By Corey Ann Haydu
Publisher: Dutton Books
Format: eARC
Source: First to Read
To Sum It Up: Lorna and her friends Charlotte, Delilah, and Isla are Devonairre Street Girls, seemingly cursed, causing any boy they fall in love with to die. Even after a sudden, shocking tragedy appears to be further evidence that the Curse is real, Lorna still can’t entirely push her skepticism away. She longs to experience true love, and to be able to do so freely without fearing for the life of the boy she’s in love with.
Review: My heart will always belong to Brooklyn, New York, the borough where I grew up, and any time I come across a book set there, that book pretty much guarantees itself a spot on my TBR. Such was the case with The Careful Undressing of Love, which mainly focuses on a single street in Brooklyn. The girls who live on Devonairre Street are said to be cursed; any boy they fall in love with will die.
The story is much, much more intricate than that, however; to outsiders, the Devonairre Street girls, with their long hair and the keys they wear around their necks, appear to be some kind of cult. The hair and the keys are just two of the rules the girls’ elderly neighbor and foremost believer in the Curse, Angelika, has to keep the Curse from claiming more lives. Narrated from the perspective of one of the girls, Lorna, The Careful Undressing of Love is set in an alternate New York City in which unknown attackers bombed Times Square a few years before the novel takes place. Lorna lost her father in the bombing, and the sadness she still feels is as much a part of the story as her search for the meaning of love. Corey Ann Haydu writes very eloquently, even poetically at times, both about Lorna’s grief and her yearning to feel actual love, which Lorna is unsure she has in her heart for her boyfriend, Owen.
Haydu is also brilliant at creating a microcosm out of Devonairre Street. Growing up, my own street in Brooklyn truly did feel like the whole world. There were a few times when Haydu’s descriptions of life on Devonairre, even with the Curse and Angelika’s bizarre rituals to keep the Curse at bay, brought back some very fond memories of hanging out on the stoop in front of my house and knowing everyone on the block. I became quite sentimental while reading this, even though it’s not a straightforward contemporary. The novel sometimes reads like one, until you’re reminded of the alternate reality. Events in the book also make the Curse seem plausible, so there’s a hint of the otherworldly as well. While the genre mashup produces a very unique reading experience, I would have liked more details about how this version of New York came to be. Those responsible for the Times Square bombing are unknown, and while I realize that we’re looking at the city in the aftermath, my brain could not stop asking questions about the who and the why.
I also thought that the ending felt a bit rushed, with developments that definitely needed additional exploration popping up as the book neared its close. I usually don’t mind open endings, but this one seemed too much so, even for a book that is rather unconventional overall. The ending and the somewhat murky history of the world didn’t, however, completely overshadow the lovely writing and the depiction of life on a single Brooklyn street, both of which were definitely the highlights of the novel for me.
All in All: This book is kind of out there in terms of . . . just about everything: the story, the setting, the mix of genres. It’s probably for the more adventurous reader who’s very willing to suspend disbelief and just roll with what happens. The prose is beautiful throughout and I loved the portrayal of a close-knit group of neighborhood friends, and I factored both of these things in when coming up with my rating.
This book definitely looks intriguing! And I love that cover <3
ReplyDeleteEllie | On the Other Side of Reality
The cover actually ties in with the book for a change, lol. It's a very uniquely told story, for sure.
DeleteFrom the cover art I thought this is Women's Fiction. From your description it sounds like magic realism? That open ending might not sit well with me though unless this is a series...
ReplyDeleteYes, magical realism is the perfect way to describe this. I believe it's a standalone, but you never know, lol.
DeleteI've never heard of this book before but I'm all for something really out there - especially when it involves magical realism! Now that I've been to NYC, I'm really keen on reading books set there and in the surrounding areas too ♥ Thanks for putting this on my radar Lee! xxxxx
ReplyDeleteThe magical realism in this definitely makes you wonder if the curse is real because the otherworldly aspect is so well blended into everyday life. This book made me so sentimental for my old neighborhood! ♥
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