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The Story of Silence
A knightly fairy tale of royalty and dragons, of midwives with secrets and dashing strangers in dark inns. Taking the original French legend as his starting point, The Story of Silence is a rich, multilayered new story for today’s world – sure to delight fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale.
There was once, long ago, a foolish king who decreed that women should not, and would not, inherit. Thus when a girl-child was born to Lord Cador – Merlin-enchanted fighter of dragons and Earl of Cornwall – he secreted her away: to be raised a boy so that the family land and honour would remain intact.
That child’s name was Silence.
Silence must find their own place in a medieval world that is determined to place the many restrictions of gender and class upon them. With dreams of knighthood and a lonely heart to answer, Silence sets out to define themselves.
Soon their silence will be ended.
There was once, long ago, a foolish king who decreed that women should not, and would not, inherit. Thus when a girl-child was born to Lord Cador – Merlin-enchanted fighter of dragons and Earl of Cornwall – he secreted her away: to be raised a boy so that the family land and honour would remain intact.
That child’s name was Silence.
Silence must find their own place in a medieval world that is determined to place the many restrictions of gender and class upon them. With dreams of knighthood and a lonely heart to answer, Silence sets out to define themselves.
Soon their silence will be ended.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published July 9, 2020
103 people are currently reading
3649 people want to read
About the author
Alex Myers
7 books147 followersBorn and raised in western Maine, Alex left his home state to attend Phillips Exeter Academy and went on from there to earn degrees from Harvard and Brown, where he studied Ancient Judaism.
Alex has taught high school English for over a decade and during this time earned an MFA in writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It was in this program that he started work on his debut novel, Revolutionary, which was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014.
Currently, Alex teaches in New Hampshire.
Alex has taught high school English for over a decade and during this time earned an MFA in writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It was in this program that he started work on his debut novel, Revolutionary, which was published by Simon & Schuster in January 2014.
Currently, Alex teaches in New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 261 reviews
June 23, 2020
This is an interesting experiment: taking a thirteenth century French chivalric romance and turning it into a prose fable about a transgender individual. While it becomes absolutely contemporary with a gender-neutral protagonist, the original poem proves that the very idea of gender binaries was *always* more fluid in the past.
I think gender only really becomes codified in the nineteenth century. Classical myths give us far more porous gender boundaries with Tiresias, the Amazons, Iphis and Caenus, Hermaphroditus; the Renaissance is packed with Amazons in texts like Orlando Furioso, or Philip Sidney's two Arcadias (The Old Arcadia, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia), the first of which also has a young man dressed up as an Amazon foreshadowing all those complicated double disguises in Shakespeare (a boy actor playing the female Rosalind who dresses up as a boy in As You Like It, or the disguised Viola inadvertently causing Olivia to fall in love with her in Twelfth Night. I think what I'm saying is that this novel is less revelatory, transgressive and 'modern' than it might as first appear.
The French original, 'Le Roman de Silence' is hardly well known and so it's not possible to see from this book what Myers has done with it. It would really have been ideal to have had an introduction or afterword that outlined the medieval poem and had some kind of discussion about its gendered context, especially the debate between Nature and Nurture and the ending.
I also thought that this version (what is it? a translation? a reception? a retelling?) is too long and tends to sag in some of the set pieces especially given that many of them (the killing of the dragon, the false rape accusation) are derived from earlier texts (the latter seems to draw on both Gawain and the Green Knight and the classical Hippolytus by Euripides, rewritten as Phaedra by Seneca).
So this is a bit like reading a novelisation of, say, Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, or an extract from Spenser's The Faerie Queene: the gendered overlay looks contemporary but really showcases that we'd only think that if we don't know the cultural history of gender which is more complex and less progressively linear than is sometimes thought.
Thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.
I think gender only really becomes codified in the nineteenth century. Classical myths give us far more porous gender boundaries with Tiresias, the Amazons, Iphis and Caenus, Hermaphroditus; the Renaissance is packed with Amazons in texts like Orlando Furioso, or Philip Sidney's two Arcadias (The Old Arcadia, The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia), the first of which also has a young man dressed up as an Amazon foreshadowing all those complicated double disguises in Shakespeare (a boy actor playing the female Rosalind who dresses up as a boy in As You Like It, or the disguised Viola inadvertently causing Olivia to fall in love with her in Twelfth Night. I think what I'm saying is that this novel is less revelatory, transgressive and 'modern' than it might as first appear.
The French original, 'Le Roman de Silence' is hardly well known and so it's not possible to see from this book what Myers has done with it. It would really have been ideal to have had an introduction or afterword that outlined the medieval poem and had some kind of discussion about its gendered context, especially the debate between Nature and Nurture and the ending.
I also thought that this version (what is it? a translation? a reception? a retelling?) is too long and tends to sag in some of the set pieces especially given that many of them (the killing of the dragon, the false rape accusation) are derived from earlier texts (the latter seems to draw on both Gawain and the Green Knight and the classical Hippolytus by Euripides, rewritten as Phaedra by Seneca).
So this is a bit like reading a novelisation of, say, Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, or an extract from Spenser's The Faerie Queene: the gendered overlay looks contemporary but really showcases that we'd only think that if we don't know the cultural history of gender which is more complex and less progressively linear than is sometimes thought.
Thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.
August 11, 2020
The Story of Silence is a retelling of a medieval poem called Silence, believed to be originally written in 1286. It was written in Old French and discovered in 1911. It starts with a bard in a tavern, who meets a stranger called Silence. He asks Silence about their life, and the book is the story Silence tells. Their father, Lord Cador, married the heiress of the Earl of Cornwall, and King Ewan has decreed that inheritance can only travel through male heirs. Unless Cador has a son, on his death, Cornwall will be returned to King Ewan. So when Cador's wife gives birth, Cador decides to raise his daughter Silence as a son. Silence is sent to grow up at Ringmar, a hunting lodge, with only his nursemaid and seneschal for company — and the only people who know the true secret of Silence's Nature.
I have read several books in the past in a medieval setting, of a girl who pretends to be a boy to train as a Knight, such as the the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce and Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. But in those, the characters all knew and acknowledged that they were women. In The Story of Silence, while Nature has made Silence a woman, they see themselves as a man in every other way. This made it a really interesting read and there are a lot of themes throughout the book about Nature vs Nurture and what really makes you, you.
"Nature is but the mould that forms us," the nymph said. "Nature might have given you delicate hands, but if you work all day with wood, what happens? ...We can form ourselves, through our labour, through our love, through our desire. We can form our own selves, despite what Nature intends."
I really liked Silence, who has taken all of the stories of Knighthood to heart and is honourable, chivalrous and honest. He is given advice by a Knight when struggling with the pell — Silence learns to hold the sword differently because he is thin and long-limbed. He also struggles to use the lance, having a different body shape and not having the same shoulder strength. He realises that he must do things differently. I thought this was interesting and is something I haven't seen in previous books. My heart also broke for him, as he wants to be able to tell the world who he really is — be able to live openly as a woman but remain a Knight, but society won't let him. It was interesting throughout the book to see how differently the women around Silence are treated.
I loved the setting — half of the book is set at Tintagel and Ringmar in Cornwall, and the other half is set in Burgundy in France. I also enjoyed the writing style. It's intended to sound like a bard telling the tale, and has comments in brackets throughout the story with side-comments. The story is well-paced, and I loved the magical elements around Merlin, dragons and water nymphs!
This is a fantastic read, a mix of fantasy and historical fiction. It's brilliantly written and I really liked Silence as a character, and his adventure was such an interesting read. I also really enjoyed reading about how he manages in such a male-centric world, where everyone must fit into the same moulds with no space for anyone different or individuality.
