Forget the sparkling happy ever after of fairy tales when you enter the world of We Other by Sue Bentley. I dare you! Trade in the beautiful fairy dust for dark energy. Inhabit the shadows of the forest and satisfy yourself with the occasional chink of light. Is this the real life of faeries? Do they really exist on the edge of darkness? We Other challenged me to ask these questions.
I was shocked that this sinister world resonated with me. Sue Bentley connected with my childhood fears yet managed to explain it. Oh, my goodness, such intricate plot spinning. You’ll be caught up in the web once you let yourself believe in another world that exists between good and evil.
Don’t be afraid to enter the world of We Other and the flesh-eating faeries. You will be safe with Jess. Let Jess’s story guide you into the world where shadows hover on the edge of reason. There is depth to this fantasy and guidance for teenagers who are searching for their identity. Jess undergoes a metamorphosis and finds her wings. Do you remember finding your wings as a teenager and learning to fly out there in the real world? Did you wear armour over your true identity? Through fantasy, Bentley explores teenage identity and a battle with harsh family life. The book has many layers of meaning to explore so dive in.
This genre of book is a first for me, as I had abandoned fairies in dusty old books long ago. We Other is something different. Despite the narrative twisting and turning in my stomach, it captured me an evoked my imagination. I savoured each imagining and lingered in the world of Jess. There is a haunting intensity in every sentence. I now know why my subconscious is always dubious of letting me go into the woods. Having read We Other, I am a believer. Are all animals and humans real or are they faery-kind? Who knows? Be careful of what magical, sinister creatures lurk in the hedgerow.
‘Faery and the world of humankind occupy the same space. Made of different fabrics, they overlay each other. The barriers can only be crossed by those who know.’
This explanation captures the mysterious essence of the book, but if you read We Other then you will experience this philosophical explanation for yourself. I adored the complexity of Jess and the way she coped with the stark challenges of poverty and her mother’s alcoholism: her life is ‘harsh and joyless’. I was equally charmed by the mesmerising encounters in the world of faery. The complex narrative is grounded in the beautiful relationships between the characters. Read the book and it will ‘feel like something physical, spreading tendrily through your mind.’ Sue Bentley weaves an ‘other worldly’ tale and leaves questions stranded in your mind. I challenge you to spend time ‘mortalwise’ and faerywise when ‘time moves to a different tune’. When reading the book, a plague of dragonfly and midges hovered over my garden and this made me think about what they might be according to Bentley’s explanations.
‘Something in the air gathered around her and crackled faintly. There was an internal gathering…’ Beware the sinister spirits when you enter the Dark Court. I guarantee you will get lost in this story. When I visited ‘fingers of light stole through the branches of an ancient wood.’
Great review. You’ve intrigued me.