This one was heavy on the literary fiction and fantasy, but very little mystery for me. There are many questions left unanswered, but If you enjoy flowery writing this one might appeal to you provided you are OK with the convoluted and lack of a defined plot.

This story sounds great. However I lost interest in it rather quickly and couldn’t get into it. I tried to go back a couple of times. Sorry for the late review.

Some of the most useless words to include in a book review - breathtaking, lyrical, luminous, exquisite - are the ones I want most to apply to The Maker of Swans. It's all of those things, which is entirely unhelpful to anyone who's trying to decide if they'd like to read it or not, so I'll say instead - this book felt to me like Piranesi by way of Bridget Collins. If that sounds like your jam, then by all means, dive in.

It's a remarkably slow-moving book despite starting with a murder and going on to involve abductions and car chases (sort of) and secret magic. But it's slow in the way of a frozen river, with hidden depths below the still, icy surface; slow like a seed growing into a rose bush. It's a book worth lingering over.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.

I'm not entirely sure what happened at the end of this book. I enjoyed the characters, and was cheering for the good guys, Clara and Eunice, and maybe Mr. Crowe. I was never entirely sure, though, what the magic system was, or how it worked. Mr. Crowe's powers are still a mystery.

The writing was clever, and kept me engaged. I think, though, that I need to read the Cliff's Notes!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Maker of Swans is an unusual novel, set in an other worldly place of this earth, yet not. With people of our knowing, yet not. The world has been created from ours and populated with beings like us as well as some who are definitely other. It reminds me of the world building of Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell…except that this world feels incomplete which leaves gaps in our knowledge, but left a novel I enjoyed.

Mr. Crowe, Eustace and the mute child, Clara, live together at a large English estate in a seemingly perfect existence until one incident begins to undo their idyllic world. There are hints that Mr. Crowe has been leading a less than perfect life, as we know he courts beauties frequently. What he “does” we don’t know, but there is an aura of mystery about him and his household, that he performed marvelous things in the past.

We are often in the mind of Clara, tuned in to the world around her … the flora and fauna. She loses herself in it at times. She absorbs everything she reads and communicates through writing. Who is she?

There are gothic tones and magical moments throughout this novel. The weakest area is the narrative thread….where does it lead? I wonder if that is a weakness or intentional. I have my own thoughts for The Who and What of Crowe and Clara, the very essence of world-building itself. And I enjoyed the mystery, the prose, the emotional involvement of this book. Perhaps not entirely successful, but a good read!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I’m a huge fan of this book! The writing was so flowery, with beautiful prose. It’s not the type of book you go into expecting to be straight forward, you’re just there to enjoy the ride.

The Makers of Swans is about Eustace, the butler for a rather interesting man, Mr. Crowe. When Mr. Crowe kills a man on his estate a series of events starts. An undesired visitor comes, a girl is kidnapped, and super natural things happen.

I found this book just as confusing as Vesper Sands and not very interesting. I struggled to get through this one and I am not totally sure I understand what was going on. I am sure there are people that this book would be perfect for but not me.

Do you ever start reading a book and very soon, think you might've dropped into a sequel within a series, or that you're missing some context for the people, events, or developments? That's how I felt reading this book. It's an imperfect book, in that things aren't neatly laid out, explained, elaborated on, or even clarified. There are still parts and themes I don't totally understand. The "talent"? Crowe? The magic? How everyone all got together? It was also often a case of the author using 25 words to say something they could've easily said in 6. I like neat books-even if things take lots of hairpin twists and turns, as long as things are explained at the end, I'm fine. This one left me feeling confused and like I had a lot that I still didn't follow.

I suspect this might be a love or it hate it proposition- and honestly, I fell squarely in the middle. It's a Gothic, confusing novel filled with magical realism that I couldn't quite pin down. I had a hard time entering this tale of the mute Clara, her protector Eustace, and the others. Interesting, to be sure, but frustrating as well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Wasn't for me but I'm sure others will enjoy it.

The Maker of Swans was a really interesting read. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of it. It's a little outside of what I typically read, but wow. I'm glad I read it. I don't want to give too much away but it's not what you think it'll be.

The Maker of Swans
by Paraic O'Donnell
Pub Date: June 14, 2022
Tin House Books
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
* Fantasy *Gothic * Magical Realism
I had difficulty reading this book. To be honest, maybe the book is great... just not a good fit for me.
On one side I find the writing to be beautiful despite the excessive use of prose and on the other side, I feel the story is confusing and there are many questions left unanswered. If you enjoy flowery writing this one might appeal to you provided you are OK with the convoluted and lack of a defined plot. For a debut novel, I think the author did a good job.
3 stars

"It is no small matter, after all, to create something - to make it so only by setting down the words. We forget the magnitude, sometimes, of that miracle.

In the dead of night, shots ring out over the grounds of a sprawling English estate. The world-weary butler Eustace recognizes the gunman - his longtime employer, Mr. Crowe - and knows he must think and act quickly. Who is the man lying dead on the lawn? Who is the woman in his company? Can he clean up his master’s mess like he always has before? Or will this bring a new kind of reckoning?

Mr. Crowe was once famed for his gifts - unaccountable gifts, known only to the members of a secretive order. Protected and privileged, he was courted by countesses and great men of letters. But he has long since retreated from that glittering world, living alone but for Eustace and Clara, his mysterious young ward. He has been content to live quietly, his great library gathering dust and his once magnificent gardens growing wild. He has left the past behind. Until now.

Because there are rules, even for Mr. Crowe and his kind, that cannot be broken. And this single night of passion and violence will have consequences, stirring shadows from the past and threatening those he now cares for. He and the faithful Eustace will be tested as never before. So too will Clara, whose own extraordinary gifts remain hidden, even from herself. If she is to save them all, she must learn to use them quickly and unlock the secret of who she is.

It is a secret beyond imagining. A secret that will change everything."

Secrets on a sprawling English estate, sqwee!

I loved The House on Vesper Sands and The Maker of Swans had some similar qualities - atmosphere, mystery, and hints of the supernatural. However, the plot was hard to follow in a way that made it boring to read, almost as if things were shrouded in TOO much mystery. I also struggled through the long, descriptive dream passages. At the end of the day, I wasn't really sure what this book was about or what message the author was trying to convey. This one was definitely not my cup of tea!

A little bit of magic and mystic energy flow through an English Estate. But one night that is all shattered, But why?
In this novel of suspended belief, we find a woven thread of duality. Good and Bad. Ying and Yang. The Dark and the light. Is Mr. Crowe the light or the dark? the good or the bad? Then who is the ever-faithful butler, Eustace?
Either way, Clara is gone and the good and evil need to be brought to light.
This is a bit of historical noir, mixed with classics such as The Cask of amontillado with a little haunting of Rebecca. Hard to explain when the characters can't possibly be real, their life can't possibly exist, yet you are enthralled by their story. You will get a little bored or confused in the middle, but it won't last long. I read it for the cover and title, I stayed for the story.

Enigmatic, atmospheric book about Mr. Crowe, who is a kind of wizard, his faithful servant Eustace, and their ward Clara, a girl who herself has magical powers to create living things. Mr. Crowe kills someone in violation of the magical code, and Eustace must scramble to protect Clara at all costs. Clara, who is mute, has a rich interior world that draws in the reader, and Eustace also proves to be a fascinating character as his backstory is slowly filled in.

Highly recommend!! This book is a definite page-turner! You'll be left thinking about the story long after you put the book down. First book to read by this author but definitely not my last!