A book that would make you laugh until you cried, sob until you clutch your chest, surprise you at every turn, and keep you hungry for more. This book is the last in the trilogy “The Infernal Devices” and in my opinion, the best finale to this best-seller series.
This book is set in the last decade of the 1800s, in the city of London, in the world of Shadowhunters, a special race of angel-blooded humans whose mandate is to protect humankind from demonkind. The story follows a 16-year-old Tessa Gray, a half-warlock and half shadowhunter in her path of self-discovery all the while saving the world alongside two fellow shadowhunters, Will Herondae and James Carstairs.
I can say with confidence that this book is one of Cassandra Clare’s best works and anyone who has read it would wholeheartedly agree. “Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.” - This is one of the best quotes from the book which changed my perspective on how to live your life and I’m ever grateful for it. Every scene in the book has some hidden meaning or message within it which just weaves into a bigger picture as we near the end of the book and just makes us exclaim in surprise for not discovering it earlier.
On the other hand, if we talk about the characters, I would say every character has their own developmental arc which helps them become the best version of themselves. The author has managed to make me sympathise with every character at least once, even if they were the villain. For example, the main villain in the series, Mr Mortmain, though detestable from the start, has his moment where all of us sympathise with him for the brutal murder of his parents by the shadowhunter community when he was just a child.
Next, if we delve into the character developments of the protagonists, we can see that all three of them get their happy ending in their own way and their own timeline. Will, who is one of the love interests of Tessa, is a person who had shielded her with his body during an explosion. We can see that his devotion to Tessa is matched only by one person, his best friend and parabatai, Jem. Jem, who is the second love interest of Tessa, is the most perfect person to exist, at least in my eyes. Though he had only a few months/ years to live, he did not hesitate to decide to spend them all with Tessa. This love triangle is so very beautiful and heartbreaking and portrays their diverse personalities as well as their pure love for each other. We can physically feel the anguish when Tessa finds out about Will’s feelings for her after she gets engaged to Jem. We can hear the way her heart breaks when she rejects Will’s love to protect Jem; and we can feel the way Will’s heart is destroyed, who believed almost all his life, that loving him would mean the death of the person who loved him and then finding out that the curse had been a false one just jumps with joy to confess his feelings for Tessa, only to find out that she is now engaged to his best friend and blood-brother Jem, whom both of them love with all their hearts. Every single moment of their pain is something that all of us can tangibly feel due to the way Clare portrays her thoughts and ideas. She made us experience selfless love, something that is so rare to find in people nowadays.
As for the climax, Clare managed to beautifully execute a complex scene in words but to the audience, it was almost as if a movie was running behind their eyes, every action so profound, every dialogue so strong, that they left us on the edge of our seats. I personally felt like I had jumped into the scene itself as if I were the character in the book fighting with the automatons. As in any book, our protagonists ultimately win the end but here, in this book, with a heartbreaking twist along with a bittersweet ending.
On a happier note, we find that Will and Tessa get married in the future and live their lives happily, at least until Will dies of old age. One thing that makes this scene different is that, normally when a character dies an untimely death, we feel like it hits us harder than everything else; but Clare proved us wrong. Will’s death, though peaceful and surrounded by family and friends, is still heartbreaking. It makes us understand that death is always hard, no matter what the manner of death is. It was after reading this book that I understood that books help us prepare for the realities of life which is ironic since most people dismiss fantasy and fiction as something to read for fun. One of my favourite parts of the book is the love letter that Will writes to Tessa, something so beautiful that every other love declaration pales in comparison. It may also be because both of them enjoy books as much as any bookworm does.
I would strongly recommend young adult readers to consider reading this book, purely for the life lessons, adventures, love and humour it imparts. In the end, why do any of us read books? Is it not to fall in love with someone’s thoughts? Is it not to find someone who understands us without fear of judgement? Is it not to make our lives more fulfilling?
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