Recent reading
Aug. 20th, 2021 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaGleam in the North by D K Broster (1927)
Rereading for fic writing purposes because I'm writing an AU of it; I've only read it once before. Keeping in mind that it is only one possible continuation of Flight of the Heron, and that I and other people have written others which include a lot more Keith, I like it a lot. It's beautifully written, and the ending is quite moving. But I do think that the book should have more Alison (although that's actually more noticeable in book three, where the plot is closer to Ardroy).
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (2016)
For book club, did not finish. I guess it's supposed to be a fun adventure romp, but it just did not grab me.
The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker (2018)
This, on the other hand, was brilliant, and it completely gripped me! It's a women-centric retelling of the Iliad, with a list of content warnings as long as my arm. I knew the basic story from my days of being obsessed with various mythologies as a kid, but had forgotten a lot of the details. I was surprised when it left the Briseis POV and ventured into Achilles', but it's still good--it really rubs your nose in how this guy who has a heroic and moving story in his own mind, completely fails to see the women as also being people and having their own stories. Despite all the death, rape, war, etc, there's community among the women (who don't all react in the same way and also have different social status) and some feeling of hope at the end, or at least Briseis asserting her place at the center of her own story.
This exchange pretty much encapsulates the book (paraphrased):
Priam: I do what no man before me has done; I kiss the hand of the man who killed my son!
Briseis: I am forced to do what thousands of women before me have done: to spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and brothers.
Rereading for fic writing purposes because I'm writing an AU of it; I've only read it once before. Keeping in mind that it is only one possible continuation of Flight of the Heron, and that I and other people have written others which include a lot more Keith, I like it a lot. It's beautifully written, and the ending is quite moving. But I do think that the book should have more Alison (although that's actually more noticeable in book three, where the plot is closer to Ardroy).
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (2016)
For book club, did not finish. I guess it's supposed to be a fun adventure romp, but it just did not grab me.
The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker (2018)
This, on the other hand, was brilliant, and it completely gripped me! It's a women-centric retelling of the Iliad, with a list of content warnings as long as my arm. I knew the basic story from my days of being obsessed with various mythologies as a kid, but had forgotten a lot of the details. I was surprised when it left the Briseis POV and ventured into Achilles', but it's still good--it really rubs your nose in how this guy who has a heroic and moving story in his own mind, completely fails to see the women as also being people and having their own stories. Despite all the death, rape, war, etc, there's community among the women (who don't all react in the same way and also have different social status) and some feeling of hope at the end, or at least Briseis asserting her place at the center of her own story.
This exchange pretty much encapsulates the book (paraphrased):
Priam: I do what no man before me has done; I kiss the hand of the man who killed my son!
Briseis: I am forced to do what thousands of women before me have done: to spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and brothers.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-21 01:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-21 12:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-21 12:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-21 12:29 pm (UTC)Yes, that's true--I guess it's especially noticeable to me because I've written a long story where she does have character development and agency. So I notice when Broster doesn't do it...
I do have ideas for the ending, but I guess you'll have to wait and see. : )
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-21 02:49 pm (UTC)I'm currently about a third of the way through your Flight of the Heron poly AU, and enjoying it a lot more than the actual sequel novel, it has to be said!
(no subject)
Date: 2021-08-22 05:09 pm (UTC)Awww, I'm so glad to hear that! : D I guess I wanted to 1) have Keith live, and also 2) have Alison be an important character, and 3) write a poly fic that wasn't an OT3. But since Alison doesn't have that much page time in the books, I guess she's my own character in the fic as much as Broster's...