What do You think about The Porcelain Dove (1994)?
Back in 18th Century France, just at the cusp of the Revolution, a small but wealthy country estate is hit by a fairy curse - and the few people within are trapped. Immortal, comfortable, all their needs seen to by invisible servitors - but they cannot leave. There's little to do to pass the years but put on plays and amusements, and well, to cultivate the acquaintance of the local ghosts.Berthe, who was once a maid in the house (centuries of being trapped in a small group has done quite a bit to erode class lines), at the ghost Colette's request, writes the twisted tale of how they all came to be caught like flies in amber.I really enjoyed this book. (I was particularly delighted by it after being really disappointed by Sherman's 'Changeling.') The setting is vivid and fully realized, the flavor of the writing is wonderfully wry and witty, and the cast of crazed and odd characters is fascinating. It's not so fast-moving and does give the reader a sense of stasis - but after all, the characters are caught in such a stasis.But I loved it - all of the comedy-of-manners-esque interactions, the bizarre obsessions and hopeless quests, and oh yes, how magical objects are something you just might choose to collect, like painted fans or decorative china plates. (I want a cabinet des Fées in my house!)I'd highly recommend this for anyone who liked Ellen Kushner's 'Riverside' series (Sherman collaborated on one of them).
—Althea Ann
This is a really fun novel that combines elements of 18th century French history, French fairy tales, and magical realism. The narrator is Berthe Duvet, ladies maid to Adele, who becomes Duchess of Malvoeux. Berthe is a wonderful fictional voice, a strong woman who loves her friends, does her job well, suffers, perseveres, never marries, and holds strong loyalty to Adele and the family she marries into. Set against the background of the French Revolution, the Malvoeux family struggle against a curse set into motion by the horrible deeds of an ancestor, and their own refusal to help poor people in need. They must find the porcelain dove or the family will be destroyed. Throughout the book, the rich and for the most part men, are ineffectual, unintelligent, selfish, and often sick and twisted. The working class people and women save the day! This is not a perfect book but is one that I love – I actually re-read it – I love the historical setting, the characters, and the story that moves along without losing sight of setting and character development. The touches of magic, horror and outright “soap opera” added to the background of the French Revolution will please fans of many different genres – history, fantasy, romance – it’s all here! A great book when you need to be caught up in something completely outside yourself.
—Marigold
The Goodreads blurb claims that this book is "Narrated by the family's chatterbox chambermaid, it is a rich, sinister, and funny novel of romance, sorcery, and aristocracy." I found almost all of these descriptors to be false. The maid's no chatterbox. While the setting may be rich and the plot and some characters sinister, it wasn't at all funny. But most disappointingly it wasn't even that interesting. I kept waiting for the real book to start. And while I was patiently wading through words to get there, the whole book passed and then ended. I kept hoping for the book I imagined it to be and didn't much enjoy the book that it was.
—Brittany
