Page Count: 352
Published on: September 12, 2016
Published by: Blue Rider Press
Genre(s): Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction
Source: Hardback - via publisher
My Rating: 3 stars
Goodreads synopsis:
A stunning, provocative new novel from New York Times bestselling author Marisa Silver, Little Nothing is the story of Pavla, a child scorned for her physical deformity, whose passion and salvation lie in her otherworldly ability to transform herself and the world around her.
In an unnamed country at the beginning of the last century, a child called Pavla is born to peasant parents. Her arrival, fervently anticipated and conceived in part by gypsy tonics and archaic prescriptions, stuns her parents and brings outrage and disgust from her community. Pavla has been born a dwarf, beautiful in face, but as the years pass, she grows no further than the edge of her crib. When her parents turn to the treatments of a local doctor and freak sideshow proprietor, his terrifying cure opens the floodgates persecution for Pavla. Little Nothing unfolds across a lifetime of unimaginable, magical transformation in and out of human form, as this outcast woman is hunted down and incarcerated for her desires, her body broken and her identity stripped away until her soul is strong enough to transcend all physical bounds. Woven throughout is the journey of Danilo, the young man entranced by Pavla, obsessed only with protecting her. Part allegory about the shifting nature of being, part subversive fairy tale of love in all its uncanny guises, Little Nothing spans the beginning of a new century, the disintegration of ancient superstitions and the adoption of industry and invention. With a cast of remarkable characters, a wholly shocking and original story, and extraordinary, page-turning prose, Silver delivers a novel of sheer electricity.
~~~
“She believes her parents do not love her less, only that before, she had a child’s notion of love that did not include the small treacheries of delusion and fear and shame.”
Hey, guys!
I was sent Little Nothing by Blue Rider Press for an honest review. This book's synopsis was really intriguing and I was really interested to see where this vague synopsis took me. I've heard so many great things about Marissa Silver's writing, but yet I finished the book being very confused. Maybe the concept was a bit over my head, but I really didn't understand this book. I really loved the first third of the novel, but once Pavla changed physically, the story went kind of downhill.
There wasn't much of a plot when it came to this book. I had no idea where Silver was trying to go or if she was writing in metaphors the whole time, but I was overall just very confused and eventually got bored. Not the "so bored that I'm going to DNF the book" bored, but the "this could have an interesting ending, but I'm bored so let's hurry up a bit" bored. This book is labelled under the magical realism genre, but I'm not even sure about that.
I guess it was supposed to to be magical realism, but in reality it was just a mess. Don't get me wrong. There were definitely some really beautiful moments in this book, but I don't think I fully understood the symbolism behind this book. For the first fourth of the book, I had an idea of what was going to happen with Pavla's story, but Silver did a full 180 and changed the story completely. Maybe it's because I was so surprised regarding the plot twists or maybe it was because I anticipated something different, but I really overall was unimpressed by this book.
Pavla was a really interesting character, but towards the end I really didn't care what happened to her. That sounds harsh, but I really didn't know enough of her story to care anymore. Danilo was getting on my nerves as well. I never really cared for his character, even in the beginning. He gave me a shady vibe and I guess his love for Pavla is beautiful, but by the end of the book I was kind of over the story. There were multiple transitions regarding the changes of the character's lives that were very abrupt. I really loved the parts about Pavla when she was a dwarf, but the other parts were really strange for me. I didn't connect with Pavla or Danilo or any of the other characters. The overall tone of the novel was tragic and bizarre. I'm not sure if I'm really into this book as a whole.
This is one of those books that are written for a particular audience, and I don't think I'm apart of that audience. I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to, but if it interests you then I would check it out. The writing was beautiful and the story was very intriguing, but it was definitely not for me.
There wasn't much of a plot when it came to this book. I had no idea where Silver was trying to go or if she was writing in metaphors the whole time, but I was overall just very confused and eventually got bored. Not the "so bored that I'm going to DNF the book" bored, but the "this could have an interesting ending, but I'm bored so let's hurry up a bit" bored. This book is labelled under the magical realism genre, but I'm not even sure about that.
I guess it was supposed to to be magical realism, but in reality it was just a mess. Don't get me wrong. There were definitely some really beautiful moments in this book, but I don't think I fully understood the symbolism behind this book. For the first fourth of the book, I had an idea of what was going to happen with Pavla's story, but Silver did a full 180 and changed the story completely. Maybe it's because I was so surprised regarding the plot twists or maybe it was because I anticipated something different, but I really overall was unimpressed by this book.
Pavla was a really interesting character, but towards the end I really didn't care what happened to her. That sounds harsh, but I really didn't know enough of her story to care anymore. Danilo was getting on my nerves as well. I never really cared for his character, even in the beginning. He gave me a shady vibe and I guess his love for Pavla is beautiful, but by the end of the book I was kind of over the story. There were multiple transitions regarding the changes of the character's lives that were very abrupt. I really loved the parts about Pavla when she was a dwarf, but the other parts were really strange for me. I didn't connect with Pavla or Danilo or any of the other characters. The overall tone of the novel was tragic and bizarre. I'm not sure if I'm really into this book as a whole.
This is one of those books that are written for a particular audience, and I don't think I'm apart of that audience. I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to, but if it interests you then I would check it out. The writing was beautiful and the story was very intriguing, but it was definitely not for me.
I hope you all enjoyed this review!
Happy reading!
Olivia
~LivTheBookNerd~
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