climb my ribcage to
Since I'm awake at a completely ungodly hour and can't get back to sleep.
Bought and read Heir To Sevenwaters, the new Juliet Marillier novel, all of yesterday. Because quite awesomely, A&R underneath Town Hall is the only bookshop in the city that opens before all the others and stocks it. I felt a bit disloyal to my Borders but since I had a nine-thirty court start and had just gotten paid and had no coupons, so wasn't gonna pass that opportunity up.
I was supposed to buy pens, 'stremely expensive Aveda conditioner and a birthday present yesterday. Started the book around ten o'clock. It was only a few minutes before five that I finished it, surfaced and remembered about pens, conditioner and present. *facesmacks*
It was that good.
It was curious cos the book format of not quite monster paperback made it seem not very long and I kind of puzzled about how much detail she could go into as I read on. It could have been a very superficial short tale.
It absolutely wasn't. And oh man oh man, the structure. That wonderful way she builds her stories from the very mundane innocent domesticity of a girl who knows not much more than her family's land, and yet there is that lovely growing sense of doom, of forces bearing down, until it finally happens and the girl strides out into the world, determined to do whatever she can to set things right. It's so great, so empowering, so intelligent.
And I was completely taken unawares by the disaster. I mean, I was sure it would be war or a raid at the very least, a horrible death and maybe several deaths and Sevenwaters destroyed. I thought disaster of human making. And I groaned a little at yet another alliance made with the Ui Neills, thinking "oh for fuck's sake, Juliet, we've had three books already where the Ui Neills are the bad guys, why are you being so narrow minded and unimaginative?" My tiny tiny hope was that for once she would turn that around.
She did.
When it finally came out that the Ui Neills were perfectly innocent in this instance, I pretty much wanted to grab the book up and kiss it. Totally new bad guy and omigod brilliant brilliant job of building him up into the most chilling threat. Nnngghh! Aside from Eamonn, I do love how she writes her bad guys. Somerled is still one of my most favourite baddies even though he came good in the end.
And she returned to that marvellous use of foreshadowing myths and teaching tales but so well done that even I didn't pick up on the specifics until the disaster actually happened and oh jesus, it felt like it came out of nowhere, pretty much the second most horrific thing that could have happened, the first being outright death. Except that it didn't come out of nowhere and oh how I loved Clodagh's reaction.
Cos, yes, a tiny part of me has always wondered whatever did happen to those changelings, the fey babies abandoned in favour of the stolen human ones. As a writer and a reader, that was just so lovely and so interesting to see, the way Clodagh actually cared for the ugly little changeling. And it was such a great vivid description, that he was all made of twigs and leaves, such delicate wonderful detail. That he wasn't cute and cuddly and sweet sounding, that she had to struggle and figure out how to care for him, and oh god that he trusted her completely. Oh man, that killed me. Poor lil twig baby.
If I had been anywhere but in court, I would have screamed when he was thrown into the fire. Even now, it sends a shockwave through me. As it was, I'm pretty sure I flinched and sat bolt upright, eyes wide and racing on the page. Anyone watching me prolly thought I had some sort of bowel twinge attack.
But it was brilliant plotting, brilliant characterisation, so very clever timing and working of the bad guy manipulating Clodagh. The pulling of the characters' emotional strings was just marvellous. Seriously. I'm in awe.
Mind you, wasn't all perfection. I did find the dialogue a bit too stilted and longwinded for a good long while, like the characters spoke in chunks of speech rather than a more naturalistic jagged dynamic. But then I could be sensitive to that at the moment cos I'm fretting at the reverse being a flaw in my own writing. Maybe that will be clearer on the eventual re-read. And I felt a little cheated at the expository conversation right after the rescue, stuff that maybe we could have been shown in visions or dreams or something a little sooner so the actual reveal didn't feel quite so convenient and so clunky.
