Sedia, Ekaterina: The Alchemy of Stone
The Alchemy of Stone (2008)
Written by: Ekaterina Sedia
Genre: Steampunk Fantasy
Pages: 293 (Trade Paperback)
First and most important: if you haven't yet read Ekaterina Sedia's guest blog, do it now! Or if you were waiting to respond until after you've read the book, and if you've now read the book, don't miss out!
So yes, this was our April Book Challenge, under the theme of "Stand-Alone, Non-Traditional Fantasy by Women Writers." Okay, so that's a rather wordy theme, but it gets the point across. I've been interested in Sedia's work ever since discovering A Secret History of Moscow, which wasn't my favorite book, but I liked enough of what I saw that I purchased The Alchemy of Stone right away, hoping that Sedia would be one of those writers who grows with each book. It was a no-brainer to select her as part of my challenge poll, and I can't say I'm surprised you selected her as the winner: steampunk is all the rage these days, and this book is a bit steampunky. :)
The premise: ganked from BN.com: Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets--secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart--literally.
Review style: Being that it's a Book Club selection, expect spoilers. If you haven't finished reading or haven't even read the book yet, simply skip to the "My Rating" section and come back when you have read it. There shall be discussion of the book's feminist leanings, how politics both help and hinder the story, the various works of literature this book alludes too, and all kinds of other goodies, including some of my favorite moments of the story.
It's interested what we bring to our individual reading experiences. Personal taste always flavors our reading, as do expectations. When I finish a book and am preparing for a review, I tend to browse the internet a bit to see what else is being said about the same title. This helps me focus, because by time I get around to reviewing, I've read several other books since, and it also helps articulate some thoughts that never fully formed while reading. Oftentimes, it gives me a platform to work from, and in this case, the platform was surprise: of the reviews available on Amazon, there's a lot of discontent.
Like I said, it surprised me, because I was quite delighted in the book. Oh, it's not perfect, but then again, what book is? I realize, though, that too often our reactions to books are colored by our expectations going into them. Me, I simply wanted to see more of Sedia's lovely prose coupled with an improvement in her storytelling as compared to her previous book. And that's exactly what I got, so I was tickled pink. But I think other readers came into this all high on the idea of steampunk and wanted more, more, more steampunk, and so when the focus of the story was more on its themes of feminism and anarchy, well, I can see how people might get grumpy.
If you're in the latter camp, I'm sorry. Obviously, I can't control your expectations. I'm going to talk about some of the points the nay-sayers bring up while also highlighting what I think works, and then when I'm done, we can chat about the book in comments. That's what the book club is for, after all! :)
Let's start with Mattie. How wonderful is it that the most realized, most human character is actually not human at all, but an automation? This irony is further displayed in instance of the book: in the gargoyles, who I sympathized with immensely, and one might make a case for the miners, because even though they're human, they've been deformed to look like monsters.
But Mattie is wonderful. She's such an engaging character, and what helps is her very own conflicting desires. She both loves and hates Loharri, her maker, and she herself is a symbol of conflict: the product of a Mechanic who is a master at Alchemy. It's wonderful and it's human, because it's human to be in conflict, and I don't just mean in war. Poor Mattie just wants life to be as it used to be: she just wants to be happy, and trust me, I knew early on that poor Mattie was not going to be happy by this book's end. No, I didn't read spoilers and I didn't peek at the end. Rather, I just looked very carefully at the new (the cover shown behind the cut) cover. If you can look at that cover and not realize it's broadcasting Mattie's doom, then I don't know what to tell you. I never looked at the cover in that way until I got into the story, and I realized that there's no way she would live through this. She just wouldn't. She wanted and needed her key too badly, and maybe it's just cyncism on my part, or maybe I'm just familiar enough with Sedia's writing to know she doesn't give in to easy, happy endings, but I knew our favorite automation would be toast.
So what makes the book worth it? The prose is an obvious reason, and I'll highlight some of my favorite moments later. But one of the things that makes this story resonate is the fact that is alludes to literature we're already familiar with (or should be). The first is the Pygmalion myth, or to put a more recent spin on it, My Fair Lady. It's the man who makes a woman into perfection, into what he desires. The second is Frankenstein, which we read back in October, where man defies god and creates something he ultimately has no control over, something that has a soul in spite of his efforts otherwise.
That's a lot of fat to chew on. Think about what it means, to have a man so thoroughly and completely define and dominate a woman? Despite being emancipated, Mattie is utterly dependent upon her maker. Not just for her key, but for anything that goes wrong. There's also the twisted bit of programming that breaks her down if she acts against her desire to see her maker (or as one character interpreted it, when she turns to another man for love and comfort). All of this is loaded with meaning, with implication, with questions that should chill any one to the bone if you take the story of Mattie and Loharri and examine it through a larger lens. What does their relationship say about sex between men and women? What does their relationship say about womens' place in what is still considered a male-dominated society. More frighteningly, what does their relationship say about humanity's relationship with God?
