A few months ago I had the privilege of interviewing Rachel L. Demeter
for my blog. I felt a kindred spirit right away. This angel-faced
Californian who is still in her twenties has an old soul that
understands torment and can write convincingly about it. After reading a
few reviews for Finding Gabriel, I had high hopes, and the novel
exceeded my expectations in so many ways. I applaud the author for
taking risky chances and the publisher for keeping the integrity of the
manuscript, with so many publishers slapping an age minimum on sexually
active characters in the name of political correctness.
My
instant reaction was: "Wow, I've met these characters before ... Once
upon a delicious nightmare." Gabriel and Ariah have always lived in my
soul, in the depths of my imagination. The author taps into the darkest
erotic archetypes that live in our collective psyche. You can sense the
solid foundation of French and English Romanticism - Victor Hugo,
Alexandre Dumas, Gaston Leroux, the Bronte sisters. Those authors used
body horror sparingly and skillfully as a literary tool to create
certain visual and emotional contrasts.
You can tell that her
robust talent bursts beyond the constraints of the romance genre. I have
to say, the most powerful, poignant and memorable passages in the
novel do not involve lovemaking. Although the romantic component was
convincingly executed, it was the scenes of battle, violence and public
mayhem that really sent shivers down my spine. I hope that the young
author continues to expand her repertoire in the direction of horror,
Dystopia and literary realism.
No comments:
Post a Comment