Gallant

Product Information

In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world.

Gallant, by V.E. Schwab is my seventh book by this author. I didn't really have high expectations when I went it to it, as the premise didn't grip me as much, but I had not anticipated to dislike this book so much. I had hoped it would at least be a 3 star read, but the book left me completely uninterested and unbothered. I did not enjoy it at all. You can watch me review this book & all of the other 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Winners here: https://youtu.be/fFKXJ1gsZA8 I also enjoyed the unique character that Oliva is and appreciate that Schwab didn't end up relying on the old stereotypes and tropes that frankly everyone is tired of seeing from a mute character. In fact, the absence of Olivia's voice will force you to hunt for answers outside the characters. It keeps the visual aspects of things in Gallant going strong. For a girl living in a quiet world, conversing with ghoul-like creatures through nods and gestures is a blessing and a curse. Olivia is drawn to the power of secrets and magic. What is real, what isn't? When she meets her cousin Mathew, she begins to learn more about the mystery, the hidden garden, and the wall beyond the path. She holds on to a journal written by her mother, trying to piece together the story of her family and her mother's past.

As someone who is not familiar with Schwab's works, her writing does hold lot of talent and I do see what the hype is all about. But Gallant could not impress me enough. There’s a lot to like in Olivia Prior. She doesn’t speak, she’s never been able to, but there’s plenty to glean from her character besides dialogue. Schwab does an excellent job finding ways for her to express herself without uttering a single word. With bottomless curiosity and a ferocious streak when provoked, Olivia is the quintessential Schwab heroine. Unlikeable and an outsider to the society she lives in, but easy for the reader to root for. There are glimmers of some of these qualities in other characters in the book, but none that feel as fully developed as she is.

Nothing happened in the entire book. No major plot twists, no big interesting revelations, no jaw-dropping moments. Just nothing. You could say that V. E. Schwab has been writing about shadows for her entire career. London and its many shadows explored by Lila and Kell in her Shades of Magic series. Victor and Eli from the Villains series, each struggling to escape the shadow cast by the other. Kate and August from the Monsters of Verity series learning how to embrace the darkness of their lives and come to terms with their monstrous halves. Even Addie la Rue wanders through the long, long shadow that falls on her immortal life and those around, running from it even as it lengthens in the light. Everything about Gallant reads like a cliché YA book. It has nothing unique to offer, apart from the representation. It felt like a typical Schwab story. You can watch me talk about all the books I read in February as I set up my reading journal here: https://youtu.be/NY7bgSmoggMDespite the praises, I still find the book to be overly simplistic and uninspiring in comparison to the buzz surrounding her work. When I first read the summary, I had a different impression than after reading the outcome which pivots more on Olivia unearthing the Gallant. I also wished for the supporting characters to be given more substance, but alas was just there to fit as a piece to the story.

There's nothing wrong with characters like that! I love reading about them! But if they are the only characters that appear in Schwab's work, its a bit disheartening, especially because the 'traditionally feminine' characters are always painted in a bad light, either as the 'bullies' or the 'annoying girls obsessed with make-up and dresses'. The only con I have about this novel is that even though it’s a slow plot (which is fine), things really rushed at the end and left me a bit confused- it’s like 90% of the story is at one pace and the last 10% is going full speed. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book and I will read every book that V.E Schwab writes as long as I read. literally how did this win GR choice awards in YA fantasy with all the other amazing books on there??? make it make sense And that does seem to be my issue with this book. It’s just not a complete circle. Some things are delved into so deeply that I feel them coming to life around me, and others feel rushed through. The ending is also fairly abrupt for this level of magical build-up, to the point at the end I was wondering, ‘what was this all for?’When people see tears, they stop listening to your hands or your words or anything else you have to say. And it doesn't matter if the tears are angry or sad, frightened or frustrated. All they see is a girl crying.” The writing was beautiful, though. So haunting and delicate and vivid. If only the quality of the content matched the quality of the prose. This book really is the definition of pretty writing, bland story. Like sure the writing was very descriptive and fancy but??? I was bored out of mind?? I could care less about the characters, story, plot (haha what plot) and everything else. I don't care if you have the most beautiful writing in the world. If the story doesn't capture my attention, then I don't like it. Olivia especially is a wonderful protagonist in her journey into the shadow that the world itself casts, going to a place where no one else but Death himself could live. Among a strong cast of supporting characters, Olivia shines. Schwab takes her time as the tale begins, sketching in the depths of Olivia, her myriad struggles as a mute young woman in a home that takes no steps to communicate with her or wants to hear from her, the losses and fears she has, all contrasted with the sudden elation of not only finding out she has a home, but that the answers she’s been looking for her whole life might be there waiting for her. Schwab builds Olivia and her new world of Gallant stone by stone, making every room and hearth feel warm and lived in, inviting the reader in with Olivia. Everything seems so arbitrary and disconnected. There are rules about the Priors, rules about the wall (which is a strangely short wall, by the way—I’m still not sure what the purpose of a door is if you can just walk around the wall)... I don’t know why it has to be this way. I don’t know how the Prior ancestors fought what’s beyond the wall. It seems cheap never to give explicit reasons for why things are the way they are.