Untwine
As written
on the back of the book, “Untwine is
a spellbinding tale, lyrical and filled with love, mystery, humor, and
heartbreak.” I did not think I would agree with this description as I began
reading Untwine, because I feared a novel about the loss of a sibling would be
nothing but depressing, but by the end, I realized it was so much more. There is a great deal of sadness, of course,
but there is also love, mystery, and humor, as promised.
Danticat
seeps love into every page with the many relationships between characters she
has created. The reader is introduced to these characters and relationships
first through Giselle’s flashbacks, painting a clearer picture of them with
each one, and then, once Giselle wakes up, through the interactions and
conversations of the present. Giselle speaks of her own emotions and the
emotions of other characters, as well as the relationships between them, but
the majority of the reader’s understanding of the characters and their
relationships comes from Danticat showing us through their actions and
interactions, rather than Giselle telling us. This not only creates
well-developed characters, but also a strong sense of love between them, which
in turn, caused me to feel a deep love for the characters as well.
For me, a
reader who appreciates complex character emotions and connections more so than
an exhilarating plot, Danticat’s aforementioned skill was already enough to
make me a fan of the novel. But, she didn’t stop there. She also decided
sprinkle her story with mystery and suspense. I didn’t see it coming when the
police officer declared the car accident might not have been an accident at
all. I fully expected this to be a story about loss and only that. I did not
expect it to be a mystery novel as well. So, along with feeling great sorrow
and love for the character’s, I was also racking my brain for an idea of what
malicious intent the driver of the red minivan could have had. Was it a jealous
fit of rage of a student from band, maybe the third seat flutist or her
parents? Was it a hate crime? No, plot twist! It was the victim of another
crime entirely, who meant no ill will and was just trying to save herself. This
revelation was both surprising and didn't allow the reader to have anyone to
blame. If there was one clear villain, one source to blame for all the sorrow
and pain, that would be far too easy and much less interesting.
Danticat
employs humor as another tool, like some of the other authors we’ve read whose
books have somber topics, but she doesn’t utilize the dark humor they do.
Perhaps Danticat didn’t think dark humor was appropriate for a young adult
novel, or perhaps she just thought, rightly so, that a lighter humor would
be better for her novel. But by saying Danticat uses a lighter humor, I’m not
implying Untwine is a lighthearted
novel, because it certainly is not. It is a melancholy tale, punctuated every
now and then by a fun joke. These jokes are almost always told by Isabelle, who
is dead, thus keeping a tinge of sorrow even in the brightest moments of the
novel. Yet, this bittersweet humor is readily welcomed to break up the myriad
of heavy-hearted emotions.
I also
really appreciated the significance Danticat placed on Giselle’s and her
family’s Haitian heritage. Aspects of Haitian culture were woven into the
story, which not only made it more interesting, but also added more depth to
the characters. Even outside Giselle’s family, Danticat includes the other
character’s cultures and languages. This is not something I see very often in
young adult fiction. More often than not, young adult novels in America are
written by white authors, and it’s a bad habit of many white Americans, whose
families have lived here for generations, to not think much about where they
come from. Therefore, when I do read a young adult novel that has a focus on
heritage, it’s a pleasant surprise.
As if all
the above wasn’t enough, Danticat’s lyrical writing adds yet another touch of
brilliance to Untwine. Her seamless
transitions, like ending chapter 17 with “‘not so fast, baby bird,’ the head
duck says”(pg.139) and then having chapter 18 be a flashback about an owl,
create a wonderful flow between Giselle’s thoughts or from scene to scene. Not
once does whatever happens next feel random. Danticat also uses many recurring
themes to create a comforting rhythm. There are so many themes, in fact, that
I’m just going to list them:
·
Hands
o
Holding hands
o
The language of the palms
o
Untwining Giselle’s and Isabelle’s hands at
birth
o
The hand of Fatima
§
Protection
·
Giselle feels Isabelle is always protecting her
·
Alice in Wonderland
o
One of the twins’ favorite books
o
“We’re
late, we’re late, for a very important date, I thought, as though we had
fallen deep down into a series of rabbit holes. No time to say hello, goodbye, we’re late”(pg.8).
