The Girl with Two Souls is a little difficult to classify, it is part steampunk, part fantasy, part alternate history and, arguably, part science fiction. It is also YA. Now I am no longer a fantasy reader and am not a great fan of alternate history or YA so it was really something of a pleasant surprise that I found the book really very enjoyable.
The main protagonist Kora/Roka is a fourteen-year-old who appears to have, as the title suggests, two souls or personalities and the story revolves around the quest to understand the reasons and significance of this affliction. These two souls do not really share occupancy but rather alternate days in control of her body and present very different contrasting characters. The story is set in an alternate Edwardian society in which clockwork automata do all the hard and unpleasant work throughout the British Empire and the running of the Emprise has become very much dependent upon them. These automata also have their own variety of soul gifted to them by a mysterious Soul Giver in the Factory where they are manufactured which is also owned by Kora’s estranged father.
The pacing is fairly sedate but that evokes a dignified feeling somehow appropriate to the tone of the Edwardian setting and which I found worked very well. There are few Earth shattering revelations but rather Kora makes steady progress in the exploration of the mystery of hers and Roka’s strange affliction, whilst Roka is more interested in getting involved with some of the radical movements of the time: socialism, the women’s suffragette movement, atheism and, possibly more significantly, rights for the automata.
Embedded within the main story is a second children’s story quite obviously reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, written by one Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (go google the name). Whilst well written, very much in Carroll’s style, I’m not sure I quite understand its significance, however, as this is the only the first of the three parts that make up the complete story, it may well be something that will become clearer later.
The Girl with Two Souls captures the feel of the Edwardian era whilst also introducing the fantasy and steampunk elements in a very natural manner. It presents an interesting reflection on the nature of sentience through the concept of the soul; comparing that of humans, animals and automata. This is certainly an interesting thread but it might be a little ambitious for a YA book. However, the story flows easily along without requiring the reader to consider such matters in any depth but rather inviting them to consider it should they wish. On the other hand I’m not so sure that is the case for the political aspects; though I enjoyed these, and in particular the contrast between rights for workers, women and automata, but I’m less sure how accepting the younger reader will be of those aspects.
This is a very well written and enjoyable book but the reader should be aware that it definitely does not stand alone; it is really only the first of three parts of one book rather than one book of a trilogy. By the finish there is very little resolved and it ends very much on a cliff hanger. I am looking forward to continuing with the next part and learning more about Kora’s/Roka’s rather intriguing world.
4/5 stars
The main protagonist Kora/Roka is a fourteen-year-old who appears to have, as the title suggests, two souls or personalities and the story revolves around the quest to understand the reasons and significance of this affliction. These two souls do not really share occupancy but rather alternate days in control of her body and present very different contrasting characters. The story is set in an alternate Edwardian society in which clockwork automata do all the hard and unpleasant work throughout the British Empire and the running of the Emprise has become very much dependent upon them. These automata also have their own variety of soul gifted to them by a mysterious Soul Giver in the Factory where they are manufactured which is also owned by Kora’s estranged father.
The pacing is fairly sedate but that evokes a dignified feeling somehow appropriate to the tone of the Edwardian setting and which I found worked very well. There are few Earth shattering revelations but rather Kora makes steady progress in the exploration of the mystery of hers and Roka’s strange affliction, whilst Roka is more interested in getting involved with some of the radical movements of the time: socialism, the women’s suffragette movement, atheism and, possibly more significantly, rights for the automata.
Embedded within the main story is a second children’s story quite obviously reminiscent of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, written by one Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (go google the name). Whilst well written, very much in Carroll’s style, I’m not sure I quite understand its significance, however, as this is the only the first of the three parts that make up the complete story, it may well be something that will become clearer later.
The Girl with Two Souls captures the feel of the Edwardian era whilst also introducing the fantasy and steampunk elements in a very natural manner. It presents an interesting reflection on the nature of sentience through the concept of the soul; comparing that of humans, animals and automata. This is certainly an interesting thread but it might be a little ambitious for a YA book. However, the story flows easily along without requiring the reader to consider such matters in any depth but rather inviting them to consider it should they wish. On the other hand I’m not so sure that is the case for the political aspects; though I enjoyed these, and in particular the contrast between rights for workers, women and automata, but I’m less sure how accepting the younger reader will be of those aspects.
This is a very well written and enjoyable book but the reader should be aware that it definitely does not stand alone; it is really only the first of three parts of one book rather than one book of a trilogy. By the finish there is very little resolved and it ends very much on a cliff hanger. I am looking forward to continuing with the next part and learning more about Kora’s/Roka’s rather intriguing world.
4/5 stars
