Customer Reviews

Waking Beauty

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you must choose only one book to read this whole year, please make it WAKING BEAUTY by Paul Witcover. This is a feast of erotic literary fantasy, a horn of macabre plenty, a burst of truth, exquisite sadness and winged joy, a chord of acute intensity that pulls at you and stays with you always. I am still in awe of it.... And I cannot believe that this is a first novel! Paul Witcover is a true original.

Despite a silly dust jacket summary which has almost nothing to do with the plot of the book itself, "Waking Beauty" is an extraordinary first effort. Bizarre, fantastic, and sometimes grotesque (in the truest sense of the word)this book has a lot in common with gothic writers such as William Beckford, Lord Byron and Clark Ashton Smith. Witcover's rococco writing style is perfectly suited to his sumptuous exploration of the vectors of power, love and sacrifice, qualities which in his world are literally written upon the bodies of his characters. His characterizations are strong and sharp, and, unusual for his genre, the female protagonists take up most of the center stage. The action comes lickety-split, leaving the reader breathless by the novel's end--and hopeful there will be a sequel. "Waking Beauty" is not a facile book. Underneath the glittering prose and byzantine plot, "Waking Beauty" is deeply concerned with the interplay of power and domination, greed and ambition, and perhaps most importantly, love in all its many guises. Witcover is more than up to the challenge of translating these abstract ideologies into an entertaining, imaginative ripping good read. "Waking Beauty" transcends the "fantasy" genre, and sets Witcover in a class with such "literary-fantasy" writers as A.S. Byatt, Angela Carter and C.S. Lewis. Though the action of this novel may be set in the fantastic, the underpinnings of Witcover's world is all too familiar. By far, one the best novels of the year.

Because it's wrong. It makes it sound like some sort of dull love triangle when really the book is much more than that. It weaves this strange and fascinating topsy turvy world in a way that is rare in most books nowadays. It's delightfully sensual and has unique images.

Ignore the fact that the cover of this book implies some creepy bondage thing. Ignore the synopsis written on the back, obviously penned by a person who's never read it. Instead listen to me. This book is excellent. It's the story of a world that turns upon the strict ordering of its society, adhering to a religion founded centuries ago; a religion that elevates men and supresses women, that reveres fireflies and fears Beauty. A strict caste system exists allowing the few to rise but only at the expense of another. Underneath the cities of this world the heretics hide, plotting a revolt and awaiting the second coming of their saviour, said to already walk their earth. We watch this drama unfold by following the travails of a country boy, his country wife who is thrust into the big city, and the girl he was once promised to marry who was exiled to a Cat house long ago.

Witcover provides an excellent tale with a complete mythology and history which is leant an air of authenticity by loosely borrowing on tales that are familiar from our own experience. This level of world-building is on par with and may surpass that of the Baker's Boy trilogy and is equal to the world and religion created in the Kushiel's Dart trilogy.

It was a fast read although a large book, and it was self-contained so I do not have to wait for or hunt down other books in a series. Definitely recommended.

This book is truly astonishing. Paul Witcover has taken our everyday world, distilled it down to its very essence, and disguised it as the Hierarchate. The book is one immense parable. It covers the cruelty, sexism and unmitigated power of the Christian Church, interweaving Christian mythology with well-known fairy tales and pagan folklore. The symbology in this book is overwhelming - on every page there is something that makes me stop and grab my copy of "The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets" by Barbara G. Walker (which I highly recommend you read before, during or after "Waking Beauty" if you want to fully appreciate its vast multiple layers; also, a Latin dictionary is useful for uncovering the hidden symbology in the names of the saints). Towards the end it becomes difficult to tell if Witcover intends the three Viridis Lacrimatas to represent the Christian Trinity in female garb, or the Triple Goddess (Maiden, Mother and Crone) - however, given his level of awareness about religious-social issues I'm inclined to interpret it as the Goddess. This book is far deeper than it appears on the surface to the idle reader...it is not mere fantasy, it is a living, breathing, scathing commentary on the structure of the world we are forced to live in; and this author is a man I would love to meet and talk to over a long, delicious lunch! Blessed Be.

The most original fantasy of the decade: always two steps to the left of where you expect it to be. A necropolis rose, unfolding layers of corruption to reveal astonishing beauty.

There are those who sneer at fantasy as the literature of the familiar, the comfortable, the safe; they have never read this wholly adult, wholly disturbing novel. READ THIS BOOK -- then go out and tell everyone you know to read it, too.