§
Being late for the spring concert
·
The
Firebird
o
The piece of classical music by Igor Stravinsky
o
The Russian folktale Isabelle loved
§
A grey wolf, a beautiful princess, the Water of
Life
·
Protection, resurrection, and happy endings
·
Lazarus
o
Resurrection
§
Giselle “coming back to life”
·
Waking up after five days of being seemingly
unconscious
·
They thought it was her who died, not Isabelle
·
Isabelle’s favorite thing to say, “stun me”
·
The duck doctor and duckling nurses
·
Giselle the ballet
o
Losing the one you love and dying of a broken
heart
·
Glories
o
The split “good” and “bye”
·
Emeline the Haitian singer
·
The many instances of twin telepathy
·
Pilot whales
o
“Ron says those kinds of whales stick together
no matter what. If one of them had died, they both might have died”(pg. 170).
·
Pentimento
·
Butterflies
o
The monarch butterfly sanctuary
o
The little butterflies of Emeline’s chandelier
earrings that Isabelle stole
o
Giselle feeling like she had wings when Jean
Michel touched her back
·
The Two
Fridas painting
o
Twins, one with a bloodless heart
-Erin
I definitely agree with much of your commentary, and wow! There is so much here to talk about. I loved the complexity and richness of the themes woven throughout, though honestly, I wanted there to be more of a through line for them--certain interesting pieces, like the firebird, seemed very symbolic but didn't seem fully explored to me.
ReplyDeleteYou might be interested in Jacqueline Woodson's work, as she often incorporates similar themes and draws heavily on the cultural backgrounds of her characters. She writes YA.
I wonder if you have ideas about why YA in particular is so whitewashed? Do you think that has changed in the last few decades? Many of the series I read as an adolescent were clearly multicultural and drew on their characters' cultural backgrounds, but I guess I also had to put some effort into finding those books. Plus I was self-consciously weird, so I always read off-beat things. I think it's absolutely true that more mainstream series, like the ever-annoying Sweet Valley whatever books, are ridiculously White.
Don't forget to avoid generalizing--I think that while some groups of white people avoid thinking about where they come from, nearly every book by Jewish authors about Jewish people that I can think of, YA or otherwise, incorporates different pieces of our culture. Many of us are white, but we're also obsessed with our past. Not every group experiences whiteness or relates to it in the same way, yeah?
Yeah, I was trying not to generalize by saying things like "many white Americans" because for some reason I feel the "many" saves the statement from generalization. Clearly, this wasn't as effective as I hoped it'd be. I probably should have thrown a sentence in there clarifying that it wasn't meant as a generalization.
DeleteI'm not sure why YA in particular is so whitewashed. Obviously, a lot of things are whitewashed because of the uneven power dynamic in this country and within the entertainment industry, but why YA in particular, I'm not sure. It probably has gotten better in the last few decades as the younger generations have become the authors.
And thanks for the author recommendation. I will definitely check out Jacqueline Woodson's work.
-Erin
I love how you traced so many of the motifs of the book. Thank you for this! It's true there are so many, and I'm not sure they yet take on power thematically. Like Ari mentioned, I wonder whether they could have been explored more thoroughly -- and in particular, the relationships between the different motifs. How is living in an Alice in Wonderland world different than the world of Sleeping Beauty? How is Giselle's love for art different than Isabelle's love for music? How does it shape them in different ways? How is the book a tale of resurrection?
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciated your comment about how the characters seem to really love each other. That is so true. I really felt Giselle's affection for the people in her life. It seems like all conflicted feelings ultimately resolve to love: i.e. she is initially annoyed at the head duck doctor, but eventually comes to feel enormous gratitude; she might be angry at Janice, but in the end she learns to feel empathy. This seems to be a larger theme of the book -- how anger/loss/grief can be transformed to love, and the maturation that comes from this. At the same time, some of those transformations felt a bit forced and inorganic to me (in particular, the Janice Hill plot line) -- I personally feel it's important to make space for the messiness of feelings, especially in experiences of trauma and loss. And especially since the book takes place in only the first couple of months since the accident.
Here's an interesting article to consider: https://www.salon.com/2016/09/30/the-power-of-pop-literature-why-we-need-diverse-ya-books-more-than-ever/
ReplyDeleteone more with statistics https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-world-of-childrens-books-is-still-very-white/
DeleteErin,
ReplyDeletethank you for this interesting and thorough post. You took to heart examining the craft elements of the book and by bringing forth the techniques Dandicat uses to tie together the relationship and help Giselle tell the story. I agree with Arya at looking at the messiness of feelings. It's a very strong analysis.
In addition, you are correct. YA books by writers of color is still a very very low percentage. Woodson and Dan Pena are great but they don't weigh against the mighty whiteness of the field.
Well done
e