Review || The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

The Lie Tree is a dark and powerful novel from universally acclaimed author, Frances Hardinge. It was not enough. All knowledge- any knowledge - called to Faith, and there was a delicious, poisonous pleasure in stealing it unseen. Faith has a thirst for science and secrets that the rigid confines of her class cannot suppress. And so it is that she discovers her disgraced father's journals, filled with the scribbled notes and theories of a man driven close to madness. Tales of a strange tree which, when told a lie, will uncover a truth: the greater the lie, the greater the truth revealed to the liar. Faith's search for the tree leads her into great danger - for where lies seduce, truths shatter ... 

I admit I always find it difficult to write book reviews, especially when I'm currently reading a book and my mind is involved in that world. I tend to forget quite a lot of information about the book, but honestly, Lie Tree is one that is hard to forget and I think fully deserves the positive review that it's about to receive. This book is also going to be one that's hard to review purely because of it's brilliance. How can you dull down this bright, shining sun to a thousand little fairy lights in order to explain why it's brilliant? 

The first thing I want to write about first is its vivid, complex plot. I found it difficult to summarise this in my Goodreads review, as it seems to weave quite effortlessly several different plots/themes without it being confusing, without any of them taking the focus off another, without over-doing or over-dragging the story at all. 

It seems to be a historical-fiction detective novel, where Faith tries to research the mystery surrounding her fathers' death and the history behind the tree and of all the characters surrounding her. It speaks about lies and the truth, and their significance, and how even the things that seem obvious aren't obvious at all. It covers undying love and loyalty, as even when Faiths father in his life treated her the way that he did, she never stops being loyal to him. It never dwindles or dies, and in the relationships with other characters (not just Faith with others, either), you can see this is an ongoing theme. It seems to cover revenge, hot-headed and cold revenge in all its brutality. It's a feminist masterpiece, as it focuses on how women have been invisible throughout history and Faiths pure determination to not let the fact she's a girl bordering on a woman stop her from achieving what she wants. 

Not just that, but the characters have amazing depth and complexity. They're real. They pop out at you, they take their own into your mind and create themselves. I feel like Frances purposely put description to a minimum as we don't even know Faith's hair colour for a majority of the book. That's one of the many things that amazes me about this novel. Appearances hardly seem to matter - ironically.  

The settings were equally vivid, and really added that darkness and despair feel to the book. It added that creepy aesthetic that really pulled the whole thing together. It's hard to believe this book had been categorized under "Children's Literature" because the skill of this is up at a level I expect adult, 900-page books to be. I was blown away, I found it unputdownable and you bet your butts I'm going to read other books by her - even though this one has frequently been described as her best to date. 

Overall, I rated this a 4/5 stars (only because some parts of this book didn't make sense, but the amazing of the rest of the book blinded this completely) and would recommend this to anyone. It has something in it for everyone. If this can be used a Bible on how to present female characters, that would be wonderful. 

COQ: Anne Frank: Asking Father's Permission.

Puffin Books, 2002.
Page 10. 

"They start rambling on about 'asking Father's permission' "

(In context of a boy admiring her and the usual events that follow his admiration)

My comment: 

"Did she quote it because it was something that happened often and everyone understood it was the proper way, or because she knew we are not our fathers' property to 'give' to someone else" 

 This is going to be a bit of a feminist rant, but honestly, I think this is a serious issue that needs to stop because it's the 21st Century and it's still happening. This quote was written way back in the early 40's, where posters were still being made on beating your wives because she burnt your food but at least she didn't burn your beer. 

Here, Anne wrote about how the boys' she was around in her early school years took a liking to her for one reason or another, and eventually they all reached a point where they would talk about asking Fathers' permission. Ask his permission for what, though? And why the father, and not the mother? Why does the father have the ultimate power in the decision making of their children? In Anne's case, her father certainly was a man presented in a much better light then her mother ever was, but this is from a biased point of view, and was also written during the time of adolescence. I truly believe that, if she had survived, she would have grown to love her mother. In the way that most middle-aged people love their mother, not as a best friend but not in the hatred Anne had. 

This part, even though most of the opinions of Anne appeal to me, was a part I took a strong disliking to. Your daughter is not your property. In the same way a son isn't. Protecting your daughter from the world outside is telling her two things. Firstly, that men are dangerous. In my opinion, they are. People in general are dangerous. You have no idea what their intentions are. They could want to hurt you, steal you, steal things from you. It's also telling her that she doesn't have the abilities to protect herself, or make educated, well thought out decisions for themselves. 

Saying that, a thirteen-year-old will make a lot of mistakes, especially regarding boys. It's important you teach them, regardless of your own embarrassment, about safe sex and how some boys will appear to be swans but end up being geese. It's also quite important to note how a lot of men will not protect their daughters against girls if they're lesbian - which is saying even more about themselves, that they know men are dangerous despite sticking up for them, and how females aren't worth worrying about (which, trust me, the worst thing you can do is underestimate a womans' abilities). It's equally important to note that you trust them with the knowledge you have taught them. Let them make their own decisions and their own mistakes.

The thing I just really wanted to get through here was that a man is not the boss. A woman is in charge of her own decisions, actions and body. You can not act like you are in charge and then say she is the one who has to be the responsible one, because men can't be responsible themselves of their own actions. She can choose her own life decisions. But, that's for another topic, as she mentions later on that her father said something about how she had to be the responsible one in her and her Peters' relationship.

Thank you for reading, and I'll see you next time.

Loz x