Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal
304 pages
Published 2010
Read October 13
Rating: ★★★½ out of 5
Of the two novels I've read that pastiched Regency romances with added elements of fantasy fiction, Jo Walon's Tooth and Claw has the flashier gimmick; it takes some time for the subtle weaving of Shades of Milk and Honey to reveal its full effect. But Kowal's allegorical use of "glamour" -- as a feminine means of brightening the household, of manufacturing a soothing homemaking cheer, of concealing emotion, of maintaining gendered illusions, of providing an outlet for creative expression and repressed personality -- is far more elegant and affecting than Walton's blushing dragons. It's a slow burn of a novel, dawdling a bit too long for my current tastes in (what I felt were) obvious social intrigues and illicit assignations, all willfully ignored by our painfully proper Jane Eyre-esque point-of-view character until they reached crisis. Emotional investment in our eponymous Jane, however, crept up on me until the tangled machinations enmeshing her caused me surprising amount of distress with each fresh complication. Regency isn't my usual style, to be sure, but I can't deny that it hooked me. The climax is messy and frustrating, but in a manner that stays true to the world and gender norms of the story, full of male disbelief and condescension hindering the actions of our hero, making a perfect endcap for the general theme. The coda, by contrast, is tidy and commercial, setting up a series of continuing adventures with an abrupt tonal crunch.
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