Unraveller, by Frances Hardinge
Frances Hardinge is an author I've raved about for a long time. She is, in my view, the master of Young Adult fantasy; her worlds and concepts are endlessly inventive, her plots intricate and clever, and she's one of the best wordsmiths out there. I've read every book of hers, and although as a reader I am certainly now pushing the upper bound of 'Young Adult', I decided to treat myself to this, Hardinge's most recent work. I'm glad I did; Hardinge is consistently excellent, and there was much to enjoy about 'Unraveller'.
'Unraveller' takes place in the fictional country of Raddith, a land of simple trading villages surrounded by mysterious and treacherous marshlands known as the Wilds. Unmapped and ever shifting, the Wilds are full of strange and sinister magic, some of which has seeped across the marshland borders into the human settlements: in Raddith, any person consumed with hate has the power to unleash a curse on their enemies. It's in this world of dark magic, unrest and paranoia that we find our unlikely heroes. Nettle, sharp-witted but reclusive, is recovering from a curse laid on her as a child. Her rescue is thanks to Kellen, who is gifted with the unique ability to unravel curses. When known cursers start disappearing from behind bars, Kellen the Unraveller is endangered, and the pair venture into the Wilds on a quest for answers.
Hardinge's plot moved at great pace, packed with action, peril, and a couple of cracking twists that even I didn't see coming. But what impressed me more than her plot construction was the sheer creativity of her ideas. Nettle and Kellen encounter all sorts of creatures in the Wilds, from the powerful, sinuous marsh-horses (bound to the one rider who sacrifices an eye in return for their loyalty) to the amorphous Bookbearers, whose witness will bestow an unbreakable seal on any vow uttered in their presence. The curses cast on various characters were also fantastically inventive: Nettle and her siblings were trapped in the bodies of birds; another child is transformed into a raincloud that weeps over her family's house; one woman finds herself compelled to eat stones until she has become a statue.
These particular moments and characters were twinkling gems of invention, but it was the broader concepts underpinning the novel that really shone. For example, the curses are rendered 'curse eggs' that are incubated in a bitter soul before being cracked open - a great concept. I also relished everything Hardinge grew out of the Wilds; her descriptions of the narcotic mists, illusory paths and strange traditions were brilliantly executed, and Raddith's uneasy relationship with its wild borders coloured every choice the characters made. Therein is Hardinge's skill: every weird idea slotted perfectly and plausibly into a really well-crafted fantasy world. Raddith has a history; its communities have complete modes of being, its customs have origins, and its settings are rich with lore. Such world-building invites great escapism.
Although this kind of fiction is what I consider fairly 'low-stakes' (it's story for the sake of story, entertainment above agenda), 'Unraveller' did raise some interesting political questions, because the laws of the land - and opposition to them - were an explicit part of the plot. In Raddith, anyone incubating a 'curse egg' is imprisoned, even if they haven't unleashed it yet. The good sense of pre-empting life-changing curses and protecting the unsuspecting innocents is weighed against the injustice of punishing a potential criminal, creating a very interesting moral dilemma. Hardinge also plays with the idea of whether anger can ever be righteous. Is revenge a worthy cause, as the cursers believe, or can personal grievances snowball into civil war? Through the politics of Raddith, she explores how hate is distinct from anger, and how prejudice and bitterness can fuel unrest - important themes are woven into the fabric of this book.
The whole novel was written with Hardinge's customary linguistic excellence. She has a real flair for metaphor, and is particularly good at making the intangible concrete. At one point she described sunbeams as gold coins weighing on Kellen's eyelashes. In another moment, 'menace hung in the air like the smell of snow'. There's an almost synaesthetic quality to her imagery: senses and schemas mingle in new and tasty ways.
All in all, 'Unraveller' had all the hallmarks of a classic Hardinge fantasy. The world-building was vivid, the concepts were innovative, and the language was beautiful. My reading tastes nowadays are a bit more Adult than Young, but nonetheless I enjoyed returning to this brilliantly talented author, whose works will, I'm sure, continue to entertain the next generation of readers.
You can buy 'Unraveller' at Waterstones by following this link (I'll receive a small commission if you do):
Unraveller, Frances Hardinge - Waterstones
