The Changeling of Finnistuath : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A good read, despite
Review: Again Horsley takes us to Ireland in the early days of its Christianization. In this novel, though, the conflict she so thoroughly examined in "Confessions of a Pagan Nun" is but scenery to a new, more personal struggle. Ireland's unique comingling of Christianity with it's own native faith makes for the perfect backdrop of macrocosmic ambiguity to the private ambiguity of a woman growing up who thought she was a boy. Yes, the plot, in summary, seems like a stretch, but Horlsey guides us through it masterfully, practically suspending the reader's disbelief for them.

To call the story as she presents it to us "beguiling" doesn't begin to cover it. The book is subtly captivating, almost manipulatingly so. Even toward the end of the book, when the plot no longer plays out with its earlier strength, there is still a compelling quality to the story. It definitely qualifies as "a good read" and even causes us to examine gender identification in regard to our own individual personalities. It asks a question of the type somewhat akin to, "How would we conceive of ourselves if there were no mirrors," causing us to examine the very cultural biases that frame our view.

It was down right enjoyable at points. Consider this scene, early on in the story. The priest says, "Now Mary, you don't believe in faries, do you?" Mary replies "Oh no father. I know they exist, but I don't believe in them." The book is seeded throughout with several jewels like that.

The concept of the book was truly fascinating and the execution thereof was sweetly engrossing, but I feel that Horsley lacked a clear resolution of Grey's conflict and the story suffered as a result.

Rating:
Summary: warning
Review: I admit that the novel had amazing concepts about the fluidity of sexual identity. And I was very taken with the concepts surrounding a person's changing self-identity.

BUT, please don't read this if you are in any way inclined towards being depressed. A story of strength it may be, but the level of tragedy is enough of an undertow to pull some people under.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid depiction of 14th century; character uneven
Review: In 14th century Ireland a half-witted goatherd declares that if his eighth child is a girl he'll kill it himself and never mind the consequences. "I'd rather be hanged in the public green for a criminal than be pitied for an unblessed lout." And so the mother and the midwife connive to hide the girl's sex. Brought up as a boy, she never guesses any different until the knowledge is forced on her by a man who would much rather she had been a boy.

Given Horsley's ("Confessions of a Pagan Nun") realistic depiction of 14th century life, this self-deception is a little hard to swallow. Horsley's peasants are flea-bitten, ragged souls who live crowded in hovels with no privacy and Grey (named for her/his father, Gregory) is not supposed to be half-witted.

But this is a novel with an allegorical feel despite the earthy realism of the setting. It deals with the nature of identity, and Grey's is influenced by gender expectations as well as sexual nature. In a society that believes in fairies and demon-possession as well as the virgin birth and original sin, Grey accepts the changes in her adolescent body as deformities visited upon her by an angry God. As others take advantage of the deception, her sexuality develops with the accepted male attributes of appetite and lack of inhibition along with a decidedly unmale acceptance of debasement.

If the first section is an adventure in boyhood, the second is a turgid, repugnant (and ultimately boring) sexual awakening in whoredom as Grey is smuggled into a monastery to pleasure sinful appetites. Happily, this ends in an illegitimate child and a rousing escape from the righteous, the rich and the Black Death. Not that adversity is done with Grey yet.

Except for the disturbingly pornographic humiliations of the middle section, this is a novel of adventure and re-invented identity. Grey becomes whom she must in any given circumstances. Along the way she herds goats, gains an unerring arm, learns to recognize hypocrisy and make it serve her own ends, navigates a monastery, a sumptuous estate and lands beyond the reach of both.

The prose is poetic and vivid, immersing the reader in the nasty, brutish and short lives of the Dark Ages.

