Nonesuch

A brilliant young financial secretary gets swept into a fantastical world of angels and time-traveling fascists in the early days of WWII.

Oh, this was a treat! Some might consider it a slow start, but I think of it as starting with very solid character development; by the time the adventures really kick off I had become so invested in Iris's story that I had to keep reading just to know how she would fair. It was a welcome change in pace from books where character development is sacrificed to plot.

The only thing I disliked about the book is that it ended with those most dreaded of words: "To be continued."

Received via NetGalley.

A woman living in London and working a secretarial job in finance (though she's fascinated by the flow of money and is good at making sound judgments - even debating economics with Keynes at one point) is pursued by a blobby, faceless, frightening creature, and ends up finding hidden places to trek across the city and fight off alien time-traveling Nazis bent on winning the war. She and a nerdy tech for BBC's first forays into television work to defeat the otherworldly enemy.

Yeah, it sound daft, but it's strangely compelling and absorbing, rather like N. K. Jemison's The World We Make - very much located in a specific place and time, but also wildly imaginative. Spufford has the stylistic chops to pull it off.

I did think the final twist show more was a little underdeveloped, and thought it was inconsistent with the character, or at least needed a little more ... something more than the foreshadowing about her mother's rejection. Oddly enough, I found that harder to believe than the really out-there stuff.

But overall, a fascinating and original story. show less

I have been a fan of Francis Spufford since reading his nonfiction book I May Be Some Time: Ice and the English Imagination. Each of his novels have been magnificent, with great imagination and a unique vision.

With Nonesuch, Spufford has gone into new territory, a fantasy with a British woman risking everything to prevent Fascist Germany from winning WWII. It is also a romance story, with Iris used to being in control until she meets Geoff, an early television engineer. Iris also fights a financial system that relegates women to clerks when she wants to be a stockbroker—and rich. She is a unique and strong character.

Geoff’s father Mr. Hale is involved with an Order with magical control over spirits captured in city statues. The show more gorgeous and dangerous Lall has taken over the Order and is intent on time traveling to assassinate Winston Churchill, ensuring that Britain capitulates to Hitler, hence avoiding war.

The scenes of London during the Blitz and how the people carry on are wonderful. Iris is exhausted yet takes over when her boss is can’t go on, then works nights to protect the office building (and first step of the time travel bridge), and risks her life to control the magical time travel bridge.

This is the first volume of the story, and readers will be impatiently awaiting the release of the conclusion.

Thanks to Scribner for a free book. show less

I was intrigued by the title and the blurb, nearly DNF'd after reading the first chapter (men writing women and the pretentious mid-century middle-class, oh my) but ploughed on with a fitting wartime spirit.

Overall, there were some interesting concepts, evocative descriptions of London during the Blitz (not sure of the accuracy, but I was convinced) and the occasional exciting scene, but there was too much happening, like three novels in one: a high fantasy Da Vinci Code-esque story about a celestial labyrinth controlled by archangels, against the more plodding Working Girl subplot with Iris and a pedestrian romance that was all talk and introspection. The author was also too keen to make Iris and her nemesis mad Lall appealing and show more sympathetic, especially the latter who drops her Aryan quest for world domination when she gets a girlfriend (what?)

I would write more but Libraything just ate half my review, so this will do. show less

A fantasy novel set in WWII, including during the Blitz, and very much about London. The protagonist, Iris, is a girl on the make, trying to turn her secretarial job at a finance firm into a job in finance despite the sexism she faces. She’s unabashedly anti-Nazi (and capitalist). She’s also unabashedly heterosexual, while trying to manage the social consequences of being a “baggage.” After what was supposed to be a one-night stand, she’s stalked by a creature whose origins and nature turn out to be quite interesting. Prose a bit overly lyrical for my tastes, but I see why it helps with the mood. Other reviews say it ends on a cliffhanger (a second and concluding volume is promised), though I thought it was more like ending by show more upsetting the chessboard and getting ready for a different game. show less

Set during the early years of WWII, Iris is an ambitious teleprinter operator at a brokerage company. She studies the market, stock prices, and the potential impact if the war begins. One night, while out with a date, she meets Evelyn, Lall, and Geoff. After Lall insults Iris, Iris seduces Geoff in revenge. She then sees a creation, the Watcher, which terrifies her. She learns the meaning of the Watcher from Mr. Hale, Geoff's father. Lall and Iris clash over fascism. Geoff and Iris use magic to fight fascism. Ultimately, the use of magic changes the course of Iris's life.
I felt this book was a bit long, and due to the magic, I wasn't a huge fan.