Araby sees death and disease everywhere. The plague has infected hundreds and whipped out much of the town. Her father, the scientist who created the masks to protect them, is so wrapped up in his work he barely notices her existence. Her mother is still deeply broken from the death of her twin brother, Finn. Being from a higher social class, Araby and her friend, April, spend much of their nights at the Debauchery Club. Filled with beautiful clothes, glittery make-up, and many different substances that can help them forget the horrors of the outside world.
Through Araby's numbness and sorrow, she will discover pieces of a different world. She finds Will, a club worker who has a secret or two he keeps behind his mask. And she will discover Elliot, April's older brother, who despite his dark and mysterious outside has a few tricks he has kept hidden.
Her journey provides her with reasons to look beyond the hopelessness, and maybe have something to live and fight for again.
Being a fan of Poe, I read the summary of
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin on shelfari and found it interesting. Once a few authors I am familiar with gave their five star reviews, I knew I had to immediately check it out. I was not at all disappointed.
Poe's Red Death was horrifyingly real. Griffin makes this story the same. In a world of disease and sadness, how is it possible to be happy and stable? Araby is a great character because she's given up. With a failed suicide attempt, she feels stuck, and as if her parents would rather have her brother and her switch places. She feels hopeless and alone. The Club her and April attend is a picture perfect way out. The scene is very posh, only for the elite crowd, and it is a great escape from the outside. Will and Elliot prove to be important pieces in Araby's life. Each boy is the complete opposite of each other, yet they are so similar it is striking. The love aspect is nice, yet, not the main focus of the novel.
The writing was truly "hauntingly beautiful". It painted a picture of a city in termoil and no form of science has been able to break through. It is amazing to see the inventions and science that goes into this world, yet nothing seems able to compete with the disease proving to take out mass amounts of people.
I also liked how the author included James Joyce into the novel by using "Araby" as the main character's name. His short short story, "Araby", had the main theme of loss of innocence, and this is exactly the way to describe Araby in Griffin's
Masque of the Red Death. Clearly, the author put a lot of thought into her characters and her theme, and this is very reassuring to readers.
I loved this book! Really great and a different take on Poe's classic. I absolutely recommend it. It will not disappoint. :) Look forward to a sequel to follow.
