It is clear from the writing style that the author is a poet, and the language and focus on the “art” aspect of writing often detracts from the story, as does the protagonist in the is coming-of-age novel. Gael Foess is an intelligent, articulate, opinionated and dislikeable child, and not much better as an adult. She operates alongside beautiful inspiring art while also stealing, manipulating and conning people and situations around her. The novel, narrated by Gael, spans about nine years: a politically turbulent decade that opens with Iraq War protests and closes with the Occupy movement in New York City. The financial crisis temporarily jolts Gael and Guthrie’s father, Jarleth, a high-flying Barclay’s banker who leaves the family in 2008. The biblical parable of the talents, which he recounted to Gael when she was a little girl, comes back to resonate: It’s a potent reminder that money and skills don’t get distributed fairly in this life. When Gael gets to New York in 2011, she plans to redress the balance in two paradoxical ways: living in the Occupy camp and taking part in protests; and secretly earning her brother a fortune on his modern art.
Written in heart-stoppingly vivid prose, Orchid & the Wasp examines how we inevitably fail our families despite our best intentions; what we are owed and what we must earn; and how our lives can turn us into people we would never have imagined. While this publisher’s précis lured me in, I so disliked Gael’s character, that I struggled through the story, cringing at absolutely everything she did (with the exception of her 11 year-old self trying to set up a business of persuading school girls to break their hymens and then buy supplies of blood “virginity” capsules). While the author tries to tackle a range of societal issues, ultimately her writing style and lack of focus make this rambling story difficult to enjoy.
Posted by: Regina C.
