Let's Talk Books

As a rule, I don’t plump for historical fiction. It’s a great genre, sometimes, but I struggle with the inherent tragedy of it, or the need to make hugely anachronistic changes (I mean surely, just set it in a fantasy world?) and I was a little worried, when I requested this, that I might be setting myself up… but I was just too tempted by the subject matter. A Gothic historical-mystery about resurrectionists featuring MM romance? I mean. come on! And I am so glad I broke my own rules. The Resurrectionist is deeply accurate. Facts and reality abound, the language is perfectly formal, without tipping over into ridiculousness, the characters felt fully realised, and of their time, and the gore, the Gothic edge, was satisfying without becoming egregious.

Dunlap has done her homework here, and you can tell resurrectionists, medical history, and Edinburgh are all things in which she has a committed interest. It has been a long time since I read something that felt so thoroughly researched, and yet also so naturally informational. Of course a young man having moved to a new city would learn his way around; of course two people obsessed by their medical vocations would occasionally drop anatomical terminology into conversation, would think about where on the skull of their lover they have pressed their lips; and , of course, two young men enamoured by one another would pursue that romance despite the laws of the time.

The relationships throughout this novel were a real highlight. Dunlap crafts personalities and connections with exceptional dexterity, creating from the damp fog of Edinburgh warm, genuine humanity. Particularly brilliant was her humour, woven carefully and skilfully through conversations and interactions, which reminded me time and time again that these were 20-something year old men, and really made them feel like they were! This is also, however, where the book loses a star. As is sometimes the trouble with first person narratives, James has a tendency to believe people are behaving entirely out of character, and then berate himself when it turns out they are being dishonest. Given he was 1) in his 20s and 2) had known Nye for quite some time by the tail end of the book, it just wasn’t believable anymore, and was actually a bit grating.

That being said, this was overwhelming excellent, and I enjoyed more or less every moment of it. 4 stars.