Witty Reviews: Woman in the Abbey

Get out your dictionary; this book uses some long words! Author Mike Maggio, a poet at heart, tries his hand at a gothic novella, and boy is it a poetic piece. Written from the POV of Lucifer himself, Maggio made a bold move in representing one of the most evil figures in mythology, but he pulls it off remarkably well. Here comes a review!

Initially, you have to adapt to his writing style, as it’s undeniably literary. If you’ve just come from a light fiction read, you’ll need to switch gears quickly. However, once I got into the swing of his prose, it became a surprisingly easy read. A novella is always teasingly short enough to make you feel like you can finish it in a day or two. While I rarely actually do, that brevity helps me maintain momentum better than the non-fiction or epic novels I’ve pushed through in the past.

The character of Lucifer is well-executed, and the poor victim, Graziella, has a truly hard time of it. Father Francesco, the man who is supposed to be Graziella’s savior, is annoyingly weak in the last quarter of the book; his failures make you painfully aware that Graziella isn’t going to get out of there in one piece.

With these high-end literary books, I sometimes wonder whether authors create long-winded and esoterically structured sentences just to "look cool." There is a fine line between purposeful execution and ego. For the most part, the style suits the dark, gothic tone of the story, but occasionally, Maggio could have taken a bit of advice from Orwell: “Never use a long word when a short one will do.” That being said, once you commit to the investment, you have to accept that this is the book’s form and it isn't going to change. With that mindset, I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I particularly like horror, especially all things demons, churches, and eerie settings, so this spoke to me before I’d even got started on page one. And it’s encouraged me to give Maggio’s poetry a read, as I can tell that would be his ultimate superpower. However, if Maggio were to write another creepy story, I’d certainly give it a go as well.

The only other modern literary fiction I’ve read was The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore. Again, it was a horror story, which I think works best for the literary style of writing. I enjoyed both, which makes me wonder whether I am growing a little love of these beautifully-written horror gems!

Now, off I go to dream about Lucifer and haunted abbeys.