Book Review: "Mirrorland" By Carole Johnstone

 

My parents are quite the couple, married over 50 years, always doing things together, always on the high-energy-train-ride to nowhere. The reason I bring them up is because they always taught me to tell the truth, never cherry coat, and never go with the grain.

I'm not sure what all the hype is about, I'm not one that wins the gold for popular opinion, and in fact when I post reviews and or posts I do so with almost 1k followers that have been carefully trimmed to 'actual real people' not bots, not trolls, and not just bloggers/reviewers, but people that can broaden my horizons and make me a better person simply for our friendships.

This book did nothing for me in the realm of thrills. It was actually kind of silly in terms of the Blackbeard, The Clown Cafe, the Mouse, and the other terms used rather frequently here.

In fact, to be brutally honest sexual abuse and domestic violence is no laughing matter. It should never be painted in this light as a 'freak of nature' as 'something to be gawked out' or as something that only stems from 'monsters in disguise'.

Domestic violence is real and sadly the characters portrayed it as a 'circus act' in the land of make believe and magic from delusional, crazy, and messed up people.

Because of this reason I felt the importance of the subject matter lost its appeal and for that I couldn't give in to the greatness of the remainder of the novel.

While it was written well it wasn't anything that I'd remember after reading because of this 'oddity' appearance rather than 'serious' actions that required adult intervention.
These twin sisters didn't seem all that close in my eyes. In fact, they seemed to do more to harm than help each other.
Drugs, violence, sexual abuse, DNA/paternal concerns, and more are highlighted in this novel and all of it was delivered in an off beat sort of way that just left me wondering why? Is spousal abuse funny?

If it is for some, it sure as hell wasn't for me.

Magical realism may be the central point. I've read many reviews claiming it's a mental drain on one's brain. Not if you're a speed reader. 

However, the problem I did have what the fact that a spouse has done so much horrific actions and nobody but a mother noticed.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people staying quiet when they know something's off. See something -say something comes to mind.

This entire book left more questions than answers.
I'm not sure of the point of Iona the fiery princess who was left imprisoned high in her tower -isolated and alone after being kidnapped by her parent by an evil hag.

Nor, do I see why it was a brief -plop and drop- performance.

As for the finale, the fact that this animal named person may be a long lost relative the twins never knew about is also bizarre. As it was another 'plop and drop' and came at the conclusion.

I'll happily sit in the category of 'not my cup of tea' as I don't follow popular opinion on this one.

Thank you to Carole, the pub, Netgalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.