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas, bad execution
Review: The book has promise, but fails to deliver, especially toward to the end of the book. The storyling becomes completely unbeleivable and the characters are , well, out of character. The dialouge is forced and unnatural. Overall I was disappointed with this book and would not recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Disjointed at times, but affecting
Review: There seemed to be several different novels within this one book, which I suppose is expected, given the structure of the story. I found the beginning, about Grey's childhood, wonderful; the middle sections I thought were uneven. Details about 14th century life were interesting and eye-opening, but the seemingly endless chapters set in the Monastery became tedious to me. Once Grey became a mother, the story took off again.

SPOILER-- the final sections were probably the most visceral and powerful reading I've done on what it must feel like to lose a child. In contrast to (in my opinion) rambling sections earlier in the book, the last part of the novel was tight, heartbreaking and beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: A great weekend read
Review: This a great book to curl up with and finish in a weekend. It is not a lighthearted novel though. It is full of anguish, death, sexual tension, and idenity crisis. It is a captivating story about a strong individual who is born a girl, raised a boy and goes through an acceptance of her womanhood as she finds love and becomes a mother. The sexual content of the story fits with the story and I believe is an important aspect of midevial times. The Church, and all it's characteristics, plays a central part of this story. At times the storyline is a bit fragmented but as a whole this is an enchanting story!

Rating:
Summary: Disjointed at times, but affecting
Review: This is not Kate Horsley's second novel - but it's the second one I've read by her. Her previous work, CONFESIONS OF A PAGAN NUN, was one of the highlights of my year when I read it - this novel takes the reader into the history of mediaeval Ireland in just as breathtaking a fashion. Set in the 14th century, THE CHANGELING gives a believable and captivating glimpse into a world in the throes of change. CONFESSIONS depicted an earlier era, when the Christian Church was attempting to gain a foothold among the pagans of Ireland - THE CHANGELING shows the Church struggling to maintain the power it has gained. This is an extremely political struggle - on the surface it is depicted as a fight for the souls of the Irish people, to save them from the evils and temptations of their world, but it is really all about power. The Church supports whoever has the power to assure its continued sway over the people. True, there are many in the Church whose motives are honorable and spiritual - but when push comes to shove, decisions and alliances are made on a VERY pragmatic level.

The `changeling' of the title refers to the central character in this absorbing story - Grey, short for `Gregory', the child named for the father, who has for such a long time yearned for a son. Before the child is born, Gregory assures his wife that if she bears him `another daughter' he will kill it with his own hands. Fearing for the child's life - it's another girl, of course - the mother conspires with the midwife to save its life. Claiming that a yellow moth brushed against the newborn's genitals just after birth, thereby raising the spectre of a curse, the women tell the father that he has a new, healthy son - but that to protect it from the potential curse, the child's genitals should always remain covered. The child, as she/he grows, is not even allowed to know the truth. If this sounds like a stretch, remember that this is set in the 14th century - most of the people were uneducated, and many superstitions were still strong even among those who had the benefits of the educational resources of the day.

In ancient Irish legends, a changeling was a being who was believed to be able to change shape - or gender - at will, as the situation demanded. Although Grey is definitely female (and of course, she discovers this eventually), the various roles she finds herself playing throughout her life make the description an apt one. The story follows her through her `boyhood' into adolescence and womanhood - the sections of the novel are entitled `The boy', `The whore', and `The mother'. Horsley's writing style fits her subject perfectly - she unfolds Grey's story before the readers eyes gracefully and compellingly, giving all of these three stages of the character's life the respect and attention and insight they deserve. There are horrible things depicted here - the plague, for one - it comes into the story as a terror of unknown origin. Some argue that it is a harbinger of the End Days - and use that as an excuse to act without the constraints of law and decency. In times such as these, without the modern knowledge of disease that we possess, its victims have no idea from whence it comes or how to prevent it.

