So, before getting into my first book review of the year, I just want to say that I am planning to keep things for this year pretty much the same as last year in terms of how I handle my reviews. I am hoping to keep my reviews a mix between upcoming releases I read off NetGalley and physical books off my TBR pile that I'm continuously working through. Also, I believe that I mentioned in my last book review that I'd be discussing this book second and my NetGalley read first. But I've decided to switch my review order around as Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane doesn't come out until the end of this month and I like to keep my reviews close to when the books are going to be released as much as possible. I also plan to only review books from NetGalley this year that I really enjoyed. Last year, I reviewed all my NetGalley reads on here and while I enjoyed the majority of them, I think I could have skipped reviewing a couple. Anyhow, enough about that. Let's get into my review of A Vision of Light by Judith Merkle Riley.
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| Image copied from Goodreads |
I can't honestly remember how old I was the first time I read this book. But I want to say it was around my senior year of high school or my freshman year of college. Considering it had been out a few years when I discovered it at the local public library that sounds about right. What I do remember clearly is that I loved it! I also remember the ending taking me by surprise as I did not see things for Margaret, the main character, and Brother Gregory ending the way they did. Of course, at the time when I originally read this book I'm not sure if the other two books in the series had been published yet. If they had been, I probably would have known to expect the resolution for this one. All that being said, how did this book that I read so long ago end up on my current physical TBR pile? Well, a friend of mine, who I'm also friends with on Goodreads, mentioned Judith Merkle Riley on that site a few years after she passed away, relating how much she loved her books. That brought up some real nostalgia for me, because I remembered reading all of Riley's published fiction. I immediately went to my library's webpage and searched to see which books, if any, of hers they might have. To my surprise they had all of her later novels but did not have this one, which is the first in the only series Riley wrote and published before her untimely death. That prompted me to ask for the series for Christmas a year or so ago and this December I finally revisited A Vision of Light.
It was the perfect time of year to reread it, too. The story begins on the Feast of the Epiphany and ends right after New Years. But what is this book about and how did it stand up to my early memories of it? Well, let me tell you. It is a work of historical fiction set in fourteenth century England when as the blurb says, "wealthy, young, twice married" Margaret of Ashbury is spurred on by what she calls "The Voice" to hire a scribe to help her write her memoirs. For a contemporary reader that may not sound all that intriguing. But in 1355 England the idea of a woman writing a book is scandalous and verges on being heretical. This becomes very obvious when Margaret is turned down by every scribe she seeks out and laughed at, as well, by some. But Margaret is nothing if not savvy and when she encounters Brother Gregory, she finds the perfect way to entice him to work for her, through his nearly starved stomach. In this way, Riley takes a familiar turn of phrase and makes it into a sardonic and humorous plot device that sets us off on our adventure with Margaret and Brother Gregory.
Soon after he begins to transcribe for her, we and Brother Gregory, are swept up in the unexpectedly astonishing and suspenseful events of Margaret's life. From her first arranged marriage to a cruel and much older man, to her survival of the Black Plague that leads her to a career path into midwifery, I was captivated once again by the story of this remarkable and resourceful woman. I was also struck by how humorous this novel is from the very beginning. When the Voice tells Margaret that she must write a book about her life, she argues with it, even though it is implied this is a heavenly entity talking to her. She even tries to ignore it for a time, unsuccessfully of course. It is such a human response to being ordered by a higher power to do something. Anyone familiar with the Christian Bible could relate, as it is full of similar tales where someone is told they need to do something or to carry out some task and they either try to turn it down outright or they try to avoid it by some other means, Jonah and the Whale, anyone. This response from the very first page sets up Margaret as a very relatable and three-dimensional character for me. Then her manipulation of Gregory into helping her by feeding him and offering him a warm and comfortable place to work is just so, so clever. All of this is just the tip of the iceberg though in terms of the sardonic wit and humor present throughout the story. This added to the very engaging plot of Margaret's adventures and the mystical aspects of the story, namely her miraculous vision of heavenly light that in turn gifts her with the ability to heal others, makes this book a one of a kind read that I once again thoroughly enjoyed and could read again and again. I plan to definitely continue the series as I cannot honestly say I read the last one that wraps of this trilogy. For anyone interested, the other two books in the series are In Pursuit of the Green Lion and The Water Devil.
Really all of Judith Merkle Riley's novels are very good if you enjoy historical fiction that often incorporates some aspect of mysticism into the story. Her other novels are stand alone books and cover a range of eras from 14th century England with Margaret, to the Tudor period with a different character, to 16th and 17th century France during the reigns of Catherine de Medici and the Sun King, Louis the XIV, respectively. I will say though that her Margaret of Ashbury series is the most lighthearted of her books. The others can get quite dark, though they are no less interesting. If you enjoy strong female heroines who are set in intriguing historical periods and plots that have some paranormal aspects mixed in, I highly recommend this book and Judith Merkle Riley's other novels.
Up next on this blog in book reviews is Here Beside the Rising Tide by Emily Jane. I have not read any of her books before, and this one sounds like an interesting mix of mystery, romance, and sci-fi. Check out the book cover and blurb for it below both copied off NetGalley.
At age ten, Jenni Farrow and her new best friend, Timmy Caruso, enjoy a glorious summer on Pearl Island filled with fireworks, beach days, and carnival rides (not to mention that strange sea creature they rescue from a tide pool). Then, one late summer day, Timmy disappears.
Thirty years later, Jenni—now Jenn Lanaro, bestselling author of the Philipia Bay action-romance series—is desperate to escape the fatigue of her career and her soon-to-be-ex-husband. With her Pokémon-obsessed kids in tow, Jenn rents a summer house on Pearl Island. But shortly after she arrives, a boy emerges from the nighttime sea. His name, he says, is Timmy Caruso. He’s ten years old. He’s on a mission to save the world, and he needs her help.
In the days that follow, as Jenn grapples with work deadlines, spirited children, and her burgeoning interest in a very sexy contractor, alarming and mysterious events unfold along the coast. And when a terror appears in the deeper waters, Jenn begins to wonder if, just maybe, Timmy is onto something.
This second book by the author of On Earth as It Is on Television continues her voice-driven, genre-bending multiverse of fiction that is just flat-out fun.
