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Susann Cokal's debut novel The Kingdom of Little Wounds is the story of two young, lower-class girls caught up in a very adult, upper-class world of treachery and deceit. While the Scandenavian city of Skyggehavn celebrates the impending wedding of Princess Sophia, a terrible illness plagues much of the city's nobility, including many members of the royal family. Ava Bingen, a seamstress, and Midi Sorte, a slave, find themselves at the center of a power struggle amidst the chaos and fragility of the young princes and princesses meant to succeed the throne.
This is one of those novels that is a bit challenging to review and recommend. Not because it's not a GREAT work of fiction; it's just so heart-breaking and darn hard to read at times. While I wouldn't exactly describe it as a "fun" book to read by the pool, the writing and story are absolutely beautiful. Ava and Midi, though not exactly friendly at first, become slowly wrapped up in the fate of the Royal family, particularly the mad Queen Isabel. The Kingdom of Little Wounds contains so many gut-wrenching scenes, but learning how these two girls fight for their own happiness, dignity, and survival in such a brutal world captivated me from beginning to end.
Recommended for: Mature audiences. Must not be too squeamish about bodily functions, illness, violence, injustice or all other disgusting facts of Medieval life.
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