The difficulty of the fantasy genre is coming up with new variations on a theme. Witcover successfully clears this hurdle, and combines a plethora of familiar cultural icons with some exotic twists to create a wholly enthralling society in conflict with itself. This book is not for children, and is obviously aimed at an adult/college audience which is in and of itself refreshing. The vivid imagery and none too subtle attacks on a variety of contemporary customs, for example plastic surgery, are well mixed to keep the messages from overwhelming the story. Taken in measured doses or all at once, this story captivates, entertains, and provides thought provoking observations on contemporary issues all at once. Looking forward to his future offerings.

Hierarchate is a strange world where each social caste lives in its own city. Men are the rulers of each village, however women are their nightly protectors. Every evening, a dangerous and mesmerizing scent drifts out of Herwood Forest into each of the Hierarchate villages, luring men into certain death by the Maw if their women fail to keep them home, safe and sound. .....Cyrus Galingale seeks revenge towards the family that betrayed and destroyed his own family, once part of the highest rung in the hierarchy. Cyrus plans to marry Rose Rubra, an act that should protect Cy from the ravages of the forbidden scent of the Maws, hiding in the nearby Herwood forest. However, Rose fails to protect Cy, who succumbs to the siren's call on their wedding night. She is to be punished for her failure to protect her mate by being turned into a prostitute. However, other plans are being placed in motion that will keep Rose on the move throughout this weird world and Cy has another love, Rumer, thought lost to the mists of the forest. How all this eventually plays out on the world stage requires a trip to Hierarchate by the reader. .....WAKING BEAUTY is an eerie but beautiful fantasy novel that seems more of a parable of a decadent society (perhaps America?), rather than another Tolkien clone. This new world brings a freshness to Paul Witcover's debut novel that is rarely seen in the genre. This is must reading for anyone who enjoys a trek to a weird other world that will leave readers wanting more from newcomer Paul Witcover. ......Harriet Klausner

I've had this book recommended to me so many times that I could hardly not track down a copy, and boy am I glad I did. I must admit I was a little concerned going into it - some of the other reviews here are pretty harsh - but those concerns were unfounded. I guess my main advice to anyone seeking to enjoy this book is simply this: don't base your expectations on the cover blurb. It really has very little to do with this book. I must say that this doesn't surprise me, because this would be a very difficult book to sum up in a blurb.

In that blurb, too, Witcover is compared to Anne Rice and Clive Barker. I beg to differ. His voice is entirely his own, and an enchanting voice it is. This book, as the cover notes, is "A dream . . . a fantasy . . . an illusion . . . an illumination." Yes, it's wordy, but every word is worth it. It's a beautiful, haunting novel; a story you won't soon forget, not least because, in all its surrealism, in all its fanastical elements, this book's lessons and morals hits very close to home. Also, it's surprising. More and more often I find that I know what's going to happen in a book long before it happens. Not so here. I didn't know where it was going, but the characters and story - and the twistedly delightful versions of common stories - were all compelling enough to make the ride a pleasure instead of a chore. Despite the book's moderate length - more than 400 pages in hardcover - I found it hard to put down.

This book is a masterpiece - and it is only Witcover's first novel. I eagerly await whatever offering he sends TUMBLING AFTER.

Highly recommended

Wow. I am generally considered pretty darned weird, so when I am blown away by the fabulous weirdness of something, that something is a unique work. And this work astounds me. Someone (the brilliant Witcover) not only found a way to put his bizarre inner world on paper in a way that made it coherent and palpable to the reader open to entering it, he managed to impose coherent plot and narrative upon it. No small feat, juggling all that. World-building at its peak.

So, of course, this all means that few people read it, it is well nigh impossible to convince people to read it, and it is incredibly difficult to obtain. I am a nauseatingly law-abiding person but I am tempted to steal my public library's copy before it deteriorates and is weeded.

Yes, it is disturbing and even distressing to some readers. Much as I would like to increase its readership, I would not recommend it to just anyone. But if you are looking for something new, dive in with an open mind. Perhaps the highest praise I can give a work is this: if you do go into it with no preconceptions about it, without a thought to what genre it ought to be shoehorned into, you will either love it or hate it, find it astonishing or disgusting and disturbing, but you will not, I guarantee, shrug your shoulders and say, "Meh."

P.S. Mr. Witcover, can I have your email address?