Totally fell in love with her guy again. I honestly don't know how but every time she writes a surly sardonic restless antihero, he is a thousand times more interesting and more sympathetic than the noblest and bravest hero she has ever written. And it's not just me, he really is! He has the best lines, the most fascinating reactions, the deepest intricacy of feeling, the best authenticity of soul. Bran was like that, Somerled, Faolan to some extent which is why it shitted me so much what she did with him, and now Cathal.
This time the little repetition of "Any time" got me good. And that wonderful reaction when he makes the absolutely ridiculous jump off the cliff to get to Clodagh and she says "You utter, utter fool" and he says 'You're all right, then," ah christ I loved them both completely from that point on.
Clodagh was intriguing from a certain perspective because even though she casts herself in the dumb girl meant to be a housewife role, she is clearly anything but. Okay, yes, she is compassionate almost to the point of pathology but it's tempered with a fierce intelligence and spirit which is so Liadan that really I'm grateful Liadan didn't actually appear in this story cos it would have been too much similarity of character. And I did love how strong their sexuality was. That's something I've always found a little lacking with Marillier to date but forgave it cos the emotional dynamic when it worked pretty much made up for the coyness.
I did miss Bran, though. But omigod I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE MADE JOHNNY GAY! My eyes practically fell out of my head at that point, I had to re-read the sentence twice to make sure I hadn't hallucinated it. Johnny! The boy wonder, the child everyone had fought over, the much touted saviour of Sevenwaters! Oh awesome. Bloody awesome. And then to have Clodagh actually acknowledge it to his partner and have the partner talk about it ever so briefly and respectfully. Oh man. *flails* Evolving authors evolving with the times, is there nothing more wonderful?
Ha, I wonder if someone pointed out to Marillier the totally homoerotic nature of Faolan's loyalty to Wotzisface, Bridei. Certainly she knew exactly how homoerotic Somerled's obsession with Wotzisotherface ... *googles* ... Eyvind was. *nods* But always the heterosexual norm has taken precedence in her worlds so this was just ah, a wonderful touch. And then to raise the problems associated with homosexuality in that patriarchal society was good, an excellent working of the sobering reality. I held my breath for a good long while and then ah, got all mushy when the issue of the heir was resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Well done! A little idealistic but I'll believe it happily.
And oh to see Ciaran again, Ciaran with his red hair and his mulberry eyes. *sigh* I was so glad he was still alive and so thrilled at the hints of his power to come. That final breathless moment of confrontation averted between him and Mac Dara was ooh, wonderful.
I did find it a little unrealistic that Aisling survived. I mean, the explanation was quite touching but I couldn't help thinking she should have died. Would have rung truer. Devastating but true. Still, can't blame an author for wanting to protect her characters. Well, no, you can but I won't in this case.
Didn't much care for the actual seeing and journeying into the Otherworld. I did resist that for a while because it felt like it damaged the excellent reality of the book. But it was necessary and even though I never really came to like it, there was eventual acceptance. But oh what made up for that was the absolutely marvellous image of lil Becan's mother, flashed me right back to Daughter Of The Forest and the sudden wonderful literalness of that image.
And the oh so subtle imagery that Marillier worked in, the tiniest things like the swan tapestry moving in the draught and the lark singing. If there was more, I didn't catch it on this first read. But oh, I did love that. Very subtly done and not even acknowledged at a later point which was kinda cool in its own right although I wish Marillier had highlighted her own genius in that respect.
I do love how she always balances both sides of the parent issue. It's never only about a mother's love or only about a father's love. The other side is always addressed and it's always fairly interesting. And yes, I totally agreed with Cathal about how Clodagh can see some good even in the baddiest of bad guys. *lol*
Kind of get the sense that maybe Marillier's mum passing away might have worked a sort of shift in mind and imagination because there was a peculiar intensity to this revitalisation and revisitation of a classic world. Bless her, I'm so glad she came back and did such a great job.
And my increasingly bitter disappointment with Marillier as a result of the last four or so books?
Totally eradicated! She hath redeemed herself in marvellous fashion, yea verily!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy verily!
