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dweomeroflightI've been meaning to review this book for a little while now but I wanted to let the story sink in a bit first before I posted. This is not an easy book. This is not a "fun, light hearted" book. This is a book about society and about women's "place" in it. This is a book about mental illness and about how as a society we deal with mental illness. This is a book about bad things happening to good people, about the status quo, about the medical profession, about social stigma and prejudice. This is an absolutely heartbreakingly honest book that is now in my top ten books of all time. It is such a shame that EA has had to independantly publish this because more people will not be able to read this. It's a shame that the BBC cannot do a mini series of this because not only is this an amazing piece of fantasy and biography, this is also a very, very, very well written story.
From the blurb:
Straddling the bookshelves somewhere between psychological study, historical horror story, and fantasy fiction sits Emilie Autumn’s debut autobiographical novel, “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.”
Written and illustrated by the notoriously manic-depressive rock star, this chilling tale combines humor, tragedy, and suspense to produce a blood-curdling account of the nightmare that is life inside an insane asylum, comparing those from the Victorian era with our modern day version, and proving, through her own personal experiences, that not much has changed from then to now...
It is a reality-bending thriller as well as a profoundly empowering tale of suffering, sisterhood, and revenge that culminates in what is perhaps one of the most suspenseful cliff-hangers of all time.
Prepare yourself to enter a world most pray never to visit. But beware: It is much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out…
Rest under cut link
Emilie Autumn is an independant American singer/violinist who's genre is the self labelled Victorian Industrial. I certainly understood her outstanding CD Opheliac better for reading this book. Her EP 4 o clock especially really sets the tone for EA's "Assylum." In case you have never listened to EA and want to hear the kind of stuff she sings here are some YT links to the main Opheliac era songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAm0Xe2bTS4 - Opheliac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tORbGjyrUlQ&feature=related - 4 oclock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLxifqI6k8&feature=related - Misery Loves Company
She's not everyone's cup of tea, but regardless of what you think of her music, I think anyone can read her book.
I was interested not just as a fan of her music, but as a person who has experienced first hand the social attitudes of people towards carers, those with a disability (my brother) and those with mental illness and I am always interested to read books that deal with these issues in a meaningful way. The book involves two seperate stories that merge closer together. That of singer EA herself using diary entries she wrote whilst in an American institution somewhere between the Enchant and Opheliac era and letters from a girl named Emily with a "Y" who lives in Victorian London and is accused of madness after she is forced to prostitute herself for her "master," tries to run away and then tries to drown herself when she fears being captured. It is the common theme of attempted suicide that really ties the two stories together and there were a lot of moments where I really was forced to think hard about issues to do with this.
There are many photographs, drawings, colour illustrations and handwritten pieces throughout that add to the believeability of the story and daw you into the book's world. By the time I was about a quarter of the way through the book, I was starting to feel very, very unsettled and I think that was the purpose of including this extra material.
Finally, the ending was absolutely amazing and I literally had an "OMG NO WAY DID I SEE THAT ONE COMING AHA!!!" moment. It would make a very good end to a mini series too and some have speculated that part of the visualness of the narrative was EA's intent, in case of possible filming. Another part that affected me deeply was EA's sketch of the "bi polar bear" and her accompanying hand written explanation of how she felt when society judged her for being bi polar as well as another part that explored friendships in the assylum/s, their lack of permanency, the trust involved and the heartbreak.
This is like One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest and Girl Interupted. But better.
If you are interested pre order of EA's site now. A third print is coming out this month. You've got to be in it to win it and I can guarantee that this third/fourth? printing will sell out just as fast as the first two.
http://www.emilieautumn.com/shopAsylum.html
This is a book that I will treasure forever.
From the blurb:
Straddling the bookshelves somewhere between psychological study, historical horror story, and fantasy fiction sits Emilie Autumn’s debut autobiographical novel, “The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.”
Written and illustrated by the notoriously manic-depressive rock star, this chilling tale combines humor, tragedy, and suspense to produce a blood-curdling account of the nightmare that is life inside an insane asylum, comparing those from the Victorian era with our modern day version, and proving, through her own personal experiences, that not much has changed from then to now...
It is a reality-bending thriller as well as a profoundly empowering tale of suffering, sisterhood, and revenge that culminates in what is perhaps one of the most suspenseful cliff-hangers of all time.
Prepare yourself to enter a world most pray never to visit. But beware: It is much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out…
Rest under cut link
Emilie Autumn is an independant American singer/violinist who's genre is the self labelled Victorian Industrial. I certainly understood her outstanding CD Opheliac better for reading this book. Her EP 4 o clock especially really sets the tone for EA's "Assylum." In case you have never listened to EA and want to hear the kind of stuff she sings here are some YT links to the main Opheliac era songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAm0Xe2bTS4 - Opheliac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tORbGjyrUlQ&feature=related - 4 oclock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgLxifqI6k8&feature=related - Misery Loves Company
She's not everyone's cup of tea, but regardless of what you think of her music, I think anyone can read her book.
I was interested not just as a fan of her music, but as a person who has experienced first hand the social attitudes of people towards carers, those with a disability (my brother) and those with mental illness and I am always interested to read books that deal with these issues in a meaningful way. The book involves two seperate stories that merge closer together. That of singer EA herself using diary entries she wrote whilst in an American institution somewhere between the Enchant and Opheliac era and letters from a girl named Emily with a "Y" who lives in Victorian London and is accused of madness after she is forced to prostitute herself for her "master," tries to run away and then tries to drown herself when she fears being captured. It is the common theme of attempted suicide that really ties the two stories together and there were a lot of moments where I really was forced to think hard about issues to do with this.
There are many photographs, drawings, colour illustrations and handwritten pieces throughout that add to the believeability of the story and daw you into the book's world. By the time I was about a quarter of the way through the book, I was starting to feel very, very unsettled and I think that was the purpose of including this extra material.
Finally, the ending was absolutely amazing and I literally had an "OMG NO WAY DID I SEE THAT ONE COMING AHA!!!" moment. It would make a very good end to a mini series too and some have speculated that part of the visualness of the narrative was EA's intent, in case of possible filming. Another part that affected me deeply was EA's sketch of the "bi polar bear" and her accompanying hand written explanation of how she felt when society judged her for being bi polar as well as another part that explored friendships in the assylum/s, their lack of permanency, the trust involved and the heartbreak.
This is like One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest and Girl Interupted. But better.
If you are interested pre order of EA's site now. A third print is coming out this month. You've got to be in it to win it and I can guarantee that this third/fourth? printing will sell out just as fast as the first two.
http://www.emilieautumn.com/shopAsylum.html
This is a book that I will treasure forever.
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Date: 2011-04-08 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-08 09:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-04-08 10:02 pm (UTC)Отличный блог!
Date: 2011-07-18 06:08 pm (UTC)Свежая инфа
Date: 2011-08-20 10:42 pm (UTC)