Sortilege by Linda Gibson

An intricately crafted and gorgeously written inter-textual novel that weaves two interrelated stories together, Linda Gibson’s Sortilege is a must-read for fans of hybrid works and metanarratives.

In the contemporary plotline, a woman in her thirties named Emily (“Em” for short) is blundering through post-divorce existence after moving back home. The stories of two other women cross into Em’s tale, one of whom is reading a gothic-style novel that becomes the second main plotline of the novel.

Despite how confusing these braided pieces might sound, the author handles this Gordian knot of a narrative with style and grace. The novel additionally includes other formats and fun digressions, such as passages written as plays, or sections reviewing the roles of women in literature. The book can be enjoyed without getting the narrative’s every nod or reference, but its influences are vast – seemingly everything from Marcel Proust and the Marquis de Sade to “Twin Peaks” and “El Topo.”

Provocative, audacious, brainy, and strikingly playful, Gibson’s splendid writing always informs the content of the novel, and her alliterative prose is a delight to read. Sortilege also absolutely sticks the landing, ending on the book’s essential commentary on the cyclical nature of life: after all, progress isn’t always linear.

Book Links