150 years later in modern-day Plymouth, 15-year-old history-buff Hester contemplates the loveless, celibate life she has resolved to lead because of what she is convinced is an undiagnosed genetic condition which causes the women of her family to die within a week of their first child's birth. But when she meets a mysterious stranger on the beach, she feels an overpowering connection that causes her to falter in her resolve.
At his suggestion, she begins to research her family's history to see if she can figure out why the mothers have died and if she can stop the cycle.
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama is a wonderfully gothic story--romance, tragedy, some horror, a smidgen of violence, doomed lovers, curses, ghosts, hauntings. Delicious! I love this kind of stuff!! Plus, it's original. I haven't encountered anything quite like it. Great mythology, nice use of language. There's an interesting historical (and geneological) element to it, as Hester goes through microfilmed newspapers, looks at gravestones, etc to uncover the past. A sense of foreboding pervades the story and helps to create suspense. Though not every revelation is a surprise, I still found myself impelled to find out what was going on and uncover mysteries. There is one rape scene. It's brief, it's not graphic, but it does happen.
Read the prologue and first chapter here.
Release date: September 4, 2012
(review based on advanced reading copy, uncorrected proof)
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