TEST
Feiwel and Friends’ series of novels which remix classic stories for modern audiences returns with What Souls are Made Of, which retells the classic tale of Wuthering Heights through the eyes of two half-Indian childhood best friends who yearn to become more than that. Suri does a beautiful job transforming Catherine and Heathcliff’s romance, zapping its tragedy away without losing a single iota of what makes theirs such a compelling connection.
It’s 1786, we are on the Yorkshire moors, and Heathcliff is delivered to the Catherine’s home when his lascar father is lost at sea. Heathcliff is dark-skinned and speaks his father’s language –Punjabi – to keep his memory close; and people are, of course, nasty and prejudiced about this, looking upon him with fear. The household servants and some of the children at The Heights call him possessed and animalistic.
Catherine is light-skinned, the daughter of an East India Company officer, and even though her maternal origin has been kept from her, her father hopes to arrange a good marriage for her and present her to society. She must be sweet, biddable and kind at all times and the pressure – and lack of resolution about her mother – leaves Catherine in a quandary.
Catherine and Heathcliff bond over their mutual knowledge of Punjabi and spend the afternoons whiling away the time in adventure. But they grow up, Catherine’s father dies unexpectedly and they are wrenched apart – Catherine is told Heathcliff has died, and she is pushed to accept the marriage suit of the emotionally manipulative and abusive Edgar. Heathcliff, rejected, goes to London to make his fortune and ends up a bare-knuckled boxer and works his way to prosperity. They are brought back together and their passion has not boiled away – but what can they do about it?
What Souls are Made Of is written with a spare and powerful beauty that aids the author in remaking Cathy and Heathcliff’s world. Catherine’s lighthearted ways are bruised as she grows, but she never lets go of her faith in Heathcliff and in herself. Meanwhile, Heathcliff looks upon Cathy as a soulmate and beacon as he strives to figure out who he really is.
The romance is all you might hope for a lighter retelling of a dark tale. Suri tackles the difficulties of being biracial in England during the colonial period with aplomb; she probes the pain and horror of what Cathy and Heathcliff must endure socially and the pain of being rejected by those who ought to be closest to them.
I won’t reveal to readers whether or not Cathy and Heathcliff live to fight another day in this version of the book, but I will say that Suri makes the journey quite worth the reader’s time while they wait to find out. What Souls are Made Of is a beautiful piece of work.
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Young Adult
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 05/06/22
Publication Date: 07/2022
Lisa Fernandes is a writer, reviewer and recapper who lives somewhere on the East Coast. Formerly employed by Firefox.org and Next Projection, she also currently contributes to Women Write About Comics. Read her blog at http://thatbouviergirl.blogspot.com/, follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/thatbouviergirl or contribute to her Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/MissyvsEvilDead or her Ko-Fi at ko-fi.com/missmelbouvier
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.