Bought and read Heir To Sevenwaters, the new Juliet Marillier novel, all of yesterday. Because quite awesomely, A&R underneath Town Hall is the only bookshop in the city that opens before all the others and stocks it. I felt a bit disloyal to my Borders but since I had a nine-thirty court start and had just gotten paid and had no coupons, so wasn't gonna pass that opportunity up.
I was supposed to buy pens, 'stremely expensive Aveda conditioner and a birthday present yesterday. Started the book around ten o'clock. It was only a few minutes before five that I finished it, surfaced and remembered about pens, conditioner and present. *facesmacks*
It was that good.
It was curious cos the book format of not quite monster paperback made it seem not very long and I kind of puzzled about how much detail she could go into as I read on. It could have been a very superficial short tale.
It absolutely wasn't. And oh man oh man, the structure. That wonderful way she builds her stories from the very mundane innocent domesticity of a girl who knows not much more than her family's land, and yet there is that lovely growing sense of doom, of forces bearing down, until it finally happens and the girl strides out into the world, determined to do whatever she can to set things right. It's so great, so empowering, so intelligent.
And I was completely taken unawares by the disaster. I mean, I was sure it would be war or a raid at the very least, a horrible death and maybe several deaths and Sevenwaters destroyed. I thought disaster of human making. And I groaned a little at yet another alliance made with the Ui Neills, thinking "oh for fuck's sake, Juliet, we've had three books already where the Ui Neills are the bad guys, why are you being so narrow minded and unimaginative?" My tiny tiny hope was that for once she would turn that around.
She did.
When it finally came out that the Ui Neills were perfectly innocent in this instance, I pretty much wanted to grab the book up and kiss it. Totally new bad guy and omigod brilliant brilliant job of building him up into the most chilling threat. Nnngghh! Aside from Eamonn, I do love how she writes her bad guys. Somerled is still one of my most favourite baddies even though he came good in the end.
And she returned to that marvellous use of foreshadowing myths and teaching tales but so well done that even I didn't pick up on the specifics until the disaster actually happened and oh jesus, it felt like it came out of nowhere, pretty much the second most horrific thing that could have happened, the first being outright death. Except that it didn't come out of nowhere and oh how I loved Clodagh's reaction.
Cos, yes, a tiny part of me has always wondered whatever did happen to those changelings, the fey babies abandoned in favour of the stolen human ones. As a writer and a reader, that was just so lovely and so interesting to see, the way Clodagh actually cared for the ugly little changeling. And it was such a great vivid description, that he was all made of twigs and leaves, such delicate wonderful detail. That he wasn't cute and cuddly and sweet sounding, that she had to struggle and figure out how to care for him, and oh god that he trusted her completely. Oh man, that killed me. Poor lil twig baby.
If I had been anywhere but in court, I would have screamed when he was thrown into the fire. Even now, it sends a shockwave through me. As it was, I'm pretty sure I flinched and sat bolt upright, eyes wide and racing on the page. Anyone watching me prolly thought I had some sort of bowel twinge attack.
But it was brilliant plotting, brilliant characterisation, so very clever timing and working of the bad guy manipulating Clodagh. The pulling of the characters' emotional strings was just marvellous. Seriously. I'm in awe.
Mind you, wasn't all perfection. I did find the dialogue a bit too stilted and longwinded for a good long while, like the characters spoke in chunks of speech rather than a more naturalistic jagged dynamic. But then I could be sensitive to that at the moment cos I'm fretting at the reverse being a flaw in my own writing. Maybe that will be clearer on the eventual re-read. And I felt a little cheated at the expository conversation right after the rescue, stuff that maybe we could have been shown in visions or dreams or something a little sooner so the actual reveal didn't feel quite so convenient and so clunky.
