The Monster of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht
The Monster of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht
In just a few pages—15, total—Jennifer Giesbrecht tells us the up-to-now life story of Johann:
Power was sweeter than apples. It was cheaper than water, and sustained the soul twice as well. If Johann was going to be a Thing with a name, then from now on he would be a Thing with power, too. (11)
And then a few pages later, after he’s learned a bit more about himself:
He tried to decide later what he was: Johann the Thing. Johann, the Demon of Elendhaven. Devil Johann, Johann in Black, Oil-Dark Johann. Monster was the best, his favourite word. The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss. He repeated it to himself again and again: “Monster Johann. Monster, Monster, Monster.” (15)
So he claims the title The Monster of Elendhaven for himself, but, as the book goes on, you’ll wonder, now wait, is he THE monster or A monster?—because he is very, very, veryveryvery definitely not the only one.
It’s the story of Johann, and it’s the story of what happens when he stalks, and then attempts to rob—with intent to murder, because that’s what monsters do—a seemingly easy mark: a fussy accountant. It’s a story about revenge and pain and searching and desire and fate and—this is my favorite, favorite thing about the book—it’s the story of a long, slow apocalypse:
“A rather leisurely apocalypse,” Charpentier mused, “if it takes five hundred years.”
Florian set his glass down. “It’s only leisurely if you are tracking time on a calendar,” he whispered. “The world is much, much older than we are, and the Gods older than that.” (123-4)
I just love that idea—when you think about it, of COURSE an apocalypse wouldn’t happen on a human timeline. We’re tiny, and our lifespans are so short compared to, you know, NATURE and the UNIVERSE, and, like, TIME.
Anyway, based on how much I loved the book itself, and based on how much I love Margo Lanagan’s writing (she blurbed it) and how much I’ve enjoyed Joe Hill’s books (he also blurbed it), and based on the fact that I’ve had Paul Tremblay on my TBR list for literal YEARS (yep, another blurb), I’m going to make a point of looking up all the other blurbers: Andrew Hussie, Indrapramit Das, Arkady Martine. If you have recommendations for any or all of those authors, let me know.
ALSO, reading this made me want to:
Revisit (and finish) V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series: Something about the Victorian-ish fantasy setting and the physical descriptions of the two main characters—the clothes, especially, and Johann’s long, slender limbs—made me think of A Darker Shade of Magic and made me want to go back and finish the trilogy.
Read Jeff Vandermeer’s Ambergris stories: Josh read these years ago and ADORED them and based entirely on my impression of them via his description, it seems like there might be some strong similarities there—lots of decay; a sprawling, mysterious city; rich, original mythology; the idea that humanity is a blip compared to what came before us and what will outlast us, etc., etc.
FINALLY get around to reading Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast books: The ULTIMATE in stories about humanity’s long, slow slide into madness and decay?
Apparently I am in some kind of MOOD???