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A review by emilypoche
Antenora by Dori Lumpkin
3.0
Thank you to Creature Publishing for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Antenora is a novella from author Dori Lumpkins about the haunting fate of a teenage girl in a high-control religious community, as told through the lens of a friend left behind. The story touches on a couple of themes; high-control religions, queer love and the complications of living in anti-LGBT communities, sin, and the duality of victimhood.
(Trigger warnings: snakes, religious trauma, dead animals, gore, violence, mentions of suicide)
Something that this novella does very well is create the discussion around victimization and actions of those in power. I think that at its core the argument is what happens when the “good” or empowered do things that are immoral or cruel to maintain their status quo? And how do we respond to violence or injustice against victims who don’t conform to our idea of “good” or “worthy.” Nora, the girl most of the story concerns, faces much ostracism and violence from the community. However, she herself can be flippant, disrespectful and prone to her own violence with terrible consequences. Do her perceived sins mean that extrajudicial violence or cruelty is warranted? Thematically, this runs throughout the book in a very deft way. I think that it’s probably the strongest element of the book.
I do not think the brevity of the story does it any favors. While the chapters about the events and the main character’s relationship were well crafted, there was little context to the community save for some short statements within a few paragraphs. We only know what the narrator tells us, but we see very little. I think some length would have built a history of friction between Nora and the community, not just the few isolated incidents. It just felt as if the story needed more context and description to build the complete setting and community dependent interactions.
Overall it’s an interesting short read. The narrator’s voice is unique and compelling, and the action is highly interesting. 3/5 stars.
Antenora is a novella from author Dori Lumpkins about the haunting fate of a teenage girl in a high-control religious community, as told through the lens of a friend left behind. The story touches on a couple of themes; high-control religions, queer love and the complications of living in anti-LGBT communities, sin, and the duality of victimhood.
(Trigger warnings: snakes, religious trauma, dead animals, gore, violence, mentions of suicide)
Something that this novella does very well is create the discussion around victimization and actions of those in power. I think that at its core the argument is what happens when the “good” or empowered do things that are immoral or cruel to maintain their status quo? And how do we respond to violence or injustice against victims who don’t conform to our idea of “good” or “worthy.” Nora, the girl most of the story concerns, faces much ostracism and violence from the community. However, she herself can be flippant, disrespectful and prone to her own violence with terrible consequences. Do her perceived sins mean that extrajudicial violence or cruelty is warranted? Thematically, this runs throughout the book in a very deft way. I think that it’s probably the strongest element of the book.
I do not think the brevity of the story does it any favors. While the chapters about the events and the main character’s relationship were well crafted, there was little context to the community save for some short statements within a few paragraphs. We only know what the narrator tells us, but we see very little. I think some length would have built a history of friction between Nora and the community, not just the few isolated incidents. It just felt as if the story needed more context and description to build the complete setting and community dependent interactions.
Overall it’s an interesting short read. The narrator’s voice is unique and compelling, and the action is highly interesting. 3/5 stars.