The most striking difference between the writing in this novel and the earlier CONFESSIONS is the frank - and at times, VERY graphic - depiction of the sexual aspects of the story. This of course weighs into the fray of the plot rather heavily, given the deception under which Grey has come into the world - and one of the greatest aspects of her as a `changeling' focus on her sexual identity. The author dives right into this, in both content and language, with the first sentence of the book. For those who have read CONFESSIONS, this might come as a bit of a shock - but I would encourage those readers to get whatever initial `gasp' they might have out of their systems early and get on with the book. It's an incredibly rich story, told in a compelling voice - and very much a mind-opener. Not just a vivid tale of 14th century Ireland, it contains many aspects that reflect on our so-called `modern' ideas and conceptions concerning gender identification and the nature - and place in our lives - of spirituality.

Rating:
Summary: A 14TH CENTURY STORY WITH CONTEMPORARY RAMIFICATIONS
Review: This is not Kate Horsley's second novel - but it's the second one I've read by her. Her previous work, CONFESIONS OF A PAGAN NUN, was one of the highlights of my year when I read it - this novel takes the reader into the history of mediaeval Ireland in just as breathtaking a fashion. Set in the 14th century, THE CHANGELING gives a believable and captivating glimpse into a world in the throes of change. CONFESSIONS depicted an earlier era, when the Christian Church was attempting to gain a foothold among the pagans of Ireland - THE CHANGELING shows the Church struggling to maintain the power it has gained. This is an extremely political struggle - on the surface it is depicted as a fight for the souls of the Irish people, to save them from the evils and temptations of their world, but it is really all about power. The Church supports whoever has the power to assure its continued sway over the people. True, there are many in the Church whose motives are honorable and spiritual - but when push comes to shove, decisions and alliances are made on a VERY pragmatic level.

The 'changeling' of the title refers to the central character in this absorbing story - Grey, short for 'Gregory', the child named for the father, who has for such a long time yearned for a son. Before the child is born, Gregory assures his wife that if she bears him 'another daughter' he will kill it with his own hands. Fearing for the child's life - it's another girl, of course - the mother conspires with the midwife to save its life. Claiming that a yellow moth brushed against the newborn's genitals just after birth, thereby raising the spectre of a curse, the women tell the father that he has a new, healthy son - but that to protect it from the potential curse, the child's genitals should always remain covered. The child, as she/he grows, is not even allowed to know the truth. If this sounds like a stretch, remember that this is set in the 14th century - most of the people were uneducated, and many superstitions were still strong even among those who had the benefits of the educational resources of the day.

In ancient Irish legends, a changeling was a being who was believed to be able to change shape - or gender - at will, as the situation demanded. Although Grey is definitely female (and of course, she discovers this eventually), the various roles she finds herself playing throughout her life make the description an apt one. The story follows her through her 'boyhood' into adolescence and womanhood - the sections of the novel are entitled 'The boy', 'The whore', and 'The mother'. Horsley's writing style fits her subject perfectly - she unfolds Grey's story before the readers eyes gracefully and compellingly, giving all of these three stages of the character's life the respect and attention and insight they deserve. There are horrible things depicted here - the plague, for one - it comes into the story as a terror of unknown origin. Some argue that it is a harbinger of the End Days - and use that as an excuse to act without the constraints of law and decency. In times such as these, without the modern knowledge of disease that we possess, its victims have no idea from whence it comes or how to prevent it.

The most striking difference between the writing in this novel and the earlier CONFESSIONS is the frank - and at times, VERY graphic - depiction of the sexual aspects of the story. This of course weighs into the fray of the plot rather heavily, given the deception under which Grey has come into the world - and one of the greatest aspects of her as a 'changeling' focus on her sexual identity. The author dives right into this, in both content and language, with the first sentence of the book. For those who have read CONFESSIONS, this might come as a bit of a shock - but I would encourage those readers to get whatever initial 'gasp' they might have out of their systems early and get on with the book. It's an incredibly rich story, told in a compelling voice - and very much a mind-opener. Not just a vivid tale of 14th century Ireland, it contains many aspects that reflect on our so-called 'modern' ideas and conceptions concerning gender identification and the nature - and place in our lives - of spirituality.