Princess, monster, or both?
A dream-like fairytale steeped in Persian mythology.
This was, and this was not, a fairy tale retelling. Inspired by the myths and legend of Bashardoust’s culture — yet still a compelling original story — Girl, Serpent, Thorn was twisted, snakelike, full of nuanced characters in a highly atmospheric setting recalling ancient Persia.
There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch.
As the book advances, the characters make terrible mistakes, with suitably terrible consequences. These catastrophic errors do not belong only to our protagonist Soraya, willing to do anything to break her curse and rejoin society as a ‘normal’ person. Almost everyone in this novel blunders around, entangling themselves ever deeper into nets of their own chaos and regret.
Everyone is trapped in their own way, but all retain their agency. This made for incredibly complex characters; I loved the will-she-won’t-she dynamic as Soraya teeters on the needle of her moral compass. Soraya’s mother, Tahmineh, is especially fascinating.
The female bonds in this book were great to read — not least the sapphic romance. It was tenderly written yet no less intense for it, and I loved how it developed. I enjoyed the lack of girl-on-girl hate.
There was, and there was not, a love triangle. As someone who passionately hates most love triangles, the dilemma in this novel was actually quite understandable.
The world of this novel, Atashar, is full of magic, tradition, deities and demons, Persian mythology and Zoroastrianism. I recommend taking the time to read the Author’s Notes at the back, though Bashardoust’s exposition and context meant the world took form around me almost seamlessly, without the need for info-dumping.
Needless to say that after reading ‘Girl, Serpent, Thorn’, the archaeologist in me is dying to learn more about Persian history, and Bashardoust’s other novel, ‘Girls Made of Snow and Glass’.
An advance copy was provided by Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review.
