The Lost Child

by Sarah Ash

[nannah]

I’ve loved Sarah Ash’s books, her writing, and her creativity since I was in grade school and first read her Tears of Artamon trilogy, which is still my favorite. Unofficially, I have kind of made it a goal to read all of Sarah Ash’s books since then, but they’re a bit hard to find! At long last I’ve got my hands on The Lost Child.

Book content warnings:
- drugging
- child abuse
- abortion
- antisemitism

Representation:
- many main and secondary characters are Jewish (called “Tsiyon” in the book’s world)

When a non-Tsiyonim child is found dead on a Tsiyonim doorstep, all of Arcassanne seeks to blame the tailor’s apprentice, Rahab. Rahab escapes the city with the help of a girl named Lia and makes for the secluded community of Tsiyonim scholars deep in the mountains. But Arcassanne’s prejudice and hatred of the Tsiyon has reached a boiling point, and Rahab may have brought danger right to the mountain community’s door while leaving his own community to fend for themselves back home.

The plot of The Lost Child seems to be based on old Christian and Jewish conflicts, going by the (not-so-subtle) hints from the text. It also seems to be a fantasy version of a city in Italy (?), but it kind of has a 1:1 ratio world building, where words are just slightly changed from their real-world counterparts, or the book concept/fantasy item/etc. is the same thing and simply given a fantasy name (making this historical fantasy? alternate fantasy? I’m actually not sure … if someone does know, can you comment please?). However, Ash’s worlds are still incredibly detailed and realized whether they’re closely based on the real world or not, and it’s very easy to get lost in them.

The story starts out a bit slow--or, at least, it takes a little while for me to get into it--but once Rahab and Lia get to the hidden community of Tifereth it starts to pick up. If not by the actual pacing then by way of heightened emotion, character depth, and tension. Wonderful, wonderful reading experience in the second half!

I also love the way that Ash creates the contrast between the scholars of Tifereth and the tradesmen/people from the Arcassanne ghettos … and the ways that contrast then creates drama between them, who are meant to be allies in this fight. For example, when discussing the Holy text, the scholars call Rahab nearly illiterate, that his opinions don’t matter, and that his opinions aren’t as important as the Tifereth elders who have studied their entire lives. It’s things like this that really add depth to a world and story.

I am a little disappointed at how Jaufre almost became a bad anime villain near the end, though (“‘Well, well well,’ came a dry, mocking voice from the shadows”). I don’t, and am not sure I ever really did, understand his motivations, either. I know the amulets had a big hold over him, but I think I need a little more.

Surprisingly, my favorite character is Beregar, Lia’s fiance! I didn’t expect that. He’s a lot more complex and well rounded, especially considering the page time he was given. Although, with that reasoning, Zallaïs, Lia’s mother who hides her heritage and buries her religion so that Lia can have a better life, comes close. For every flaw this book has there are two or three more blazing-bright positives.

The writing also can be a little bit stilted at times. And though Ash’s vocabulary is and always has been delicious, it might not actually help those moments; some words almost seem out of place when considering the sentences and paragraphs around them. However … I have learned so many words from this book alone. Great, great words (escutcheon, oubliette, catarrh, frowst, etc.).

This book also has an older style of prose that I adore (which makes sense, as it was published in the 90’s), one that I’ve sorely missed and have only noticed now after realizing I’ve only been reading contemporary writers for a while. I forgot how lovely older fantasy books can sound.

And strangely enough, I love how and when the PoVs change. Sometimes a PoV will last for an entire chapter, and sometimes they’ll change several times in a single chapter--or a single page!--so that a single night or event shares all the PoV characters seemingly at once. This highlights that event’s importance and creates that sort of breathless quality similar to shortening the length of sentences in action scenes. I’d never seen that done before! Taking note of it for sure.

Speaking of notes: I can’t really be a voice on this, because I’m not Jewish--honestly I’m not sure if Sarah Ash is, either--but I’m not actually sure how respectful all elements of this are toward Jewish people. There are magic talismans and actual magic tied to the religion, things I think I remember seeing people list as “what to avoid when writing Jewish characters.” But again … this was written a while back, and I’m not sure of Sarah Ash’s beliefs. I’ll wait for more people to read.

The book wrapped up a bit too neatly and sweetly for my personal liking, and I felt like so much emotional tension was just rationalized away. It seemed that, almost magically, most of Rahab’s issues with a character he had trouble getting along with in Tifereth were resolved in just a few exchanges. However, I did like Rahab’s personal sacrifice so that the ending did become slightly bittersweet for him--mostly because I’m a sucker for bittersweet endings.

A great book from Sarah Ash, and I’m so glad I managed to get my hands on it! Now to find the next one …

(note no.2: take a look at that gorgeous cover art!)