A Treachery of Swans Sets the Stage with a Tender, Ravenous and Sapphic Swan Lake Retelling
Review by Nick, Library Specialist
A Treachery of Swans is the second novel penned by A.B. Poranek, and she offers a gothic, haunting retelling of Swan Lake, with familiar harmonies from The Phantom of the Opera woven into it. The gorgeously illustrated, foreboding cover sets the tone and Poranek’s lyrical and descriptive writing style narrows the focus like a spotlight. While a few notes fell flat, I found myself swept away by the atmospheric and captivating undertones of mythology and folklore, betrayal and redemption, freedom and connection
The story follows Odile, a young sorceress abandoned in Auréal, a nation that strictly forbids magic. Plucked off the streets by the director of the Théâtre du Roi, and fellow sorcerer himself, Regnault spends years preparing Odile for her final, most important mission: impersonate the princess, Marie d’Odette who haunts Odile’s past, infiltrate the palace, and steal the enchanted crown to restore magic to the kingdom. As you might imagine, what follows is nothing as simple as that.
Shortly after arriving at the Chateau under the guise of the princess, King Honoré is murdered and the blame is laid upon Odile’s brother, someone she hasn’t spoken to nor seen in five years. Complicated by the false charges against Damien, Odile now must unearth buried history, navigate unforeseen twists and turns, and collaborate with those she considers the enemy… but are they really?
Odile is painfully fantastic as the villain (Black Swan) of the story. While naive at times, it’s easy to forget that she’s a traumatized minor with no point of reference beyond the adoptive father who cages her to the shadows, which feels purposeful. Odile is witty, cunning, treacherous, and so heartbreakingly lonely. She’s realistically complex and flawed, and it’s difficult to remain frustrated with Odile’s decisions as each one feels masterly puppeteered by her manipulative adoptive father.
The novel locks you into Odile’s perspective, which can be frustrating but richly enhances the mystery and deception in the storyline. Even with the limited perspective, Marie takes flight beautifully as the caged swan princess who manages to discover freedom in her curse. Odile and Marie share a complicated history, drowning in mutual regret and yearning, and Poranek slowly sets the scene for their relationship with aching softness, vulnerability, and tenderly crafted connection.
The pacing does fall flat in a few parts throughout the middle of the story, but the show does continue on until the epilogue, in which the script unfortunately feels abrupt and rushed. With that said, is dark and (melo)dramatic, but the ominous atmosphere pairs perfectly with its theatrical and magical backdrop. As a fledgling author, I have only roses to offer to A.B. Poranek for spreading her wings with the gorgeous and haunting A Treachery of Swans.
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