Unraveller: The must-read fantasy from Costa-Award winning author Frances Hardinge

Reviews

Hayley Westwood

Their intentions are not cruel, however, but they believe they are in some way helping people to right wrongs that have been done to them. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙𝙮, 𝙙𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚.

I loved one relationship in particular, which I'm not going to spoil by stating here, but which I think everyone who reads the book will recognise as 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 true love, not the false happy ending true love that we normally find in fairytales. I tried to read it slowly, and savour every morsel of the story, but here I am at the end, and I'm sad that it's over. 𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙙 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙗𝙤𝙮, 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙤. -𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙨.

The Wilds doesn't have a governing body; it is (as the name suggests) too wild for that. Several times I paused and reread a paragraph or opening sentence, just to savour the beauty of the writing, and pestered my partner by reading portions aloud so they could experience it too.

-𝙉𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙧. A treaty exists between the human world and the Wilds, that allows for coexistence and tolerance, though not always harmony. Hardinge's depictions of the LGBTQ+ relationships do aid in challenging stereotypes, and readers' own biases in who would fit into such a 'category'.

The setting of Raddith and the Wilds, which are far vaster than we initially think, perfectly parallels the depth of the characters, who on the surface may seem quiet and unassuming. (𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙.

-𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙮. The moonlit market was a particular favourite setting of mine - morbid curiosity perhaps, as I would no doubt find myself transformed into a beast or sold for parts if I were to frequent such a place myself!