Title: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
Author: H.G. Parry
Publication Date: July 23, 2019
Publisher: Redhook
Format: NetGalley eARC

If I could have one superpower, it would for sure be the ability to read things out of books.

I first fell in love with this idea when I started reading Inkheart, though I wasn’t a huge fan of that book. It felt a little too middle grade for me, without convincing villains and stakes. And y’all know how much I love me a solid villain. This book fixed that problem for me.

The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep is Inkheart for adults, replete with famous Victorian characters, a bookish protagonist, a disillusioned older brother (aren’t they all?!), and relatable sibling struggles. Oh, and a hellhound named Henry.

Because all good books need a lovable, fluffy pet somewhere in them. And Charley doesn’t count, regardless of what Rob thinks.

❧ The story is told from the non-bookish character’s point of view … and it works really well, somehow?

This is a surprise, because normally, I’d be rooting for the bookish person. I mean, I did root for Charley, obviously. How could you not? But telling this story from Rob’s point of view was a great choice, because it’s something new and fresh. I’ve read so many books told by bookish characters, and while I love them, this was a bit of a novelty.

Rob doesn’t hate books, per se, but he just doesn’t understand Charley’s obsession with them.

Which, wow, I feel attacked. But also, I hear this a lot from people in my life, too, like my husband. It’s a perspective I don’t relate to as much, which made it that much more entertaining. Gosh, I didn’t realize how frustrating we bookish people can be. Lovable, but frustrating. I have a newfound respect for those who put up with us.

What I particularly loved about this was just how over his head and uncomfortable Rob was with the whole “characters popping out of books thing.”

I mean, I’d be thrilled. How can you not? Apparently, Rob can. Because while Charley was skipping through the fictional Street where the characters all live with the appropriate amount of abandon and glee, Rob was petrified by the prospect of it all.

❧ Charley is a lovable, squishable marshmallow who deserves all the love and maybe a hug or two.

Okay, so he accidentally brought to life a few nasty characters. Can you really hold that against him? He starts out so soft and apologetic, like a quivering little puppy, just trying to live his best life.

Though Rob is the point of view character, this is really Charley’s story, and he definitely steals the show. His arc is a wonderful one: of a younger brother learning to not always lean on his older brother; as a son bearing the burden of his parents; as an adult trying to find his way in a world that he doesn’t feel like he belongs to.

Oh, and as a genius who just happens to be able to read things out of books. As soft and meek as he starts, Charley really finds himself in this book, and the journey was an endearing one. Also, a great reminder to become the person you want to be rather than the person everyone tells you you are.

❧ Parry gives the “reading characters to life” trope an interesting spin by including the fact that interpretation matters.

Let’s face it, reading is 90% interpretation and 10% words on the page. Ten people can read the same character and come up with wildly different interpretations, which means ten potentially different characters brought to life. Oh, the endless possibilities!

This felt really novel and really made me stop and think of my own interpretations of the characters. Would what I read out be different from Charley’s?

Well, I mean, probably, because he’s a genius and I am a monkey with a keyboard. Not the point. I loved all the different forms this takes, and it really makes you stop and think about the characters. It gives them a new life and depth. Sure, you know of Dorian Gray, but do you know this Dorian Gray?

❧ Despite knowing the characters from their respective works, they take on a new depth in this book and become entirely new characters, while still retaining their original charm.

The narrative walks a really fine line between characters being fictional works on a page and characters existing in reality. Does that make them people? Are they human, or still just essentially a thought given form? I absolutely loved the moral dilemmas this raised.

At their essence, all the characters were recognizable from their roles in their respective books, but each one had been changed, to some extent, by both their reader’s interpretation and their experience in the real world.

It’s not exactly all sunshine and daisies out here, yo. I mean, better than some of their books, sure. Some of their books. But life changes people. Even characters. That’s the point of an arc, right? It was super easy for me to separate the characters in this book from their literary counterparts, and I became endeared to these new versions almost right away. Yes, even the frustrating, mouthy ones.