I really mean that last question. Because what Mattie and Loharri have is twisted and complex and honest, frankly, I think it's a perfect metaphor for a person's relationship to his or her celestial Maker, whomever that Maker might be.
Just think about that. I want the question to disturb you in light of the ways Loharri manipulated Mattie. If it doesn't disturb you, I don't think you're thinking about it too hard, that or your convinced that your God is love and you forget that all gods are jealous gods meant to be feared as well.
Moving on, before someone throws rotten vegetables at me. :) I just want to make sure you realize that there's some deep questions this novel raises, and those questions should make the reader a little uncomfortable. They should make the reader look at his/her world in a slightly different light.
Sedia mentions in her guest blog some of the specific political inspirations she was pulling from in this story. While I'm wholly unfamiliar with said inspirations, I did find the politics and conflict in the story believable. Science versus faith translated into science versus magic. And I was amused by, then slightly disturbed by, the fact that the more the Mechanics have power, the more their toys take over the city, the less happy they are with anything. There's a comment by Niobe about whether or not people are really happy, that they just think they are because they have all of these mechanical toys to entertain them. I laughed at that, until I translated that to today's age with computers and iPods and smart phones and all the gadgets we use and desire and need on a daily basis. How much of it disconnects us from happiness? I'm not answering that question, but it's one worth posing to yourself to see if, despite of all your toys (if you have any), do they make you happy?
More important, what happens when those toys take over? After all, Mattie started out as Loharri's toy, and he and his kind kept making bigger and "better" things, and before you know it, instead of lizard-drawn carriages (an image I loved, btw), we have mechanical caterpillars (also cool). We have a Calculator that's meant to tell us right and wrong even though the human minds who design it could never in a million years give it all the proper parameters. So in some ways, this book kind of shows a different dawn of the machine: we're used to The Matrix and The Terminator, but this is a story that could've EASILY gone in that direction. Instead, both sides kind of loose (IMHO), but the threat of the Mechanics and their machines taking over, ignoring the natural order, is there and prominent and so very modern.
And let's talk about the ending a bit and how everything fits together. In many ways, I find that it came together the only way it could. It's too easy to want to give wars a clear winner, but in life, that's not always true, and some of my favorite fiction doesn't give the reader a "right" side or a "wrong" side: it shows the humanity of both and doesn't let the war end in a pat and nice manner. Sedia does this, so the events of the ending make sense, because really, who should win? I rooted for Mattie and her desire to have things go back to the way they were before. Of course, that couldn't happen. My only question regarding the ending we get, though, is the murky nature of the homunculus. Yes, I understand how Loharri understood it worked: he'd seen the initial demonstration through Mattie's eyes. However, just how much blood is necessary for it to obey one master over the other? Ilonda had been feeding it for much longer, so you'd think it'd be more loyal to her as a rule, unless Loharri was bleeding so profusely (and he was, his wounds killed him) that the homunculus got more blood from him in a shorter period of time. I just wish that'd been made a little bit clearer, because as it read, it just sounded like whomever fed the little bugger blood LAST was the one who could control him, and that seemed too easy.
But that Mattie never got her key (while grossly unfair and frustrating and she should've grabbed that thing out of Ilonda's hands ASAP) is appropriate. I like the flip between her and the gargoyles. She turns them to flesh and blood (I absolutely LOVED their little homunculus), and, while not quite as a result, she ends up turning to stone. If there's one complaint I have about this story, it's the gargoyles' relation to the larger plot. What we have is three different regimes: the gargoyles, the Alchemists, and the Mechanics. One passes to the other one way or the other, but I wish the gargoyles had had a larger role in the main plot. That said, I liked having them in the role they were in. They were our eyes and ears for the bigger pieces that Mattie couldn't give us, and I rather liked their distinctive voice and the fact they ate stone (and gemstones!!!) to survive. :) And I do love the ending: Mattie turned them from stone to flesh, and now they seek to pay her the same favor. Quite poetic, and appropriate.
I've heard complaints that the pacing of this book was crazy. I disagree. I was pretty absorbed in the world, and when action happened, it felt right. It's not a linear story by any means, but I like (which isn't normal for me) that Sedia doesn't try to pack this story into a matter of days, but rather over several months (at least, that's how it read), so between chapters, a lot of time would pass by and political tensions would be much higher. It made sense to me, and I was so comfortable with the voice and the world that I never felt anything was off in terms of pacing, and while I can see why some people would've wanted something longer so that they could see more of the world itself, and in turn maybe see more of the motivations propelling the action, I was happy with what I got. I don't think I could've handled this book if it were a 400 page beast. The length felt right, especially once I was convinced of Mattie's fate.
