Somewhere, somewhen the celestial gavel came down upon the firmament with an almighty crack. A monstrous voice, its timbre shaped by colliding quasars spoke inescapable judgment.
“Upstart mortal, Wendy Waters, I condemn thee to write. Forever.”
And behold, it was very good.
CATCH THE MOON, MARY
I’ve had soft spot for the Judaeo Christian good vs evil thing. This particular ordained person of virtue going 12 rounds with that particular arch demon, for the soul of humanity, to a backdrop of cosmos spanning God/Satan refereed fireworks and a nifty soundtrack.
What Wendy has done has brought this to a very personal level where an abused and musically gifted child has made a Faustian bargain (not that she had much choice) with an angel, though not Lucifer, may as well be. I was amazed Wendy could get into the mind of child under these circumstances and bring her alive in a character. But if I swap the angel for a parent like figure then I begin to see how.
For not a large book, Wendy fleshed out some interesting characters which initially I started out disliking then grew on me. Or, started out keen to know more and ended up detesting. But that’s the intent of characterization and it worked for me. Even though they had a habit of dying quick.
Some of Wendy’s well rounded creatures such as the brother-in-law I’ve had similar run-ins with, always at my expense. The producer she nailed with a bullseye. The angel, a nasty piece of work. But I assume that is what absolute power does. Especially after Daddy has taken a heavenly sabbatical. Most of the characters had suffered abuse.
Then there’s Mary. I loved her from first keystroke. Putting out dishes of food for the elves was jolly good wheeze. There is music within her. She is a piano whisperer. She is a victim of abuse. She tries to protect those she loves. She has an angel. She is a deal maker and breaker. She has untarnishable hope. She will change the world
I had to itemise that for I find Mary beautifully complex and I can’t get my head around her in one book review session (my first on a fictional work).
Wendy writes of life with abuse. Wendy writes of the life after abuse. Wendy writes of overcoming abuse. Wendy triumphs for all.
Catch The Moon, Mary 