The Virgin Cure
The Virgin Cureby Ami McKay
"I am Moth, a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street, born to a slum-house mystic and the man who broke her heart." So begins The Virgin Cure, a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in the year 1871. As a young child, Moth's father smiled, tipped his hat and walked away from his wife and daughter forever, and Moth has never stopped imagining that one day they may be reunited – despite knowing in her heart what he chose over them. Her hard mother is barely making a living with her fortune-telling, sometimes for well-heeled clients, yet Moth is all too aware of how she really pays the rent. // Through the friendship of Dr. Sadie, a female physician who works to help young women like her, Moth learns to question and observe the world around her. Moth's new friends are falling prey to fates both expected and forced upon them, yet she knows the law will not protect her, and that polite society ignores her. Still she dreams of answering to no one but herself. There's a high price for such independence, though, and no one knows that better than a girl from Chrystie Street. (goodreads.com) (snipped for length)
Oh, hello! Welcome to, "Cat Backdates All of Her July Posts as She Writes Them in August". Today's backdated post is all about my absolute LOVE of this novel by Ami McKay.As you may (or may not) know, I consider historical fiction to be way outside my comfort zone. I have been very surprised in the last year by the historical novels I have picked up though so I think I might be getting over my fear of reading Outside the Box in this case. I tend to like my novels with some sort of magical, fantastical element...or serial killers. What can I say? ;)Something about The Virgin Cure was haunting me since I first saw it in stores. When I read a post about the book on my good friend Monkey's blog (ages ago), I was even more curious about it. So it took me almost 2 years to take the plunge and get the book but I am extremely happy that I did take this plunge.Over Canada Day weekend, Kobo was having a mega sale of Canadian authored books. As soon as I saw this one I knew I was going to get it. No hesitation. I just went for it.I then read it cover to cover (er, metaphorically since this was an ebook and everything) in almost one sitting. I started it way too late at night and had to sleep before I could finish it. Alas.There are books that just completely consume me as I read and Ami McKay's The Virgin Cure is one of them. The narration, the characters, the descriptions... everything wrapped me up in a cocoon and took me away from real life for the entire reading of the novel. I lost track of time and sounds in the house, nothing could distract me from the words in front of me. I felt like I'd been whisked away to the 1870s in New York City and I could almost taste the sounds and sights as I read. (Trust me, that makes sense to me, if not to you.)There was something truly wonderful in this novel that filled me up to the brim and overflowed over my body. I was so worried about not liking this book and having made a bad decision in my purchase but that all went away by the end of the second chapter. I loved so much about this book I will have to buy the physical book because I want to read it again and enjoy the physical book as I read - with it's deckled pages and floppy cover. I almost think I didn't enjoy the book as much as I would have if I could have been holding it in my hands and not reading it on a screen. Reading a book is an extremely physical experience for me and that part is removed when I read it on my kobo. This is a book I want to completely immerse myself in - from touch to the smell of the paper.It's a keeper. And now I need to read The Birth House by Ami McKay because her words are like magic in my head. (Again, that makes sense to me, if not you.)