I have read several books in the past in a medieval setting, of a girl who pretends to be a boy to train as a Knight, such as the the Alanna series by Tamora Pierce and Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett. But in those, the characters all knew and acknowledged that they were women. In The Story of Silence, while Nature has made Silence a woman, they see themselves as a man in every other way. This made it a really interesting read and there are a lot of themes throughout the book about Nature vs Nurture and what really makes you, you.
"Nature is but the mould that forms us," the nymph said. "Nature might have given you delicate hands, but if you work all day with wood, what happens? ...We can form ourselves, through our labour, through our love, through our desire. We can form our own selves, despite what Nature intends."
I really liked Silence, who has taken all of the stories of Knighthood to heart and is honourable, chivalrous and honest. He is given advice by a Knight when struggling with the pell — Silence learns to hold the sword differently because he is thin and long-limbed. He also struggles to use the lance, having a different body shape and not having the same shoulder strength. He realises that he must do things differently. I thought this was interesting and is something I haven't seen in previous books. My heart also broke for him, as he wants to be able to tell the world who he really is — be able to live openly as a woman but remain a Knight, but society won't let him. It was interesting throughout the book to see how differently the women around Silence are treated.
I loved the setting — half of the book is set at Tintagel and Ringmar in Cornwall, and the other half is set in Burgundy in France. I also enjoyed the writing style. It's intended to sound like a bard telling the tale, and has comments in brackets throughout the story with side-comments. The story is well-paced, and I loved the magical elements around Merlin, dragons and water nymphs!
This is a fantastic read, a mix of fantasy and historical fiction. It's brilliantly written and I really liked Silence as a character, and his adventure was such an interesting read. I also really enjoyed reading about how he manages in such a male-centric world, where everyone must fit into the same moulds with no space for anyone different or individuality.
May 31, 2021
I don't know that I've ever read a book that puts so much care and love into the discussion of gender vs sex. The setting and time period added an additional element of "needing" to be a boy for succession. Really adore this book. I cannot speak as a cis person to the authenticity of the main character's inner struggle, but it felt like it was handled with care and love (which made sense after finishing it when I found out the author is transgender).
Rep: transgender own voice
Rep: transgender own voice
September 13, 2023
This is a book I hadn't ever heard of until I went on a Mr Bs Emporium Book Spa, a reading experience at a bookshop in Bath. Whilst there the book seller spoke to me about all the stories and books I love, and then recommended me a load of new ones they thought I might enjoy. This was one which another colleague recommended to me, based on the non-binary and fantasy elements within.
In this book we're following Silence, a young person, born a woman by Nature, but Nurtured to grow up as a boy. Silence's desire is to become a Knight and represent himself well to his father, but there are many challenges growing up as something you have to hide. Silence's characterisation I thought was strong throughout, with his desires and his challenges being well relayed to us as the reader.
Stylistically, this story feels very easy to get into, and although it's based on an old poem, it's told in a modern way and the original tale has a lot of very modern ideas about gender within it. We still see a lot of the old stereotyping around gender roles, but we also clearly see how Silence is defying these roles with the Nurture they have been given, and the desire to prove themselves.
Merlin is a big part of this story too. His involvement is a legend of the story, and he's been seen over the years by a few people in the story, including Silence's father. Silence also meets Merlin at various points, and later on his magic is a key part of the plot unravelling.
Overall, I cannot fault this book for the way it explores gender, and the fact that the one pretty troublesome plot point has been addressed by the author in the back of the book. I am glad to see that author note, as often these plot devices are employed without thought, but in this case there is a rationale to the storyline, and it shows clearly the division in Silence's nature compared to many others of the time, and just how rare of an occurrence they are. 4.5*s and definitely recommended for a non-binary tale of a Knight!
In this book we're following Silence, a young person, born a woman by Nature, but Nurtured to grow up as a boy. Silence's desire is to become a Knight and represent himself well to his father, but there are many challenges growing up as something you have to hide. Silence's characterisation I thought was strong throughout, with his desires and his challenges being well relayed to us as the reader.
Stylistically, this story feels very easy to get into, and although it's based on an old poem, it's told in a modern way and the original tale has a lot of very modern ideas about gender within it. We still see a lot of the old stereotyping around gender roles, but we also clearly see how Silence is defying these roles with the Nurture they have been given, and the desire to prove themselves.
Merlin is a big part of this story too. His involvement is a legend of the story, and he's been seen over the years by a few people in the story, including Silence's father. Silence also meets Merlin at various points, and later on his magic is a key part of the plot unravelling.
Overall, I cannot fault this book for the way it explores gender, and the fact that the one pretty troublesome plot point has been addressed by the author in the back of the book. I am glad to see that author note, as often these plot devices are employed without thought, but in this case there is a rationale to the storyline, and it shows clearly the division in Silence's nature compared to many others of the time, and just how rare of an occurrence they are. 4.5*s and definitely recommended for a non-binary tale of a Knight!
July 5, 2024
3,5 Sterne
February 1, 2025
This book is one of my favorite things ever. Sometimes you encounter something that just seems so absolutely tailored to you, and this was just that.
Here, we have what I consider a queer medieval "coming of age" story about the child of an earl. This child, called Silence, was born in a girl's body, but raised as a boy, so they could inherit the land. What follows is a sweeping tale of Silence growing up in Medieval Cornwall and facing a world not made for anything as 'inbetween' as them, but going for it nonetheless.
This story was so unlike anything I've ever read. Or I should say, listened to, which I can really recommend: this truly is a bard's tale, meant to be told. It felt like a real medieval story in the way it's told, which can either be right up your alley (which it was for me) or maybe make it feel a bit slow? Don't expect high fantasy, high stakes and high action, but an amazingly fleshed out, descriptive and personal story which completely immerses you in Medieval England and trans/nonbinary identity.
And what really made this even better to me was that it's actually based on a 13th century medieval poem. And that story has the same plot about gender identity! So while many queer retellings of myths and legends exist, here the source material is already queer, which I think is very cool. I now want to read the original poem...
So please read (or listen to) this if you are interested in a truly medieval story about gender identity with all the right doses of sword fights, magical forests, travelling minstrels and soaring castles by the sea.
Here, we have what I consider a queer medieval "coming of age" story about the child of an earl. This child, called Silence, was born in a girl's body, but raised as a boy, so they could inherit the land. What follows is a sweeping tale of Silence growing up in Medieval Cornwall and facing a world not made for anything as 'inbetween' as them, but going for it nonetheless.
This story was so unlike anything I've ever read. Or I should say, listened to, which I can really recommend: this truly is a bard's tale, meant to be told. It felt like a real medieval story in the way it's told, which can either be right up your alley (which it was for me) or maybe make it feel a bit slow? Don't expect high fantasy, high stakes and high action, but an amazingly fleshed out, descriptive and personal story which completely immerses you in Medieval England and trans/nonbinary identity.
And what really made this even better to me was that it's actually based on a 13th century medieval poem. And that story has the same plot about gender identity! So while many queer retellings of myths and legends exist, here the source material is already queer, which I think is very cool. I now want to read the original poem...
So please read (or listen to) this if you are interested in a truly medieval story about gender identity with all the right doses of sword fights, magical forests, travelling minstrels and soaring castles by the sea.
October 8, 2021
I wasn't sure what to expect going into this, as I'm not super knowledgeable in Arthurian legend in general, and I also haven't seen a lot of nonbinary characters in fantasy and wasn't sure how well it would be done. But I seriously loved this, and I loved Silence so much, and I even had dreams about this book afterwards.
Overall, I felt like Silence and their gender was done extremely well, and I loved seeing the evolution of Silence's perception of themselves, from their gender to their dreams. I loved the way this book framed this journey through a physical journey Silence undertook, and I loved the support Silence got at times, even though most people around them didn't fully understand. I also really loved a lot of the passages dedicated to Silence's gender crisis, and the final scene where Silence accepted their whole self (and the book made the switch to they/them pronouns instead of he/him) was seriously my favorite of the entire book. So much of it just rang true for me.
