Eliana is a model citizen of the island, a weaver in the prestigious House of Webs. She also harbors a dangerous secret—she can dream, an ability forbidden by the island’s elusive council of elders. No one talks about the dreamers, the undesirables ostracized from society.
But the web of protection Eliana has woven around herself begins to unravel when a young girl is found lying unconscious in a pool of blood on the stones outside the house. Robbed of speech by her attackers, the only clue to her identity is one word tattooed in invisible ink across her palm: Eliana. Why does this mysterious girl bear her name? What links her to the weaver—and how can she hold Eliana’s fate in her hand?
Review:
I picked up The Weaver thinking it was perfect for Women in Translation Month… but it looks like the author rewrote her own book in English, so I don’t think it counts.
Things starts off great – an interesting world doled out in manageable chunks! An easy-to-like character that’s caught up in Happenings! A mystery with a sure to be gruesome villain!
But as much as I like the beginning the book stalls. It’s not the plot, exactly, or the character development, but the lack of love given to the world they’re inhabiting. The what is lovingly explained, but Eliana’s lack of interest in the why means we don’t get many answers. Who are the people who came to this island, and what drove them to make such segregated groups? Why does the council have such power, and where did that power come from? Ships travel between the island and other places, so what holds the inhabitants here? And so on. The ground level world building is solid enough, but there’s little added to that foundation.
I like that there’s a main female/female relationship and the fact that it’s f/f doesn’t raise any eyebrows. A side character is gender queer/fluid/trans, perhaps, but it’s barely examined so I don’t want label them.
While the set up and idea are interesting when more depth is required we find ourselves stuck in an ill-woven web.
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