T. Kingfisher’s A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL shows she definitely has a type in protagonists. Like Thornhedge and Nettle and Bone, the protagonist, Cordelia, is a socially awkward, emotionally numb woman who badly needs some found family to help her live again. Unlike them, Cordelia’s numbness is because she’s the daughter of the sorceress of the title; whenever Cordelia breaks the rules or doesn’t show her mother appropriate devotion, Mom reduces her to a puppet for a few days. What are rules? Cordelia has no idea.
Mom’s determined to see her daughter marry rich and if Cordelia objects, well, too bad. Not from any big scheme; she’s a mom in a vaguely Edwardian world and she knows what’s best for her daughter — some day, she probably, imagines, Cordelia will thank her. As innocent people get enmeshed in her mother’s schemes, Cordelia has to fight back, but even when she finds allies, what can they do against magic? This was very good, though the opening was so creepy in the way Cordelia was suffering, I almost put it down.
Following Heroine Complex and Heroine Worship, Sarah Kuhn deliver’s HEROINE’S JOURNEY focuses on Evie’s younger sister. Bea is an empath, constantly frustrated Evie and Annie won’t let her fight crime alongside her. And what’s with the way her long-time platonic friend Sam is getting her all hot and bothered? And is it possible Bea and Evie’s mom isn’t dead but kidnapped into the demonworld?
This has some good elements such as the sister’s relationship and Asian-American life (according to Bea, “Asian girl with multicolored hair” is now a trope) but it didn’t work as well as the first two books. Bea is more annoying than engaging and the ending felt like two chapters of epiphanies: everyone understands perfectly what their feelings are and everyone can explain them perfectly. That rarely works for me.
Kate Manne is a feminist philosopher who coined the term “Himpathy” for the way we’re supposed to sympathize with the tragic male figure accused of sexual harassment or rape. I figured her DOWN GIRL: The Logic of Misogyny would be interesting but I DNFed. Manne’s argument is that misogyny and sexism less about hate — thinking that’s the issue is “naive” she says in one chapter — than about resenting women for not providing the emotional/sexual/practical support some men think they deserve; sexism is the rationale for women’s subjugation, misogyny is the tools. Which is a fine definition (I used a different one in Undead Sexist Cliches but I don’t claim I have the definitive definition) but then she gets to the case of misogynist mass-shooter Elliot Rodger and a lengthy discussion about why his actions fit her definition better than a simple “hate’s women” and I couldn’t get into it.
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