I also really liked the set-up of the plot itself, and while the story spanned years and was 'slow' at points, it was almost comforting. We were watching Silence grow up, figure out what they wanted, and the struggles they went through to get there. I read the beginning 40% of this book over the span of a few weeks, and it was honestly just such a nice story to come back to every once in a while.
My only issue with the book is the false ending that's forced on Silence. This entire story is framed as if it's being recounted by Silence to a bard in a tavern some time after the ending of the story, with the bard curious about Silence as a person and their history. While the actual ending of the story hurt but fit, the bard didn't feel like it was a good ending to the story and changed it up for retelling. The bard's ending rang hollow with Silence's journey, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm glad we get this duplicity of endings just so I can be happy that's not the actually ending, but I can't help and think that this bard really sat there through Silence's whole story and decided he knew of a better ending for them, that went against everything Silence had worked towards.
Overall, I really liked this book, and just try not to think of that final ending too much. Silence has become somewhat of a comfort character now at this point, and I can definitely see myself rereading parts of this in the future!
Overall, I felt like Silence and their gender was done extremely well, and I loved seeing the evolution of Silence's perception of themselves, from their gender to their dreams. I loved the way this book framed this journey through a physical journey Silence undertook, and I loved the support Silence got at times, even though most people around them didn't fully understand. I also really loved a lot of the passages dedicated to Silence's gender crisis, and the final scene where Silence accepted their whole self (and the book made the switch to they/them pronouns instead of he/him) was seriously my favorite of the entire book. So much of it just rang true for me.
I also really liked the set-up of the plot itself, and while the story spanned years and was 'slow' at points, it was almost comforting. We were watching Silence grow up, figure out what they wanted, and the struggles they went through to get there. I read the beginning 40% of this book over the span of a few weeks, and it was honestly just such a nice story to come back to every once in a while.
My only issue with the book is the false ending that's forced on Silence. This entire story is framed as if it's being recounted by Silence to a bard in a tavern some time after the ending of the story, with the bard curious about Silence as a person and their history. While the actual ending of the story hurt but fit, the bard didn't feel like it was a good ending to the story and changed it up for retelling. The bard's ending rang hollow with Silence's journey, and it just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm glad we get this duplicity of endings just so I can be happy that's not the actually ending, but I can't help and think that this bard really sat there through Silence's whole story and decided he knew of a better ending for them, that went against everything Silence had worked towards.
Overall, I really liked this book, and just try not to think of that final ending too much. Silence has become somewhat of a comfort character now at this point, and I can definitely see myself rereading parts of this in the future!
January 23, 2021
3.5 stars
Read
April 18, 2023Dnf
Absolutely no idea what was going on in this one, couldn’t follow it and not interested enough to persevere.
Absolutely no idea what was going on in this one, couldn’t follow it and not interested enough to persevere.
January 2, 2025
As a nonbinary person myself, I am absolutely starving for representation, and was so excited to read this book. However, the whole Nature vs. Nurture discussion felt very oversimplified to me, and the end made me so angry I wanted to rip the book up.
As a nonbinary person, my Nature is not femininity, womanhood, femaleness, whatever you want to call it. I am Naturally nonbinary. And I was socialized as a girl, so me being nonbinary has nothing to do with being "Nurtured" as a boy either. In Silence's case, if they had been a girl, they would probably have known that as soon as they went to their father's estate and started interacting with people living more within the gender norms of the time. Also, the coming out scene to the king was just so goddamn unoriginal and unrealistic. It feels like every time we see a transmasc character, they take off their clothes to show that they're trans. Not only would I never do this, I don't know a single transmasc person who would. Is it so hard to write a story where we explain that we're trans instead of tearing our shirt off????
I know the author is trans himself, but it felt to me a bit like he didn't really understand what being nonbinary is. Yes, gender is a construct and your socialization or "Nurture" has a huge effect on who you grow up to be. But your Nurture does not change your innate sense of gender, and it felt to me like Myers was suggesting that Silence is nonbinary because they were socialized as a boy but their "Nature" is a girl, so if you mix those two together you get nonbinary! That's called gender essentialism, and it sucks.
Finally,
I know this was likely intended as social commentary on how cis people just really don't understand transness or need to make our stories either more interesting or more palatable, but it really hurt that the bard, after recognizing that Silence is nonbinary just up and decides that in the story they'll marry the fucking king and live as a woman forever (sorry, run-on, I know). Yes, I know this likely happens in real life and journalism on trans issues is horrendous, however I was hoping that just once we could actually have a happy story about a nonbinary character that doesn't end in "jk! they were cis all along"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 1, 2023
The story of a trans-nonbinary knight named Silence.
Legitimately thought their name was Silas for like 75% of the book bc of how the narrator said it. 🙃
Legitimately thought their name was Silas for like 75% of the book bc of how the narrator said it. 🙃
December 23, 2021
[7.03/10]
This was a wonderful and immersive exploration of gender through a story that is somewhat familiar to a lot of people. The decision to frame this story in this way was quite smart because there is so much about these old stories that are believed as gospel today just because someone at some point decided to write down their version of it, which I think the bard's ending of this book was making a bit of a nod to. My only issue with it was that it meandered quite a bit. Silence's story is less of a plot and more a group of vignettes, which left it feeling a bit directionless on occasion. However, I thought the writing and atmosphere were really top notch, and I really loved Silence's journey of self-acceptance, they were such a strong main character.
This was a wonderful and immersive exploration of gender through a story that is somewhat familiar to a lot of people. The decision to frame this story in this way was quite smart because there is so much about these old stories that are believed as gospel today just because someone at some point decided to write down their version of it, which I think the bard's ending of this book was making a bit of a nod to. My only issue with it was that it meandered quite a bit. Silence's story is less of a plot and more a group of vignettes, which left it feeling a bit directionless on occasion. However, I thought the writing and atmosphere were really top notch, and I really loved Silence's journey of self-acceptance, they were such a strong main character.
April 5, 2025
Phenomenal. Need to re-read.
January 30, 2023
This is the story of a child called Silence who is born a daughter to Earl Cador and his lady wife but because of a degree by the King that girl children will never inherit, Silence is raised as a young boy. As Silence gets older and learns the truth about who he is, he dreams of becoming a knight only his father's fear of discovery holds him back until he runs away.
I listened to this on audiobook and it was a fine listen - the story is entertaining and there is an earnestness to the good old fashioned medieval tale of knighthood and virtue that lends a charm to the overall tale.
Silence's story is a unique one and it's hard at times to see him suffer from both the confusion of being in two places at once with a body that does not quite match how he feels about himself, and also the constant fear of what would happen if his truth was found out. But I loved how Silence proved himself, to his own self and to others, again and again whenever there was a doubt about his ability to be a knight and he was kind, talented, strong and brave for the entirety of the tale.
I think there were parts of this book that the pacing suffered a little bit and it feels like some of the things Silence really wants for himself take a long time to come around, and then when they do enter Evil Queen.
I did find the ending slightly depressing though (more so in character reactions rather than anything else) though there were good points made, and I loved Silence's final acceptance of who he was and how he wanted to live in the future.
I listened to this on audiobook and it was a fine listen - the story is entertaining and there is an earnestness to the good old fashioned medieval tale of knighthood and virtue that lends a charm to the overall tale.
Silence's story is a unique one and it's hard at times to see him suffer from both the confusion of being in two places at once with a body that does not quite match how he feels about himself, and also the constant fear of what would happen if his truth was found out. But I loved how Silence proved himself, to his own self and to others, again and again whenever there was a doubt about his ability to be a knight and he was kind, talented, strong and brave for the entirety of the tale.
