Friday, January 30, 2009

The Fetch

by Laura Whitcomb

When souls make the decision to leave this Earth, they need a guide to the above. That’s where Calder comes in; he’s a Fetch, a being similar to the Grim Reaper or an angel. His job is to answer the souls’ questions, guide them through the Aisle of Unearthing, and then take them to his Captain. He is never to upset the earthbound, nor interfere with the duties of another Fetch, but as usual with “nevers,” that is exactly what Calder does.
Falling in love with a woman he calls Glory, Calder breaks many of the Vows of the Fetch by jumping into the dying body of Grigori Rasputin to be near the woman whom be believes to be the nursemaid of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.
With Calder’s selfish act, the whole spirit world is thrown into chaos, and Calder, who is trapped in the earthly turmoil of the Russian Revolution, must fix it.

Okay, my thoughts on this. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, that’s for sure, and I don’t think The Fetch is for everyone. The start of this book was odd, I will admit. All the concepts were so foreign that I felt like I had to stop and dissect every one in order to understand what was going on. I felt like I was watching the whole story through a pane of old glass, with foggy patches and bubbles. Even once the story smoothed out into having one main plot, it took me some time to put everything together in my mind, such as the fact that Calder was using Rasputin’s body and so was seen as him, except for by Ana and Alexis, who saw him as he was when he died at nineteen.
All that said, I did like Ms. Whitcomb’s descriptions, and over all I think the book was a worthwhile and interesting read, it’s just that it took quite a lot of thought. I believe it might be one of those books that is a lot easier to understand the second time around, but on the other hand it might lose its magic.

Recommended for ages sixteen and up not for content, but for enjoyment. I doubt younger readers would have the patience to understand and like this book.

9 comments:

  1. I've read a lot of mixed reviews of this one, though I'm still looking forward to reading it. Thanks for explaining how the characters see Calder differently, hopefully knowing that will make it easier for me to follow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. i still need to finish this one....

    i enjoyed seeing your thoughts. i think mine will be similar

    ReplyDelete
  3. I completely agree... the body thing was a little confusing, but once you got that down it's all good :)
    every one in a while I would be like... "wait... who's body is he in?"
    haha

    ReplyDelete
  4. hmm, sound interesting. I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have also read some very odd reviews of this book. However, I am willing to read it and it give my own impression. Thanks for the review! I am currently reading "Rowan of the Wood" have you heard of it? It's a very intriguing book about pure love, magic, and mythology and I haven't been able to put it down! Check out their website at (www.christineandethanrose.com)to learn all about it! Thanks for the blog!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yes, I have read Rowan of the Wood. I reviewed it here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really loved this book, I understand what you mean about it being confusing, but I honestly had no trouble with that that much.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I thought this sounded like a GREAT idea, so I'm looking forward to reading it, even though I was not a huge fan of A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT, her previous book.

    Sounds like I'll be checking it out from the library to see if I like it first, though!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm in the middle of this one right now. I would definitely agree that The Fetch is not for everyone. It took me a while to get into it actually. I really enjoy the setting and descriptions though. I dunno the verdict it still out on this one.

    ReplyDelete

Hey, thanks for stopping by! We'd love to hear from you, whatever your opinion, so please write any comments below.