The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
Andrew Joseph White
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 Sanitorium and Finishing School. The facility is cold, the instructors merciless, and the students either bloom into eligible wives or disappear. So when the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its rotten guts to the world—as long as the school doesn’t break him first.
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0Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ or (9.1/10)
Characters - 9
Atmosphere - 9
Writing - 10
Plot - 9
Intrigue - 9
Logic - 9
Enjoyment - 9
Okay, so this is the first of Andrew's books that I'm reading and it was definitely an interesting ride for me. The detail and conflict in this book was top tier and despite that fact that there was a lot of words and topics that were uncomfortable to me at first, I was still able to keep going and stay intrigued. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and resonated with the MC so much. I see why people say that this book is amazing and I'm excited to read Andrew's other books!
0TWs:
Graphic: Misogyny, sexism, blood, death, transphobia, forced institutionalisation, gore, medical content, mutilation, injury/injury detail, torture
Moderate: Pedophilia, sexual assault, murder, gaslighting, grief, pregnancy (of a child)
Brief: Miscarriage
I will say this is not for the faint of heart, due to what goes on. PLEASE heed these TWs.
This story is genuinely incredible. I love how Andrew Joseph White writes, it's gut-punching and amazing. A harsh look at how society used to be and what did happen, paranormal aspects aside.
I genuinely love how, in his stories, there is always a focus on how supportive people around the MC can be, to offset the horrid transphobia they have to face. There is always a focus on the positive; yes, transphobia is obviously present, but the MC is not constantly hindered by it, and is able to push through her. The small twists every so often always caught me off guard, never failed to keep me hooked.
I also love that, in the end, there is always a happy ending. I bloody love the ending to this, it is SO satisfying to me, and so heartwarming too. Silas and Daphne deserve the absolute world. 11/10, wish I could read for the first time again.
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