the thorn and the blossom by theodora goss

Overall, I think The Thorn and the Blossom suffers for this. All the important plot points are in place, so we jump through time between Brendan and Evelyn’s meetings and everything else is omitted. The book is a novella, but doesn’t feel like it should be one. I was a bit irritated, though, by the length. It’s never clear whether we are meant to understand these mishaps as being the result of mental illness, or whether the fantasy moments are meant to be taken literally, which gave the whole thing, but particularly Evelyn’s story, a feel of being slightly off kilter that I found very interesting. The adversity is a little more out of the ordinary, arising from misunderstandings that have strong fairy tale nods (fantasy and fairy tales are, after all, what Goss specialises in). Naturally, however, there must be some adversity. A meeting arising from chance time and place develops over the course of a week into a transatlantic romance.

On a straightforward level, the book is a romance. As well as this, it is clear that a lot of care went into the design of the book it is held together in a jacket upon which Scott McKowen’s beautifully drawn flowers and plants wind through the lettering, and each of the lovers’ stories is opened and closed with black and white illustrations of the characters.Īnd so, to the stories themselves. Basically, the book as a physical object has no spine, so you start with either ‘Brendan’s Story’ or ‘Evelyn’s Story’, read through it (awkwardly holding the book to stop it accordion-ing off onto the floor), and then turn it round and read it back the other way. What is unusual about the book (and seems to be the central point on which it is being marketed) is the ‘accordion-fold binding’. The Thorn and the Blossom is the first novella from Theodora Goss, who has up until now used the short story form for her prose, as well as writing poetry and various academic pieces.

The thorn and the blossom by theodora goss