Customer Reviews

Girl With Glass Feet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Plot Summary:

St. Hauda's is a cold island way up north where narwhal fishing used to be the trade of choice. Once that was banned, most of the population left and the island is now dull, quiet and secluded. This is perfectly fine with Midas Crook, who doesn't like being around too many people and certainly doesn't like touching them. He prefers, instead, to view the world through his camera and make sense of it that way. Ida MacLaird comes to St. Hauda's Land hoping for a cure to her strange illness. Her feet have turned to glass and the illness seems to be spreading up her body. She comes to St. Hauda's looking for Henry Fuwe, a man she met on her last trip there who told her about tiny flying cows, an animal that turns everything it looks at to white, and glass people sunk into bogs. She meets Midas instead, and the two become friends, deepening into something more. The two embark on a mission to save Ida, aided in part by Carl Maulson, who used to be in love with Ida's mother and work with Midas' father. But even as they try to find a cure, the glass in Ida's body keeps creeping up...

My Thoughts:

This was a beautifully written book. There were so many interlocking stories, all about relationships and love lost and found. Ida and Midas are in the center (I wonder if their names are similar for a reason). Ida wants desperately to connect with someone before her illness leaves her cold, literally. Midas is drawn to Ida, but he must overcome his innate dislike of touching or even really interacting with other people.

Their relationship is central to the plot, but there are so many others similar to it that reach different conclusions. Each relationship presented in the story represents and symbolizes a different version of love, and it's fascinating to see how Shaw weaves the illness of bodies turning to glass into all of it.

I really enjoyed both Ida and Midas as characters. Ida was so strong and faced her problems head-on. Even though she has a seemingly incurable illness, she goes after what she wants and refuses to cater to anyone else. Midas, too, grows so much during the novel, from a shy, socially awkward person always frightened that he will turn out like his father, into a man who stands up for himself and takes risks even when they terrify him.

This book reminded me, atmosphere-wise, of A Winter's Tale. Everything is black and white and cold. It had the same fantastical elements present- they are alluded to, but never really explained. I would have preferred a bit more closure around the more minor plot points, but I can see why Shaw left them out. I wish he had also left out just a few instances of characters saying the word, "Um," but I will forgive him that :-)

The Girl with Glass Feet is a slow, sad novel that meanders around an isolated island. I think you have to be in the right mood for it- I read it curled up inside on a miserable rainy day, and that was the perfect setting. Shaw has a gift for descriptive passages, and he's an author I will follow.

Intense, introverted and grotesque. Small-scale, intense characterization, and at times problematic in the way it shows relationships developing. Still, on the whole I was interested, and some of the sheer metaphysical strangeness (moth-cows, and the titular turning of the main character's feet and then entire body) will probably stay with me.

It works in many ways as a horror account with some unconventional framing. There's a lot of effort to almost downplay the main fantastical happenings, for instance. The awareness of the unfolding transformation isn't really the dramatic focus of the book, rather it's how the change provokes an extended process of acceptance, and how it factors into the main relationships of the main character. That description makes it sound like a sentimental work which it really isn't--the tone is a lot harsher in assessing the characters and the obsession they sometimes have for each other. The larger representation of humanity probably counts as a bleak one, yet the story tone is light enough and there are enough beautiful passages to make for more than a pessimistic representation.

I'm extremely ambivalent on this one, not at the end very clear what the Shaw was aiming for or how effectively he executed it. I can't exactly count it as a good work because of how vague I feel at the end about the larger story, how I can fit different themes equally into interpreting the point behind the story. Including, most troubling, the possibility of a rather sexist authorial viewpoint given the terms by which women consistently appear. It can also be seen as empowering to an extent, and it manages a sustained first person viewpoint of a complex woman with a lot more sympathy than a lot of (male) authors provide. In the end I'm considerably more favorable for this than Cloud and Ashes, as while I'm unsure as to some of the underlying major points the basic story was comprehensible, and rather compelling, and the high quality of the writing felt like an asset rather than something that undermined the narrative. In the end I am glad I read this work, as it provides a very different feel than most fantasy. I may even reread it at some point, as I think it would benefit from more careful consideration.

Worse than: King Rat by China Mieville

Better than: Cloud and Ashes by Greer Gilman

Ali Shaw has created a unique, if not confusing, dark fairy tale, that is atmospheric, magical, deeply psychological, and utterly unbelievable. But then, it IS a 'fairy tale.'

