WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW
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| “I had looked into the distance so long that I hadn't seen what was near at hand. If we don't cherish those who stay near, what do we have? Only longing. Longing which we grow to love because it's all we have.”- The Rathbones, Janice Clark |
A literary adventure set in New England, Janice Clark's gothic debut chronicles one hundred years of a once prosperous seafaring dynasty.
Moses, the revered patriarch of the Rathbone family, possessed an otherworldly instinct for spotting the whale. But years of bad decisions by the heirs to his fortune have whittled his formerly robust family down to just one surviving member: a young girl, left to live in the broken-down ancestral mansion that at one time had glowed golden with the spoils of the hunt.
Mercy, fifteen years old, is the diminutive scion of the Rathbone clan. Her father, the last in the dynasty of New England whalers, has been lost at sea for seven years-ever since the last sperm whale was seen off the coast of Naiwayonk, Connecticut. Mercy's memories of her father and of the time before he left grow dimmer each day, and she spends most of her time in the attic hideaway of her reclusive Uncle Mordecai, who teaches her the secrets of Greek history and navigation through his collection of moldering books. But when a strange, violent visitor turns up one night on the widow's walk, Mercy and Mordecai are forced to flee the house and set sail on a journey that will bring them deep into the haunted history of the Rathbone family.
Inspired by The Odyssey and infused with beautifully detailed descriptions of the realities of coastal and ship life reminiscent of Moby Dick, Janice Clark's magnificent debut is a spellbinding literary adventure.
Moses, the revered patriarch of the Rathbone family, possessed an otherworldly instinct for spotting the whale. But years of bad decisions by the heirs to his fortune have whittled his formerly robust family down to just one surviving member: a young girl, left to live in the broken-down ancestral mansion that at one time had glowed golden with the spoils of the hunt.
Mercy, fifteen years old, is the diminutive scion of the Rathbone clan. Her father, the last in the dynasty of New England whalers, has been lost at sea for seven years-ever since the last sperm whale was seen off the coast of Naiwayonk, Connecticut. Mercy's memories of her father and of the time before he left grow dimmer each day, and she spends most of her time in the attic hideaway of her reclusive Uncle Mordecai, who teaches her the secrets of Greek history and navigation through his collection of moldering books. But when a strange, violent visitor turns up one night on the widow's walk, Mercy and Mordecai are forced to flee the house and set sail on a journey that will bring them deep into the haunted history of the Rathbone family.
Inspired by The Odyssey and infused with beautifully detailed descriptions of the realities of coastal and ship life reminiscent of Moby Dick, Janice Clark's magnificent debut is a spellbinding literary adventure.
This has no bearings in actual history, except the whaling parts. Just getting that out there right now, because if I don't you all are going to think that Connecticut's one weird fucking place.
I've also had The Rathbones in my possession since last June, I think, and just never got around to it until recently. I wanted a sea story, and this was the closest thing on my shelf to that. I've been having good luck lately with reading the books that have been festering on my shelf, haven't I?
I was originally drawn to the book because, well, it's about whaling in Connecticut and that's where I happen to be from. I was also intrigued by the author growing up in Mystic, the whaling capital of CT- it's got a wonderful museum on the topic if you're in the area. I also recommend stopping at the aquarium and getting Mystic pizza- best pizza in CT, and I'm saying that as someone from New Haven County. There's also the Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford if you like creepy old buildings and don't mind driving 20 minutes away and of course the actual town itself is beautiful.
Wow, didn't mean to turn this into a travel blog. Moving on.
The Rathbones also promised to be creepy and weird and Gothic, and I am all for that. So when I started reading, well, I was a little disappointing. The Gothicness felt a bit forced, and I thought about the writing rule that says not to try and force things like Gothicness as you'll only end up looking pretentious, so please put down Paradise Lost. At the same time, I really liked the vibe Clark was trying to go for, this creepy but also mystical and pretty aura that reminded me of the Monument Valley games, funny enough.
And I'm also just a sucker for two kinds of stories- sea stories and creepy family stories. And this book has both in spades. I loved the islands they went to and the stories of the Rathbones. Mercy and Mordecai were interesting characters, too, with Mordecai being my favorite since both his character and story intrigued me the most. I also the loved the familial relationship between Mordecai and Mercy.
And the reveals were twisted enough to make me happy, even if they didn't really surprise me. I mean, it is extraordinarily unrealistic, but The Rathbones was easy enough to get sucked in to.
I don't really have much else to say about The Rathbones except I enjoyed it and, if you love both sea and creepy family stories you likely will, too.
8 out of 10
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