I enjoyed a lovely sense of familiarity while reading Broken Light, the most recent Joanne Harris novel. Not only does this author have a distinct narratorial style, but she often re-uses locations in her stories. Some of this story was set in Mawbry, the same fictional location as many of her other books.
This story was reminiscent of Stephen King's Carrie. The two main characters, Bernie and Katie entered into and read each other's minds as children (they called this looking into each other's houses), but after an incident in another child's mind, Katie stopped. She also stopped associating with Bernie, who grew up as a lonely misfit.
Approaching fifty, Bernie felt as if she was invisible. She didn't have friends, her husband was emotionally absent, her son was physically and emotionally absent, and she was still suffering from relentless criticism from her now elderly mother. Menopause had begun and hot flushes were the bane of Bernie's life.
Bernie had also stopped looking into and changing things in other people's minds while still a child, but after a woman she slightly knew was murdered, she looked into the mind of a man who she suspected of planning to rape a young woman. When her suspicions were confirmed, she used her power to put him to sleep and left a lasting effect in his mind, so that every time he heard certain trigger words, like 'feminist,' he went to sleep. The mind of the young woman who was to be his victim was also affected, as she realised what Bernie had done. During the incident the young woman took on some of her attacker's predatory nature, and over the next few months continually urged Bernie to use her talents on other predatory men.
Bernie's powers strengthened and she began to influence others. As the story continued she began making friends and taking charge of her health, without the use of her special talent. As Bernie's 30-year class reunion approached, she became more and more confident that she would finally be seen by her peers.
I'm not always a fan of magic realism, but some authors do this so well that the story wouldn't exist without it. In this story, Bernie's powers were integral to the plot.
Broken Light takes on some big topics, including misogyny, feminism, toxic masculinity and gender wars. Another interesting theme was the power of social media, and how someone's opinion, regardless of whether it is right or wrong can become an accepted truth by their followers. A smaller theme for me was the reminder to listen to my inner voice, which I often ignore - to my detriment.
Another terrific and topical story from Joanne Harris.
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