The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mademoiselle Odile -- James Reese
Paris, 1870. The Prussians have been laying siege to the city for months. Supplies are so low that people have been reduced to eating the animals from the zoo—or, well, the people who can afford to pay for the meat have been. Those who can't pay are lucky to eat an occasional rat.
Sixteen-year-old Odile and her younger brother Gréluchon are among the unlucky. The murder of their parents left them orphaned a few months ago, and they left the countryside—to avoid being killed as well as to make their way in the world—only to arrive in Paris just before the siege began.
Why, you wonder, were their parents murdered? Well, it ties in to the larger plotline, so I'll let Odile tell you:
Understand: Among my people, the Cagots, we women are said to have . . . the healing gift. The men are skilled with hammer and awl. They can build you a fine barrel, yes, but it's a Cagot woman you want at your bedside if you're birthing, ill, or sick unto death. And for all that healing what's our reward? The word witch.
Due to Gréluchon's ill-health, Odile begins experimenting with recipes from her mother's secret book. During an experiment that goes in an unexpectedly horrible direction, she meets Doctor Henry Jekyll, who, it turns out, is doing research along the same lines, but for distinctly less altruistic reasons...
The story has a lot going for it. It stars a capable girl who's got a few big secrets and a couple of potential love interests. It features cool science (or is it magic?) and a rarely-covered historical event. In addition to the attractiveness of the premise, much of this book is technically well done: it's clear that the author did quite a lot of research, and the historical details are both interesting and integrated well into the narrative. Odile's voice flows well (though she sounds much more modern in terms of attitude and phrasing than I'd expect from the period) and attractively spunky. Due to his polite exterior and the insidious nature of his need, the Jekyll half of the Jekyll/Hyde duo is hugely, subtly Bad News, and his cold rationality proves to ultimately be more dangerous than hot-headed Hyde. Which makes for a cool read on the original, as well as for some nice twists.
What the book doesn't have going for it is heart. Despite Odile's almost-constantly precarious situation, despite her determination to help her brother, despite the drama of the setting and the romance and all of the rest of it, I never developed any sort of emotional connection with her, or for that matter, with anyone else in the book. Because of that, what promised to be an exhilarating, dramatic piece of historical fiction was... a bit of a slog. What with all of the book's positive qualities, it's perfectly possible that other readers will feel differently, but for me, there was something seriously lacking.
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Booklist: Alchemy.
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Author page.
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Book source: ILLed through my library.
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Read for the 7th Annual 48-Hour Book Challenge.