Fledgling

I just finished this book, and it was good. I plan to read everything else Butler wrote, too, in time, so I'll reserve comments on her broader writing and personality for when I feel like I know them a bit better. She was a self-described hermit who seems to have shared many of my mental struggles, so I suspect we'll get along fine.

The writing in Fledgling felt a bit sparse and rudimentary, which is apparently a mark of her style. It reminds me of Carver's poetry a bit. I haven't made up my mind on whether I like it in fiction yet, but I certainly liked Fledgling. It's the kind of vampire story I think I've always longed for, one where vampires aren't predators but simply beings with different lifeways, who are as capable of harm as they are of helping, and whose long memories and lifetimes have led them to develop more cooperative than dominating ways of being. This is what I would like to believe long-lived people would be like, given enough history to learn from.

Early on reading the book, I commented elsewhere that I feel like the characters aren't well-developed. They feel like two-dimensional prop pieces for the story more than living beings. Other books I like well enough have a similar vibe, though, especially in science fiction (thinking here particularly of Asimov's Foundation series), and I don't mind it much because the story is so good anyway.

Ultimately I'd say, read it if you haven't. Butler is a legend for a reason. And if you like vampire stories, this is the best I've read so far.

There is no denying that this was an ambitious novel. From the outset, Butler makes it clear that she has a powerful, unique interpretation of the vampire genre and intends to explore it in depth. And that aspect of it, the world building, is truly impressive. What’s more, in every chapter of the novel, the reader discovers more about that world and we are gradually given the impression of a rich and ancient culture living parallel to our own.
However, I almost feel that, such was the strength of Butler’s vision, that she allowed to take over to the detriment of everything else.

This isn’t quite the Silmarillion, but I found myself reading this book increasingly as I might an academic text rather than a work of fiction. In fact, it read as nothing quite so much as a philosophical thought experiment - and as one, it is fascinating: throughout the novel it keeps raising and exploring ethical questions through the medium of the narrative. Every chapter, I came away wanting to discuss what I had read with someone else. But the story itself and the characters felt lacking. It seemed Butler would take some effort to introduce each character and then, job done, leave them as just another agent in the text. The only character given any opportunity to develop was the protagonist, and even her journey felt a bit stilted.


As a investigation into the vampire genre and into human morality, it is well worth a read. But as a novel, I was left a little cold.