Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowel
The story revolves around Jane Ellsworth living in Dorchester. She is the self-described unattractive eldest daughter of a doting father and neurotic mother. Her younger sister, Melody, has all the beauty and liveliness of nature; whereas plain Jane has all the talent. In this fantasy Regency World, magic comes in the artistic form of Glamours. By twisting the fabric of the ether, people are able to make magical illusions that have varying lengths of existence, from seconds to years. And differ in complexity from changes to light in a room to changing a room to an exotic grove.
Image of the cover – borrowed from the internets.
It is a fair story, with an unexceptional tone that has been described as reminiscent of Jane Austin. I certainly can see the influence of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in the narrative. Jane and her family pull heavily from the beloved characters of Pride and Prejudice. There are many similarities in terms of plot, though the story pulls from other Jane Austin works too. This is not an inherently bad thing. I really like Jane Austin stories, however, Shades of Milk and Honey does suffer from predictability. It also suffers from pacing.
The narrative is plodding, with only Jane’s view to show us the world. Jane by her nature is a thoughtful, pleasant individual who strives to remain composed in all situations. She is bland and as a narrator very daft at see the obvious.
Despite the length of the book, it feels as though nothing much happens. Strangely, there is a plot, one that is reasonably complex. Yet, the manner in which the story is told is plodding. The buildup of betrayal, mystery and even the love story is lacking. The attempt at tension fails. The love story does not engage the reader, who could see it coming from the first hello (the main character however, is completely caught off guard – largely because they are slow). Some of my favourite authors: Jane Austin and Georgette Heyer, have lovely simple stories. They are character studies, with successfully engaging characters who have properly developed faults and changes over time. There was no emotional draw to this story and no real payoff in the end. In fact the ending, when Jane suddenly falls in love with the Glamourist seems rushed considering she just spent the previous 250 pages pining for the other guy.
My other big complaint with the story is the lack of show, instead of tell when it comes to the main character. Jane is supposed to be unattractive by the measures of the time. She is old (all of 29 years of age) and unmarried with no apparent prospects. However, when we enter the tale, she already (or very shortly thereafter) starts to attract one and then a second male suitor.
Book cover borrowed from the internet.
All the while we don’t see any concrete signs of her lack of connections. Jane is praised repeatedly for her skills, her wit and her general disposition. While she may not flirt with the younger and flashier men, she certainly doesn’t appear to suffer from social stigma. There is only one instance in the entire 300+ pages where Jane is criticized without provocation.
This is not to be expected if she really is snubbed for her appearance. It was almost as if the author was writing the perfect character, than realized she needed to give the heroine a flaw. Now, as best as I can tell Jane is not ugly – she isn’t deformed or scarred. Her nose is large, her chin too square, her skin too sallow. As the main character is described only once, it is through her actions and interactions that we get to know her. In these Jane is a lovely character, thoughtful, honest, and loyal. Sure she argues with her sister, Melody. But then Melody is shown to be a selfish, bratty younger sibling. We need constant reminders that Jane is not attractive, but even these attempts sound shallow. This sort of ignorable physical trait is not a true flaw in the character. It is a minor inconvenience easily forgotten. Without a proper flaw there is no conflict, at least no room for the character to grow. The conflict, such as it is feels hastily added to the end of a story that is ultimately about nothing. I think more attention needed to be spent exploring these last few pages and far less time spent on the set up – which certainly could have been established with fewer words.
Final thoughts: it was fine – far from stellar, but not terrible. Will I read the rest of the series (some 5 or more books at present)? Well, probably not. They are not available from the library and I am not willing to spend more money on this one.