At the beginning of lockdown, I found the need to stay home a blessing in disguise, I could finally catch up on all those shows I missed out on or all the movies I’d been planning to watch since forever. And then, late last year, around November or so, I had accomplished just that. I’d caught up with all of the series I’d been watching at the time, I’d watched dozens upon dozens of movies, I was in a rut. “What was I supposed to do next?” I asked myself, foolishly. It then dawned on me that I had yet to read any of the series I’ve been wanting to. So, in December of 2020, I decided to sit down and finally read a book series that’s been on my “To Read” list for nearly 2 years now. Yes, these books that would end up meaning a whole lot to me, Violet Evergarden. (Spoilers for Violet Evergarden)
First, a little background on the novel and its writer. Akatsuki Kana is a novel writer based out of Hokkaido, Japan. Not a lot is actually known about her other than two interviews she’s given regarding her work on Violet with Kyoani, and the afterword’s she’s written in each of her novels. Violet Evergarden, was written around 2013 as an entry into Kyoto Animation’s writer competition. Known as the “Kyoto Animation Award”, this award is given by the company to a select few of the event's participants where they get the chance to win money, a publication contract, and even a chance of getting their work adapted into an anime later on. Different awards are given to individuals depending on their score from the judges, participants could submit works such as novels, screenplays, and even manga. Akatsuki-sensei submitted her novel as an entry for the 2014 Awards. To this day, Akatsuki-sensei is the only writer to receive the Grand Award for her work, which led to her getting a publication deal where she released another three novels in the series, as well as a widely acclaimed anime series along with a movie. Though in her afterword, she says just how surreal it was and is for her to see people reading and enjoying her work. Suffice it to say, when I sat down to actually read Violet Evergarden, I had pretty high hopes. And by the last page, I found myself praying to God for more.
Violet Evergarden is set mainly in the fictional country of Leidenschaftlich. It follows the titular character Violet, a former child soldier, as she slowly learns to adjust to a time of peace after having lost everything, from her major, who taught and cared for her, to her arms, which she lost in battle. In this new era where, on the surface, tensions have died down, and the need for soldiers has drastically decreased, Violet now works at the CH Postal Company, started by an old friend of the Major who was tasked with caring for Violet in his stead. Violet works as an Auto Memories Doll, a ghostwriter of sorts, that became popular as the need for regular individuals to contact far-away loved ones increased after a long war where only soldiers would need to know how to read or write. The first book follows a mainly episodic style of storytelling, with each chapter being its own contained story which sometimes references other chapters and sets up future events.
The first book had the daunting job of setting up the world that Akatsuki-sensei envisioned for both the characters and the nations, islands, and cities that they lived in, and as I read it, I never found a single page boring or incongruous, every line was written to expound or lend to a character’s thoughts, a location’s environment, or the worlds’ believability. It felt as if everything was written for a reason. Akatsuki-sensei herself said in an interview, “The text should not span [so many] pages so that the reader can immerse themselves in it.” Though in my life I’ve not read as much as any of my siblings, of the books I have read, this one has to take the cake for the best world-building in any of them. It’s so amazing how Akatsuki-sensei can write about a scene so intricately and comprehensively, that she doesn’t even need to write side stories, you can simply imagine them from the setting of each page. One of the many reasons I adore this book is because of how much love Akatsuki-sensei puts into each character and character interaction. It, no joke, gave me the same feeling as when I first watched Avengers: Endgame and saw some of my favorite superheroes interacting with each other. Akatsuki-sensei generally likes to write from the perspective of the character the chapter is named after, which isn’t uncommon but is almost all but lost in the anime adaptation. The characters’ inner monologue felt to me, all too relatable in many aspects. (Major spoilers inbound)
Each chapter of the book touches on the subject of losing somebody you love (with the exception of one). I don’t want to generalize or anything because each story does have its unique setup and story, but each one’s trauma, conclusion, or regret, is losing somebody in the first book. In the chapter “The Playwright and the Auto-Memories Doll”, the playwright Oscar Webster has secluded himself in his home, refusing to write any more plays after the death of his wife and daughter. It’s only when he’s resolved himself to finish writing a play in tribute to his daughter does he see even a tinge of color return to his life, though him being a drunkard and recluse would not help him in that matter, so he decides to hire an Auto-Memory Doll at the behest of his old colleague. What arrived at his door was the cold-faced, stunning, though clearly unfledged amanuensis, Violet Evergarden. Violet, through her interactions with Oscar, helps him overcome his grief over his daughter if even for a little bit through her similar physique, childlike innocence, and wonder. Oscar never fully “gets over” his daughter’s death, though now he’s found a way to approach it in his daily life, not by constantly mourning her or forcing himself to bear the grief each hour of every day, but by celebrating the little time he did have with her, living with the memories as a testimony to how much she mattered. I love the book for how even if in a broad sense Akatsuki-sensei hasn’t really written something so ground-breaking or incredibly innovative that this book is untouchable, though I do believe that she’s done this story and all its tropes, the absolute best.
Though I have little to no qualms with the book, there are a few things to look out for if you plan on reading Violet Evergarden. The first thing is if you’ve watched the anime, this book is quite different from it. First off, there are characters that straight up don’t exist in the book from the anime and vice versa (one of my favorite characters was actually cut from the anime). And second, the book contains a chapter that includes topics that may make some readers uncomfortable such as POWs and suggestive language, so do watch out for that if it bothers you, as the target demographic for this book is towards the age range of 16 and above. I don’t really know if this review has done a succinct or perfect job of summarizing the unique qualities and sometimes outstanding eloquence of Akatsuki-sensei’s work, but I certainly hope you come away from this wanting to read and judge it for yourself, after all, I am only one opinion (One very biased opinion I might add). But aside from that, I think Violet Evergarden is a wonderful book about finding your own identity after the world takes everything away from you and finding independence after a horrible war.
So, to end it off, I’ll just quote my favorite line Akatsuki-sensei wrote in her afterword, “The only difference in the way I cry now from how I used to cry as a child is that my current self, wipes the mud off her knees on her own, stands on her feet again with a tearstained face and resumes running at full speed, using her suffering as fuel.” Though it is essentially a long-winded way of saying “Don’t give up” I think it perfectly surmises a philosophy I need to incorporate more into my own life, it’s not wrong or shameful to cry, cry all you want, but when you’ve been given a responsibility, you work at it with everything you’ve got, tearstained face and all. When you’ve failed a hundred or a thousand times and your tears begin running out, let that frustration serve as a catalyst for you to push yourself, keep reminding yourself that there’s always someone looking out for you, and run at full speed towards your goal.