Customer Reviews

ILLYRIA

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Maddy and Rogan are first cousins; actually their fathers are identical twins so genetically they're half-siblings. They share the same birthday, are each the youngest of six children and grew up together on the same street. They are also passionately and hopelessly in love with each other. They steal time together hidden away in Rogan's attic where they find an enchanted toy theater.

Maddy and Rogan's great-grandmother was a famous stage actress. When Maddy and Rogan are both cast in their school's production of Twelfth Night, they realize the extent of their own talents for acting and must decide what that means for their futures, both together and separately.

Okay, I'll just be honest here. After reading the other reviews of this book, I'm feeling pretty dumb. It's gotten rave reviews all over the place and won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella. I enjoyed it but I feel like I must have missed something. I wanted more. I wanted to know why the theater was in the attic and why it was enchanted and who put it there. I kept waiting for it to have more of a role in the story and it never did. The reviewer who wrote: "Though more practical-minded readers may have a hard time grasping the point of this short novel, Hand's writing is beautiful and her imagery vivid." sums it up nicely. I am too practical (and maybe not smart enough) for this book.

Though the supposedly YA orientation of this novella doesn't precisely play to Hand's hallucinogenic style, there's enough mystery, romance, and glamour on hand to make this a fun read. Though length and structure-wise it feels more like a novella than a short novel, the length is well-suited to the parlor romance feel of the material.

And though this is pitched as YA, and Hand crops her style accordingly, in the end the overall vibe is more a middle-aged memory piece than YA romancer. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

Madeleine and Rogan Tierney are first cousins and descendants of the great stage actress Madeleine Armin Tierney. They live with their many relatives at Arden Terrace, a gated community with large, rambling houses in Yonkers, and as the youngest cousins they are the closest--so close that they share a connection no one else could ever comprehend, and ultimately fall in love. Encouraged by their glamorous Aunt Kate to pursue their legacy in theater, the two participate in their school's production of Twelfth Night, which causes all sorts of feelings and emotions to swell, and forces Madeleine and Rogan to face the uncertainty of their future together.

Illyria's setting is rich and lush, from the depictions of how Madeleine and Rogan spent their childhoods to the details in the sprawling, decaying homes that their families inhabit. Hand's writing is indeed intense, and the relationship she builds between the cousins is full of tension and passion, especially when they share private moments in the attic of Rogan's house, watching the tiny, magical toy theater they found. It is evident through their roles in Twelfth Night that both Madeleine and Rogan possess talent for the stage, but while one of them wastes it, the other embraces it, cleaving the two and showing them each very different futures. Though more practical-minded readers may have a hard time grasping the point of this short novel, Hand's writing is beautiful and her imagery vivid. Like any great tragedy, Illyria is haunting and gorgeous.

There's a reason Illyria won the World Fantasy Award. Great characterization, plot, and storyline. Strongly recommend: it crosses so many genres that it is best described as modern literature, with components that will appeal to a very wide audience. No spoilers, it's a short (as is 'The Old Man and the Sea'), concise and tightly written.

I sometimes think there are books that the more is said the more injustice is done. Illyria is one

of those books for me.

Illyria brings the term kissing-cousin to a new level though not based purely on love but a shared passion

only found within those who are true twinned souls.Both of our main characters, Maddy and Rogan, lead lives that were tragic in their own right and both seemed to understand each other in a way no other was able to or even attempted to.

I can't even explain how roped in I was by Illyria. It was a short read but one which made an impact and

took me to a time and place that wasn't my own. I fell in love just as Maddy did and I felt torn

when Rogan let life sweep him away and one-in-a-lifetime prospects came her way. I even cried when truths

about Rogan were revealed, then again at the end when the two came face to face without the scrutinity of

those around them and they could have closure to what happened so many years before.

Even with a beauty that is unique to it, this story is not for everyone as there are themes that will make some

individuals uncomfortable. If you can break through your comfort level you might be surprised with

the magic that is found within this book. Passion and pain this deep isn't easily felt through the pages of

a book but the words and their impact seeped into my veins and drew me in, completely.

Illyria is sinfully beautiful, well written, and flows smoothly.

Maddy and Rogan were cousins. But the magic between them was not very cousinly and was looked down upon by both their families. These are the very families that pushed them together in the first place because they were the exact same age. Maddy feels like they are one in the same, until they both get cast in the school production of Twelfth Night. On stage Maddy begins to see the big separation between them. Rogan completely owns the stage especially when he sings. Maddy is simply a character actress, she is good at what she does, but is missing that special something that was once a prominent talent in the family. Slowly Maddy and Rogan change and grow up and apart from one another, though first love is something one can not forget.

This was a beautifully written novel about the magic and excitement of first love. It is also about the things that can keep us apart. I love the magical world that Elizabeth Hand wove around the characters with her words. The whole story read like you were in a love-induced fog. Heartbreaking and lovely moments one after another, though wholly realistic, were whimsical passages into another cosmos. The relationship between Maddy and Rogan was frowned upon and there are some who will frown upon it now. First cousins being romantically involved can be a bit hard to understand. Though when you take into consideration that they were always together, and their families could be a bit aloof or spiteful it makes perfect sense. I could almost hear the crackle in the air from between their two bodies as they lay together and share the magic they found. This was so well-written and had I read it last month I would have included it in my "Short and Sweet: some of my favorite books under 200 pages" post. This book was a perfect portion of magic and love and life.