I think there were parts of this book that the pacing suffered a little bit and it feels like some of the things Silence really wants for himself take a long time to come around, and then when they do enter Evil Queen.
I did find the ending slightly depressing though (more so in character reactions rather than anything else) though there were good points made, and I loved Silence's final acceptance of who he was and how he wanted to live in the future.
April 13, 2022
Die Geschichte basiert auf einem mittelalterlichem Gedicht, welches thematisch aufgegriffen und aufgearbeitet wird.
Wunderschön geschrieben, sehr immersiv und nimmt einen wirklich gefangen. Der Start war etwas langsam, nimmt aber nach ca. 50 Seiten Fahrt auf und ich hab mich stellenweise sehr schwer getan, das Buch wegzulegen. Oft habe ich laut ausgerufen und mit der Hauptperson mitgefiebert. Die Darstellung des mittelalterlichen Hofes, der Knappenausbildung, Jagd und das Bardentum haben mir außerordentlich gut gefallen. Der Aspekt der Genderqueernes war wunderbar eingewebt und passte perfekt zum Plot. Uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen!
Wunderschön geschrieben, sehr immersiv und nimmt einen wirklich gefangen. Der Start war etwas langsam, nimmt aber nach ca. 50 Seiten Fahrt auf und ich hab mich stellenweise sehr schwer getan, das Buch wegzulegen. Oft habe ich laut ausgerufen und mit der Hauptperson mitgefiebert. Die Darstellung des mittelalterlichen Hofes, der Knappenausbildung, Jagd und das Bardentum haben mir außerordentlich gut gefallen. Der Aspekt der Genderqueernes war wunderbar eingewebt und passte perfekt zum Plot. Uneingeschränkt zu empfehlen!
January 21, 2021
You can read my full review on
my blog
.
Silence’s story is the most perfect mix of an exploration of gender in an Arthurian setting, blending with a little magic and lots of immorality from those around them. It’s not an overly complicated read, and I really enjoyed the gentle voice with which the story is told. A truly interesting read and nothing like anything else I have read.
Silence’s story is the most perfect mix of an exploration of gender in an Arthurian setting, blending with a little magic and lots of immorality from those around them. It’s not an overly complicated read, and I really enjoyed the gentle voice with which the story is told. A truly interesting read and nothing like anything else I have read.
November 22, 2022
The first half of the book is utterly terrible in my opinion. The writing style is very exteriorly oriented which would be better suited for a play, so Myers didn’t even use the form properly to begin with. If not required to read this book, I would’ve put it down after the politicized prologue. I understand the nature of the book is pushing a progressive agenda in a traditional culture, but it is just so uninteresting. I didn’t care for a single character other than wishing them to be killed off until about page 300. From that point on the book picks up, and I would give that portion 2/5 stars instead of 1/5. I’m going to burn this book now.
So overall: 1.33/5 stars
So overall: 1.33/5 stars
July 20, 2020
Stories, within a story, within a story. The Story of Silence weaves together the original 13th Century poem with the authors additional insights to make a tale that, though lengthy and of a heavy nature, had me enraptured from the first line and flying through the chapters needing to follow Silence’s story. I became the Minstrel we meet in the first chapter, engrossed to the point of ignoring my body’s need for sleep and food and drink. I’m not usually the biggest fan of historical fiction, but Silence’s story is one I never knew I needed.
“But it could be a wonderful story…’ ‘Stories are wonderful because they aren’t real.’ Alfred retorted. He pulled out his wool cap and snugged it over his ears.’ Life is nothing like a story. Stories leave all the hard parts out”
It starts with twin girls, or does it start earlier than that? When Cador, then a knight, slays a Dragon and gets mortally injured he falls in love with the woman bringing him back to health. She happens to be the daughter and the only child of the Earl of Cornwall. Unfortunately due to King Evans ruling no woman shall inherit, but he likes Cador and so offers him a deal. He may marry the Earls Daughter and if and only if they can provide a male heir the King will allow Cador to retain the Earlship until his son is of age. Only Cador has a daughter, so he secrets her away to Ringmar a hunting lodge and their he informs his nursemaid to raise Silence as a boy, no one need be the wiser. What follows is a sometimes humerus and sometimes sad tale filled with battles, both inner and external, a persons fight to be accepted as they are and the story of a strange and honourable minstrel turned knight
Silence was a character that you cant help but feel for throughout the book. They want the best of both, to be treated as a boy whilst to be known as a girl and unfortunately the world is not quite ready to redefine their gender rolls to allow it. Throughout the book we see their two sides warring with each other, they want to be a boy because that it what their father wants and what they have raised to be, but they also know they are a girl and because of that Lord Cador treats Silence differently than he would a true son. He makes them feel inadequate, never quite believing that they can live up to the standards of being a man, believing that they could never pass as one over a long acquaintance and for that reason Silence has led a sheltered life. Living in isolation, with only their Aunt and Ringmar’s Seneschal Silence never quite learns the truth of being a man or a woman. They curse themselves for ‘unnatural’ feelings, when in reality those feelings are more than natural. And once Silence comes to the realisation that they don’t have to be one thing, they can be anything they want to be, they can be a man and a woman, a minstrel and a knight, I felt my heart leap with joy for them.
I haven’t read the original poem so can’t comment on how much the author has drawn from that and how much is his own story but what I can say is you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. The bits that the author does add weave into the story with ease, I would almost believe that the original poem had talk of Merlin, of Dragons and scheming minstrels. It’s definitely not a traditional read, in the historical or fantasy sense. It’s quirk and wholly its own and I can honestly say I have never read anything quite like it.
It’s strange to think that a topic so modern (gender identity) was written about in the 13th century, but through Silence we get a wholly unique insight into the historical woman and man. The author does tend towards stereotypes in a way, the drunk minstrel, the scheming and traitorous Queen, but because we are reading this from Silences perspective a person who is neither a woman nor a man, he manages to make the characters seem unique and he fully admits that he has written them in a certain way, but that was simply the way they were perceived at the time and he wanted to make it historically correct.
I can honestly say I had no idea what I was getting into with this book but Silences tale, whilst humorous and insightful was also heartbreaking at times. While this is Silences book completely every single character we meet has a purpose, none are superfluous. If you’re looking for something a little different, maybe out of your comfort zone. A book that will grasp you from the first page, and not let go until the very last word… then I would highly recommend giving this a try.
“But it could be a wonderful story…’ ‘Stories are wonderful because they aren’t real.’ Alfred retorted. He pulled out his wool cap and snugged it over his ears.’ Life is nothing like a story. Stories leave all the hard parts out”
It starts with twin girls, or does it start earlier than that? When Cador, then a knight, slays a Dragon and gets mortally injured he falls in love with the woman bringing him back to health. She happens to be the daughter and the only child of the Earl of Cornwall. Unfortunately due to King Evans ruling no woman shall inherit, but he likes Cador and so offers him a deal. He may marry the Earls Daughter and if and only if they can provide a male heir the King will allow Cador to retain the Earlship until his son is of age. Only Cador has a daughter, so he secrets her away to Ringmar a hunting lodge and their he informs his nursemaid to raise Silence as a boy, no one need be the wiser. What follows is a sometimes humerus and sometimes sad tale filled with battles, both inner and external, a persons fight to be accepted as they are and the story of a strange and honourable minstrel turned knight
Silence was a character that you cant help but feel for throughout the book. They want the best of both, to be treated as a boy whilst to be known as a girl and unfortunately the world is not quite ready to redefine their gender rolls to allow it. Throughout the book we see their two sides warring with each other, they want to be a boy because that it what their father wants and what they have raised to be, but they also know they are a girl and because of that Lord Cador treats Silence differently than he would a true son. He makes them feel inadequate, never quite believing that they can live up to the standards of being a man, believing that they could never pass as one over a long acquaintance and for that reason Silence has led a sheltered life. Living in isolation, with only their Aunt and Ringmar’s Seneschal Silence never quite learns the truth of being a man or a woman. They curse themselves for ‘unnatural’ feelings, when in reality those feelings are more than natural. And once Silence comes to the realisation that they don’t have to be one thing, they can be anything they want to be, they can be a man and a woman, a minstrel and a knight, I felt my heart leap with joy for them.
