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A review by erinys
Always by Nicola Griffith
5.0
Just finished this one, so I thought I'd make a quick post.
This novel was the last of book of a trilogy about Aud Torvingen, the Norwegian ex-cop. It's another great story about a great character, and I really couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to an arc about healing, feeling, and real personal growth.
As an #ownvoices work, I should note that this novel also introduces another aspect of Griffith's life experience, in that there is a well-written character with MS.
I think that ultimately what I love about these novels is the fact that while Aud is never "fixed"--her PTSD is as real and vibrant at the end of the series as it was at the beginning--that by the end of her arc, she has learned to cope, and to embrace real life and real change. This is a luxury that is almost never afforded to the male protagonists in noir fiction, who seldom get happy endings and are usually defined by their vices and failed relationships rather than by their ability to grow, or the desire to have a real positive impact on the world around them.
I don't particularly want to spoil this book or any other of the trilogy, but I will say that it takes incredible skill to write three novels that are incredibly, realistically violent, and very noir, and still give the heroine an ending that embodies healing and maturity in a believable, humane way.
This is me, applauding. And even though these books contain no vampires or spaceships, and thus are usually outside my wheelhouse--I definitely think these are wonderful lesbian characters and great stories. I'm very glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to read them.
This novel was the last of book of a trilogy about Aud Torvingen, the Norwegian ex-cop. It's another great story about a great character, and I really couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to an arc about healing, feeling, and real personal growth.
As an #ownvoices work, I should note that this novel also introduces another aspect of Griffith's life experience, in that there is a well-written character with MS.
I think that ultimately what I love about these novels is the fact that while Aud is never "fixed"--her PTSD is as real and vibrant at the end of the series as it was at the beginning--that by the end of her arc, she has learned to cope, and to embrace real life and real change. This is a luxury that is almost never afforded to the male protagonists in noir fiction, who seldom get happy endings and are usually defined by their vices and failed relationships rather than by their ability to grow, or the desire to have a real positive impact on the world around them.
I don't particularly want to spoil this book or any other of the trilogy, but I will say that it takes incredible skill to write three novels that are incredibly, realistically violent, and very noir, and still give the heroine an ending that embodies healing and maturity in a believable, humane way.
This is me, applauding. And even though these books contain no vampires or spaceships, and thus are usually outside my wheelhouse--I definitely think these are wonderful lesbian characters and great stories. I'm very glad I stepped outside my comfort zone to read them.