Shaw's debut novel is somewhat of a rambling, convoluted fable. The, boy-meets-girl concept, is complicated by the fact that Ida Maclaird is mysteriously turning into glass. Midas Crook, the introverted town local, who prefers to view life from behind his camera, becomes enamoured with Ida---his first experience with emotional and physical intimacy. As love blooms, the two of them set out on an adventurous quest to find a cure for Ida's malady. They encounter a host of complicated characters, all toting dark bags of secrets, that will eventually become intertwined. Along the way they have to watch out for moth-winged, flying bovines, other magical creatures, and a bog cemetery, that all seem somewhat misplaced and never adequately explained. For the most part---they're just there, without enough back-story, to allow the reader to enjoy them, or embrace the fantasy world.

The strong point of this tale is Crook's character development. As we begin to see the free-spirited, kind and loving, Ida, increasingly locked-in by her solidifying infirmity, we see Midas grow, unlock, and open to new possibilities, while finding some closure with unresolved issues of childhood angst. There is tremendous loss and pain, but much is gained, as destiny is fulfilled.

I applaud Shaw for his creativity, finding him a lyrical, word-master, and one to watch for future contributions. However there was too much going on within this tale. The 'magic' and its creatures didn't enhance the love story, but rather seemed to operate parallel, to it, in St. Hauda's Land. I began to feel as though, I had a bad seat at a ten ring circus, leaving me unable to develop a connection with characters, that were never fully fleshed out. I also never fully realized the free-child enjoyment of the magic, which should be communicated with any fairy-tale. After all, young, or old, 'fairy tales' are supposed to take us away to a never, never-land, we will never forget. This one did not quite accomplish this for me. All said, I still regard, 'The Girl with Glass Feet,' as a stellar accomplishment for a first time novelist.

Plot Summary: A young lady who loves life, and a young man who hides from it, meet on a cold, boggy island. Midas Crook is an amateur photographer who would rather commune with pictures than people. Ida Maclaird visited St. Hauda last summer on holiday, and since then her toes have been slowly turning to glass. She's searching for a strange old man who may know what's happening to her body, and a chance encounter with Midas pulls him into her world. Ida is full of fight - to live and to love - and Midas is like a timid mouse who wants to run from all conflict and change. They're a strange pair to embark on a strange journey.

I'm happiest when I can write a review that is critical of the writing rather than the plotting. It's easy to stomp on clumsy sentences, bad dialog or weak character development. However, I feel like an unjustified whiner when I'm less than thrilled with a book because of how it played out. That's where I'm at with The Girl With Glass Feet. It's unique, it's well-written, and it's depressing without an equal measure of hope. Not my favorite kind of story, considering that I'm the `happily-ever-after' girl.

I think Mr. Shaw succeeded best with his character Midas Crook. Haunted by his childhood trapped between a frigid father and a morose mother, Midas retreated to a hermit-like existence with only a best friend and his young daughter for occasional companionship. He bloomed like the proverbial butterfly or ugly baby duckling into a better person, and it was a masterfully drawn metamorphose.

Here's where the story fell flat for me. Magic was running rampant on this little island with moth-sized flying cows, glass corpses, and a medusa-like creature who roamed the woods. It was magic without purpose, and it couldn't be used or bended for a greater good. Maybe it's a false assumption on my part, but I expect a fantasy to offer up an occasional `get out of jail' card, and this one didn't.

This book is unlike any other I have read. Set on Nordic-inspired, remote islands in a grey sea, an odd bunch of characters have their lives intertwined through generations. A continuing theme is the nature of love, people who love people who can't return their love, and people who cannot feel love at all. The novel's main character, Midas Crook, is a photographer who sees the world through his lens, only understanding human interactions if compared to his inner world of shutter and aperture.

None of the characters felt particularly real to me, perhaps appropriate for this semi-magical setting. However, it made it difficult to care - or understand - the characters' motivations. I really struggled to finish this book. The ending seemed inevitable about 3/4 of the way through the book, and then it was a long slow plod - a beautifully written plod - to the end. I began the book moderately charmed and intrigued, but by the end, I was very exhausted. I really had to push myself to finish it in order to write this review.

That said, it is a well-written book and perhaps it was just not to my taste.

The description made me think that it was some sort of magical voyage between two people finding a way to each other with Ida's unusual condition as the catalyst. Instead it is a very strange and dark love story between Ida and Midas and the people in their lives. Usually these types of book I find hard to get lost within the pages. That was not the case in this story. It was captivating from the first chapter.

