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YA Review: The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis

3/8/2012

23 Comments

 
The Storyteller cover
The Storyteller
Author: Antonia Michaelis (Translated by Miriam Debbage)
Publication Date: 1/1/12
Publisher: Amulet Books

Blurb(GR):
Anna and Abel couldn't be more different. They are both 17 and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prison-like tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own.

Review:
I picked this up expecting a young adult coming of age/romance with a bit of magical realism and maybe a few darker themes about poverty and drug abuse.  Okay, so here’s my little confession:  I picked this up expecting Perfect Chemistry, with a side order of fairy tales and 150% more depth.  One would assume (har har) that I’d learned not to make assumptions in my thirty-some years of life, and yet here we are.  This book was so utterly different than what I was expecting.  I didn’t read any reviews prior to starting and I think that was actually a mistake.  I really should have paid a bit more attention to that cover:  just look at that pretty purple rose…wilting in the frost…with spots of blood on it.  *shudder* Upon finishing this book, I was so completely at a loss; I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.  I felt like I’d just walked into what I thought was a kid’s petting zoo, only to discover that it was actually a baby animal slaughterhouse.  

And I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone…but…I think that anyone who’s going to attempt this book needs to know the following:

a)     There are people out there who grow up in horrific, abusive situations and yet they survive and learn to cope. They find help and learn to accept who they are.

This book is not about those people.


b)     There are kind, patient people who, through the setting of boundaries, can have healthy non-codependent relationships with severely damaged people and help them to get through.

This book is most definitely not about those people. 

This book is about Anna, a good girl.  A girl raised with every advantage.  A girl who feels trapped by her own inexperience.

“Who was she?  A girl inside a bubble.  The daughter of Magnus and Linda Leemann, from a nice district of Griefswald, from a house of blue air.  High school student in her last year, musician, English au pair to be.  Gitta’s squeaky-clean little lamb.  No.  She was someone who didn’t know yet who she was or would be.”


And this book is about Abel, a mystery.  He’s an older brother, a drug dealer, an abandoned kid, a self-destructive person, and a storyteller.  Anna is intrigued by him; she wants to figure him out.  She wants to know something outside her bubble of blue air, so she follows him one day.  She’s surprised when the scary-looking Abel picks up a little girl in a pink coat, and she’s even more surprised when he begins to tell her a haunting, beautiful fairy tale. Anna is captivated but she’s soon discovered eavesdropping.  Abel is thorny and protective of the little girl – his sister, Micha – but Anna is persistent.  Soon she’s becoming involved in their lives – in Abel’s desperate attempt to keep his sister by his side even though he’s a minor, in Micha’s questions about their missing mother.  Anna is determined to help, even as Abel tries to push her away.  But even as he’s pushing her away, she’s becoming a main character in his stories.

“’Your roses are already starting to wilt,’ the sea lion said to the rose girl.  'Not only where I tore them but everywhere else on your body, too.  They will wither.  And you will freeze in the cold wind.’”

This book is bleak.  I’m not actually sure that I knew the definition of that word before reading this book.  Okay, that’s probably an exaggeration.  However, I must say that while I am quite often that reviewer who cries, “Too neat! Too happy!” this was probably the first time that I ever wanted to whimper, “Too dark” and then back away slowly…and huddle in a corner.  This book really, really got under my skin and not always in a good way.  It made me feel angry and hopeless.  The relationship portrayed here is twisted and sick.  It made me physically ill to read about it but I can’t deny that it’s realistic.  I hated Abel and I hated Anna, but I related to them too: Abel and his need to keep everyone at a distance, Anna and her cloak of torn love.  And I love the idea of two messed up, broken kids who can only truly connect in a fairy tale, but never in their real lives.  I love the idea that somewhere inside a hopelessly damaged person, there lies a small, untouched, sacred place – a place for fairy tales.

However, I think that in the end I loved the idea of this book more than the finished product.  Abel is a bit too much a cipher.  He never feels fully fleshed out as a character, in my opinion.  He’s proud and self-contained, but I never really felt the pain underneath all that, and I needed to.  I needed to be able to relate to him in some more tangible way.  In a few places he even feels a bit like a stereotype.  It's possible that my own preconceived notions about this book colored my thoughts about him a little too much. Perhaps Abel would come through more clearly to me on a re-read? If I could stand one.

The narration is also a little odd.  It’s third person, and hovers over Anna for about 95% of the book, but then takes occasional little detours to follow Gitta (Anna’s friend), Bertil (another friend), Abel, or Soren (a teacher).  When we’re with Anna, the narrator is intimate and free with information, but when we’re with anyone else…it becomes a vague, tight-fisted liar.  It feels a little too much like reader manipulation – like the author’s blatant attempt to keep everything a mystery until the very end. However, I just adore Antonia Michaelis’ writing.  She writes beautiful, evocative, stunning prose.  I highlighted so many passages. 

I'm not really sure how readers will react to this book.  I'm having a difficult time with my own reaction to this book.  It’s a dark, difficult (yet beautiful) read. That being said, I really want you all to read it, because I desperately need someone to have this conversation with right now:

“Could you believe that he…?”
“NO.  That was INSANE.”
“And then she…”
“OMG, don’t even get me started.”

So get to it!

