Tessa Fontaine
Autore di The Electric Woman: A Memoir in Death-Defying Acts
Sull'Autore
Tessa Fontaine's writing has appeared in Glamour, The Believer, Creative Nonfiction, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. She has taught writing and performance in prisons and founded the Salt Lake City Writers in the Schools program. She also eats fire and charms snakes, among other sideshow feats. She mostra altro lives in South Carolina. mostra meno
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Sixteen-year-old Luce Shelley lives with her mother Gloria, her brother Roo, and her invalid aunt Gem in Red Grove, a secluded community comprised mostly of women in the ancient redwood forest of northern California. This community provides a safe haven for women; they are told that they will always be safe from the dangers of society, especially the violence of men. Interwoven with Luce’s story, set in 1997, is the community’s origin story dating back to 1853.
One day Gloria goes missing. Luce knows that her mother wouldn’t just abandon them, especially not her twin sister who lives in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” and relies on Gloria for her care. As Luce looks for her mother, she uncovers secrets about Red Grove. She discovers that her home may not really be as safe as she’s been taught.
One of the book’s central ideas is inter-connectedness. The trees are connected by a mycorrhizal network: “the roots of the redwood trees reaching as wide as the trees were tall, [were] passing sugars and water back and forth, feeding the weak, holding the tallest of them upright, flashing memories to one another along the mycorrhizal network.” But Luce later suggests that the women are also “embedded in the network of this forest.” She is asked, “’Did you know it isn’t just all the plant roots that are connected in the dirt. That it’s all the animals and bugs and people in the Red Grove too? Even the dead ones.’” The later parts of the novel suggest communication is possible between humans and nature and that even the dead can use this network to communicate.
Of course, the message is also that the community of Red Grove gains its strength from the connections among its members. Though they are told that their community has a magical protective shield, “the truth of their power, which was within them, their actions and tenderness [was] so much stronger than a myth.”
There’s a mystery of course: what happened to Gloria? But the book is also very much a coming-of-age story. Luce is very much devoted to Red Grove, its mission, rituals, and myths. In fact, she is being groomed to be the next leader, though Gloria has reservations. She has issues with Una, the current leader, believing that “any isolated community, no matter how noble its intentions, restricted you. It made the world too small.” For instance, she worries that Luce and Roo think of themselves as impervious to harm in Red Grove. When Luce uncovers secrets long hidden about events at Red Grove, she has to decide whether to keep those secrets or reveal them. She loses her innocence as she learns about the place that has been her home for half her life. And her understanding of her relationship with her mother matures.
Pacing is a problem. The book begins very slowly. Even after Gloria vanishes, nothing much happens. Only two-thirds of the way through the book is there any real tension. The chapters of the origin story, though interesting, do little to add to the suspense. Then the closing chapters are vague and will leave many readers feeling unsatisfied.
What bothered me as well is the magic realism/ supernatural elements. Some of the communication that occurs I did not find convincing. The so-called mother-tree hypothesis is very appealing, but the author implies a whole new purpose of these networks and I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. Then we are supposed to believe that “’There is no such thing as coincidence. . . . Coincidence is communication. It always means something’”? The scenes involving the mummy are just too much! Each time the mummy was mentioned, my interest lessened.
The novel has some interesting ideas. It inspires thinking about how women are viewed when they take control of their own lives and whether isolated communities such as Red Grove can be successful or are even a good idea. However, the novel’s pacing and its more outlandish elements definitely affected my enjoyment.
Note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) for thousands of reviews.… (altro)
One day Gloria goes missing. Luce knows that her mother wouldn’t just abandon them, especially not her twin sister who lives in a state of “unresponsive wakefulness” and relies on Gloria for her care. As Luce looks for her mother, she uncovers secrets about Red Grove. She discovers that her home may not really be as safe as she’s been taught.
One of the book’s central ideas is inter-connectedness. The trees are connected by a mycorrhizal network: “the roots of the redwood trees reaching as wide as the trees were tall, [were] passing sugars and water back and forth, feeding the weak, holding the tallest of them upright, flashing memories to one another along the mycorrhizal network.” But Luce later suggests that the women are also “embedded in the network of this forest.” She is asked, “’Did you know it isn’t just all the plant roots that are connected in the dirt. That it’s all the animals and bugs and people in the Red Grove too? Even the dead ones.’” The later parts of the novel suggest communication is possible between humans and nature and that even the dead can use this network to communicate.
Of course, the message is also that the community of Red Grove gains its strength from the connections among its members. Though they are told that their community has a magical protective shield, “the truth of their power, which was within them, their actions and tenderness [was] so much stronger than a myth.”