In the story, many of the characters surrounding the couple who often also have a chapter with their own POV, are looking for some sort of redemption for a wrong turn they took in their lives. It was not that way with Ida and Midas. They were finding a way to wake themselves up to the world and those close around them. To have the courage to make their own mistakes. Although the characters were slow to wake up to taking chances with each other, it was still interesting to see how both characters change toward one another. It was frustrating especially because time was not on their side with Ida's condition getting worse. I did see Ida's condition as a metaphor for a terminal illness. If you consider it, what better metaphor than glass? It is something that alters her body, makes it non-functional and when people see the "glass" it is as if they look right through you.

I did have a hard time deciding if I would give this book 3 1/2 stars or if I would give it a full 4 stars. My main objection is my own and had nothing to do with the writing itself. And by throwing out my personal preference, I'd have to say it was too well written for me to take it down slightly. Therefore, I give it 4 stars and recommend this book for people who want a dark, strange and lyrical type of romance story.

This haunting tale set on an island of isolation and gloomy images really caught my attention from the very beginning. The atmosphere that Shaw creates is very stark and monochromatic. A setting well suited for the tale. The characters of Ida and Midas are well suited to the landscape and well written. The story takes off as Ida's predicament becomes clear (no pun intended) as her feet are slowly turning into glass. With the cause being unknown she traces it's beginnings to a short trip to St. Hauda's lands.

When she meets Midas the story begins to sweep into a new direction, though the romantic aspects of the pair are seldom depicted.

I found that parts of the tale were a little cumbersome but the inventiveness of the story was very imaginative and cleverly sprinkled about liberally enough to overcome these down turns in the narrative.

I would recommend this story to a wide variety of people including anyone who enjoys fantasy or fans of Jonathan Carroll.

When I picked this up, I was imagining that it would be something a little different than what it ended up being. I pictured this book being more like the novel `Like Water for Chocolate'. I was both delighted & disappointed to be wrong. It reminded me more of books like `Practical Magic', `Chocolat', & `Sugar Queen'.

The novel follows the character of Ida, a young woman whose whole life comes to a screeching halt when she discovers that she is slowly turning to glass after a visit to a mysterious island. She returns there, hoping to discover a cure & ends up meeting the reticent photographer Midas, who is more inclined to spend his time photographing alone than with other people. As her affliction spreads, love slowly grows between the two of them.

There's things I really would like to say about this book & comparisons I'd like to make, but unfortunately that would give away too much of the book. I'll just let the reader know that this isn't a lighthearted story. From the very beginning of the book, the story deals heavily with loss. It took me a while to get into this book because I really was expecting something slightly different.

I did like the characters & I liked that each character was slightly sympathetic, even if they weren't the greatest of people. There's a lot of small & subtle details in this book, some of which I picked up on immediately & others that I do know that I missed. This is a book that will undoubtedly be better the second time I read it & know to look for these things.

All in all though... I did like this book well enough to give it 3 stars. If I could give star fractions I'd score it a bit higher, but unfortunately we can't. The writing is very good for a first novel & I'm curious to see what else this author will bring in future books.

If you only like books with cheerful plots and happy endings, The Girl with Glass Feet isn't for you. However, if you'd like to read a touching, bittersweet story about love, you might want to give it a try. This is a slightly quirky, understated novel with touches of fantasy and mystery that will draw you in from the first few pages, when shy photographer Midas meets Ida, whose body is turning to glass as she desperately searches for a cure. Soon you're introduced to a slew of characters with lives so intermingled it's hard to understand how they are almost all completely alone. The novel explores love in all its forms: the innocence of young love, the bitterness of unrequited love, the frustration of love between a parent and a child who can't connect, and the solid love between two friends who accept each other without reservation.

I really enjoyed this book. The ending was a bit jarring for me, and there were a few plotlines that I wish the author had resolved, rather than left hanging. But other than that, it was terrific. It's not everyday you encounter a book that is as beautiful or as enchanting as The Girl With Glass Feet.

Do you know what? I can't decide. Some of the description was BEAUTIFUL. Unique and clever and gorgeous, the kind of words you want to read over and over and savour every clever nuance of. But my, there was a lot of description. At times it was a bit like being hit round the head with it, and it all clamoured to compete with each other so the real punch of a lot of the description often got lost in the endless stream. It's a sweet and haunting story, tragically sad and full of meaning, but could have done with an editor not afraid to rein his/her author back a bit. Over-done, I think is the best term I can think of. An author in love with words is a glorious thing but doesn't always make the best book. Worth a read if you like dark, fanciful tales, but take tea breaks to give your head a rest.