Recent Reads/GGK Book Club: Tigana

[mizkit]

I have, terribly belatedly, read April’s GGK book club novel, TIGANA. Well, re-read it, because it’s down on my Reading List four times and I’ve read it at least twice that many times, because the reading list didn’t get started until well after the book came out.

TIGANA is, pretty much without a doubt, my favourite book. I’ve never previously

Comments

[tersa]

So your post reminded me I'd wanted to ask you an opinion question about something only related to GGK-books...but then I read the post, and now it would feel tres gauche to aside from that.

Just...wow.

<3

[mizkit]

...now I'm of course very curious as to what the question was. *laughs*

[tersa]

*laugh*

I've gotten into audiobooks (or at least an audiobook) to listen to while forcing myself to walk. I'm about at the end of the only one I have in electronic format and thinking about the next, and found two GGK books, Song of Arbonne and Lions of Al-Rassan, narrated by a gentlemen who I know via video game voice acting.

However, I also seem to recall not liking either of those overly much, from the one time I read them...christ. Maybe 15-20 years ago now...so wanted to get your abashedly biased opinions on whether to "re-read" them that way or not.

[mizkit]

Oh, that's an unintentionally loaded question to ask me. :)

A SONG FOR ARBONNE is my least favourite GGK book. I'm actually kind of looking forward to re-reading it, because it's the only one I've never had any interest *in* re-reading and I really want to find out if I just totally missed the thrust of it 20+ years ago or if it genuinely doesn't work for me. (I believe, to balance that, that it's desperance's favourite GGK

[herefox]

Tigana is the one book of GGK's that I've probably read enough to be able to recite bits (though some of Fionvarr Tapestry is close. But that one cheats by being so similar to many other things that I've read)

I'm glad you're back on track with this a little because I was looking forward to Song of Arbonne and Lion's for exactly the same reason as you. Though I can't remember a single thing that actually happened in Lions, honestly, there's only one scene near the beginning the book that I even remember. I just remember being underwhelmed

[mizkit]

I'm kind of thinking of going straight into SONG, so let's read! :)

[pers1stence]

I liked Tigana on this re-read, although enough "real life" things have happened since I read it that I don't have a whole lot of thinky thoughts left about it.

But what my notes remind me, and also relative to the other comments on this post, is how willing GGK is to have his endings be a little bittersweet and/or ambiguous(and his characters for that matter).

In this instance, Sandre, Devin and Baerd all see a riselka, and we are reminded that when three people see such a creature, one is blessed, one to die, one to change paths. But it isn't clear which fate belongs to whom in this instance.

This plays out in LIONS, which I remember loving on initial reading ages ago, at the end. And I really loved the fact that I wasn't certain until the very very end which of the men would survive. We'll see if that holds up on the re-read.