❧ There’s a marked lack of romance, and instead, the focus is on the (sometimes strained, oftentimes stressful) sibling relationship.

And if I’m honest, thank goodness. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a romance subplot, but not every book needs a love interest. Here, Rob is already engaged, and sure, his fiance has a role in the story, just as she has a role in his life, but she’s not the focus. And dear old Charley is single and perfectly happy that way, thanks for asking.

As a younger sibling to several older siblings and also an older sibling to younger siblings, I can 100% confirm the relatability of Rob and Charley’s relationship.

And oh what a tangled web we weave. Because relationships are hard, especially when you’re related to the person and you love them, but gosh, do they have to be so annoying? I mean, you don’t get to choose your siblings.

These characters have been brothers for decades, so you’d think they would’ve had time to get it right, but nuh-uh. They’re still finding themselves and trying to figure out exactly what it means to be brothers. While Rob and Charley each have their own separate character growth, there’s a whole arc just about their relationship, and this is what I live for. I was complaining about there not being enough books focusing on siblings, and here this one comes, and about adult siblings, to boot. Be still, my heart.

❧ All the characters are really the heroes of their own story, including the villain.

There’s this lovely little feel (probably because of the bookishness of the plot) of a story within a story here. All of the characters take part in the overall plot, but they’re all still stars of their own stories. It was really interesting to see where the stories cross each of their own little individual arcs.

The greatest thing about this is the subtle commentary about real life, whether it was intentional or not.

All I could think as I read this was how appropriate the struggle was with self vs. community. It’s something most people go through every day. We’re so caught up in our own stories that we forget there’s a larger one going on that we’re also a part of, and maybe we’re just a side character in that one.

This story is Rob’s story … but really Charley’s story … but also so many other little stories, and every character has to decide whether to respond based on their own story or how their story inevitably fits into the large one. It’s a real moral dilemma.

❧ This book has a little bit of everything, wrapped in a neat bow: mystery, supernatural, bookish people, non-readers, family secrets, stressful family dynamics, comedy, moral dilemmas, existential questions, reluctant heroes, people just trying to live their best lives without getting mauled by characters thank you very much.

I actually wasn’t sure what to expect going in, because there wasn’t a lot of detail in the summary, and fantasy is a pretty broad subject. This was a pleasant mix of a bunch of different genres, set in the real world with just a teensy overlay of the bookish supernatural. There’s actually several mysteries and subplots, which really kept me guessing. It was funny and thoughtful at the same time and just so relatable. I kept hitting passages where it was just like, oomph, yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve had this same argument with my siblings. Please stop spying on my life.

The one thing I will say: I think you’ll get more out of this book if you’re familiar with Dickens and Victorian-era literature.

Contemporary stuff, this is not. It’s not a requirement. I have a very cursory understanding of Dickens. In fact, I’ve never read David Copperfield, which is where the titular character is from. In hindsight, maybe that should’ve been a big clue and I should’ve been concerned. You do not need to read Dickens’ work to enjoy this book. But given how many characters come from Dickens (and the fact that Charley specializes, basically, in Dickens as a professor), I think you would probably get more from the book if you do.

❧ I was so sure that a certain character was going to play a big role in the climax, and he was set up to have a bigger role in the story, and then he just … didn’t.

And this. Freaking. Irked. Me. Really badly. He was a character I really liked, despite him not being a great person. But he was so stinking smart and logical and always one step ahead of everybody, in such a way that the way his arc ended just didn’t make sense to me. It seemed to completely go against his character and it was entirely illogical. It just left such a bad taste in my mouth, and I was so annoyed after that.

❧ The climax was SO SURPRISING … and then it was over. Just like that. Super easily.

Which was extremely disappointing, because I had been so amped up and actually squeed just a teensy bit, like you do, with some of the reveals and such. The denouement didn’t feel earned at all. The villains weren’t so much defeated as they just sort of fizzled. In what was otherwise such a great book, this probably lost a star all in itself for me, because I just expected something … more.

What’s one character you would love to read out of a book? Any character you would dread being read out?