I think Blake puts it best in her acknowledgements, that this “was a lot of book”! At around 500 pages (depending on your edition, my pre-released one was slightly shorter), it’s not the longest book ever, but goodness me, it took some reading. And weirdly, that is not a criticism.
Somehow Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake describes the tiniest aspects of human nature and reality just so perfectly, exaggerating some and getting others bang on the money (literally). It’s so brilliant for its writing and characterisation, done in a way that I just know I could never do, so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride instead.
When the brilliant CEO of Wrenfare Magitech, a huge corporation with amassed successes, dies, siblings Meredith, Arthur and Eilidh come together to hear which of them will inherit the business.
I’ve never read another book like this. The blurb might have you thinking it’s a wealthy, delayed coming of age story, where the grown up rich kids who were once so talented and gifted realise their own flaws and battle with them. And these rich kids also happen to have strange magic that can do everything from flash a few sparks to bring on apocalypses. (The focus is not here though, don’t let the promise of magic sway you too far – the magic of this story lies elsewhere.)
But it’s oh-so-much more than that, and also, so much less. Rather than a gripping plot, this novel thrives as a warped character study of our three main characters, along with a few others strung along for the ride. They are distinctly unlikeable, but also fascinatingly addictive. As is the story as a whole.
The prose is mesmerising. Long, wordy sentences that could only be described as verbose – they put my long sentences to shame! They often need deciphering, read multiple times to extract a double or hidden meaning. I can practically hear my English teachers screaming at me to “read between the lines” here! But the result of all this is oh-so-rewarding. The story feels like it would make an excellent adaptation for TV, but I fear that would miss all the intricacies that are unwritten.
The witty and cutting narration is utterly brilliant; the epitome of a flawed narration. I enjoyed how this reveals the story to the reader in parts, and how it influences our perception of what is going on.
I felt I would identify with parts of this book before reading it – for some background, I come from a family business and was that stereotypical bright young child that now lives on the edge of burnt out. This meant that for me, the book revealed a few uncomfortable truths! But the parts I actually identified with most closely are those of a person whose storyline weaves under the entire book (you’ll know more when you read it!), who describes a very stark reality of life with a difficult small child. Those parts resonated SO strongly with me and could only be written by someone who has experienced them – the final scene especially, the small blue Adirondack chair.
Finally, back to the characters again. How gorgeously and luxuriously they’re written – in equal parts distressing and distressed! The three Wren siblings alone are complex and complicated, and together, even more so. They are flawed and toxic and they hate each other and they love each other. The “side” characters are even so stunningly fleshed out and brilliantly written – Yves, in particular, is a gem.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a review copy of this book – the publishers especially, as they sent me a physical copy of the book when my eBook version was corrupt!
