REVIEW: The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
During a brutal winter, a young woman longing for love finds more than she expected in the woods, in this wickedly sensuous short story by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
Judith knows her sister, Alice, is the pretty one—but that doesn’t stop her from wishing for love. When a handsome and gentlemanly hunter appears in their village, seeking lodging from the cold, she believes her lover has finally arrived. He does, indeed, choose to stay—but as Alice’s husband, not her own. When another stranger comes out of the woods, looking every bit a vagrant, he offers Judith something mysterious and enticingly strange. Against reason and decency, she welcomes both men into her life, in different ways. As forbidden longings ensnare each of them, an unrelenting winter storm and an evasive wolf on the prowl have everyone on edge…and ravenous. By spring thaw, will any of their hungers be satisfied?
Dear Ms. Moreno-Garcia,
I liked this but I should have liked it more. It begins as many fairy tales do with innocence and wishes before turning darker. It has two sisters, one pretty and spoiled while the other is plainer and made to work hard. Alice has always been pampered and got what she wanted while Judith still waits for a man. When she thinks her true love has arrived, she learns differently. Does she get her revenge?
The story is dark and lush, sensuous and emotionally painful. I felt for poor Judith who has definitely gotten the short end of the stick. Yet I also wanted to shake Judith as she falls for sweet words and promises at the same time that she dismisses a person because of how he looks. Though to be honest, I’m not sure she’d get anything good from either man. I wanted this to turn the “waiting for a man to save me” trope on its head; I wanted Judith to become her own savior. The writing is lovely but the story ends up being fairly conventional. C+
~Jayne
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Hmm if you want a Moreno-Garcia heroine who turns into her own savior, I recommend Untamed Shore, which has a premise that’s a bit similar to what you describe here, but a spectacular ending. That said the middle is slow and I wanted to shake Viridiana for much of the book, so it may not be for you. The one I think you’d like best is Gods of Jade and Shadow.
@Janine: I keep meaning to read a full length book by Moreno-Garcia and I remember you have the “Gods” book a high grade.
@Jayne: Yes. I think if you don’t like horror, Gods of Jade and Shadow is her most accessible book. I think of her books only Mexican Gothic was more popular and that one was very horror-y. I was not a big fan of it for that reason. I liked Velvet is the Night but that one has a heroine who is really unlikable for a good chunk of the book (and she hates cats too), so I recommend trying Gods of Jade and Shadow first.
@Janine: I can take horror in small doses but not a whole book of it.