The Diviners by Libba Bray
A novel rich with layers, The Diviners will keep you busy until all the leaves have fallen. I started this book back in July and it has taken me all this time to get through it. Granted, I didn't pick it up at all in August, but it is still a very long book. This novel's best attribute is the complex, engaging atmosphere. The story takes place in the roaring 20s: the age of flappers, bootleggers and drastic social and political change. The roaring 20s is an interesting setting all by itself, but Libba Bray added another layer: a serial killer. How could you make this world even more complicated? Libba Bray probably asked herself this question, and the answer was the supernatural. Now throw in a kick-ass female lead and several intertwining side stories, and you will begin to see why this book took me so long to read. I enjoyed sitting down with this book, but I don't think it will leave a lasting impression on me. It is a wonderful fall read, but if you're not ready to commit to such a fat novel, I recommend you pick something shorter from my recommended fall reads list.
SPOILERS
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Okay, lets talk about this complicated story. I LOVED Evie O'Neill. Talk about a kick ass female lead. She's tough, but she's still extremely feminine. Often, when an authors write a tough female lead, they take away her femininity. I appreciated this tough, fun loving girl who cared about hair and makeup but wasn't dismissed as a ditzy airhead for it.
I liked most of the characters Libba Bray created, but some of them just dropped out of the story for no apparent reason. Take Mabel for example. I liked Mabel, but where did she go? It's like Libba Bray just dropped her from the story as soon as she became inconvenient. The same thing happens to Sam! As soon as Evie and Jericho begin to develop a relationship Sam just drops out of the story.
Then we have Memphis. I absolutely adore Memphis and I hope Bray devotes more time to him in the next novel in this series. I also loved his relationship with Theta. The little bit of backstory we got on Theta made me appreciate her even more. I appreciate that Bray included this racial tension (the danger of Memphis and Theta's relationships and Memphis's arrest). Not only does this aspect make the world more historically accurate, but Bray recognizes how wrong this racism was (and still is).
Novels are a wonderful tool to open people's minds to the ridiculousness that is racism. On the page you don't know a character skin color unless the author tells you. You get to know the person from the inside out. That's how it should be in real life, but the world can't be as perfect as literature, so we write to chip away at the flaws of society. (Sorry but not sorry for this tangent)
If you stuck it out this far, THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU! HAVE A LOVELY DAY!
