Celeste's Reviews > Maddalena and the Dark

Maddalena and the Dark is one of those stories that truly contains multitudes, at least when it comes to genre. First and foremost, it’s historical fiction, set in 1717 Venice. The lush, clever writing invites readers to place it in the literary fiction camp, while the darkly romantic tone and tension house it firmly in gothic fiction, which blends with the more fantastical elements to tip it into magical realism or even fantasy territory and, since much of this dark story takes place in a school setting, dark academia could be included for good measure. All of this could have made for a muddled story, and it did in a few instances. But overall, this is a story unlike anything else I’ve ever read.

There’s an elegance to this story because of the beautiful, unusual setting. However, one of my favorite elements of the book was that Venice was not simply the setting, but an actual character in her own right. And a deeply disturbing one, at that. All of the fantastical elements of the story were based around this idea of Venice having a life and mind of her own, and I found that aspect of the story absolutely fascinating.

This is, at its core, a story of obsession. Luisa is obsessed with music, and wants nothing more than to be the best violinist in Venice, but her nerves get in the way. She’s an orphan, valued only for her musical talent at the Pieta she calls home. She has never quite fit in, and longs to belong to someone. Then she meets Maddalena, the daughter of a noble family sent to the Pieta to study music and improve her marriage prospects after scandal strikes. Maddalena is obsessed as well, but not with music; it’s Luisa who consumes her heart and mind. The friendship between the two borders on the romantic, which is completely impermissible at the Pieta.

We see obsession close in on madness. We see deals struck for selfish gain. We see romance blossom and backs stabbed. It’s a fascinating, if dark, look into a society and time I know little about. I felt that the narrative unraveled a bit toward the end, and lost itself a couple of times earlier in the story, but I was always interested enough to continue reading. I can’t say I liked any of the characters much, but they were at least compelling. I would definitely recommend this book for those who like gothic or historical fiction and would like to try something more unique to both genres.