I loved this book. It reads almost like an epic, as it follows the characters through a good portion of their lives.

Gareth and Jack, 6 year old best friends, are playing outside and competing to see who can climb the highest in a tree when Jack suddenly falls and loses an eye. It follows the two boys, and their families, into their adulthood, showing how one singular event can affect so many people and things.

The characters in this book (always my favourite part) were very multi-dimensional. They were all written so well. I love how the author highlights the characters' flaws as well as their strengths, showing that nobody is ever all good, and nobody is all bad.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me withy an ARC!

It took me a long time to get through this book. I really liked the cover and the synopsis, but I couldn't get into the story. I finally dedicated some time to get through it.

The book was good. I liked the characters and the way that their lives were intertwined.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an advance copy of this book.

This isn't really much new in this, your typical literature tragedy porn with with interconnected family dramas. You know, some infidelity, incest, secret same-sex love, suicide, kind of the usual. It was beautifully written and I found myself feeling for the characters, which is why I give Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack three stars overall. I also wasn't a fan of the author's explanation of where her idea for the novel came from - it was self-indulgent and if the story was good enough to stand on its own without context, that could have been added at the end of the novel. The pacing was odd, and the switching between characters confusing. Not that I think each chapter should be from one character's point of view - just the opposite - but someone like Celeste Ng can switch POVs seamlessly between paragraphs and enrich the story, but it fell flat in this one.

trigger warning
<spoiler> mutilation by accident, rape, incest, domestic violence, mental illness, suicide, trauma, being orphaned, lethal illness, death of a parent, holocaust denier, mention of concentration camps and war crimes </spoiler>

The accident in which Jack loses one of his eyes binds the two friends together for life, and it has effects on many people in their surroundings.

Since Jack has an allergic reaction to the acrylic eyes that are used in North America, his mother takes him back to Germany, where she came from, to visit a childhood friend who specialises in making glass eyes, thus rekindling an old romance by accident.

At an optometricist, they meet albino twins Blanca and Clara (the white one and the pure one, how creative) who also shall remain a fixed point in Jack's life.

There is not really a main character, everybody gets their fair share though the twins are mostly treated as one person, apart from one scene at the end. It felt like too much was going on, squeezed in, especcially towards the end. That they were present at the Mauerfall felt very, very constructed and didn't really fit in there, or that one character suddenly turned out to be gay.

Let me be honest, I was bored most of the time. What interested me most were weird facts about eyes and protestics. I was curious to learn that there are hills around Hamburg as I always thought it were in the Flachland like the region I live in.
Bonus points for the correct use of German snippets in here, as so many novels get it wrong despite Google being a thing.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

Oh my gosh!! This book will definitely take you on a wild ride. I will post my full review soon on Goodreads.

Thank you so much Netgalley for allwoing me to read and review this book.

In this modern Gothic tale, one small event (a boy falling from a tree and losing his eye because of it) causes a ripple-effect that influences the lives of a lot of people in some way.
It is a book about fate, and about not letting it determine everything. About accepting life as it comes, and then taking control of it to make the best of the hand you have been dealt.

I liked how the cast of characters felt bizarre and quirky, but at the same time very real and logical. Every person in this book has extraordinary characteristics or a dark aspect to their backstories, but their points of view are so well written it's easy to fully empathize. All characters' lives are also very much interwoven: each one has different connections to at least a few of the others, not just one.

I've seen it in a few others reviews as well, and it had come to my mind too: the combination of the freak accident, somewhat bizarre characters and the emphasis on artistry and a very niche profession reminded me of John Irving, especially in the earlier chapters. It made me a bit wary. As an Irving fan, I was a afraid the possible comparison would make it hard for this book to stand its own ground. I was not disappointed, however.

Heidi von Palleske is a name that will be sure to grab my attention when I see another book by her.

Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack doesn't shy away from any of the ugliness life can bring. It's a raw exploration of emotions and the changes we face through different stages of life. The story is in turns beautiful, tragic, horrifying, and enlightening, but never cheap or tasteless in the richness of each character's inner self. Through the good and bad that came to each character, how they faced their lives and interacted with one another, showed how awkward and difficult our lives can be. It's not a happy story, and it doesn't have a "happy ending" per say, but I felt satisfaction, resolution, and the promise of a better future.

Language: High (multiple "f-words," occasional other swear word)
Drugs: Mild (some teen drinking, recreational smoking)
Sex: High (prominent themes throughout the book: infidelity, exploring sexuality, rape, incest)
Violence: Moderate (rape, verbal/emotional abuse, war)

Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack

by Heidi von Palleske



Dundurn Press

If the eye is a window to the soul what do we make at the loss of one? Is it possible that one eye looks ahead while the blind eye looks within?