First Line:

"Rogan and I were cousins; our fathers were identical twins."

Favorite Line:

"And no audience, save for Rogan and me."

I adored this novella by Elizabeth Hand about 'kissing cousins', Madeleine and Rogan. Bite size novel, but a whole lot of story with heart. It's is definitely what I would dub as hauntingly beautiful.

Illyria feels like it's set in some make-believe world where eccentric aunts never age, miniature theatres come to life, every house has a ghost light, and where Maddy's childhood crush on her cousin Rogan can turn into a not-so-secret love affair. But it's not. Maddy and Rogan's story takes place in a cul-de-sac in a town outside New York City populated by the descendants of a once well-known actress. But that doesn't keep any of the above from being true. Hand just makes it all seem surreal.

In this not quite a fantasy world, the ick factor of Maddy and Rogan's relationship is missing. There is disapproval from the family and their classmates make fun of them, but their romance is just another (doomed) romance. And it is doomed, right from the beginning, and not just because they're cousins. There is something off about Rogan, something that sets him apart from everyone else, and it's what attracts Maddy to him. It haunts the entire story in the beautiful way that it haunts Maddy. It stays with you.

I know I'm not doing this book justice, but that's hard to do with my overwhelming book crush! Seriously, everything about this book is lyrical, magical, gorgeous. Highly recommended.

Book source: Philly Free Library

I have been reading Liz Hand for years and am always impressed with her creativity. Illyria is a great read for mid life adults as it reminds you what it's like to be a teenager with hopes, expectations, and fears. Good reminder for those of us raising teens now and (as with all Liz Hand books) Illyria gets even better with re-reads (it went so quickly, I read it twice!) [...]

I am so very confused right now. Illyria was only 135 pages long, and it left me feeling quite a bit like how I feel after reading something by Madeleine L'Engle. I get that I just read something deep and profound, but I don't understand what the point was. It's very frustrating. What is the point of reading a book if, in the end, you just don't get it?

At first, I thought that Illyria was offering me the kind of "I don't get it" feeling that I had for a while as I was reading Madapple, a thought-provoking novel where truth and fantasy and even fallacy were threaded so tightly together that I as the reader never knew quite what to believe -- but, no, I was expecting too much from Illyria, a novel that raises so many questions but fails to answer any of them.

Judging from the cover, I will admit that I thought Illyria was a fantasy -- but it isn't. It takes place in a nondescript time period (I assumed anywhere from the sixties to the eighties) and follows two cousins, Madeline and Ronan Tierney, who are in love with each other. Now, you are likely thinking that this is a story of their forbidden love affair. No, not really. Yes, it's an issue, but it doesn't drive the plot. If it did, then I might have been happier with this book because, as it is, there isn't much drama or conflict or anything so much as some things happening and some characters speaking or alluding to things and then characters reacting. You know what this book was like? It was much like sitting down and expecting to watch a modern movie only to realize that you're sitting in the wrong theatre where a black and white silent film is starting to roll. I could read the dialogue on the screen just fine, but I felt disconnected from the story because there was no sound or color to draw me in to scenes, characters, or the emotions of any of it.

Ronan is gifted and called 'fey' by his relatives. Madeline believes herself not to be gifted or talented in any way because she pales in comparison to the brilliance that is Ronan (even as he threatens to self-destruct at various times due to unsavory habits such as smoking and taking drugs). The Tierney family is less of a presence and more of a threat to Ronan and Madeline's relationship (which, sadly, doesn't seem built on anything more than lust). But I didn't feel any of it. I knew what I should have felt -- desperation for these characters and their situation -- but I really didn't feel much at all.

In the end, I just really don't understand what the point of everything was. I like clues to tie together to a point where I can come to a good conclusion of what happened even if the author never tells me forthright -- but none of that happened here. Yes, the language had some beautiful, beautiful moments. But what good is beauty when it has a shallow kind of depth? And the better question is this: why try to sell me an urban fairy tale if you are going to ground your characters so thoroughly in reality that the magical moments (such as the scenes exhibiting Ronan's ethereal voice, a talent that very well could have had fey origins) seem more like a hallucination or exaggeration than true brilliance born out of realism twined with wonder?

To be honest, the climax of the story (or what I felt was the climax since there really was no obvious plot), where Ronan bewitched the audience with his singing as the character Feste in the play The Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, rather reminded me of the final climactic scene in the movie Perfume: The Story of a Murderer in which the main character is believed to be a god because of the perfume he has made and the crowd falls into such ecstasy that they all begin to participate in an orgy because of the effects of the perfume on their senses and reason. No, Ronan's performance didn't lead to an orgy (thank God), but I couldn't help but compare the two scenes in my head, whether it be from Madeline's own words describing Ronan or the reactions of the cast and the audience. They acted as if he were God's gift sent straight from heaven. What I wanted to know was why. Why does he have such a beautiful voice? Why does his family seem to fear and revile it if everyone else seems so enchanted by it? Why, why, why?

It's one thing to leave readers to speculate, but to leave everything one big mystery and secret? It's an insult to readers who took the time to read a book that is just not as fulfilling as it should be.

With all that being said, I give two stars to Illyria for having some shining moments of prose -- but lovely writing was not enough to save a novel that sacrificed characterization and storytelling for an empty promise of mystery and enchantment. My advice: spare yourself the frustration and skip this one because you won't be missing much.