Atlantic County Library System

Jori Lewis tells eye-opening stories of individuals despite scant historical record. At the outset she asks: "How do we tell the stories of people that history forgets and the present avoids?"

(Image credit: The Free Press)

unCovered review by Liz Sausto, ACLS Galloway Township Branch

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson was an interesting and enjoyable read. Taking place in a land ravaged by vengeful spirits, Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who purifies the bodies of the deceased lest their spirits rise and attack the living. Although gifted with powers far beyond those of an ordinary nun, memories of a traumatic past cause Artemisia to long for a quiet and mundane life that seems to elude her thanks to rumors about that very past and her introverted personality.

Artemisia’s hopes for a peaceful life are shattered when possessed soldiers attack her convent and she defends it by allowing herself to be possessed by a powerful spirit known as a revenant. Forced to flee her home, Artemisia realizes that someone is forcing spirits to attack and takes it upon herself to not only solve this mystery but protect the innocent as well. But she must do all this while also fighting off the revenant, which could overtake her the moment she drops her defenses.

Being a little socially awkward myself, I was able to relate to Artemisia very well. She prefers to be alone and being around large groups of people scares her to the point where she has a large amount of anxiety. I’ve sometimes read books where the protagonist is cut off from the world, but not to the point where Artemisia is. While our reasons cannot be more different, I found it very easy to sympathize with her.

I was also intrigued by Artemisia’s relationship with the revenant. Although it is supposed to be an evil spirit, it certainly doesn’t act that way. While the two are antagonistic towards each other at first, they form a rapport that is not too dissimilar to friendship. Because Artemisia tends to push herself to the point of exhaustion, the revenant repeatedly reminds her to take care of herself. At first, this was because Artemisia’s life was tied to that of the revenant, but it soon becomes apparent that it has grudgingly started to care for her. Their conversations were one of the best parts of the story, as the revenant’s dry humor adds some much needed levity.

Vespertine was without a doubt an intriguing story that pulled me in from start to finish. I enjoyed it so much that I will be looking into Rogerson’s other novels as well as anything she will write in the future.