bittertea reviewed The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
None
5 stars
Holy fuck
Hardcover, 400 pages
English language
Published Sept. 4, 2023 by Peachtree Publishing Company Inc..
The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
5 stars
(10 reviews)
Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas …
Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.
London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife. According to Mother, he’ll be married by the end of the year. It doesn’t matter that he’s needed a decade of tutors to hide his autism; that he practices surgery on slaughtered pigs; that he is a boy, not the girl the world insists on seeing.
After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—if the school doesn’t break him first.
Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity. --peachtreebooks.com
Jaelyn reviewed The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
You're trapped in there with him
5 stars
In an alternate 1883, The Veil between the living and the dead thinned and purple-eyed mediums speak with the dead under the auspices of the Royal Speaker Society. That is, male purple-eyed mediums; women born with those spiritual eyes are barred from spirit work and are treated as nothing more than breeding stock for the Speakers regardless of their age.
Enter 16yo Silas, to be married off by the end of the year. Despite having those valuable purple eyes, Silas isn't a perfect daughter, or even a daughter. A lifetime of being bullied into masking his autism, his transness and his proficiency in surgery has left him desperate to escape. But when his attempt to flee is uncovered, he is thrown into a brutal asylum for women suffering from a vague "Veil sickness". There, the spirits of women murdered within its walls beg for help, and for Silas to run …
In an alternate 1883, The Veil between the living and the dead thinned and purple-eyed mediums speak with the dead under the auspices of the Royal Speaker Society. That is, male purple-eyed mediums; women born with those spiritual eyes are barred from spirit work and are treated as nothing more than breeding stock for the Speakers regardless of their age.
Enter 16yo Silas, to be married off by the end of the year. Despite having those valuable purple eyes, Silas isn't a perfect daughter, or even a daughter. A lifetime of being bullied into masking his autism, his transness and his proficiency in surgery has left him desperate to escape. But when his attempt to flee is uncovered, he is thrown into a brutal asylum for women suffering from a vague "Veil sickness". There, the spirits of women murdered within its walls beg for help, and for Silas to run before it is too late.
Despite the fantastical elements, all of this tracks very closely to the brutal Victorian practices on surgery and mental health. Despite a lot of horror around beatings and vivisection, I felt most chilled by the constant thread of helplessness. The helplessness that comes from never being believed simply for who you are, of having everyone you could turn to being complicit in your horror, and being constantly weighed down by a lifetime of abuse for who you are.
I felt deeply for Silas and the women imprisoned there and the book expertly conveys Silas' internal doubts and fears. I felt trapped alongside him which perhaps also shows how deeply personal some of these themes can be.
Top 3 favorite book right here
5 stars
It’s absolutely disgusting, scary, depressing, and doesn’t make any sense most of the time, and I loved it!
Stunning
5 stars
Genuinely just blown away by this. Mixture of creepy and gory that slightly belies the YA designation, but I fell for the characters so hard.
My Review Of "The Spirit Bares Its Teeth"
5 stars
First and foremost, I'd just like to say wow. TSBIT was a roller coaster from start to finish, especially the ending, which I'm still playing out in my mind. I loved that somebody finally learned how to write neurodivergent people RIGHT; the mannerisms and thought processes were so beautifully fleshed out, it's a testament in and of itself!
I loved Silas' characterization especially, the rabbit motif was a lovely touch, a portrayal of that ever nagging voice deep inside and what happens when we finally lose it! TSBIT was hauntingly beautiful in all of its portrayals, I especially loved how the spirits were described; the image of death and emotion personified! I liked the way the veil was described, wistful yet tangible, something that could be sliced into and torn asunder!
The plot with the groundskeeper really struck something in me, I hope he got his happy ending!
hollow reviewed The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
Review of 'The Spirit Bares Its Teeth' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
I don't know that I have the vocabulary to properly explain how I feel this book, or even celebrate it. Don't get me wrong it is painful, it is gruesome, it is vile, it can and will fill you with such rage. And yet, it is undeniable how desperately I needed to read this book. As much as this book is a horror masterpiece, it is also a reminder of queer historical perspectives. I recommend this book to my fellow trans siblings who are full of anger and fear, to all of those who have a scream residing deep inside of them, that can't be let out. This book feels like a primal scream after being backed into a corner, painful and agonizing, and yet full of relief, like weight has been taken off your shoulders. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy and annotate and …
I don't know that I have the vocabulary to properly explain how I feel this book, or even celebrate it. Don't get me wrong it is painful, it is gruesome, it is vile, it can and will fill you with such rage. And yet, it is undeniable how desperately I needed to read this book. As much as this book is a horror masterpiece, it is also a reminder of queer historical perspectives. I recommend this book to my fellow trans siblings who are full of anger and fear, to all of those who have a scream residing deep inside of them, that can't be let out. This book feels like a primal scream after being backed into a corner, painful and agonizing, and yet full of relief, like weight has been taken off your shoulders. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy and annotate and let my tears hit the pages. I truly loved this book.
Just a quick note about some of the more painful moments to warn anyone. There are many horrifying elements (it is a horror book), but body horror, body dysmorphia, and transphobia is a big part of the book, if that is triggering for you please don't read and/or keep that in mind.
Just a quick note about some of the more painful moments to warn anyone. There are many horrifying elements (it is a horror book), but body horror, body dysmorphia, and transphobia is a big part of the book, if that is triggering for you please don't read and/or keep that in mind.
