The God of Endings meets Immaculate Conception in this adult gothic fantasy about the two adult children of an immensely famous children’s book series, forced to face the reality that their childhood was not as idyllic as the stories their mother wrote them into. After decades without a word to each other, Guinevere’s idealized memoir and Ennis’s new art installation send the two on a collision course, unearthing old grievances and—just maybe—old magic.
I know the comps I gave were kind of weird picks but I actually think I nailed it. Content-wise there isn’t a ton in common, but the reading experience for most of The Children was very similar to my experience reading these other two books. I really loved most of it and it had the vibe of really good children’s fantasy that I’m always looking for in books. It’s no secret that I’ve been in a pretty bad reading slump, and at points this broke through the fog which is a massive achievement. I love narratives about obsessive creatives/scientists, and I think it hits especially good when it’s from the perspective of the children. Edith overlooks her own children in favor of the versions of them she writes into the books, to the point that Ennis and Guin grow up isolated and neglected. We don’t really see it on page, but Guin mentions that the books are pretty dark, so imagine a story written by your parent about a character with your name experiencing all of these horrible things. I can imagine that would be really traumatic.
I think the book lost me a little towards the end because it gets pretty fever-dreamy which I know is a hallmark of the gothic genre but it almost never works for me (The God of Endings is a rare exception). I wish the author had followed through to the conclusion while also keeping the story grounded. Not by getting rid of the fantasy elements, in fact I think those could have been incorporated more heavily, but just by keeping the setting consistent.
That being said, I think people will love this and if you are more of a gothic fan than I am you probably won’t have my hang-ups about the ending.
Thank you to Melissa Albert and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for my full, honest review!
Happy reading!
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