Rachel Cantor's Half-Life of a Stolen Sister is, without doubt, the strangest book I am likely to read in all of 2023. I'm ready to give it that award right now - and I mean that as a compliment, not as a criticism. Rather than writing just any old fictionalized version of the tragic lives of the Brontë siblings and their parents, Cantor decided to take her interpretation of the Brontës a few steps further. Here, she mixes centuries by giving the Brontë siblings access to modern conveniences such as email, home movies, airplanes, television interviews, and radio interviews, etc. But wait. Before you throw your hands up and walk away from Half-Life of a Stolen Sister because of that, let me tell you that it all works brilliantly to paint an unforgettable portrait of the Brontës.
The barebones history of the Brontë family is well known:
- They were a 19th century British family that produced five daughters and one son.
- The first two daughters died in the same year at ages ten and eleven.
- The other four children died before their fortieth birthdays (only Charlotte even came close).
- The three youngest daughters produced classic literary masterpieces.
- The only Brontë son was so hopelessly addicted to alcohol that the addiction controlled and ruined his life.
But what must the rather reclusive Brontës have really been like? That is precisely the question that Cantor tries to answer with Half-Life of a Stolen Sister.
Early in their childhoods, the four remaining Brontë children discovered that they could entertain themselves by collaborating on long stories about heroic figures in other lands. The creative spark they shared even as children would eventually produce the books they are still remembered for today - but that is not the part of the Brontë story that Cantor focus on here.
Instead, Cantor "interprets" what the relationships and strong bonds between the siblings and their father must have been like. The Brontës were a family in which family loyalty and love of each other came first, but Half-Life of a Stolen Sister gives readers a fresh way of seeing each Brontë as a unique individual. Cantor's choice to modernize their daily world makes them easier to identify with, too, helping the reader see them as actual living, breathing human beings rather than just some famous family of stick-figures from literary history.
Brontë biographers will, of course, not want to hear it, but I come away with a better feel for who the Brontës really were from reading Half-Life of a Stolen Sister than I did from any of the Brontë biographies I've read to date. I realize that the book is speculation on the part of a single writer, but even if the details are only best guesses on Cantor's part, she has almost certainly captured the essence of perhaps the most unique literary family the world has ever seen. For the first time, they feel like real people to me.
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| Rachel Cantor jacket photo |
Cantor's choices are definitely a little unconventional, but it sounds like she hit the mark with them. And the Brontes are such well-known figures it's nice that she found a new way to write about them.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that it took me a while to get into the spirit of what Cantor is doing here, Lark. I had no idea that would be her approach when I started reading the book, and it was all a little jarring at first. But once I got with the program, I really started enjoying the novel and the pages flew by.
DeleteMy first thought was: how odd to put such a classic in a modern setting. Then I remembered there was a film made of Romeo and Juliet where the actors spoke in Elizabethan English, but drove cars and waved guns around (instead of swords) and all the setting was modern. I enjoyed that one though it struck me as odd at first, and I'm sure it helped a lot of other people relate to the story who couldn't, otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI quite enjoyed the version of Romeo and Juliet you mention...had forgotten all about that one. The setting is not overly jarring in this novel because it still reads as if they are in their own period...but with the use of all the modern things we take for granted these days. That's what makes "Half-Life" so unique to me.
DeleteHi Sam, Half-Life of A Stolen Sister sounds interesting and I am wondering Is the novel told in the 19th century but with modern day conveniences?. I can see that working. But to move the Bronte's entire story into the 21st century I see a problem. All of the Bronte siblings died before age 40 which needs I would think a 19th century setting to make it believable but who knows.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Brontes films I recommend To Walk nnvisible. Outstanding performances by the 3 actresses playing the famous sisters.
Thanks for that film recommendation, I'll be sure to look for it.
DeleteReading this one, I got the impression that they were still living in the 19th century. Then things would be casually referenced all of a sudden...email interviews, television, radio, telephones, etc. It is very surrealistic at times. But it works beautifully to get you to focus on the "real" people behind the legend by making them more relatable.
Interesting! I ALMOST grabbed this book at the library yesterday and I only really put it down because I already have too many library books that I need to read. I'll have to check it out next time I'm there. It sounds super intriguing. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to hearing your thoughts if you do decide to read this one. It's really weird at first because of its construction and time-shifting elements, but it grew on me soon enough and I think it has a lot to say about the Brontë family.
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