Book: Category: Title: Author: Date Completed: | 17 A book a friend recommended Pantomime Laura Lam 22.10.2015 |
Last May, one of my best friends suggested that I read the young adult novel Pantomime, by Laura Lam. I borrowed the book at the time, but university exams and then other time constraints meant that I didn't complete it until a few days ago. However, having been urged to get a move on so that it can be lent to some other people, I took a few hours' break from studying in order to finish the book. Pantomime follows an intersex teenager, who has been raised as a girl (Iphigenia Laurus) but runs away to join the circus adopting a male identity (Micah Gray). It is a pretty original premise for a story - I had never come across any other novels that feature a non-cis protagonist who is openly described as such. (Admittedly, I'd also never actively sought out books about non-cis people, and a quick Google search brought up a few others). It's clear, though, that there is a significant dearth of books about people who aren't cisgender, which alone makes Pantomime worth checking out, even if it weren't for all the other factors that make the book a good read. |
I liked the style that Pantomime was written in. It subverted the common model of alternating chapters between two characters by making the chapters shared between one character, with the twist that one of the viewpoints is really a flashback to Micah's old life as Iphigenia. As well as being an interesting approach to a fairly formulaic writing style, it allowed Micah's backstory to be gradually revealed over the course of the book. This made the horrifying discovery of the exact events that prompted the kid to runaway from home all the more effective. What would have already been a major plot-shifting reveal now occurred only after it had been made clear that living as Iphigenia was considerably less fulfilling and more distressing than living as Micah was. This put the reader in a better position to understand Iphigenia's subsequent feelings and actions. If the timeline had been more linear, we would only have met Iphigenia at the point of the reveal, and might have accidentally arrived at some incorrect or problematic conclusions (for example, that Iphigenia was the 'real' identity).
Pantomime is a Gaslamp Fantasy set on the magical world of Ellada. I initially thought that the background magical elements were slightly gratuitous, but they did come in useful without being too contrived and throughout they added to the fantastic feel of the circus, and the setting in general. The little excerpts from in-universe writings that opened each chapter were a nice touch, and I liked Lam's use of expressive, sometimes antiquated, language that enhanced the overall atmospheric effect while still remaining accessible.
I thought that all of the characters were rounded and entertaining, even the minor ones. I particularly liked the circus cook, a lovable grump who gave meager food rations unless confronted and didn't receive nearly enough page-time in my opinion, and Iphigenia's brother, who is the only person from her old life who knows "Gene's" secret but accepts her for who she is anyway. If the romantic aspects of the plot felt a little unnecessary, they weren't overbearingly so, and the decidedly-unromantic romantic aspects of the plot were fittingly dark and freaky.
In fact, although Pantomime is a book aimed at young adults, Laura Lam doesn't shy away from dark themes. The reactions of some of the characters when they found out Iphigenia/Micah's true identity was pretty harrowing to read, and I was unprepared for the dramatic darkening in tone in the final few pages. This was no bad thing, though; I very much enjoyed the last few chapters because, up until that point, I had found the story fairly predictable.
There was one point I noticed where the narrative seemed to be undermining its own purpose. It felt a little odd that a book that focused so heavily on the gender identity of its main character would describe a porcelain doll as "something any little girl would cherish." (p.151). At the time, I found it grating that gender stereotypes were taken for granted by a character who ought to know better, but on reflection it could also be that Micah had been influenced by the Victorian-style culture around him despite also being an outcast. I really like the subtlety there, and it makes me wonder if there was similar subtext elsewhere that I might have missed.
The inclusion of an intersex character at all was a refreshing change from the norm, which makes it so gutting that this also (tangentially) resulted in one of the main problems I had with the book. It seems likely that most major publishing houses wouldn't risk printing a book about a non-cis person, and the publishing company that Laura Lam has gone through is a very small one that probably doesn't have the resources to rigorously check spelling and grammar. This unfortunately means that the book contains a considerable number of distracting errors that are detrimental to the reading experience and made it difficult for me to stay immersed in the story. But this was a minor quibble and, since the book is about to be re-released, I expect most of these problems have been identified and corrected in the new edition.
I really enjoyed Pantomime. It was a fun book with an angle that few authors have ever gone for. The problems I had with the grammar and spelling were distracting, but the detailed world building and colourful descriptions more than made up for that. All in all, it was a good read - thank you, Ali, for recommending it.