''Or What You Will'' is a 2020

metafiction Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasises its own narrative structure in a way that continually reminds the audience that they are reading or viewing a fictional work. Metafiction is self-conscious about language, literary form, and stor ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novel by

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel '' Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era nov ...

, about

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

and

creativity Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed lit ...

. It was first published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scienc ...

Synopsis

As fantasy author Sylvia Harrison nears the end of her life, her

imaginary friend Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reality. ...

— a separate consciousness who has lived inside her head since childhood, who she has used as the basis for all her favorite characters, and who will die when she does — devises a plan to make them both immortal... a plan which involves the book Sylvia is currently writing.

Reception

''Or What You Will'' won the 2022 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature.2022 Mythopoeic Awards
by

Mike Glyer Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, at

File 770 ''File 770'' is a long-running science fiction fanzine, newszine, and blog site published/administered by Mike Glyer. It has been published every year since 1978, and has won a record eight Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine, with the first win in ...

; published July 31, 2022; retrieved August 1, 2022 '' Vox'' called ''Or What you Will'' "a playful book about breaking through constraints and expanding past your limits", which despite being "narrated by an incorporeal spirit" is infused with "a deep and palpable and sensual joy: of food, of art, of history, of books and learning".In this joyous fantasy novel, books and art are the key to cheating death
by Constance Grady, at '' Vox''; published July 30, 2020; retrieved July 7, 2021 ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' considered it a "gorgeous, deeply philosophical work" and a "nuanced meditation on reality and fiction", lauding Walton for "shift(ing) effortlessly between Sylvia's life, Florentine history, and the plot unfolding in ylvia's novel-in-progress.Or What You Will
reviewed at ''

''; published April 2, 2020; retrieved July 7, 2021 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' observed the presence of

Marsilio Ficino Marsilio Ficino (; Latin name: ; 19 October 1433 – 1 October 1499) was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a revive ...

and

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, ...

, historical figures who play major roles in several of Walton's other novels, but noted that the novel "doesn't have quite the philosophical heft of those prior works" and is instead "a deeply personal work and a charming love letter to

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

."OR WHAT YOU WILL
reviewed at ''

''; published June 3, 2020; retrieved July 7, 2021 In ''

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

'',

Gary K. Wolfe Gary K. Wolfe (born Gary Kent Wolfe in 1946) is an American science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is an emeritus Professor of Humanities in Roosevelt University's Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies. Life Wolfe was bo ...

lauded it as "undeniably touching", with "sharp critical insights about fantasy" that help to make the novel "a critical fiction, carrying on its own negotiations between differing ideas of history, biography, and imagination".Gary. K. Wolfe Reviews Or What You Will by Jo Walton
in ''

''; published July 12, 2020; retrieved July 7, 2021

Origins

Walton has described the novel's origins as including a visit to Florence at the invitation of Ada Palmer, a panel at a science fiction convention in which

James D. Macdonald James Douglas Ignatius Macdonald (born 1954) is an American author and critic who lives in New Hampshire. He frequently collaborated with his late wife Dr. Debra Doyle. He works in several genres, concentrating on fantasy, but also writing sci ...

described having a

repertory theatre A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

of characters in his head, and an overall dissatisfaction with the endings of '' The Tempest'' and ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

''.“Or What You Will” Reimagines Shakespeare’s Imagined Italy
by Megan Otto, at the ''

Chicago Review of Books The ''Chicago Review of Books'' is an online literary publication of StoryStudio Chicago which reviews recent books covering diverse genres, presses, voices, and media. The magazine was started in 2016 and Adam Morgan is the founding editor-in-c ...

''; published July 6, 2020; retrieved July 7, 2021

References

{{Jo Walton Novels set in Montreal Novels set in Florence Novels based on works by William Shakespeare Metafictional novels Canadian fantasy novels 2020 British novels Novels by Jo Walton 2020 Canadian novels Welsh fantasy novels Tor Books books