Becoming Brigid by Lisa Shafer (2013)
Confession: covers matter to me. They
are the first thing about a book that catches my attention, either by their
wonderfulness, their horribleness, or their unnoticeableness. They tell me the
genre, often, what sort of publisher is handling them (don’t assume I gravitate
to the ones from big publishers, because I don’t), and, if I’m lucky, something
of the subject of the book. They are my first opportunity to assess whether I might
be interested enough to stay a moment and find out a little more.
Given all that, I approached this
book, which I found by chance online, cautiously. The cover appeared homemade, which
usually means the book is self-published. I know that many self-published books
are awesome, but a whole lot of them are not. So, I approach, but with slightly
lowered expectations.
To my delight, the blurb told me that
this was a novel not just about a girl and a fellow, but also a missing goddess
named Brigid. Yes!! There are not enough novels about Brigit, from where I
sit, and I am always looking for ones I will love. With Becoming Brigid I
was looking at one that moved out of the more serious territory of the others I
have read* and into a fond sub-genre, paranormal fantasy. I ordered it, and
soon it arrived.
My first impressions were good. The
writing was professional and engaging, the genre familiar and comfortable
(North American Y.A. urban fantasy), and I quickly got a sense of the main
character and her cheeky, adventurous spirit. Her father is a ghost hunter who
never finds anything, but she, it seems, sees ghosts. And one, at least,
sees her.
And we’re off.
The long and the short of it is, I really
like this book. The plot is appealing and carried me along, with enough surprises
that I was pleased but not so many I was exhausted. The main and secondary
characters are convincing and interesting (I really like Pepper’s sidekick,
though I wish her female friends had featured more in the book). The dialogue,
and in fact the writing overall, is excellent. The story’s main setting (Utah) remains
tangible in my memory, though I have hazier recollection of other settings. And
the author’s humour shines through on a number of occasions, giving me some good, unexpected
laughs, which I appreciate in a book that is not attempting to be funny on
every page. I was absolutely in my reading element to have added to all of that
the intrigue of my real life favourite goddess playing a major part here.
Did I have criticisms flickering in
my brain at any points as I read along? Of course. I always do – even when I am
the person who did the writing.
There were a couple of moments where
a person of size was referred to in a humourously pejorative way, which really
bothers me. (I felt somewhat better when I discovered that the author herself
is heavy. Not that it makes it great, but it is likely internalised oppression
rather than skinny-person prejudice. I can live with that.)
I did feel uncomfortable with the
sexual vibe between a teenager and a grown man, even though it is never acted
on beyond a brief kiss. Why could he not have been a teenager, too? On the
other hand, handled as it is, it’s saying to girls, “You can say no even to a
guy you really like; there is no hurry or even any need to act on those
feelings,” without shaming the protagonist’s sexual sensations and desires. That
is pretty cool, if you ask me, and a whole lot different than the messages
in the books I read as a teen.
In fact, there is a whole lot of
girl power happening in this story, a lot of rejection of controlling males,
and the protagonist finding her way through her fears and self-perceptions: but
not in a heavy handed, info dump kind of way. Really well done.
For those among us who are attached
to certain stories about the goddess Brigit, I will say that the backstory here
is not from the Irish tales and traditions. It is based instead on a much more
recent tale of Brigit and Lugh in Scotland, along with what my limited
understanding believes is a Wiccan or similar Neo-Pagan perspective. Brigit’s
triple goddess nature is said by one character to be linked to the
maiden-mother-crone modality, which in origin, in fact, it is not. This is
again a modern framework superimposed on an ancient goddess.
But you know what? That’s okay. If we
aren’t coming to this novel to learn mythology or history, but to enjoy fictional
magic, a character’s growing self-awareness, and plain good writing, then there
is no need to worry about those things. And you know how much time I do spend
worrying about them, in my free time.
Now, I may have to seek out Lisa
Shafer’s other books, starting with the first, Confessions of an Average
Half-Vampire.
Enjoy.
* You can read my reviews of them
on my blog, Brigit’s Sparkling Flame: http://brigitssparklingflame.blogspot.com/p/brigit-book-reviews.html
