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A review by toritoot
Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
4.0
I read the first two Bayern books sometime in high school. I instantly loved The Goose Girl, but for some reason, I really struggled with Enna Burning. My main difficulty was the dynamic between Enna and Sileph. Maybe (probably) I wasn't a very sophisticated teen, but their entire relationship confused me and made the book as a whole difficult for me to get through. After a recent reread, I found the pieces of the story finally beginning to fall into place, and much of my confusion dissipated, but there is one aspect of the storytelling which I believe may have been the cause of my confusion during my first read through and that I still have thoughts on today.
I have to start this review off though with praise for Hale and say that her prose is utterly beautiful. Reading The Goose Girl made me jealous of her ability to weave a sentence and find some of the most unique and unexpected descriptions and metaphors I've ever read. Enna Burning is no different with lines like '...and thought how people start with wrinkles and end with wrinkles, grow into their skin and then live to grow out of it again.' I don't know about anyone else, but reading Hale's writing is always a pleasurable experience for me.
Similarly, Hale’s characters and storylines are very strongly written. The characters feel lived in and real and singularly unique compared to many other YA protagonists. You’d be hard-pressed to boil down her main leads to a few general descriptors, as they are always too complex for that. And while her storylines have plenty of what you would expect from a YA novel, there is always much more going on beneath the surface. I go into a Shannon Hale book expecting deep themes and consistently engaging plotlines.
The thing that stood out to me most though about Enna Burning (and this is going to sound odd at first but bear with me) is the difference in book length compared to The Goose Girl. It's not a significant difference, but it's enough that I could feel it as I read. I'm not sure why Hale chose to make Enna Burning shorter, but for my part, I was saddened by the decision, as there were a few points where I wish Hale had spent more time exploring the story.
Specifically, when Enna is still at home with her brother and he's becoming more and more surly, I would have really liked to see more of a build up before he finally snaps. Equally so, I would have liked more plot development towards the end when Enna and Isi go to the kingdom in the south looking for a way to stop Enna's fever and keep the fire from consuming her. Their eventual breakthrough happens quite quickly and felt almost too easy.
But the one place where I think not spending more time actively harms the story is during Enna's captivity under Sileph. I realized after finishing the book, that Hale had wanted to keep Sileph's people speaking ability a secret until a later reveal, but the whole time he and Enna spent together, there was this underlying feeling of discomfort for me. I didn't understand why Enna was so unguarded with him, and his behavior was inappropriately familiar. I never bought it that either of them had genuine feelings for each other. I think the story would have benefited from more buildup of this relationship, easing the reader into the dynamic so it didn't feel so obviously odd and abnormal. Alternatively, some well-placed phrases from Enna about feeling inexplicably pulled in by Sileph and not knowing why would have helped.
I can say though that as a more sophisticated adult rereading this book, I understand what Hale was doing now, and I appreciate her attempt at using Enna and Sileph’s dynamic to explore a type of ‘relationship’ that many of us have probably experienced. A relationship that fools you into a false sense of kinship and love but eventually turns out to have no foundation underneath it.
Part of me thinks that if The Goose Girl hadn't been as long as it was, then I might feel differently about Enna. Goose Girl created a certain expectation for the follow up books that I could never shake. I expected Hale to wade luxuriously through the story of Enna Burning, really spending time on every moment and filling in all of the cracks the way she does in Goose Girl. But she doesn't. I won’t say this was the wrong choice on her part because it’s a legitimate writing decision. Enna Burning is still a fantastic book. I’m just sad she didn’t do it.
But I can absolutely say that when Hale tells a story, beautiful things happen, and I'm really looking forward to reading the other two books in the series, as I have never read them.
I have to start this review off though with praise for Hale and say that her prose is utterly beautiful. Reading The Goose Girl made me jealous of her ability to weave a sentence and find some of the most unique and unexpected descriptions and metaphors I've ever read. Enna Burning is no different with lines like '...and thought how people start with wrinkles and end with wrinkles, grow into their skin and then live to grow out of it again.' I don't know about anyone else, but reading Hale's writing is always a pleasurable experience for me.
Similarly, Hale’s characters and storylines are very strongly written. The characters feel lived in and real and singularly unique compared to many other YA protagonists. You’d be hard-pressed to boil down her main leads to a few general descriptors, as they are always too complex for that. And while her storylines have plenty of what you would expect from a YA novel, there is always much more going on beneath the surface. I go into a Shannon Hale book expecting deep themes and consistently engaging plotlines.
The thing that stood out to me most though about Enna Burning (and this is going to sound odd at first but bear with me) is the difference in book length compared to The Goose Girl. It's not a significant difference, but it's enough that I could feel it as I read. I'm not sure why Hale chose to make Enna Burning shorter, but for my part, I was saddened by the decision, as there were a few points where I wish Hale had spent more time exploring the story.
Specifically, when Enna is still at home with her brother and he's becoming more and more surly, I would have really liked to see more of a build up before he finally snaps. Equally so, I would have liked more plot development towards the end when Enna and Isi go to the kingdom in the south looking for a way to stop Enna's fever and keep the fire from consuming her. Their eventual breakthrough happens quite quickly and felt almost too easy.
But the one place where I think not spending more time actively harms the story is during Enna's captivity under Sileph. I realized after finishing the book, that Hale had wanted to keep Sileph's people speaking ability a secret until a later reveal, but the whole time he and Enna spent together, there was this underlying feeling of discomfort for me. I didn't understand why Enna was so unguarded with him, and his behavior was inappropriately familiar. I never bought it that either of them had genuine feelings for each other. I think the story would have benefited from more buildup of this relationship, easing the reader into the dynamic so it didn't feel so obviously odd and abnormal. Alternatively, some well-placed phrases from Enna about feeling inexplicably pulled in by Sileph and not knowing why would have helped.
I can say though that as a more sophisticated adult rereading this book, I understand what Hale was doing now, and I appreciate her attempt at using Enna and Sileph’s dynamic to explore a type of ‘relationship’ that many of us have probably experienced. A relationship that fools you into a false sense of kinship and love but eventually turns out to have no foundation underneath it.
Part of me thinks that if The Goose Girl hadn't been as long as it was, then I might feel differently about Enna. Goose Girl created a certain expectation for the follow up books that I could never shake. I expected Hale to wade luxuriously through the story of Enna Burning, really spending time on every moment and filling in all of the cracks the way she does in Goose Girl. But she doesn't. I won’t say this was the wrong choice on her part because it’s a legitimate writing decision. Enna Burning is still a fantastic book. I’m just sad she didn’t do it.
But I can absolutely say that when Hale tells a story, beautiful things happen, and I'm really looking forward to reading the other two books in the series, as I have never read them.