Totally fell in love with her guy again. I honestly don't know how but every time she writes a surly sardonic restless antihero, he is a thousand times more interesting and more sympathetic than the noblest and bravest hero she has ever written. And it's not just me, he really is! He has the best lines, the most fascinating reactions, the deepest intricacy of feeling, the best authenticity of soul. Bran was like that, Somerled, Faolan to some extent which is why it shitted me so much what she did with him, and now Cathal.
This time the little repetition of "Any time" got me good. And that wonderful reaction when he makes the absolutely ridiculous jump off the cliff to get to Clodagh and she says "You utter, utter fool" and he says 'You're all right, then," ah christ I loved them both completely from that point on.
Clodagh was intriguing from a certain perspective because even though she casts herself in the dumb girl meant to be a housewife role, she is clearly anything but. Okay, yes, she is compassionate almost to the point of pathology but it's tempered with a fierce intelligence and spirit which is so Liadan that really I'm grateful Liadan didn't actually appear in this story cos it would have been too much similarity of character. And I did love how strong their sexuality was. That's something I've always found a little lacking with Marillier to date but forgave it cos the emotional dynamic when it worked pretty much made up for the coyness.
I did miss Bran, though. But omigod I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE MADE JOHNNY GAY! My eyes practically fell out of my head at that point, I had to re-read the sentence twice to make sure I hadn't hallucinated it. Johnny! The boy wonder, the child everyone had fought over, the much touted saviour of Sevenwaters! Oh awesome. Bloody awesome. And then to have Clodagh actually acknowledge it to his partner and have the partner talk about it ever so briefly and respectfully. Oh man. *flails* Evolving authors evolving with the times, is there nothing more wonderful?
Ha, I wonder if someone pointed out to Marillier the totally homoerotic nature of Faolan's loyalty to Wotzisface, Bridei. Certainly she knew exactly how homoerotic Somerled's obsession with Wotzisotherface ... *googles* ... Eyvind was. *nods* But always the heterosexual norm has taken precedence in her worlds so this was just ah, a wonderful touch. And then to raise the problems associated with homosexuality in that patriarchal society was good, an excellent working of the sobering reality. I held my breath for a good long while and then ah, got all mushy when the issue of the heir was resolved to everyone's satisfaction. Well done! A little idealistic but I'll believe it happily.
And oh to see Ciaran again, Ciaran with his red hair and his mulberry eyes. *sigh* I was so glad he was still alive and so thrilled at the hints of his power to come. That final breathless moment of confrontation averted between him and Mac Dara was ooh, wonderful.
I did find it a little unrealistic that Aisling survived. I mean, the explanation was quite touching but I couldn't help thinking she should have died. Would have rung truer. Devastating but true. Still, can't blame an author for wanting to protect her characters. Well, no, you can but I won't in this case.
Didn't much care for the actual seeing and journeying into the Otherworld. I did resist that for a while because it felt like it damaged the excellent reality of the book. But it was necessary and even though I never really came to like it, there was eventual acceptance. But oh what made up for that was the absolutely marvellous image of lil Becan's mother, flashed me right back to Daughter Of The Forest and the sudden wonderful literalness of that image.
And the oh so subtle imagery that Marillier worked in, the tiniest things like the swan tapestry moving in the draught and the lark singing. If there was more, I didn't catch it on this first read. But oh, I did love that. Very subtly done and not even acknowledged at a later point which was kinda cool in its own right although I wish Marillier had highlighted her own genius in that respect.
I do love how she always balances both sides of the parent issue. It's never only about a mother's love or only about a father's love. The other side is always addressed and it's always fairly interesting. And yes, I totally agreed with Cathal about how Clodagh can see some good even in the baddiest of bad guys. *lol*
Kind of get the sense that maybe Marillier's mum passing away might have worked a sort of shift in mind and imagination because there was a peculiar intensity to this revitalisation and revisitation of a classic world. Bless her, I'm so glad she came back and did such a great job.
And my increasingly bitter disappointment with Marillier as a result of the last four or so books?
Totally eradicated! She hath redeemed herself in marvellous fashion, yea verily!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy verily!