I haven’t read the original poem so can’t comment on how much the author has drawn from that and how much is his own story but what I can say is you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. The bits that the author does add weave into the story with ease, I would almost believe that the original poem had talk of Merlin, of Dragons and scheming minstrels. It’s definitely not a traditional read, in the historical or fantasy sense. It’s quirk and wholly its own and I can honestly say I have never read anything quite like it.
It’s strange to think that a topic so modern (gender identity) was written about in the 13th century, but through Silence we get a wholly unique insight into the historical woman and man. The author does tend towards stereotypes in a way, the drunk minstrel, the scheming and traitorous Queen, but because we are reading this from Silences perspective a person who is neither a woman nor a man, he manages to make the characters seem unique and he fully admits that he has written them in a certain way, but that was simply the way they were perceived at the time and he wanted to make it historically correct.
I can honestly say I had no idea what I was getting into with this book but Silences tale, whilst humorous and insightful was also heartbreaking at times. While this is Silences book completely every single character we meet has a purpose, none are superfluous. If you’re looking for something a little different, maybe out of your comfort zone. A book that will grasp you from the first page, and not let go until the very last word… then I would highly recommend giving this a try.
July 5, 2024
3.5 stars - while I loved some parts and the message of the story other parts felt boring
May 19, 2021
In 1911, in Nottingham, in a crate marked 'unimportant documents' a 13th century manuscript was discovered. Le Roman Silence is the name of the poem written on that manuscript, whose author is believed to be Heldris of Cornwall. Nothing is known about this author apart from his name, and this romantic poem written in Old French. The Story of Silence is a retelling of this particular poem, and when you think about how many decades ago this poem was written, it only adds to the brilliance of the story.
*
England's monarch King Evan (a descendant from King Arthur) passes a rule that makes it illegal for women to inherit property from their fathers. A faithful companion of the King is Cador. After Cador bravely vanquishes a dragon, the king offers him in reward the hand of marriage of any woman in the kingdom. Cador asks for the hand of the daughter of the earl of Cornwall, who cured him when he was poisoned by the dragon's poisonous breath. The girl too loves Cador, and the king not only bless their marriage but allows Cador to take ownership of his father-in-law's earlship, provided he passes it on to his son. However, unfortunately, Cador's first child is born a daughter. To preserve his earldom, Cador and his wife lie to the world and tells everyone that they had a son, whom they names Silence.
Silence is brought up away from court by his midwife and Cador's spinster cousin, Griselle, deep in the woods. Here Silence learns at Griselle's knee stories of knightly courage and virtue. He dreams of becoming a knight. But women are not allowed to fight, and his guardians refuse to let him train to be a knight.
How Silence perseveres and achieves his dreams, thereby bringing to question all the patriarchal beliefs of what women can and cannot do, forms the text of this book. It is notable to mention the author himself came out as a trans man. Maybe that's why Silence's inner turmoil between his 'Nature' as a girl, and his 'Nurture' as a boy is so poignant. It is a brilliant but dark satire on patriarchy that I loved. One of my favourite passages from the book is this after Silence true Nature is revealed:
Men believed women to be deceitful and manipulative, but throughout the story it is shown again and again that men cheat and lie as often as women do. Even the most privileged of all women, the Queen herself, feels suffocated and bound by the double-standards of society:
To conclude, I would ask all those who are against trans-rights to read this book. If your thoughts are even more outdated than a 13th century poem, you really should be doing some self-introspection. Here's a snippet from the original poem:
*
England's monarch King Evan (a descendant from King Arthur) passes a rule that makes it illegal for women to inherit property from their fathers. A faithful companion of the King is Cador. After Cador bravely vanquishes a dragon, the king offers him in reward the hand of marriage of any woman in the kingdom. Cador asks for the hand of the daughter of the earl of Cornwall, who cured him when he was poisoned by the dragon's poisonous breath. The girl too loves Cador, and the king not only bless their marriage but allows Cador to take ownership of his father-in-law's earlship, provided he passes it on to his son. However, unfortunately, Cador's first child is born a daughter. To preserve his earldom, Cador and his wife lie to the world and tells everyone that they had a son, whom they names Silence.
"Nature is but the mould that forms us. Nature might have given you delicate hands, but if you work all day with wood, what happens? ...We can form ourselves, through our labour, through our love, through our desire. We can form our own selves, despite what Nature intends."
Silence is brought up away from court by his midwife and Cador's spinster cousin, Griselle, deep in the woods. Here Silence learns at Griselle's knee stories of knightly courage and virtue. He dreams of becoming a knight. But women are not allowed to fight, and his guardians refuse to let him train to be a knight.
How Silence perseveres and achieves his dreams, thereby bringing to question all the patriarchal beliefs of what women can and cannot do, forms the text of this book. It is notable to mention the author himself came out as a trans man. Maybe that's why Silence's inner turmoil between his 'Nature' as a girl, and his 'Nurture' as a boy is so poignant. It is a brilliant but dark satire on patriarchy that I loved. One of my favourite passages from the book is this after Silence true Nature is revealed:
A gown arrived and Silence let Griselle put it on them. They buttoned it and stood up, gazing around the room. What different looks they got. So many of the men dropped their gazes immediately, though a few responded with a grin.
Men believed women to be deceitful and manipulative, but throughout the story it is shown again and again that men cheat and lie as often as women do. Even the most privileged of all women, the Queen herself, feels suffocated and bound by the double-standards of society:
I was taken as his bride when I was twelve and he was thirty. That was a year before you were born. My noble husband. Plucks me off the rose bush. Plucks other wild flowers when he chooses. Why shouldn't I make my own bouquet?
To conclude, I would ask all those who are against trans-rights to read this book. If your thoughts are even more outdated than a 13th century poem, you really should be doing some self-introspection. Here's a snippet from the original poem:
'He {Silence} was so used to men's usage
and had so rejected women's ways
that little was lacking for him to be a man
Whatever one could see was certainly male!'
August 17, 2021
I wanted to love this. A historical book written by a trans author with a nonbinary knight? Sign me up! But unfortunately it fell flat for me.
It's hard to talk about this aspect because everyone's experience with their gender is different, but nowhere in this book did I get the sense that Silence was nonbinary. I also want to make it clear that my thoughts are based on my personal experiences of being nonbinary and is not true for everyone. If someone feels differently about this and their experiences with gender, I absolutely respect that.
. He even said that "he wanted to be a boy, deeper down." The whole theme is Nature vs Nurture but Gender isn't about your Nature, i.e. your sex at birth. It's also frustrating because Silence said
Also, the way women are portrayed is not good. Every woman is portrayed as wanting sex, deceive men, and are less than men. Now I understand this is a historical book and based of a poem and maybe that's how many women were portrayed back then but there is more nuance than that in history.
All that being said, I can see how Silence as someone who really believes in knightly virtues would think it's dishonest or whatever.
Beyond all that, it wasn't that compelling a story for me.
It's hard to talk about this aspect because everyone's experience with their gender is different, but nowhere in this book did I get the sense that Silence was nonbinary. I also want to make it clear that my thoughts are based on my personal experiences of being nonbinary and is not true for everyone. If someone feels differently about this and their experiences with gender, I absolutely respect that.
