Scott Hawkins: The library at Mount Char (2015, Crown)
390 pages
English language
Published April 5, 2015 by Crown.
After she and a dozen other children found them being raised by "Father," a cruel man with mysterious powers, Carolyn and her "siblings" begin to think he might be God. When Father disappears, they square off against each other to determine who will inherit his library, which may hold the power to all Creation. As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come she has a play. The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human ...
So much about this book was great—the story, the characters, the slow but insanely compelling roll of it. But there is a huge amount of physical abuse in it and that abuse gets excused at the end too easily for me as something that was necessary for an end goal. So I devoured this book and then felt really gross when I finished it.
I dunno how to rate this.
I mean, I guess if you like stories about people who rise from the ashes to do extraordinary things, stories about terrifyingly powerful magics that are hidden behind reality, maybe this is your jam? It reminds me a little of the Chinese 'cultivation' story, but I'm not familiar enough with that genre to really pick apart the similarities and difference, so just dropping that in there for people more familiar.
the blurb gives you an idea:
After all, she was a normal American herself once.
That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.
In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in …
I dunno how to rate this.
I mean, I guess if you like stories about people who rise from the ashes to do extraordinary things, stories about terrifyingly powerful magics that are hidden behind reality, maybe this is your jam? It reminds me a little of the Chinese 'cultivation' story, but I'm not familiar enough with that genre to really pick apart the similarities and difference, so just dropping that in there for people more familiar.
the blurb gives you an idea:
After all, she was a normal American herself once.
That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.
In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.
Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.
The most charitable description of this book is that it's about overcoming suffering, and learning to reject becoming what one's abuser was. The least charitable description is that it's about how abuse makes you strong, so it's all worth it in the end. I don't know if either of those are true, but as you can tell, the thing that stuck with me was the abuse.
