When We Lost Our Heads follows Marie and Sadie in a sort of coming of age novel. The novel is set in Montreal in 1873. As Sadie and Marie’s friendship unfolds, we see many familiar themes in young girls friendships- jealous, envy, competition. The friendship implodes with a deadly accident, and their live’s paths are forever changed.

Although separate, their lives run parallel throughout the novel until the6 are again thrust into each other’s lives. Again, ending badly.

Overall I liked this book. It was slow and long in parts but as the characters were further developed, I found myself getting more into the story.

trigger warnings for sex, rape, abortion, prostitution

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from HarperCollins Canada and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

*

When We Lost Our Heads has a similar quality to it as when Marie Antoinette purportedly said, “Let them eat cake.” Is it a coincidence that one of the main characters is named Marie Antoine? I don’t know, but I like it.

This novel is set in 1873 Montreal and follows two young girls who form an intense friendship that quickly implodes after a deadly accident.

Twelve-year-old Marie Antoine is adored and loved by everyone around her. Her mother died when she was very young, so her doting father has made it his mission to give her whatever she wishes. She knows she will one day be in charge of the sugar factory that she is the face of and that her father operates.

Twelve-year-old Sadie Arnett and her family are new to the wealthy neighbourhood of The Golden Mile. Her family has little wealth, but believe their new home will advance them politically and socially. From a young age, Sadie observed that her family placed all their attention and hopes of raising their social status on her brother Phillip. Perhaps because of their neglect, Sadie shows an interest in all things dark. Her first memory is throwing herself off a cliff. She finds joy in drowning kittens. She spends her time writing material that others would consider shocking.

When the two girls meet, everything else around them disappears. They love each other deeply, but they also feel intensely envious of one another. Their jealousy culminates in the pair often competing against each other. One such competition turns deadly, which inevitably forces the girls apart.

Throughout their lives, they will still feel connected in a way they do to no other. Set against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, extravagant wealth contrasts against the impoverished working class.

This novel masterfully tackles gender inequality, gender identity, sexuality and class.

Twisted, decadent, gauche, lavish are all words that describe this literary delight. The characters are not always likeable, but they are utterly fascinating.

My favourite parts of this novel were the girls growing up and discovering themselves. Around the midpoint, I found it slowed down a tad. The pace picked up again in the last quarter with its initial grandiosity and ended with a bang.

I don’t know what Heather O’Neill’s other books are like, but I will for sure be checking them out now.

I recommend this to readers that like morally grey characters and to those wanting a dark yet wonderfully absurd coming-of-age tale.

CW: sexual assault.

Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://booksandwheels.com

Bravo! Heather O’Neill is an author I have watched in the past and I think I even have a copy of one of her past books on my shelves. I will be seeking out more books by her after this fantastic historical fiction novel.

Most young girls are enamoured by Marie on the playground at age 12 but she sees them all interchangeably. That is until she meets Sadie. The pair hit it off like a house on fire and spend all their time together in 1800s Montreal in the Golden Mile. Marie is the daughter of wealthy parents who own a sugar factory. Her father is raising her after the passing of her mother by a sorrowful event.

One day the play between Marie and Sadie becomes all too real and ends in tragedy. This marks a point of separation for the pair and will alter their futures.

Years later and Sadie is now living in the Squalid Mile in Montreal while Marie is running the sugar factory. How their lives become intertwined again is the crux of this story.

Themes of classism, sexual freedom and equality as well as social change make for an interesting plot. Add in some murder and mayhem and you won’t want to put this one down.

While I found most of the characters to be fairly unlikeable, I found them to be well crafted and purposeful. O’Neill has reflected on a period of history that reads much differently in history books but is likely closer to the truth.

My heart broke a little for one of the characters who didn’t see themselves represented in their surroundings but still grew up as a confident human albeit overlooked by one of the main characters.

Thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollinsca for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. There is still time to preorder When We Lost Our Heads. It comes out February 1, 2022 and is sure to be a hit with literary and historical fiction fans.

› "Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett had met in the park on Mont 17 Royal behind their homes when they were little girls of twelve years old. It was 1873."

Marie Antoine had light hair, Sadie had dark. Marie had blue eyes, Sadie had dark. They may have appeared opposite in physical appearance, however, the universe brought Marie and Sadie together because inside they had the same struggles, and would contribute to the revolution in their own way.