. He even said that "he wanted to be a boy, deeper down." The whole theme is Nature vs Nurture but Gender isn't about your Nature, i.e. your sex at birth. It's also frustrating because Silence said
Also, the way women are portrayed is not good. Every woman is portrayed as wanting sex, deceive men, and are less than men. Now I understand this is a historical book and based of a poem and maybe that's how many women were portrayed back then but there is more nuance than that in history.
All that being said, I can see how Silence as someone who really believes in knightly virtues would think it's dishonest or whatever.
Beyond all that, it wasn't that compelling a story for me.
September 8, 2020
The Story of Silence is inspired by a poem written in the 13th century.
An excerpt of that poem:
"He [Silence] was so used to men's usage
and had so rejected women's ways
that little was lacking for him to be a man
Whatever one could see was certainly male!"
The 13th century! They had a better handle on accepting transgender than we do now!
Now, I'm not sitting here painting medieval times as the good old days. It of course was much more complicated and being a woman was not at all the best thing to be but there is still a lesson for us here in the 21st century. Basically, don't be a dick!!
*waves at J.K. Rowling*
Anyways, I digress!
This was super fun and entertaining. I'll admit that I kind of struggled with the story until Silence started his adventure properly. I almost felt stifled with him when he was in Cornwall but once his adventures started I was hooked.
His story was wonderfully told and also cleverly told. Alex Myers has me intrigued and I must investigate his previous work.
The Preface and Author's Note are important so I recommend you read them.
October 17, 2020
A beautiful lyrical book. It would have been five stars but the ending was a bit disappointing - you grow to really care about Silence and it left me feeling like I didn't know how they are.
January 25, 2023
1/24/23: 4.5 stars. This book was incredible. The Story of Silence is a novel about the child of Earl Cador of Cornwall, Silence, who was born a girl and raised as a boy to protect Cador's inheritance. Silence wants to be a knight, wants to be male, but because of their Nature (and I capitalize Nature and Nurture here as these are proper noun-level concepts in this novel), Cador has them hidden away at a home in the forest. That is until Silence grows old enough to want to be trained as a knight, and travels to Tintagel—where their father lives—to be trained, and runs into conflict with their father and others.
To preface—I have tried a number of LGBTQ fantasies, and a good number haven't worked for me, usually because I find it hard to connect with the characters. That is nothing against the books or the authors, I just assume the characters aren't written for me and that is a large part of why it is hard for me to connect with them. This book was different—I connected so strongly with Silence and their desire to be a knight, their craving to be accepted as who they are, rather than defined by parts of their body they hardly pay attention to as a child and which doesn't define them as a teenager. Every friend that Silence made felt like a friend that I made, every betrayal Silence suffered felt like a stab to my heart. I grew to love this kid like they were my own sibling, and all I wanted was joy and happiness for them. If you are a cis and/or straight person like myself wanting to read a book where you connect strongly with a character who happens to be queer, this is one of my top recommendations for you. I can't speak to the authenticity of the trans representation in this book, but as the author is trans, I trust that he knows what he is writing.
The story is actually a retelling of an Old French poem discovered in 1911 in Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, in a crate marked "Old papers – no value." It was part of a manuscript containing eighteen stories likely copied for Lady Beatrice de Gavre for her marriage in 1286. The poem was titled "Silence," was 700 years old, and had been previously undiscovered. The story was largely the same as the one Myers has captured in his novel—about a girl raised as a boy, "a motif somewhat familiar from the tales of warrior maidens and women musicians that circulated in the same time period," Myers writes in his preface. "But it also contains completely novel elements, such as spirited debates between personified figures of Nature and Nurture, who argue over Silence's true self. In places, this 13th-century poem treats gender in a way that seems post-modern…This is a writer who understands that a major aspect of gender is what's visible in public life (what we would now call gender expression). The 'little that is lacking' (that is, genitalia) doesn't matter at all when it comes to lived experience and others' perceptions."
This is really fucking cool. The idea that a poem written in the 1200s explores gender with a level of nuance and depth that most people today aren't even able to, despite having some understanding of the concept, is insane to me—and I think that Alex Myers captured that complexity very well in his novel. Again, cannot speak to the trans representation itself, but I *can* speak to the depth of thematic exploration and the general quality of the character's arc, and I think he nailed the perfect combination of those to keep me both emotionally and intellectually immersed in the story.
So those are all the big things that are great about this story. The main character, who I loved, and the themes, which I loved. But there's a lot of little things about this book that really elevated it for me.
The first of these is that the story is VERY Arthurian in nature. It doesn't actually take place during Arthur's time, but it takes place some time after—the king is a descendant of Uther and Arthur Pendragon—and Merlin is a major character in the story. Now I have recently become a huge fan of Arthurian legend, thanks to the King Arthur Pendragon ttRPG, and so this was a major selling point of the book for me, and a big reason why I picked it up, but what it also means is that I really wanted to get lost in an Arthurian-style medieval world. Not the gritty brutality of the ASOIAF world, nor the mythic epic feeling of LotR, but the romantic chivalric idealism with an undercurrent of corruption that marks Arthur's realm—even though this is AFTER Arthur's realm. And HOLY SHIT did Alex Myers nail that like it was Arthur's coffin after the Battle of Camlann. That was a huge part of why I loved this book; I just found it effortless to get lost and immersed in the world.
Another little thing I loved was all the side characters of the story. There were so many colorful characters, from the people who directly raised Silence to Silence's childhood bully to the king and Earl Cador to traveling minstrels and friends that Silence made on their journey. These characters were all well-drawn, with relationships that reflected Silence's friendliness, honesty, sense of justice, and other good qualities back at them, without ever forgetting the unfair gender expectations of this world. You know that most of these people would turn their backs on Silence if they learned of Silence's true Nature, but you come to love them anyway.
There is one thing that I'm not the biggest fan of in the book, and that's the ending. But it's hard to explain why, because it's also not a Bad Ending. The novel overall has an optimistic, upbeat tone, and at the end has a series of scenes that I as a cis person I found disturbing, and that a trans or other LGBTQ person might find triggering. I'm going to put a description of the triggering scene in spoiler bars: If you didn't read that, let's just say that while the scene is not gratuitous or gruesome—this is not Game of Thrones—it is deeply uncomfortable, and more to the point, it doesn't fit with the tone of the earlier novel, which deals with many of Silence's problems with being trans, but does so in a way that is not so uncomfortable. I'm not saying uncomfortable scenes shouldn't exist in fantasy novels, or trans fantasy novels, or anything like that—I am saying that the scene is tonally inconsistent with the novel I read before, and so I felt almost blindsided with how uncomfortable I became at the end. And then where Silence ends up is very disheartening to read.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME! We must remember that this book is a retelling of a medieval poem, and takes place in a world with strictly codified gender roles. And so I don't think it is a bad ending, even if I think the tone at the end is a bit clumsily handled, because Silence in the novel ends up in a MUCH BETTER PLACE than in the poem. In the poem, Silence's Nature asserts itself over their Nurture, and they become the Queen of England. In the novel they just don't end up where I wished they would have ended up, but it's a lot better than the poem. And while I think some of that is far more true to who Silence is, and who they have become over their journey, a large part of that is just simply the world. And I have to say, Alex Myers did have the guts to stay true to the medieval world he built for us and not give Silence what they wanted their whole life.
This is why I am conflicted over the ending. Part of me wishes Myers had broken completely with the poem in ending the story as he did, while part of me can't help but respect that he chose to stay true to Silence's world and the choice he believed Silence would believe was best for them. Ultimately, my only criticism of the ending is, again, the jarring tonal shift to something very uncomfortable at the end. And that is why, despite this book being a new favorite that I will read again and again, the book is a 4.5 star for me, rather than a 5 star.
