Author: Hannah Sternberg
Published: October 1, 2011
Publisher: Bancroft Press
160 pages (galley)
I got this book off of NetGalley (many thanks!) quite recently and let it cut in line in my TBR queue because the synopsis sounded pretty interesting, and I was in the mood for something contemporary — no fantasy, vampires, fairies and whatnot. Just real people in real situations. But after finishing this book, instead of yearning for more contemporary and like books, I think I’m going to go back to my fantasy, vampires, fairies and whatnot for a while.
The Queens Of All The Earth started off amazingly. I was hooked right away by the rather depressing beginning. Olivia Somerset is suffering from a catatonic episode (a psychological situation when one’s body becomes very rigid and still), while her older sister, Miranda, freaks out. Doesn’t that beginning just make you want to continue reading? It really is one of the best beginnings to a story I’ve read in a while.
Olivia is supposed to be entering her first year of university at Cornell, but her mother pulls some strings and she gets to defer her first year. Miranda takes Olivia to Spain for a vacation, hoping some rest and relaxation will be some good therapy. They stay at a hostel, where they meet a variety of characters, including the ridiculously nice Mr. Brown and his son, Greg, who also seems to be harboring some issues of his own. As they vacation, Olivia tries to break out of her shell while her sister, Miranda, continuously tries to protect Olivia.
Like I said, I did enjoy the (brief) beginning, and I enjoyed the writing style as well. There’s something almost poetic about it, and the way the story was told, there was an element of surrealism felt, which I liked because, well, I like surreal stuff in books.
However, other than that, I found it difficult to really get into the story … because there really wasn’t much of one. I felt like I was reading about someone else’s vacation — all the sights were described (a little too lengthy at times), their interactions with the other hostel members, making plans for what tourist attractions to see … I could not identify a plot. I mean, I guess the fact that Miranda is trying to help Olivia overcome her psychological breakdown is the general plot, but it really didn’t feel like it. It really just felt like I was tagging along as an observer during Olivia and Miranda’s vacation.
I couldn’t connect with the characters. Don’t get me wrong — I actually think the characters were pretty good, but this is supposed to be a book about coming-of-age, about facing our fears, perhaps about the relationship between two sisters while one of them is suffering and I didn’t feel anything for them. No heartfelt moments, nothing. I did, however, really enjoy Mr. Brown’s character. I think it really says something about people when the nicest character in the story gets treated the worst by the rest of the characters, because they believe nobody can possibly be that nice.
This was a very short story, and there’s something kind of cute about it overall. However, it just wasn’t really interesting and didn’t leave any sort of impression on me at all. Honestly, I’m not sure if this book is what I think it is, or if it’s so brilliant that it’s going over my head. Maybe there’s something very metaphorical/abstract going on and I’m just not getting it, who knows. I’m not sure. I didn’t exactly dislike this book, but it’s really not something I would read again.
My Rating: 1.5/5
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