As children, they shared their deepest, darkest thoughts with each other:

"Then Sadie had an idea. They sat at the veranda table in front of two bowls of chocolate pudding. They both tied blindfolds around their eyes. They spoke to each other with their blindfolds on. Sadie thought up a bleak idea and then they took a bite of the pudding. The dark idea would forever be associated with something delicious."
This entire pudding scene stuck in my head for the rest of the book. The girls had a fascination with death - Sadie in particular. She murdered animals and felt no remorse. One day, while playing a game with guns, the girls killed a maid. This event would change their lives. They had a complicated on-again, off-again, friendship/attraction. Neither had a firm grip on reality for their entire lives. Their imaginations often left them losing family, friends, time, and each other.

Marie lived in Golden Mile, Sadie ended up living in Squalid Mile. Although the Golden Mile is for the rich, and you'd think that would mean women living there had a better life, we see this is not the case. Money doesn't change the battles women fought every day against sexism and violence.
› Characters: 4

› Atmosphere: 4

› Writing Style: 5

› Plot: 3

› Intrigue: 3

› Logic: 6

› Enjoyment: 3

Average 4
1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★

› Final Thoughts
• This is not the way I wanted to start a new reading year. I'm terribly disappointed. This book was way longer than it needed to be. I was bored. If it wasn't an arc I would have quit, and to start 2022 with a DNF would have been tragic. When We Lost Our Heads is a raw, deadly, twisty story about tragedy, obsession, women's rights, gender roles, and class. The reader is taken on a journey with Marie and Sadie through turmoil and triumphs as they discover more about themselves, the world, and each other. I'd recommend this to adventurous readers who don't mind a lot of fluff and a slower pace.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.



*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*

Illegible galley. Please correct it and supply a new one. Thank you. Need I say more??????? Okkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

It's difficult to describe the world in which O'Neill immerses her reader. I fell in love with O'Neill's writing when I read The Girl Who Was Saturday Night last year. It's creative and kooky and sad and magic and an unapologetic love letter to Montreal.

Set in Montreal's Golden Mile in the late 19th century, this novel introduces us to the aptly titled Marie Antoine, the spoiled daughter of a sugar baron, and her complicated friendship with Sadie Arnett, a darkly brilliant and unique girl. Marie and Sadie form an unbreakable attachment, until a childhood game gone awry tears them apart. We then follow Marie's ascension into the businesses world and Sadie's descension into the Squalid Mile, incorporating other wonderful supporting characters along the way.

This is a story about strong female friendship, female love, and, overall, a story about women: what they do to survive, to thrive and their strengths and their fears and their powers. O'Neill is a brilliant writer and this book does not disappoint..

I’ve read a few books by Heather O’Neill so I already knew I liked her writing going into her new book, When We Lost Our Heads. I like that her books are usually set in Montreal, she really captures the vibe of the city in many ways. This book focuses on two main characters, Marie and Sadie who come from an English elite upbringing in the rich neighborhood of the city. They commit a notable act that follows them for the rest of their lives in various ways. Marie, heir to a sugar factory and Sadie, daughter and sister to political hopefuls who barely notice her, the two girls form a love hate relationship with each other while they come of age.

Although an intricate story, O’Neill builds each character and gives us a full picture of the setting of the well off and working class factory life of the poor. This book is largely about relationships between women and their place in society. Set in the early 20th century, through the characters we see how constricting life was like for women no matter their class.

I came away with The Crimson Petal and the White vibes in terms of the setting and how interesting the women characters are in the book. I thought this was good story, I enjoyed reading it. Although it took a bit wrapping up, I would still recommend this book, this Is up there with the author’s best.

When you read a book entitled When We Lost Our Heads — featuring a decadently wealthy main character named Marie Antoine, heiress to a sugar fortune and whose likeness is featured on every bag sold (“Everyone knew Marie from her profile on the sugar bags. It represented sweetness. It represented being able to eat cake instead of bread.”) — you might think you know where this book is going. But this is from the mind of Heather O’Neill. Virtuoso of the clever metaphor, doyen of dazzling wordplay whose humour sweetens the political punch, O’Neill never fails to surprise, delight, and provoke. With other characters named Mary Robespierre, Jeanne-Pauline Marat, and Georgina Danton, revolution is certainly on the horizon, but the enemy is not simply, or solely, L'Ancien Régime. Focussing on an extraordinary friendship set against the backdrop of Industrial Age Montreal, this is class warfare, sex warfare, gender warfare; referencing Dickens by way of Christina Rossetti and the two Marys, Wollstonecraft and Shelley, with the Marquis de Sade thrown in as well. This is literary, gritty, socially astute, and I loved every page of it; I will boldly declare it’s my favourite O’Neill novel so far.