There’s a mystery of course: what happened to Gloria? But the book is also very much a coming-of-age story. Luce is very much devoted to Red Grove, its mission, rituals, and myths. In fact, she is being groomed to be the next leader, though Gloria has reservations. She has issues with Una, the current leader, believing that “any isolated community, no matter how noble its intentions, restricted you. It made the world too small.” For instance, she worries that Luce and Roo think of themselves as impervious to harm in Red Grove. When Luce uncovers secrets long hidden about events at Red Grove, she has to decide whether to keep those secrets or reveal them. She loses her innocence as she learns about the place that has been her home for half her life. And her understanding of her relationship with her mother matures.
Pacing is a problem. The book begins very slowly. Even after Gloria vanishes, nothing much happens. Only two-thirds of the way through the book is there any real tension. The chapters of the origin story, though interesting, do little to add to the suspense. Then the closing chapters are vague and will leave many readers feeling unsatisfied.
What bothered me as well is the magic realism/ supernatural elements. Some of the communication that occurs I did not find convincing. The so-called mother-tree hypothesis is very appealing, but the author implies a whole new purpose of these networks and I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief. Then we are supposed to believe that “’There is no such thing as coincidence. . . . Coincidence is communication. It always means something’”? The scenes involving the mummy are just too much! Each time the mummy was mentioned, my interest lessened.
The novel has some interesting ideas. It inspires thinking about how women are viewed when they take control of their own lives and whether isolated communities such as Red Grove can be successful or are even a good idea. However, the novel’s pacing and its more outlandish elements definitely affected my enjoyment.
Note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) for thousands of reviews.… (altro)
I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for my review. Two years after her mother experiences a devastating stroke and is still severely disabled, the author’s parents decide to take a trip to Italy. The author decides to spend a season with a traveling sideshow to take her mind off her grief and worry. The work is grueling and she has to be fearless to learn the acts. Fascinating look behind the scenes and at the lives of the people who work the shows. Stellar writing.
This is an astonishing memoir. Fontaine's mother has a catastrophic stroke and Fontaine joins a sideshow where she tests the limit of her body learning to sword swallow, eat fire, and numerous other skills. As she points out in the prologue - there are no tricks - you learn to do these things by doing them. Brutal, beautiful, funny and heartbreaking. I've gone on record saying I don't care for circuses or freak shows but I ate up every word of this wonderful book and wept at the end.
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Statistiche
- Opere
- 2
- Utenti
- 143
- Popolarità
- #144,062
- Voto
- 3.8
- Recensioni
- 6
- ISBN
- 10
“The women asked: Who is safe?
And Tamsen Nightingale said: The women who shelter in this red grove are safe.
The women asked: How are they safe?
And Tamsen Nightingale said: In this red grove, no woman can be harmed. No violence may come upon her. No injury to her flesh from the flesh of another. The women asked: Who is welcome?
And Tamsen Nightingale said: Those who can walk in darkness are welcome and those who affix to the deeply woven roots are free.
—The Story of the Sisters, Welcoming Incantation”
Set in 1997, The Red Grove by Tessa Fontaine revolves around sixteen-year-old Luce Shelley who along with her mother Gloria, younger brother Roo and her aunt Gem, has spent the last eight year of her life as a part of the Red Grove, a secluded community in the redwood forests of California. Luce’s family moved to the Red Grove after an act of violence left her aunt in a vegetative state. The community, mostly comprised of women, offers a sanctuary for those seeking a haven from the violence of the outside world. Luce is deeply attached to her community, believing in its ideology and way of life. However, when her mother suddenly disappears after a disturbing incident with a visitor, Luce is compelled to question the very bonds that tie the community together and the truth behind the principles upon which the community was founded and is still governed, as laid down by its founder Tamsen Nightingale in the 1850s.
Beautiful writing, the atmospheric vibe and an interesting cast of characters render this an engaging read that revolves around themes of womanhood, secrets, belongingness and connection, trust and community. The narrative is shared from Luce’s perspective with the story of how the community originated shared in segments interspersed throughout the novel. The author deftly combines elements of family drama, coming of age, mystery (with a healthy dose of the surreal) and magical realism into a narrative that, though not quite cohesive, did hold my interest. I loved the vivid descriptions of the California redwoods, the deep connection between the community and its natural surroundings and their rituals. Luce is an endearing protagonist and though I did question a few of her choices, I was invested in her journey. Tamsen’s story was fascinating, as was the symbolism of the mountain lion. I thought the author did a remarkable job of depicting Luce’s dynamic with the members of her family and her community. However, the pacing of the novel is on the slower side and the story picks up only after the halfway mark. The story has strong feminist overtones and while I appreciated the themes that are addressed in this novel, I was a tad disappointed with the lack of intensity and depth with which certain aspects of the story were presented in the 1997 timeline. As far as the mystery is concerned, the final reveal is not entirely unpredictable, but I did like how the author chose to end the novel.
I paired my reading with the audiobook (4⭐) narrated by Erin Moon who did an amazing job breathing life into these characters and the story. The audio experience certainly elevated my experience with this novel.
Many thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the digital review copy via NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.… (altro)