Deerskin

You know, sometimes you just need some escapist fantasy. McKinley's lyrical prose was just the ticket for me last night. There were a few times where I thought “I'd like to know what happens next, quit with the digression already” but then I got caught up in the digression itself! I've read several of McKinley's books - The Hero and the Crown, Pegasus, a few others. She is a master of her craft, weaving magical tales that make you really SEE the world of the book.

Lissar/Deerskin survives some intense trauma in the beginning of this tale - it was hard to read, but McKinley hit the middle ground of being just graphic enough to really impress the horror of the assault on you, without being overly graphic. I think it could definitely be triggering, though, so be warned. Lissar survives, and escapes, and spends time healing before going among people again and learning to heal emotionally as well as physically.

The book is predictable - I knew where she was going and who she'd fall in love with from the moment she left home - but no less absorbing for that. I did like that for once, an author dealt with trauma recovery in a realistic manner, instead of just “oh well she loves him so the trauma won't bother her anymore!” because PTSD doesn't work that way.

Deerskin is another enchanting tale from McKinley, with parts that are genuinely hard to read. I wish the description had been more blatant that when Lissar is fleeing “her father's lust” they really meant his assault, not just his desire.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

Eleanor Oliphant, the heroine of Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine, won by heart by stating, “You can???t have too much dog in a book.”

You really can't have too much dog in a book.

This is the second time in a short period of time when i fell utterly under the spell of a story about a woman/goddess/heroine dealing with the trauma of a cruel childhood with by seeking solitude with the exception of a fierce and loving animal companion by her side. The first book was Circe, by Madeline Miller.

These books are wringing me out emotionally, Eleanor Oliphant included, though I read that last year.

I don't think Deerskin is the right read for everyone, but what I loved about it, and loved about Circe – well, I loved a lot of things about both – is the author takes her time with the story, and her main character. This could have been a much faster paced novel, and that would have contained its own advantages.

Instead, we stay with Lissar in her deep pain and sorrow, and we stay with her during a brief period of peace, and we stay with her when she finds her strength once again. The result is ... whew ... a deeply moving experience. Other people might just find it plodding.

But not everyone wants that, or always wants that. I am the queen of gauging my mood to decide what to read. There are times when a book like this, or Deerskin/Lissar, or Eleanor Oliphant, would have been too much for me.

Certainly, a reader should be advised that the book takes very seriously sexual abuse and the trauma done by a horrible parent. I read a 1 star that disagreed, and I can't comprehend that since Robin McKinley, in my opinion, gives her all to saying some pains are deep, persistent, and crippling.

But, my dear, my poor child, don???t you understand yet that healing carries its own responsibilities? Your battle was from death to life no less than Ash???s is now; would you deny it? But you have not accepted your own gift to yourself, your gift of your own life. Ash is looking forward to running through meadows again; can you not give yourself leave to run through meadows too.

But to return to the no such thing as too much dog, the relationship between Lissar and her dog Ash is at the heart of this book – their love, connection, willingness to live and die for one another. So amazing!

It is a much more straightforward thing to be a dog, and a dog???s love, once given, is not reconsidered; it just is, like sunlight or mountains. It is for human beings to see the shadows behind the light, and the light behind the shadows. It is, perhaps, why dogs have people, and people have dogs.

There is a romance here as well, built on shared connection, built over time, built on kindness. It's better than all the stories of love at first sight combined, because it's about a love that heals and endures.

I do not have to understand, he said. I have seen the scars you carry, and I love you. If you and Ash cannot run quite so far as you used to because of old wounds, then we will run less far together. ???I was never a runner anyway,??? he murmured aloud, and Lissar stirred but made no answer.

If I have to complain, although the book is chock full of love of dogs, much disdain is given to lap dogs, and at least one comment involved the hero worrying a lesser dog might be bred to a purebred. Mutts and little dogs are amazing too!

Anyhow, I think I need to read something super light now, super silly. I'm exhausted from too many emotions.

Wow. This book was so beautifully written in blew me away. What a powerful story of healing.