Rowan Mayfair is a brilliant neurosurgeon, the finest amongst her colleagues at her California hospital. Ever since childhood, however, she has been plagued by the knowledge that she is different -- and that her powers are sometimes deadly. When she saves the life of Michael Curry, drowning in the Pacific Ocean, an undeniable attraction starts between them. Michael is convinced that while he was dead, he was given a mission, one that involves returning home to New Orleans, the place he grew up. Rowan, too, has a connection to Louisiana: her adoptive mother made her promise never to go there, and never to have any contact with her family, before her death. But as fate draws Michael and Rowan closer together, they both end up back in New Orleans, and it soon becomes very clear that both of them are caught in a web much larger than they ever could have imagined. Torn between the desire to learn about her family and its history and the promise of a future away from the Mayfair Witches, Rowan will be forced to make a decision that will impact not only her, but everyone she loves.
If you've read any of the latest entries on this blog, you're probably already aware that I'm a huge Anne Rice fan. After getting back into her Vampire Chronicles books, I was also intrigued by the stories of the Mayfair Witches, often purported to be better even than the book I personally consider to be her masterpiece, Interview with the Vampire. What Rice has created in her universe of witches is truly inimitable: complex, beautiful, and above all, grotesque and horrifying. It plays much more deeply on the elements of horror than her vampire books, and speaking with perfect honesty, I now agree with the people who say that this is indeed her best.
Her writing is, as always, gorgeous, perfectly capturing the sweltering Louisiana heat, the feeling of a cultured jungle that permeates the streets of New Orleans. There's nothing quite like reading a Rice book, and somehow, The Witching Hour brings together every gothic element with true finesse. Ultimately, this is a book about family, but with a particular emphasis on matrilineal lines, on the connection between mothers and daughters. Interview with the Vampire contains these themes as well, particularly in the relationship between Louis and Claudia, but here, it is fully realized and becomes a cornerstone of every aspect of the novel.
At its center are two main characters, Rowan and Michael, but throughout a large portion, they take a backseat to the family history and the lives of past Mayfairs. For me, the historical accounts written by the Talamasca are the best parts of this book, exploring their strange powers and lives through epistolary accounts. In many ways, however, Rowan and Michael become slightly less interesting, perhaps one of my few complaints; they seem, somehow, less fleshed out than even the characters who are written about through secondhand narratives. Rowan, especially, suffers a bit from the typical Rice main character problem, being a bit too flawless to be truly likable.
Still, though, I think this book is a triumph in nearly every way. The reason I'm not giving it quite the full five stars, though, mainly has to do with the fact that some sections are painfully boring, and I couldn't quite stomach the details about Julien's life -- he's truly reprehensible, and I can't fathom how he has become a fandom favorite. Also, the racism. Jesus. If you've read other Rice books, though, you probably won't be surprised. Interview with the Vampire will remain at its five stars for me, partly due to nostalgia and partly due to the fact that it's a book I feel changed my life, despite the fact that The Witching Hour is largely superior to it.
As a whole, I'd recommend this book, and I'm looking forward to picking up the next in this series. It's certainly something that won't be everyone's cup of tea, but The Witching Hour is a fantastic example of what gothic literature is capable of achieving.
No comments:
Post a Comment