Joint Review Discussion: In the Shadow of Blackbirds

Lenore Appelhans did a joint review discussion of Beth Revis' Shades of Earth, and that was so much fun we had to do another. This one isn't dystopian, but we both loved it so much that we had to talk about it. We'll really dive into some of the main subjects. We endeavor to keep it at as non-spoilery as possible, but you might learn a few things. I gave In the Shadow of Blackbirds 4.5 stars.

Description from Goodreads:

In 1918, the world seems on the verge of apocalypse. Americans roam the streets in gauze masks to ward off the deadly Spanish influenza, and the government ships young men to the front lines of a brutal war, creating an atmosphere of fear and confusion. Sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black watches as desperate mourners flock to séances and spirit photographers for comfort, but she herself has never believed in ghosts. During her bleakest moment, however, she’s forced to rethink her entire way of looking at life and death, for her first love—a boy who died in battle—returns in spirit form. But what does he want from her?

Featuring haunting archival early-twentieth-century photographs, this is a tense, romantic story set in a past that is eerily like our own time.

Lenore and I are discussing 4 topics: Atmosphere, Romance, History, and Ghosts. The first two are over at Presenting Lenore, so pop over there to check those out, if you haven't been there already. Just keep reading to hear our thoughts on the history in the novel and the ghosty business.

History

Christina:

You may not know this, but I was actually a history major in undergrad. Though that was not my calling, I still get a serious author-crush on those who can do historical settings well, and I’ve got one on Cat Winters now. There are so many books set during WWI, but this isn’t like any of the ones I’ve read. Mary Shelley’s life is only peripherally affected by the war. Instead, she has to deal with the Spanish Flu, and all of the horrid superstitious attempts to cure the Spanish flu, like eating endless amounts of onion and burning sulphur. Yuck!

Lenore:
I knew that! Oh see, and I have a weird thing for historical plagues. Give me a book about an epidemic/pandemic and I’m all over it. However, I can’t really recall reading much fiction dealing with the Spanish Flu, so the onions were new to me.

Christina:
How macabre of you! I haven’t read any spanish flu fiction, either. I think the closest I’ve come to that in fiction is Twilight. Wasn’t Edward dying of the Spanish flu when he was turned in 1917? It scares me that I remember that. Anyway, this is so much better. Winters made me want to go research the reactions to the Spanish flu, but I suspect I will be too lazy. Still, she’s inspiring me to want to be better. Props!

Lenore:

Confession time: I’ve never read Twilight, and though I did see the first movie (dubbed into German on TV here), I don’t remember the Spanish Flu. But I could see it. He is pale and sickly, haha.

In any case, the addition of the Spanish Flu here makes it a great read alike for other plague tales - my absolute favorite being Doomsday Book by Connie Willis.

The Ending

Christina:

One thing I love about the paranormal elements of In the Shadow of Blackbirds is how un-paranormal they feel. It comes off more like they either just exist, so they’re realistic, rather than paranormal, or like Mary Shelley’s lost her mind, perhaps because of all the onions. Do you have any thoughts on this, Lenore? Do you think the ghosts really exist or that Mary Shelley’s brain broke at the loss of her boyfriend?

Lenore:
Oh good question! I guess I’m so used to reading paranormal these days that I took Mary Shelley’s visions at face value. But I’m intrigued by the idea that too many onions can cause madness ;)

One element that supports the ghosts really existing in the story is the fact that Mary Shelley died for a few minutes and she was changed afterward. Like the compass always pointed at her. That’s some serious freakiness!

Christina:

Well, maybe it’s not the onions per se... Still, I love to consider whether things are actually happening or if the MC’s just going crazy. I enjoy reads that fuck with your mind, and, with something like this, the door is wide open for that.

True! I loved what she did with the compass, like it registered your amount of paranormalness. That’s a word now, by the way. I wonder if you could test Julius’s spirit-photographing abilities with the compass? There are some seriously freaky ghosty scenes in here. I hope they’re real, even if it would also be awesome for them to be all in her head...

Lenore:
I agree - it’s definitely open to interpretation. That makes great fodder for discussion. Recommend it to your next book club!

Remember, there's more discussion (and a GIVEAWAY) at Presenting Lenore!

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In the Shadow of Blackbirds, Cat Winters' debut novel comes out April 2 from Amulet Books! This one's definitely worth a preorder, folks! You can see my standard format review on Goodreads. 

Check back tomorrow for a giveaway of In the Shadow of Blackbirds, which is going to be the Book of the Month.