Title: The World Cannot Give*
Author: Tara Isabella Burton
Rating: 4.5 stars / 5 stars
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Favorite Quote: “‘I’m sorry,’ he’d said - she does not remember this part very well - ‘there’s been an accident,’ as if the only wicked things that happen in the world are the ones that happen by mistake.” Burton, Tara Isabella. The World Cannot Give. E-book ed., Simon & Schuster, 2022.
Review: Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, and the Edelweiss platform, for the free e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
Oh. My. Gosh. This book. Since reading the Private series by Kate Brian when I was younger, and following it up with Donna Tartt’s The Secret History and M. L. Rio’s If We Were Villains, I have long found myself drawn to novels that fall under the “dark academia” umbrella. Perhaps because of my own fond memories of academia, or because of my longing for the tradition, the secrecy, the libraries, of the oldest academic institutions, this sub-genre has wormed its way into my heart. And now, The World Cannot Give has joined the ranks.
This novel follows a new student at a prestigious high school, famed for having housed her favorite author before his death during a war, as she becomes a pupil of, disciple of, and ultimately the cast-off of, the zealously religious leader of the school’s church choir.
The use of figurative language in this novel is absolutely unparalleled. “The remnants of the music scrape against the inside of her throat, like stray swallowed pieces of shell.” Burton, Tara Isabella. The World Cannot Give. E-book ed., Simon & Schuster, 2022. Or [SPOILERS AHEAD], “She wouldn’t even have made it out like it was suicide at all. Consecration, she’d have called it. A baptism. I dare you. The only thing you could do, really, once you’d set a church aflame.” Burton, Tara Isabella. The World Cannot Give. E-book ed., Simon & Schuster, 2022. While not the only examples of how Burton successfully employs evocative imagery in her work, these are two of the quotes that jumped out at me and looking back at them again, I’m reminded why I absolutely yearned for this book. It was such a compulsive, dark, shocking read.
The nature of the topics explored in this book are certainly controversial, and I would urge any potential reader to heed the content warnings of the book. But Burton manages to harness the complexities of religious idolatry and young women coming to terms with their sexualities and their sexual selves in repressive environments, while still weaving a compelling narrative - one that is captivating both for its study of complex, often taboo, subjects, as well as for its plot.
The only reason that this book isn’t a full 5-star read is that some of the dialogue comes off as a bit clunky and there is also a reference to someone being a “sociopath.” This was said in a demonizing way that just didn’t seem appropriate, and given the context, could risk associating mental illness with violence, which is damaging to the efforts of mental health advocates who rightfully point out that folks with mental health issues are much more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators of it.
About that Quote: I often try to avoid trite or overused phrases, but in this instance, I’m not sure I can avoid it - the ending of this book is like a punch to the gut. It's one of those endings that is foreshadowed in such a way that in retrospect it seems so clear but in the moment it remains a mystery. And this quote comes on the tail end of the shocking climax when the remaining characters are forced to reckon with what has occurred. This book is so often a meter for morality and for social expectation, that this moment, when the “wicked” has already occurred, and was so obviously intentional, the universe of morality and goodness that is sought by certain characters throughout is completely and wholly destroyed. And to capture that in a sentence is *chef’s kiss* .
TW for The World Cannot Give: Murder, arson, su*cide, non-consensual release of a sex tape
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