The Changeling

Kate Horsley has never failed to astound me with the books of hers I have read. "The Changeling", I feel, is an excellent follow up to her acclaimed novel, "Confessions of a Pagan Nun". The setting is the 1300's in Ireland. Grey is a peasant girl who has been raised as a boy. When she realises her womanhood, it takes her on a journey of discovering an identity. As Ms. Horsley breaks it up for us, "Son", "Whore", "Warrior", and "Mother". Each of her identities and phases teaches her different lessons in life until the end when she realizes that nothing can exactly define her. The themes of the novel are the search for identity and in a stange way glory. Through Grey's eyes, we see all the problems of the age. Including the residing of the Pope at Avignon, the corruption of the Catholic Church, and the smiting Black Death. The characteristics Horsley gives to Grey lets us experience what is it to be a woman. I believe this is an important message for not only women all over the world, but men as well. Horsley, through Grey's various identities, gives us the complex psychology of a woman. This is a beautiful story and just as incredible as "Confessions of a Pagan Nun". Once again, it is about discovering who you are. The smoothness of the writing carries you through the pages one by one until before you realize it, you are done.

This amazing book focuses around the the life a woman who truly has an extraordinary life. Born into a poor family, her mother deceives her father and the village by calling Grey a boy. Grey spends her youth believing she is a boy, deformed and must keep her identity a secret. The time is during the 12th century when England is beginning to take over parts of Ireland. Poverty is rampant and the English are gobbling up villages and property and claiming them as their own. When Grey discovers her true identity, she embarks on a strange journey trying to reconcile the years she spent as a male to the truth of her sex. She goes from being used, to being loved, to becoming a mother, and then continues to change throughout the book. There were some sections of the book that where I thought "typical - woman is the victim". However, when I put the book down and began to think about it, Grey was a victim according to today's way of thinking. The author does an amazing job at presenting Grey as anything BUT a victim. She is more than just a woman, mother, wife, Irish, peasant, lover. Grey's character shows that there is more to a person then their sex. Someone isn't defined by their "station" in life - wife, mother, woman. Rather who they make themselves. Great read. Fast paced and well written.

I was awestruck by this novel. The fact that the author created such a dynamic character is amazing. Grey, born a girl and raised a boy. A neat read, and about Ireland and the plague. There are some graphic sexual scenes, though, so beware.

Again Horsley takes us to Ireland in the early days of its Christianization. In this novel, though, the conflict she so thoroughly examined in "Confessions of a Pagan Nun" is but scenery to a new, more personal struggle. Ireland's unique comingling of Christianity with it's own native faith makes for the perfect backdrop of macrocosmic ambiguity to the private ambiguity of a woman growing up who thought she was a boy. Yes, the plot, in summary, seems like a stretch, but Horlsey guides us through it masterfully, practically suspending the reader's disbelief for them. To call the story as she presents it to us "beguiling" doesn't begin to cover it. The book is subtly captivating, almost manipulatingly so. Even toward the end of the book, when the plot no longer plays out with its earlier strength, there is still a compelling quality to the story. It definitely qualifies as "a good read" and even causes us to examine gender identification in regard to our own individual personalities. It asks a question of the type somewhat akin to, "How would we conceive of ourselves if there were no mirrors," causing us to examine the very cultural biases that frame our view. It was down right enjoyable at points. Consider this scene, early on in the story. The priest says, "Now Mary, you don't believe in faries, do you?" Mary replies "Oh no father. I know they exist, but I don't believe in them." The book is seeded throughout with several jewels like that. The concept of the book was truly fascinating and the execution thereof was sweetly engrossing, but I feel that Horsley lacked a clear resolution of Grey's conflict and the story suffered as a result.

This is not Kate Horsley's second novel - but it's the second one I've read by her. Her previous work, CONFESIONS OF A PAGAN NUN, was one of the highlights of my year when I read it - this novel takes the reader into the history of mediaeval Ireland in just as breathtaking a fashion. Set in the 14th century, THE CHANGELING gives a believable and captivating glimpse into a world in the throes of change. CONFESSIONS depicted an earlier era, when the Christian Church was attempting to gain a foothold among the pagans of Ireland - THE CHANGELING shows the Church struggling to maintain the power it has gained. This is an extremely political struggle - on the surface it is depicted as a fight for the souls of the Irish people, to save them from the evils and temptations of their world, but it is really all about power. The Church supports whoever has the power to assure its continued sway over the people. True, there are many in the Church whose motives are honorable and spiritual - but when push comes to shove, decisions and alliances are made on a VERY pragmatic level.The `changeling' of the title refers to the central character in this absorbing story - Grey, short for `Gregory', the child named for the father, who has for such a long time yearned for a son. Before the child is born, Gregory assures his wife that if she bears him `another daughter' he will kill it with his own hands. Fearing for the child's life - it's another girl, of course - the mother conspires with the midwife to save its life. Claiming that a yellow moth brushed against the newborn's genitals just after birth, thereby raising the spectre of a curse, the women tell the father that he has a new, healthy son - but that to protect it from the potential curse, the child's genitals should always remain covered. The child, as she/he grows, is not even allowed to know the truth. If this sounds like a stretch, remember that this is set in the 14th century - most of the people were uneducated, and many superstitions were still strong even among those who had the benefits of the educational resources of the day.In ancient Irish legends, a changeling was a being who was believed to be able to change shape - or gender - at will, as the situation demanded. Although Grey is definitely female (and of course, she discovers this eventually), the various roles she finds herself playing throughout her life make the description an apt one. The story follows her through her `boyhood' into adolescence and womanhood - the sections of the novel are entitled `The boy', `The whore', and `The mother'. Horsley's writing style fits her subject perfectly - she unfolds Grey's story before the readers eyes gracefully and compellingly, giving all of these three stages of the character's life the respect and attention and insight they deserve. There are horrible things depicted here - the plague, for one - it comes into the story as a terror of unknown origin. Some argue that it is a harbinger o