Bingo Square: You (one of the novel’s POVs is 2nd person)
I quite enjoyed this novel. It has a kind of dreamy quality to the writing; it’s a queer retelling of a 12th century French werewolf story, and it has a bit of barebones feel to the storytelling that makes it feel like a fairy tale and transports the reader back to an older time.
The chapters alternate between “Him” (Bisclavret), “You” (the king), and “Other” (the wolf). Bisclavret has lived with his curse his whole life and though his family was noble, his condition made his mother keep them in isolation, far away in the country. Bisclavret is shy but also dreamed of being a knight, training himself to fight. When his cousin comes to visit, Bisclavret eventually becomes convinced to come to the court with him in an attempt to claim his father’s lands.
The young king has only recently returned to court himself due his father’s early demise, and while he knew his knights and retinue as a boy, it has been many years. He is still finding his own way in the court, figuring out loyalties and friends when Bisclavret makes his appearance to swear loyalty. The king is taken with him, and quickly grants him his father’s lands, fortunately still in possession of the royal court.
While the wolf makes an appearance or two, Bisclavret’s transformations become infrequent enough that he believes maybe he can have a somewhat normal life with friends, a wife and family, only for things to take a turn.
Bisclavret is the only named character in the novel, the rest being the king, the cousin, the lady, the knight in green and so on. It’s such a simple story but it just really worked for me, and it was so empathetic to its characters as they were figuring themselves out in their own ways. Also, the cover is absolutely gorgeous.