Perfect Musical Pairing
We Are Augustines - Book of James

The theme of this song is a bit of a MAJOR spoiler so I’m not really going to discuss it.  But this quote (from the lyrics) makes me really emotional about this book:

“Storm clouds began to form in his head
and crisscrossed his mind like a restless angry ocean 
And the howling of hardship and heartache kneeled and grinned in his face

He stood there in his shoes unable to move
Kid I drove all night here to tell you that I love you
”

3.5/5 Stars

Readventurer C Signature
23 Comments
Sarah link
3/8/2012 03:27:48 am

I have almost bought this book several times and never pulled this trigger. And your review has me even more curious--arg!!!

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 04:15:03 am

Ha! I hope you give it a try Sarah. It really is a beautiful book. Just prepare yourself for a few SHOCKS. :)

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 03:50:26 am

This is an extremely mysterious and intriguing review, Catie. I don't know if I want to read it, but I sure need some spoilers:)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 04:16:12 am

Tatiana, you know that I can't hide anything. Anytime you want spoilers, you know where to find me. :)

Reply
Missie, The Unread Reader link
3/8/2012 04:51:47 am

I think I would have expected a PC type story too. Those damn assumption, always interfering with life. While the slaughter house thing kind of scares me, you've also managed to intrigue me by having me wonder just how dark the story gets.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 06:32:24 am

The blurb is so short and seems so bland, doesn't it?

And...how dark does it get? I think the only response I can give to that question is: *insane laughter*

Reply
starryeyedjen link
3/8/2012 05:31:52 am

Hmmm...I've had the ARC sitting on my shelf for a bit now. I'm intrigued. And I'm VERY glad I read this review. I think I would have gone into this thinking it was more fairy tale than real-life, and it definitely doesn't sound like a "happily ever after", though I have to admit I sometimes prefer when things aren't neatly tied up and pretty at the end. Definitely GRITTY over PRETTY any day. :)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 06:36:25 am

Oh, I am so much the same way, starryeyedjen! I don't like happily ever afters and I much prefer GRITTY. And this book actually challenged me in that regard. I wasn't really prepared for how dark it was going to get!!

Reply
VeganYANerds link
3/8/2012 05:32:04 am

Interesting review, Catie! I have read a few reviews of this book by readers who have loved it and I've been meaning to order a copy. It sounds darker than I thought it would be but I'm really intrigued because it sounds different to a lot of YA that is avail right now.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 06:37:23 am

Yep, it's different alright!!

Reply
Maggie, Young Adult Anonymous link
3/8/2012 05:46:11 am

I'm with Tatiana -- I think I'm going to need some spoilers too. This sounds really intriguing, but I don't think I can handle bleak, let alone Catie levels of bleak! :)

Reply
Tatiana (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 05:51:05 am

If Catie says it's bleak, it must be VERY, VERY BLEAK.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 06:39:21 am

Oh, it's definitely VERY BLEAK. Hahaha. And, there's already one spoiler on my GR thread. AND IT GETS WORSE THAN THAT.

Sam @ Realm of Fiction link
3/8/2012 07:26:45 am

This book was SO different to the books I usually read but it blew me away. I was surprised really by how much I appreciated the story. It wasn't perfect for me, but it was so heart-breaking at times! I think I still need a shoulder to cry on...

(By the way, GREAT song choice! I love We Are Augustines!)

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 08:26:29 am

Sam, I have a feeling that if I ever got up the courage to re-read this book, it would really get to me. I think I spent too much time assuming this book was something that it just wasn't. Cry away!

I love them too. I've been listening to that song for months. "All the words can all get spoken" <---makes me a bit teary every time I hear that part.

Reply
jowearsoldcoats link
3/8/2012 08:01:21 am

I am genuinely anxious about picking up this book.
Great review, Catie.

*eyes book suspiciously*

;-p

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/8/2012 08:27:45 am

You should be! I can't wait for you to read it though, so we can finally DISCUSS. I'm expecting emails! SHOCKED emails!!

Reply
Maja link
3/9/2012 04:49:19 am

I own this book already and was going to start it soon, but I think I'll wait a while after all. I knew that it was heartbreaking and I was ready for that part, but I didn't realize it was that dark. Since I'm still recovering from Madapple, I should probably find read other books for now.

Amazing review, Catie!

Reply
Heidi link
3/9/2012 11:00:03 am

Hi Catie, I have read some great reviews on this and grabbed a copy but I wasn't prepared for a dark read. I may hold off just a bit until the last of the winter blues fly away. Thanks for your great review!

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/10/2012 01:52:12 am

I can definitely understand, you two! I hope you both do read it eventually though because I'm very interested in your reactions.

Reply
Rachel
3/10/2012 07:22:03 am

Oh Catie! This book shattered me!! I loved it but....ahhh!! I can't even put it into words. One minute I felt one way: happy, happy, things were going to work out the next.....well you know.

Reply
Catie (The Readventurer) link
3/10/2012 09:58:58 am

Oh, Rachel...I KNOW. I was so completely shocked! I'm still thinking about this book. I know it was incredibly dark but...I think that she was brave to take it in that direction. ALL THE WAY in that direction. I feel pretty shattered too.

Reply
Sandra link
3/25/2012 03:52:18 am

Entranced is the word that comes to mind about this book. I loved it and count it among one of my favorite books. It is bleak, yet the beauty of the language, the love of Abel for Micah and the hope that rises from the debris of a shattered ending, makes it endearing. Okay - I'm waxing hyperbolic at this point. Read it!

Reply



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