This work results from a fascination with oculary, an early encounter with the trauma of a lost eye, albino twins, and the fact that the author exists because of date rape. Heidi von Palleske is an author, actor and activist and the publisher describes this work as modern literary with mythic and gothic overtones, set between the shores of Lake Ontario and Berlin during the ‘60’s to ‘80’s.

The unique theme deals with the relationships between the younger protagonists as they progress from infancy to adulthood during a period of upheaval, and the adult characters living the aftermath of WW11, the prospect of the Cold War and the presence of the Berlin Wall. It’s a challenging read as the plot is somewhat convoluted, with extensive detail outlining the practice of the oculist.

I found some passages referring to cross character relationships confusing, though. When Gareth, the painter, expresses his desire to paint ‘the girls’ (the albino twins) and that would somehow free him from the guilt he carried from childhood about the loss of his friend Jack’s eye, I asked myself how? Is the pain Gareth suffering far greater than the loss of his best friend’s eye? “It was Jack’s choice, even if Gareth told him to climb higher …..when we take the credit or blame for another’s choices, we diminish their choices”.

Overall, I applaud the freshness of the theme and the originality of the concept, although I am not usually a fan of the third person omniscient narrative.

Thanks to Dundurn Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this work.

Sadly gave up on this - it was an odd story, oddly written and I was strangely detached from any investment in the characters at all.

Two White Queens and the One=Eyed Jack is a novel that draws you into a unique, fantasy like world. The characters are beautifully developed and like none you have experienced before. It explores topics such as fate, friendship, love and family. The story spans two decades and multiple families. Heidi von Palleske keeps the reader engaged, and does not let the story get so big as to get away from itself. It is a satisfying journey where in the end you are left understanding that everyone has a story to tell and a life to live, but life is better when we find those with whom we belong. The characters are real, and have real struggles, and some terrible life circumstances and events, but they learn that inner strength and believing in yourself, no matter what the rest of the world thinks of you, is the key to actually living.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for a copy of Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack.

I admit that the title really caught me, and the description drew me to it. The characters are certainly unique. I’m not giving anything away to say the story centers around Jack, who lost an eye as a child, and 2 albino girls that he meets and is intrigued with. The story follows them as they grow up along with characters related to them. Lots of descriptive time is spent on how fascinating the glass eye history is, but it was a little too much after a while.

It took some effort to get into the story, and many parts were good. The author certainly knows how to write a seductive flirtation scene, and the pace moved along well, but the way the story is told left me a little detached from the characters and some of the timeline jumps left me confused. It felt like there was an overabundance of things brought into the storyline, and the plot fell short for me. This book will take some concentration to follow.

This was such an enjoyable read. A sweeping story about two albino twins, an artist, and a one eyes photographer, all of whom lead lives that intersect and intertwine throughout the years, my favorite parts were the points of view of the huge cast of characters. This book will stick with me for a long time.

This was a more unique and different kind of read and I understand it may not be for everyone. There is 1 rape scene but it is less than a page long. It was to show something terrible happened and the book does not drag this incident on. This book is a mix of mythology, fantasy and gothic lore unlike Mexican Gothic that was truly a mess and overrated (JMO). Overall, I really liked this book and will re-read it in the future.

A friend (gareth) witnesses his friend climbing a tree and falling(Jack) and loses his vision in one eye. At a doctor's office, Jacks's older brother and Gareth accompany him to get his eye removed. It is Gareth who spots the beautiful white skin sisters, Clara and Blanca. He becomes obsessed with them. The rest of the story follows all these characters into adulthood and all the aches and pains that come with it. Can they all make peace with their own pasts? Can they accept themselves at last? Read the book to find out.

Highly recommended and this is not my usual kind of read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Heidi von Palleske, and Dundum Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 3/2/21

I loved this novel with its gorgeous prose, strange and vibrant characters, mythic/fairy-tale sensibility and gritty Gothic undertones. The author transported me into her magical, fey world and I didn't want the story to end.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoys authors such as such as Heather O'Neil, Karen Russell and Amy Bloom who create larger-than-life characters and story worlds.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

I tried to wade through this oddly paced story, and eventually gave up. There is a lot of switching back and forth from the past to the present, from one character to another, and the way the book is laid out made it difficult to determine where we were and who we were with at any given time. Just when I became unvested in a character, and thought I was getting to the meat of the story, the focus changed, or the setting, or a possibly significant piece of a character’s motivation was revealed, only to never be referenced again. The book was unfocused, the characters never fully realized, and the intriguing premise (a one-eyed boy, albino twins, shared fates) fell short of its promise.

