Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

So are we still putting women on pedestals now?

I really thought we were past the Madonna/Whore complex, but apparently not. According to Daughter of the Forest, the perfect woman is... well, perfect. She never makes a mistake, never says the wrong thing, she's an accomplished healer by twelve years old, always obeys her moral code to the letter, and suffers in silent martyrdom for the good of her brothers/husband.

And the really, really annoying this is that otherwise, this was a very good book. It was a lovely adaptation of the fairy-tale 'The Seven Swans' with a dreamy sort of mood that conjured up misty, romantic images of pre-Christian Britain. (or possibly Ireland - I was a little unclear on where it was set). The main character, Sorcha, has seven brothers who are cursed by their stepmother to become wild swans and Sorcha must complete a long, painful task to free them. If Sorcha hadn't been so damn perfect, it would have been one of the best books I'd ever read.

In case you're thinking I'm being too hard on Sorcha, think back on all the other books you've read. The most compelling characters were the ones like FitzChivalry of the Farseer Trilogy, who reacted to his social shunning with surliness and anger, and caused as many of his own problems as he solved. Or, if we're going with Australian fantasy, the ones like Axis from Battleaxe, who was an absolute prick but got the job done, usually in a way that ended with bodies on the ground.

In comparison, Sorcha is just boring. She's porridge while Fitz is a rich tender steak and Axis is a spicy curry. And she could have been so very interesting with just a little bit of tweaking. Her brothers all adore her? Okay, make her a little spoiled. She's a prodigy healer? Fine, give her a bit of an ego. Or if she has to have that romance with the foreign leader, then make her kind of a bigot - everyone else is, so it's not like she'll stand out. Otherwise we're just watching someone go through a series of trials from which she learns absolutely nothing because she was perfect to begin with.

Unfortunately, this book was still good enough that I've already read one of the sequels, which has exactly the same problem so I can't excuse it as the author having an off book. Damn her. I'm so confused; I don't know whether to enjoy her books or be furiously annoyed by them. This must be what people who like Twilight feel like.

"I had once told Simon he could make his tale end any way he liked. But this was not strictly true. I set my path straight ahead; but there were others that influenced its course, that diverted and changed and confused it."