The Gifts: The captivating historical fiction novel - for fans of THE BINDING

Product Information

The story is narrated in short vignettes, alternating between the voices of the two women with wings, a feisty would-be female journalist, and the wife of the surgeon who sees an opportunity to achieve fame and fortune by exploiting the winged women, the ‘gifts’ of the title, sent to him by God. Just brilliant. And I remain forever indebted to the women who fought for rights for women. These women are true heroes! Thank you so much Liz for your story. And to the publisher, Zaffre Books for sending me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have a lot to say about this book but I also want to keep it all to myself. I read an advance copy that the publisher kindly sent me and if it’s affected me in it’s unfinished state, the finished copy (complete with illustrations!! Eeek!!) is guaranteed to be a marvel. I cannot wait to see it! I’m left with this thought that gets me right here *pounds fist into heart area* - is it really STILL so scandalous that a woman can have the audacity to grow a pair of powerful wings and set herself free?I see that some people love this book but it is not for me and I think the synopsis needs rewriting to make it more accurate and it definitely needs Content Warnings.

Sadly I was unable to finish this book. The harrowing and graphic torture and killing of the dog by the surgeon about 10% of the way into the book was way too much for me. It turned my stomach and made me very upset. I don't know what else is in the book but that requires a Content Warning. It is a thing I can't stand and something I avoid in books and movies. It makes me hugely distressed. I can't imagine what that level of distressing detail could possibly add to the story. You could easily show he was an evil man without the detail. My thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Gifts”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. I enjoyed how well the author incorporated magical realism with historical fiction. I wanted a little more explanation relating to the magical aspects of the read, but the author did offer enough explanation to keep me from being dissatisfied. The author also did a good job at emphasizing how intertwined science and religion was in England during this time, which was a driving force behind the antagonist of this read. I devoured The Gifts, eager to find out the fate of its wonderfully drawn characters. A wonderful, atmospheric book that immersed me in the dirty streets of nineteenth century London and swept me away to the hills of Shropshire. A real gem." ―Louise Hare, author of This Lovely City and Miss Aldridge Regrets

The Gifts

Unsettling, captivating and beautifully written, with vividly descriptive landscape from Orkney to London, The Gifts is an enthralling tale of ambition and the lines of knowledge for science sake and obsession being crossed, of women finding an inner strength, being resourceful and tenacious and not willing to conform. I loved it, and although my proof copy just had placeholder text, I’m sure that the finished copy with its chapter illustrations will be a thing of beauty indeed.

Rich, feminist and utterly absorbing and entertaining. Hyder weaves a completely genius plot through 1840s London (with Shropshire and Orkney thrown in) and it's so well written and so absorbing and the pace so spot-on that it was exhilarating to listen to it. Hyder has absolutely nailed this story. Such brilliant characters, vivid settings, great dialogue. And a Macbeth-like antagonist, who is brilliant in his complexity and unbridled ambition. Glorious, gripping thematic gold.Liz Hyder’s writing really is magnificent. There may be aspects of The Gifts that are almost surreal, but they are presented with such convincing storytelling that I believed every word. I was drawn inexorably into the narrative and completely bewitched by it.

The Gifts is essentially a piece of brilliantly structured magical realism with 4 key themes: the power of greed, of love, of religion in the wrong hands and, most importantly, of women. Set primarily in 19th century London but with the addition of Shropshire and (very briefly) my home county of Essex, it uses the time to weave a new perspective around how much we allowed greed ridden men to rule over talented women. Readers who like the early-Victorian-era setting and feisty female characters will enjoy this book." — Booklist The story explores science, religion, obsession, feminism, the patriarchy, nature and so much more. I found it so powerful and extraordinary - I hadn’t read anything like it before.I was already struggling with the writing and the fact that we often switch viewpoint or who is being written about in the midst of a paragraph. So you start the paragraph with Annie and then suddenly you are reading about Etta and you are like, wait, who the hell is Etta and how did she suddenly appear? This happens a LOT and I found it really irritating. It’s impossible not to be affected and deeply moved by reading about Annie, Etta, Natalya and Mary. This is especially so when they are surviving in a world dominated by men. There are some very emotional scenes that are described poignantly that made my heart break. It has a haunting and tense atmosphere throughout and the Victorian period is described and captured perfectly. It was a joy to read and I was so sad when it came to an end. I would love to revisit so many of these characters again. There are a few highly triggering scenes concerning dogs. While a couple of these scenes might have been essential to detail the nature of that specific character, the rest felt forced in. This might be traumatising for sensitive animal lovers, so proceed with caution. I had to zoom through those sections because it was too much for me, but I also didn’t want to keep the book aside. Furthermore, there are dark scenes connected to the medical procedures of those times. This is a difficult book to summarize since there are several distinct storylines woven through the narrative and it would take the entire review to touch on them all, even briefly. In short, this book is an exploration between scientific discoveries and the unexplainable; about what man will do to advance his own interests. About what happens when a woman miraculously transforms into an angel (well, the wings anyway - not a literal angel) and how society reacts to it.