Review of SO PRETTY by Ronnie Turner (New Release)

 4.5 Stars

Gothic fiction is not a genre I normally read, but this book offers much more than just macabre events and an atmosphere of fear. 

The novel presents the perspective of two characters, Teddy and Ada, in short, alternating chapters.  Wanting to leave his past behind, Teddy Colne arrives in the town of Rye in East Sussex.  Despite warnings from several residents to avoid an antique/curio shop, he takes a job as an assistant to its odd proprietor.  Ada, also fleeing an unhappy childhood, has lived in Rye for two years with her 4-year-old son Albie.  She has not been accepted by the community so she’s lonely.  She and Teddy meet at the shop and strike up a friendship.  All goes well for a while until an obsession becomes too difficult to resist. 

Teddy and Ada are similar in many ways.  Both have dark family histories which have left them damaged and fragile.  They have lived as outsiders, never being fully accepted, and are looking for a fresh start.  Unfortunately, both live solitary existences.  Ada is not welcomed by the townspeople:  “they saw a single mother, a poor and lonely mother, and that’s all they saw.”  She is desperate to find a friend.  Likewise, Teddy is lonely and even imagines setting a table for two:  “The food will go cold, but I can tell myself it goes cold because someone is running late and not because there is no one coming at all.”  Both are also concerned about whether they have inherited or been infected by the traits of a parent.

Two more characters are Ye Olde Antiques and Curios Shoppe and its owner Mr. Vincent.  The shop is dark and claustrophobic, crowded with shadows and gruesome objects.  When Teddy first enters, he thinks, “The shop tastes of death, of something that has turned.”  Mr. Vincent, who does not speak, is a skeletal figure who is described as having “’a rot in [him], like an infection that spreads from his body.’”  Certainly, he seems to possess a malevolent aura. 

I appreciated the complexity of the characterization.  Because characters are fully developed, readers will feel different emotions towards them.  For instance, it is impossible not to feel sympathy for Teddy.  His difficult childhood was followed by a lonely life “hounded by fanatics and lunatics.”  I hoped he’d find the normal life he so desperately wants.  At other times, the reader will be repulsed by his choices, though an understanding of his motivations tempered my negative reaction. 

I also liked the abundant foreshadowing which means that though there is some shocking behaviour, it is not entirely shocking.  There are many hints so what happens is more expected than unbelievable.  A character seems to change, but it happens gradually and only after behaviour clearly indicates that all is not well. 

The novel explores gossip and its impact.  Ada says, “’rumours are like rot here, they spread.  And then you can’t tell what’s rumour and what isn’t.’”  Both Teddy and Ada are subjects of malicious gossip.  Because Albie has a deformed ear, people speculate that Ada might have dropped him as a baby or hit him.  When Ada and Albie have not been seen for a few days, one person who doesn’t even know her says, “’Swanned off somewhere sunny, I bet.  No thought given to the boy’s stability and welfare.  The young don’t take responsibility these days.  Especially not Ada Belling.’”  And Teddy, more than once, hears his “name called out, rumours, accusations thrown into the air.” 

The novel also addresses the nature versus nurture debate:  is our behaviour dictated more by our genetics or by our environment and lived experience?  Teddy and his mother certainly worried about whether evil could be inherited.   Physical appearance and mannerisms are influenced by genetics, so how about character traits and mental disorders?  Are Teddy’s actions predetermined and so unavoidable because of his genetic makeup?  Were his upbringing and his mother’s oft-expressed concerns about Teddy being like his father influencing factors?  It cannot be doubted that the harassment he and his mother faced affected him.  Does Teddy’s time in the creepy shop with its peculiar owner influence his behaviour? 

The book doesn’t conclusively answer the nature/nurture question, but it definitely illustrates generational trauma:  “’Some people shouldn’t be parents.  They are broken, then they break their children. . . . Troubled parents make troubled children.’”  Ada has been affected by her mother’s childhood trauma, though she wasn’t aware of the nature of that trauma, and she worries about being a good mother to Albie.  Teddy’s mother suffered a breakdown because of her husband’s actions and society’s reaction.  Despite his mother’s best efforts, Teddy’s childhood was filled with severe stress because of the actions of his father and others, so he has been left feeling lonely and powerless.  This situation he is desperate to change so he resorts to using Mr. Vincent’s past against him, though that is exactly what he wants to avoid for himself.  Who knows what caused Mr. Vincent to take the action he did as a child.  Is he just “a frightened man who hides because hiding is all that is safe to him?”  Certainly, the chilling ending suggests that childhood experiences have a lasting impact. 

Despite its lyrical prose with some delightful turns of phrase, this book is not always a comfortable read because of its constant sense of foreboding.  What impressed me, however, are the book’s nuanced characterization and its deft exploration of serious issues.   I would classify this book as literary fiction with some gothic elements.