pg. 76

24 comments:

  1. I have been meaning to get this book forever Megan, despite it not being the typical book I usually pick up, I love the mystery surrounding it. I'm glad you sticking through the first 100 pages or so paid off! Lovely review! :)

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    1. This isn't one that I really would've chosen by myself either! I got a rec from another blogger who LOVED it! (: It really did, because I ended up loving it! Thank you! (:

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  2. I've seen this book around but haven't been too motivated to pick it up as I don't really like mermaid/siren/sea horse/sea books. The fact that it took 100 pages for you to get in to it also doesn't really appeal to me. I'm looking for a book to hook me in the first five pages.

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    1. I know what you mean! But for some reason, lately I've been going through a sea-creature phase, LOL! Well, I don't blame you. But I'm one of those people who will stick to a book 'til the very end in the hopes that I'll end up liking it. So it worked for me. ;) Ooh, have you read KILL ME SOFTLY? That might be on that you'll like! (:

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  3. I've been really curious about this book :) So glad you liked it and continued to give it a try. I usually don't like when books take me forever to get into it though. Lately I've been really into mysteries so this sounds pretty good! Awesome review :)

    Janina @ Synchronized Reading

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    1. Glad that I'm not the only one who was curious! This seems to be common, but it really doesn't bother me in the long run. Crazy, right? (; Thank you!

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  4. I've never heard of this book but it sounds really interesting. And I love that it's seems like something you don't read much about. Thanks for the review!

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    1. It was! I'd never read a book about selkies before this one either, LOL! I wasn't disappointed, though. ;) Thank you for reading it! (:

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  5. I've heard such brilliant things about this book, and I'm so glad to see you enjoyed it, too. Strange worlds or concepts always have my attention (it's nice to get something a little different to the norm, you know?) and I can't wait to experience this book for myself. I've heard plenty of good things about this author's writing, too. :) Great review, Megan!

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    1. Yes! It was fantastic, totally! I do know, LOL. I do the exact same thing-- if you have a unique premise, I'm totally going to read your book. I might be disappointed, but I'll read it. ;) Yay! Thank you, Sam! (:

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  6. This sounds like something I would enjoy, plus anything with witches and I'm in.

    Is it seals turning into people? That would be pretty freaky..yet kind of awesome in a weird kind of way. And that cover is just beautiful :)

    Lovely review Megan!

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    1. Haha, I'm a fan of witches too!

      Yes. The girls are coming out of the seals-- but they can go back into seals if they find their skins. Awesome, right? That cover is absolutely fantastic and perfect, LOL!

      Thank you! (:

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  7. Selkies...........ooh-la-la! This actually sounds kinda good. But I don't know if I'll ever have the time to read it. Haha. SO MANY FREAKING BOOKS! Either way. I'm glad to know that you enjoyed this read. Maybe I'll read it someday. Who knows. BTW, have I told you I love your heart ratings?

    <333 Inky

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    1. I know, right? Selkies are fabulously interesting! Haha, I know what you mean! It all piles up, doesn't it? ;)I really did, it was fantastic! :D Maybe you will. Do I get to cheer you on? ;) No, but thank you! <3333

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  8. Wow, this book seriously sounds magical! I mean, the mystery, the intrigue, and this depth that you're talking about seriously sounds fantastic. I haven't heard too much about this book, but I just may have to pick this one up now. I like to consider myself stubborn, in the way that I almost always will continue to read a book even if it has a slow beginning, so I think the first 100 pages of this won't bother me too much. ;)

    Lovely review, Megan! You've definitely gotten me intrigued about this book. <3

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    1. It was! For such a weird and crazy premise, I think the author really pulled it off! I only read it because I happened to win a copy, then I got a really good rec from a blogger friend of mine. <3 Haha, me too! But sometimes, I just have to put a book down. I hate when that happens. :(

      Thank you! I hope that you get to read it soon, girly! <3

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  9. I really want to read this one! Great review!

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  10. Ooh! I love this book and how it seems to centralize more on the ugly witch which I guess you can say is the right way to go. Ugly or pretty if they are doing what she is to those poor souls she's ugly in the inside. I assume most of the book is about the ugly witch which I like because it reminds me of Wicked some. I do like that it has other POV's too. I don't really understand the seal skin thing going on. I don't understand why a guy would want a seal skin wife thing but alright. Lovely review (: Will have to add this to my TBR even with the first 100 pages not being so great.

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    1. Yes, it totally centralizes on the ugly witch, LOL! I would definitely say that's the way to go, even though she seemed so nice in the beginning, she became ugly inside pretty quickly. o.O Most of the book is about her, and I really enjoyed the multiple POV's! Hmm. I guess it's hard to explain, but do you know what selkies are? It's an old myth about cutting open a seal-- once the seal has been cut open, a beautiful woman will emerge. If you hide her skin, she will be confined to land for as long as you want her. They have guy selkies too, but this is mostly about the women. It was really crazy, LOL! Thank you! I hope that you like it. (:

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  11. Enchanting and strange sums this up. I really enjoyed it -- it was like nothing I'd ever read before!

    Jen @ YA Romantics

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    1. It totally does! I'm glad that you liked this one too. :D

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  12. Despite the slow start, this sounds really good. Enchanting and mysterious. I haven't read many sea-oriented books, but lately I've been adding a bunch to my to-read list - this is definitely going on there too!

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    1. It was really good, after I got into it! Haha, it's definitely both of those things. ;) I feel like there aren't really very many sea-oriented books, but I'm discovering that there's more and more lately. I love this trend! :D

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