Personally, this would be the first time that I can’t connect to any one of the characters. Most of them are definitely not the nicest or friendliest I’ve encountered, but I simply couldn’t put down this book once I started and here we are…three hours later, having finished the book with lots of emotions waiting to be poured out.
The Second Bell by Gabriela Houston is a heartfelt story about Miriat and her daughter Salka. Nineteen years ago, Salka was born with two hearts. That makes her a Striga, a kind of ‘monster’ that is feared and detested by the villagers and which must be abandoned or killed upon birth. Miriat, being the devoted mother that she is, wouldn’t allow her baby to be harmed, which led to her and Salka’s banishment from the village, therefore having to find refuge in a remote area with other Strigas.
Nineteen years later, Salka has grown into a young woman, and trouble also descends upon both her and Miriat. See the important thing is, because Striga has two hearts, sometimes it might be an impulse to follow the other heart’s instincts. However, that is forbidden and doing so might tamper with their powers and in turn, they would transform into a Stigoi. And if someone did turn into a Stigoi, the villagers would have to cut out their second heart to prevent further danger (real grotesque isn’t it). When Salka leaves the village with two other ‘friends’, she is blamed for the danger of traveling outside and therefore was banished to a remote mountain area for three months during the winter. In order to survive the harsh season and the vicious animals, she must tap into her dark impulses and trigger her second heart, but this would lead to the terrifying consequence of turning into a Stigoi.
The Second Bell is a beautifully written story which is magically woven with voices of what it is like to be different. We have long since lived in a world where the idea of different is always treated with fear and violence. Houston’s novel works as an amazing reflection of the society that we currently live in as it portrays the difficulty of being different. But it also shows the importance of different kinds of people sticking together and accepting each other’s’ diversities.
The setting of the story was amazing, the plot was not too convoluted but rather straightforward. Houston quite brilliantly captures the beauty of unrefined nature through the vivid images she created so that you can just imagine watching everything unfold before your very eyes. Each chapter is not too long but fully explaining the events that are happening during that time.
The characters, however, do not seem to fit into this lovely nature of a background. If I’m being completely honest, I did not like most of the characters in the book (except perhaps Miriat but even she has her flaws), that does not mean I didn’t like the book. I think the way that Houston’s ability to portray such despicable but also very real characters definitely should earn a round of applause. She did a perfect job at depicting human’s emotions: jealousy, fear, contempt, love and hope. The relationship between Miriat and Salka is heartwarming. They have such a strong bond. Miriat stood up for her daughters all the time and left her own home for her daughter; Salka also loves her mother dearly and listens to her when it comes to crucial decisions. The story is mainly told from their perspectives and therefore we are able to learn about them more. Compared to the other mother-daughter/son relationships, we don’t get to explore them too much, but they are mostly reflected as jealous, egoistic and violent which often led to Miriat and Salka’s unfortunate life events. I also enjoyed that romantic relationships were not the main thing that Houston pursued in this novel and it allows more space to dig deep into the relationships between family.
Picking up this book, I expected to read a touching story about a mother and a daughter and the journey in their relationship but instead, I got more than that. There’s mother and daughter affection of course, but also the connections between people of diversity and coming together as one is also something you could definitely expect within this gratifying story!
The Second Bell is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
In a world which believes her to be a monster, a young striga fights to harness the power of her second heart, while her mother sacrifices everything to stop her…
In an isolated mountain community, sometimes a child is born with two hearts. This child is called a striga and is considered a demon who must be abandoned on the edge of the forest. The child’s mother must then decide to leave with her infant, or stay and try to forget.
Nineteen-year-old striga, Salka, and her mother, Miriat, made the choice to leave and live a life of deprivation and squalor in an isolated village. The striga tribe share the human belief that to follow the impulses of their other hearts is dangerous, inviting unspoken horrors and bringing ruin onto them all.
Salka, a headstrong and independent young woman, finds herself in a life-threatening situation that forces her to explore the depths of her true nature and test the bonds between mother and child…
