Let’s all be honest here. There’s something bewitching about historical tragedies- from Pompeii to the Titanic, “natural” disasters simply cannot be matched. I was initially reluctant to pick up Curses and Smoke, for I questioned whether or not Pompeii could be pulled off. Unfortunately it was not.
As for the reason why, I don’t even know where to begin.
Lucia and Tag live in different sides of the same town. Tag is a medical slave, healing his master’s injured gladiators. He aspires for something greater though- he wants to fight in the gladiator ring to earn his freedom. Lucia, the daughter of Tag’s owner, just wants to study the world around her. Think earth scientist but with a twist- she’s being married off to marry an older man. And in addition to that, she has noticed peculiarities lately- small lakes disappearing, a weird smell in the air… As Lucia and Tag fall in love, as an earthquake strikes Pompeii, what will happen to them?
The biggest issue was definitely the cheesiness and the unrealistic feeling to the whole entire book. Don’t get me wrong- I’m all for ridiculous plots that would never happen in real life. But when the ridiculousness has me reading the book out loud to my friend and consequently unable to breathe due to my laughing too hard, I know we have a problem. It’s not just with the ridiculous behavior of the characters or the unbelievable revelations made. It’s in the small things too, like having Lucia and Tag kiss when an earthquake is literally occurring at the same moment. And moments before, they said they were tired. Don’t even get me started on the pig. There is just too much going on.
Expounding on the last sentence, there is just too much going on. I can’t tell of Curses and Smoke is about curses, earthquakes, gladiators, earth science, standing up for yourself, marriage, conniving best friends, equality, or what. There is just too much. It takes an enormous amount of skill in order to master a book on all these unrelated topics, and unfortunately I don’t think Vicky Shecter did. While reading the book, I was fluctuating between confused and cheesed out (yes that’s a phrase I just created). Honestly, I am unimpressed.
To be honest, I read this book like a comedy. I know that Curses and Smoke is meant to be a really dramatic book, but it reached over dramatic in many parts of this novel. Unfortunately, I can’t spoil anything, but I will say that it’s definitely worth a read, no matter what your intention is.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (May 27, 2014)
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Source: Netgalley
ISBN #: 9780545509930
Length: 336 pages (Hardcover)
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