Archive Review: The Heroines by Eileen Favorite
Heroines starts off with an intriguing premise. Ann-Marie and her daughter, Penelope, maintain a boarding house in the 1970s, and from time to time Heroines from various novels/plays/stories will come and visit them. There is only one rule: you must never interfere with a Heroine's fate. Little Penelope is 13 and on the cusp of womanhood as a daring Hero (or Villain?) arrives chasing down his lost heroine. She is drawn to this dashing stranger and resents the heroines for monopolizing her mother. Sounds pretty sweet, right?
Well, in actuality, it's not bad. It's pretty awesome to see the Heroines outside of their story. Some of them include Catherine Earshaw of Wuthering Heights (annoying as ever), Madame Bovary (Which I have yet to read), and Scarlett O'Hara (whom I adore despite her spoiled nature). That part, where the Heroines come is strong and has actually made me want to check out the Scarlet Letter and Madame Bovary (still haven't). The part that kind of drags is Penelope. It's not entirely her fault. She is a 13 year old girl who has to compete with Scarlett O'Hara and Cathy. I'm pretty sure I couldn't. However, Penelope still sucks up far too much time, especially during this odd episode where she's placed in a mental hospital just so she can meet a bunch of side characters who seem to serve no purpose other than filler.
The book is also a bit jumbled. Despite being in first person, the action will shift around to stuff that Penelope "learns about later" and makes me wonder why the author didn't just present the whole tale in the 3rd person.
My other great complaint is the "never interfere" rule. I appreciate that how/why the Heroines come is never explained, but the never interfere rule seems arbitrary. We're never treated to what might happen if they do interfere. They do meddle and try to change some people's minds, but it never seems to make a difference anyway. I would have preferred instead of "oh don't do it, it'll make a paradox or something" it was just that no matter how hard you tried, you COULDN'T change it. Some are obvious - no one can talk Cathy or Scarlett into ANYTHING. Both are very determined to destroy themselves, but we don't get any of that really either. Ann-Marie imposes the rule, there is some bending of it, but nothing seems to come of breaking it.
In the end, despite its flaws, it's a decent read. I finished it very quickly and don't consider it a waste of my time. If any of the literary figures I mentioned (as well as Franny and Zooey) mean anything to you, then it's nice to see them in another context. This appears to be the author's only novel. She's an English professor (can you tell?). I hope she puts out another one.
Thanks for reading!
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