Review: A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly

MY THOUGHTS

• A brilliant historical fiction book.
• Interesting style in breaking up chapters -
• True murder story makes an interesting backdrop.
• I felt a personal connection to murder victim
• Very well written - kept me engaged and empathising with Mattie
• Very distinctive romance

BLURB

“Based on a real murder at the turn of the century, this outstanding debut novel is a powerful and moving coming-of-age book. Mattie is torn between her familial responsibilities, her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance. Her dilemmas and choices are quietly reflected in the life of a young woman found drowned in a lake, a woman that Mattie only gets to know through reading her letters.

When  finally the tales of Mattie and the drowned girl merge, their stories beautifully combine in  brilliant conclusion.”

MY THOUGHTS

When my mam recommended it to me I was skeptical as I had never heard of it before and hadn’t read many American historical fiction novels. She had gotten it second hand and gave it to me since it was labelled as young adult 

But I shouldn’t have worried, for I was almost instantly swept away in this brilliant novel. The writing style is unique, the characters memorable and the storyline brilliant.

Told in three separate stories: Mattie now, Mattie a few months ago (both of which eventually merge into a brilliant ending) and the true story of Grace Brown. Grace Brown was a young woman murdered by her lover in 1906.

This story is fictitiously based on a waiter, Mattie, in the hotel where Grace Brown’s body was brought.

I feel I have learned a lot about life in America in the 1900s. This novel covers racism, love, marriage, children, romance, family, poverty, the treatment of women and the struggles of writers. It has everything you would want in a historical novel about this time.

As well as the topics covered, I found the truth behind the story very engaging and unique. In the novel, Grace Brown gives her love letters to Mattie. I found the contents of these letters heart-wrenching. 

As the author herself says “they break my heart.. [Grace has] a good heart, humor, intelligence, wit… I often wonder what she would have made of her life if she had been allowed to live it”. I share those same sentiments

I have never felt so connected to a person I had never met as I did when I first read Grace’s letters.

It is so sad to me that her life was ended in this way, but I also feel for her lover who was later executed (not in the novel). 

I do not personally agree with capital punishment, and am saddened at two relatively young lives lost.

The novel itself is very well written, and I really empathized with Mattie throughout her struggles. In a roundabout way, her life inspired me - here is a girl with little fighting for what I already have.

It made me appreciate what I have and helped me gain an understanding of people less fortunate than me. Especially her education - she really enjoys school and reading (something I can relate to) but has difficulty accessing these two things. I don’t know how I would cope if that was me. 

Another genre this book fits into is romance. Without giving too much away, Mattie is in a relationship with a boy, which she enjoys, but is afraid it will end her dreams of becoming a writer if it continues.

I had never thought of it that way - how a relationship can impact your whole life so drastically. I feel for Mattie throughout this and other conflicts throughout the novel. Her character is written very well, and I felt I was living the story with her.

Jennifer Donnelly also had an interesting style in terms of how she separated chapters. Every day Mattie would have a ‘word of the day’, which would then be defined in the chapter, and linked to what Mattie was going through.

It was an interesting style, but didn’t feel forced. It never interrupted the chapter, it actually added to the flow of it, in my opinion. 

The only criticism I have is that the stories of the two Matties were difficult to keep up with at times, as sometimes they got one chapter each, but other times they got several. A few times I started a chapter, only to wonder “which Mattie is this? What happened to her recently?”

But other than that, it was a very enjoyable read, and I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a good historical fiction read.

CONCLUSION

A Gathering Light was a very enjoyable read. I would recommend it to teens and adults alike because of the great writing style and storyline.

It incorporates many genres, and the backdrop of a real-life murder just adds to the intrigue of it.

I would give it 85/100 (I know, that’s a big scale) purely because of the slight confusion between the two Matties.

A definite recommend.

Stats by Saoirse ;)

Age: 13+

Genre(s): Historical fiction, romance, murder mystery.

Score on the Saoirse Scale (couldn’t resist ;)): 85/100