All of that aside—I cannot recommend this book enough. It has an incredibly well developed main character who is easy to root for, very well-explored themes of gender and sexuality, an immersive Arthurian-esque medieval world, and a fantastic journey. This is the biggest surprise read I've ever had.
To preface—I have tried a number of LGBTQ fantasies, and a good number haven't worked for me, usually because I find it hard to connect with the characters. That is nothing against the books or the authors, I just assume the characters aren't written for me and that is a large part of why it is hard for me to connect with them. This book was different—I connected so strongly with Silence and their desire to be a knight, their craving to be accepted as who they are, rather than defined by parts of their body they hardly pay attention to as a child and which doesn't define them as a teenager. Every friend that Silence made felt like a friend that I made, every betrayal Silence suffered felt like a stab to my heart. I grew to love this kid like they were my own sibling, and all I wanted was joy and happiness for them. If you are a cis and/or straight person like myself wanting to read a book where you connect strongly with a character who happens to be queer, this is one of my top recommendations for you. I can't speak to the authenticity of the trans representation in this book, but as the author is trans, I trust that he knows what he is writing.
The story is actually a retelling of an Old French poem discovered in 1911 in Wollaton Hall in Nottingham, in a crate marked "Old papers – no value." It was part of a manuscript containing eighteen stories likely copied for Lady Beatrice de Gavre for her marriage in 1286. The poem was titled "Silence," was 700 years old, and had been previously undiscovered. The story was largely the same as the one Myers has captured in his novel—about a girl raised as a boy, "a motif somewhat familiar from the tales of warrior maidens and women musicians that circulated in the same time period," Myers writes in his preface. "But it also contains completely novel elements, such as spirited debates between personified figures of Nature and Nurture, who argue over Silence's true self. In places, this 13th-century poem treats gender in a way that seems post-modern…This is a writer who understands that a major aspect of gender is what's visible in public life (what we would now call gender expression). The 'little that is lacking' (that is, genitalia) doesn't matter at all when it comes to lived experience and others' perceptions."
This is really fucking cool. The idea that a poem written in the 1200s explores gender with a level of nuance and depth that most people today aren't even able to, despite having some understanding of the concept, is insane to me—and I think that Alex Myers captured that complexity very well in his novel. Again, cannot speak to the trans representation itself, but I *can* speak to the depth of thematic exploration and the general quality of the character's arc, and I think he nailed the perfect combination of those to keep me both emotionally and intellectually immersed in the story.
So those are all the big things that are great about this story. The main character, who I loved, and the themes, which I loved. But there's a lot of little things about this book that really elevated it for me.
The first of these is that the story is VERY Arthurian in nature. It doesn't actually take place during Arthur's time, but it takes place some time after—the king is a descendant of Uther and Arthur Pendragon—and Merlin is a major character in the story. Now I have recently become a huge fan of Arthurian legend, thanks to the King Arthur Pendragon ttRPG, and so this was a major selling point of the book for me, and a big reason why I picked it up, but what it also means is that I really wanted to get lost in an Arthurian-style medieval world. Not the gritty brutality of the ASOIAF world, nor the mythic epic feeling of LotR, but the romantic chivalric idealism with an undercurrent of corruption that marks Arthur's realm—even though this is AFTER Arthur's realm. And HOLY SHIT did Alex Myers nail that like it was Arthur's coffin after the Battle of Camlann. That was a huge part of why I loved this book; I just found it effortless to get lost and immersed in the world.
Another little thing I loved was all the side characters of the story. There were so many colorful characters, from the people who directly raised Silence to Silence's childhood bully to the king and Earl Cador to traveling minstrels and friends that Silence made on their journey. These characters were all well-drawn, with relationships that reflected Silence's friendliness, honesty, sense of justice, and other good qualities back at them, without ever forgetting the unfair gender expectations of this world. You know that most of these people would turn their backs on Silence if they learned of Silence's true Nature, but you come to love them anyway.
There is one thing that I'm not the biggest fan of in the book, and that's the ending. But it's hard to explain why, because it's also not a Bad Ending. The novel overall has an optimistic, upbeat tone, and at the end has a series of scenes that I as a cis person I found disturbing, and that a trans or other LGBTQ person might find triggering. I'm going to put a description of the triggering scene in spoiler bars: If you didn't read that, let's just say that while the scene is not gratuitous or gruesome—this is not Game of Thrones—it is deeply uncomfortable, and more to the point, it doesn't fit with the tone of the earlier novel, which deals with many of Silence's problems with being trans, but does so in a way that is not so uncomfortable. I'm not saying uncomfortable scenes shouldn't exist in fantasy novels, or trans fantasy novels, or anything like that—I am saying that the scene is tonally inconsistent with the novel I read before, and so I felt almost blindsided with how uncomfortable I became at the end. And then where Silence ends up is very disheartening to read.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME! We must remember that this book is a retelling of a medieval poem, and takes place in a world with strictly codified gender roles. And so I don't think it is a bad ending, even if I think the tone at the end is a bit clumsily handled, because Silence in the novel ends up in a MUCH BETTER PLACE than in the poem. In the poem, Silence's Nature asserts itself over their Nurture, and they become the Queen of England. In the novel they just don't end up where I wished they would have ended up, but it's a lot better than the poem. And while I think some of that is far more true to who Silence is, and who they have become over their journey, a large part of that is just simply the world. And I have to say, Alex Myers did have the guts to stay true to the medieval world he built for us and not give Silence what they wanted their whole life.
This is why I am conflicted over the ending. Part of me wishes Myers had broken completely with the poem in ending the story as he did, while part of me can't help but respect that he chose to stay true to Silence's world and the choice he believed Silence would believe was best for them. Ultimately, my only criticism of the ending is, again, the jarring tonal shift to something very uncomfortable at the end. And that is why, despite this book being a new favorite that I will read again and again, the book is a 4.5 star for me, rather than a 5 star.
All of that aside—I cannot recommend this book enough. It has an incredibly well developed main character who is easy to root for, very well-explored themes of gender and sexuality, an immersive Arthurian-esque medieval world, and a fantastic journey. This is the biggest surprise read I've ever had.
September 14, 2024
This was a tale about a non-binary Knight/Minstrel, so obviously it had me hooked. I loved reading The Story of Silence. I don’t know how closely this follows the source material, but I enjoyed it. I don’t think it’s right for me to comment on how well it represented the non-binary community, but the book did give me a lot to think about. I felt empathy for people who have to go through this mental battle daily. I loved learning about the life of a knight in medieval times. It was also interesting to witness women being portrayed as wild and dishonest, but in the same breath, they were being empowered through Silence and the other character who wished to be more than just a quiet wife. I loved the imagery scattered throughout the book. I disliked the ending. I thought the coming out was rather unoriginal. I shall be revising this book soon, and also looking up more books in this medieval historical fiction/fantasy genre!
February 4, 2025
I don’t usually like stories focused on gender, and I don’t usually care about Arthurian myths, but this book is fantastic.
August 4, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for providing me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review
I thought it was very cool that The Story of Silence was a novelization of a 13th century poem. What a great way to spread awareness of classic literature and make it accessible to a modern audience!
It was fun, but honestly, I was hoping for more from it. My main criticism was that it was very simple, primarily on two accounts 1) women were conniving, untrustworthy, and stupid (unless she’s your own dear mother-figure—who is presumably also a virgin) and men were good, honorable, and courageous, and 2) somehow Silence, as a female bodied person who has gone through puberty, was able to share a room and even a bed (platonically) for years with different men and not only was he always assumed male but there’s no mention of how he managed things like binding and concealing periods. Then I learned things related to both criticisms.