I received this arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This took a bit to get through and I was less interested in the past that I was in the present - but isn’t that always the way? Who cares about the old people? But without the past, you can’t understand the present...or something. I wasn’t really drawn to these characters, until Gareth started painting. He turns out to be the conscience of the novel, not part of the title, but the catalyst for half of the title (which is quite clever in the end). Not something I would’ve chosen to read but I’m glad I did.

I don’t think this book was for me.

Take a story that’s a little bit gothic with some vulgarity and incest and couple it with a monocular boy and albino twins.

Weird, right?

I found myself pushing through to finish. It had a lot of POV shift that gave little to no warning so I found myself re-reading parts frequently to understand what was happening.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was unfortunately not for me. I found the description intriguing but the slower pace of the book and somewhat confusing writing, could be due to format of early release, too much to continue. I think this book has a very specific following and I just didn't fall into it. Books are fun that way, they speak to some people and not others.

Thank you Net Galley for a copy of this ARC. This book was a slow starter for me, until I seen it ask come together. Beautifully woven story. The kind that sticks with you.

* Thank you to NetGalley & the publishing house, who provided a free copy of this book for a fair & honest review. *

OK, so as noted by several of the lower-star reviewers — this book is not for everyone, AND THAT IS OKAY. Here’s my response to the 2 most frequent criticisms I saw in the other reviews:

“Vulgarity.” — Life is vulgar, & people swear. Also, fuck off. 🤭

CW — there is a rape scene, & it is graphic. HOWEVER. There is a HUGE difference between a rape scene written by a female-identified writer to demonstrate a moment of brutality *upon which the entirety of the novel hinges* and a rape scene written by a male author to titillate. Every reader has a different threshold. The scene is less than a page long. It’s at location 959 (about 25% in) if you need to skip it.

“Wraps up too neatly” — Take it up with Sophocles; this is basically a modernized version of Antigone, which is why is has a fairy-tale feel to it.

OK, NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT WHY IT’S AWESOME.

That said, I’m *exactly* who this book was written for, so if you’re like me... you’ll be into it.
I will also note that I’m into both Classics & mythology & German Literature & I love the Dresden Dolls & dark Cabaret. So if you nerd out on those things, there’s a lot of Easter eggs in there for you. I mean, you’ve got characters named Siegfried & Tristan & Hilda. So the Hero’s Quest is in there, too.

I tore through this book (seemed pretty substantial, not sure of the page count, but seemed pretty dense) in about 3-4 days. There are a lot of characters, but it never felt (to me, anyway) cluttered. It honestly reminded me a lot of John Irving’s work (and I mean that as a compliment) — what with Germans & a strange specific profession (the ocularist) & a lot of thematic content about destiny.

It’s been a long time since a book made me cry at the end, but the last 10 pages of this had me sobbing, which is probably another reason it reminds me of John Irving — that ability to come full circle & just lay you out completely with a few lines. The Epilogue brought goosebumps to my skin.

This book is lush & poetic & pays careful attention to how language works. The author also has a real ear for dialogue, particularly with the characters Hilda & Siegfried. My suspicion is the author is 2nd generation German & based their speech patterns on real people, because there are some idioms & speech patterns that Germans speaking English have & the author nailed it. I could hear these characters loud & clear.

Also, now I want the band Bleach to be real. I want to hear music that exists in a fictional novel.

I closed the last page of this book feeling like the characters were people I knew, people I want to be happy and live well. They all have a distinctive personality, & I love how deftly the author stitches their stories together. She really has an artful way of showing how one moment is all it takes to alter the direction of a life — how fate & destiny operate in the details, not necessarily the big, defining moments of life. Or rather — the climactic moments are made possible by a series of small, seemingly insignificant choices.

I look forward to reading more books by this author, & as a writer myself, this is exactly the kind of book I want to create one day. I will definitely purchase this in print, I can think of many friends who would love it, & I will definitely read it again.

If you like German lit, classical mythology, John Irving, dark cabaret, Dresden Dolls, Katzenjammer, My Sweet Audrina (VC Andrews), Sturm und Drang, Repo the Genetic Opera, gothic stories, Antigone, or Hedwig & the Angry Inch, odds are you’ll like this book. I hope that this review helps it find its ideal readers. If you get it — you’ll love it.