In the introduction, the author, Alex Myers, says that he wanted to “keep the troubled (and troubling) depiction of (most) women being evil and inferior, while (noble) men are greedy and glorious.” He doesn’t mention why he wants to keep this depiction. In my opinion, that’s not a very nice thing for him to do to his audience. Who does he expect will want to read a reimagined 13th century story about a girl, raised as a boy, who becomes a knight! If I was going to guess, I’d say it’s young women. So lets tell them all that they’re terrible? It might be a 13th century story but Myers has a 21st century audience. The treatment of women was glaringly rude and troublesome and it isn’t like the characters are reformed in the end.
As for Silence’s ease of concealing his Nature, when looking up the author (mostly wondering who it was who hated women so much) I discovered that Alex Myers is transgender and a gender identity educator to boot. I would have loved to know more about Silence’s struggle to hide his Nature (it couldn’t have always been easy) and perhaps some insight into their choice to switch from male to gender neutral pronouns after just one short speech from Merlin.
Overall, if you are one of those people who are going to read 300 books this year, definitely pick it up! You’ll learn the plot of a 13th century poem and it is a fun story about Merlin and a bunch of knights, but if you don’t have that amount of time and energy to dedicate to reading, there are better girl-becomes-a-knight stories out there.
I thought it was very cool that The Story of Silence was a novelization of a 13th century poem. What a great way to spread awareness of classic literature and make it accessible to a modern audience!
It was fun, but honestly, I was hoping for more from it. My main criticism was that it was very simple, primarily on two accounts 1) women were conniving, untrustworthy, and stupid (unless she’s your own dear mother-figure—who is presumably also a virgin) and men were good, honorable, and courageous, and 2) somehow Silence, as a female bodied person who has gone through puberty, was able to share a room and even a bed (platonically) for years with different men and not only was he always assumed male but there’s no mention of how he managed things like binding and concealing periods. Then I learned things related to both criticisms.
In the introduction, the author, Alex Myers, says that he wanted to “keep the troubled (and troubling) depiction of (most) women being evil and inferior, while (noble) men are greedy and glorious.” He doesn’t mention why he wants to keep this depiction. In my opinion, that’s not a very nice thing for him to do to his audience. Who does he expect will want to read a reimagined 13th century story about a girl, raised as a boy, who becomes a knight! If I was going to guess, I’d say it’s young women. So lets tell them all that they’re terrible? It might be a 13th century story but Myers has a 21st century audience. The treatment of women was glaringly rude and troublesome and it isn’t like the characters are reformed in the end.
As for Silence’s ease of concealing his Nature, when looking up the author (mostly wondering who it was who hated women so much) I discovered that Alex Myers is transgender and a gender identity educator to boot. I would have loved to know more about Silence’s struggle to hide his Nature (it couldn’t have always been easy) and perhaps some insight into their choice to switch from male to gender neutral pronouns after just one short speech from Merlin.
Overall, if you are one of those people who are going to read 300 books this year, definitely pick it up! You’ll learn the plot of a 13th century poem and it is a fun story about Merlin and a bunch of knights, but if you don’t have that amount of time and energy to dedicate to reading, there are better girl-becomes-a-knight stories out there.
August 9, 2020
“We are not one thing. We are multitudes.”
I don’t usually opt for historical or medieval fiction or retellings, but I was drawn to Silence’s story after reading the summary. It did not disappoint. Through Silence, the novel explores notions of the self through the lens of binary concepts such as gender, and, ultimately, how restrictive roles and concepts imposed by society cannot define the individual. The medieval setting was a refreshing way of navigating this, with plenty of action, magic, friendship, and beautiful prose woven throughout. The transition of Silence and their character development was an inspiring one, and while I usually choose books that connect more with the characters’ feelings and inner self, I understand and admire the fact that the author chose to tell this story in a way that stayed true to the time in which the story is set. The narrative within a narrative was a clever device used to show the importance of storytelling, and I found myself disappointed when I reached the end of Silence’s story. If I could read about their life from beginning to end, I would.
While negative representations of femininity in particular were upheld through certain characters, I can understand and appreciate that the author chose it this way to represent medieval society in a way that was accurate, as well as to stay true to the original story. If we were to ignore that, I wished for less conformity in the other characters. The story was driven by Silence and their inability to be either one thing or the other—and a powerful story indeed, especially when aided by Merlin’s eccentric character—but I wished to see women breaking out of their restrictive roles rather than maintaining the ideals the patriarchy pushed onto them. Still, the reinforcement only highlights the issues of gender present both in this society and Silence’s, and that does not go unnoticed.
Overall, this is an exciting novel told intricately and cleverly, and I would recommend this book to anyone. Silence is a character that will stay with me for a long time, and I would love nothing more to see them again. There were so many moments to love, so many moments to feel Silence’s anger and confusion and pain, and so many moments that offered an insight that everyone should be given.
I don’t usually opt for historical or medieval fiction or retellings, but I was drawn to Silence’s story after reading the summary. It did not disappoint. Through Silence, the novel explores notions of the self through the lens of binary concepts such as gender, and, ultimately, how restrictive roles and concepts imposed by society cannot define the individual. The medieval setting was a refreshing way of navigating this, with plenty of action, magic, friendship, and beautiful prose woven throughout. The transition of Silence and their character development was an inspiring one, and while I usually choose books that connect more with the characters’ feelings and inner self, I understand and admire the fact that the author chose to tell this story in a way that stayed true to the time in which the story is set. The narrative within a narrative was a clever device used to show the importance of storytelling, and I found myself disappointed when I reached the end of Silence’s story. If I could read about their life from beginning to end, I would.
While negative representations of femininity in particular were upheld through certain characters, I can understand and appreciate that the author chose it this way to represent medieval society in a way that was accurate, as well as to stay true to the original story. If we were to ignore that, I wished for less conformity in the other characters. The story was driven by Silence and their inability to be either one thing or the other—and a powerful story indeed, especially when aided by Merlin’s eccentric character—but I wished to see women breaking out of their restrictive roles rather than maintaining the ideals the patriarchy pushed onto them. Still, the reinforcement only highlights the issues of gender present both in this society and Silence’s, and that does not go unnoticed.
Overall, this is an exciting novel told intricately and cleverly, and I would recommend this book to anyone. Silence is a character that will stay with me for a long time, and I would love nothing more to see them again. There were so many moments to love, so many moments to feel Silence’s anger and confusion and pain, and so many moments that offered an insight that everyone should be given.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2021
This is like everything I ever wanted from an Arthurian retelling but never knew I needed: preposterous, adventurous, full of heart and with a main character whose difficult circumstances and incredible journey are lovingly described.
Myers really captured the feel of tales from this era; it reminded me of a class I took in medieval German literature (which, incidentally, I hated - but that was entirely the lecturer's fault. The actual literature I adored!) with its occasional sheer absurdity.
At the heart of it, The Story of Silence is about gender, and it was really fascinating to learn that it was based on a real 13th century tale, discovered in 1911. And the story is, of course, about Silence, whose determination to be a knight, resilience, and sheer goodness were honestly just delightful to read.
I gave this four stars because the pace felt a little meandering at times, but overall I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an Arthurian-era tale with what feels like a very modern take on gender.
Myers really captured the feel of tales from this era; it reminded me of a class I took in medieval German literature (which, incidentally, I hated - but that was entirely the lecturer's fault. The actual literature I adored!) with its occasional sheer absurdity.
At the heart of it, The Story of Silence is about gender, and it was really fascinating to learn that it was based on a real 13th century tale, discovered in 1911. And the story is, of course, about Silence, whose determination to be a knight, resilience, and sheer goodness were honestly just delightful to read.
I gave this four stars because the pace felt a little meandering at times, but overall I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an Arthurian-era tale with what feels like a very modern take on gender.
August 8, 2020
Så magisk
Så queer
Så smukt
Glæder mig allerede til genlæse og andre bøger af Alex Myers :D
Så queer
Så smukt
Glæder mig allerede til genlæse og andre bøger af Alex Myers :D
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