Let's talk about things I liked: It's fantastic to see a robot that's actually fragile. All too often robots are indestructible or very nearly so (Terminator), so it's good to see the reality where everything needs to be treated carefully. Things like Mattie taking care of her face (or not when she doesn't like what Loharri's painted for her, oh the implications!), or the stress on her joints if she runs for too long, are all awesome.
Some favorite lines:
She wondered at herself, at whether she would ever be able to forgive him for being her creator, for having such absolute control over her internal workings. For his love (p. 37). I'm not TOTALLY off-base with my God comparison, am I?
The stranger tries to keep his mouth closed, but it is of no use. His soul, sensing the companionship of many others, presses on his lips from the inside, and he finally gives with a loud exhalation. His lips brush the blind man's and open, and the two men stand for a while, eye-to-eye, mouth-to-mouth, and we listen to the hissing of the escaping soul, we watch the stranger's eyes go white and empty like the clouds, and we hear the clink of his shackles as he collapses on the pavement, formless and soft like water (p. 141) Have I mentioned how much I loved the Soul-Smoker? Oh, so much! The concept and the character and everything!
. . . Mattie had to wrap her skirts around her legs as tightly as she could, afraid that they would catch the wind like sails and carry her away, into the dark sky salted with rough crystals of stars (p. 157). "Dark sky salted with the rough crystals of stars." That's just beautiful.
Mattie did not quite understand what was so funny about hiding oneself, about being allowed to do what one pleased while no one was looking. They, the women, were like the gargoyles, Mattie thought. Respected in words, but hidden from view of those who ran the city and managing to live in the darkness, in the secret interstices of life (p. 172). If you can read this line and still think this isn't a feminist text, there's no help for you. :)
Page 223: there's an EXCELLENT observation Mattie makes about the advantage giving up their privilege, but I'm not quoting it because it doesn't make sense out of context, and you need the context. But thank you, Mattie, for making that observation.
My Rating
Worth the Cash: I wanted to see a certain improvement from The Secret History of Moscow, which had a lot going for it anyway. I saw that improvement, and there's just a lot to savor and enjoy about this novel. It's character driven, and the politics start to dictate the story by the end, but really, given the world Sedia's created, it's a given, as is the ending if you're paying attention. There's a load of beauty in this book, and it makes me look forward to her next title, The House of Discarded Dreams, which is due in July 2010. I've said before that Sedia has the potential to reach the literary heights of Catherynne M. Valente, of Charles de Lint, of Neil Gaiman, and I still believe that. This book is a step closer in that direction, and Sedia doesn't shy away from big issues, not from feminism nor God, and the book, while it has its fun moments, gives you plenty to think over long after it's over.
Cover Commentary: Okay, so mine is the original cover: I've always liked it, and it's one of the reasons I got it. The coloring is lovely and the image is compelling. The metal mask over the face is a little perplexing and overly symbolic, which is why I kind of prefer the new cover: that image really looks more like Mattie is described in the book, and the cover itself is dark and foreboding and foretelling. Not that there's ever a scene with Mattie on the ground with her eye in a raven's mouth, but if it fills you with unease, it should. The ghosted image of a man's profile with the machinery ghosted over that is also excellent, so I have to say: I think I like the newer cover better.
Next up: Where the Late Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
Further Reading: Let's see. This is tough, because let's face it: there's lots of fantasy women writers who aren't doing a thing that's traditional but don't seem to get a lot of attention. So if you're looking for something new and different, check out the following:
A.M. Dellamonia (my reviews here)
Nalo Hopkinson (no reviews, but I have The New Moon's Arms)
Jane Lindskold (my reviews here)
Jennifer Stevenson (no reviews, but I've got Trash Sex Magic)
Catherynne M. Valente (my reviews here)
Kit Whitfield (my reviews here)
Kim Wilkins (my reviews here)
And of course, check out more of Sedia's work. She's written A Secret History of Moscow, and she's got a new book out this year that I'll keep an eye on. :) There's also short stories galore, so keep an eye on the table of contents of various anthologies.
Who else is a favorite of yours? Shall your suggestions in the comments below!
More Reviews: check out the reviews book club participants have posted! If you reviewed this book but are not featured here, please comment below with a link to your review and I'll add it here.
janicu: Review Here
jawastew: Review Here
juushika: Review Here
lilychild: Review Here
pashte_chan: Review Here
starmetal_oak: Review Here
temporaryworlds: Review Here
the little reader: Review Here
The Book Smugglers: Review Here (They didn't actually read it for our book club, but since the review was posted this past month, I couldn't resist including it!)
Book Club Poll: this is the only way I can really track participation, so if you follow this journal, answer, okay? :) If, however, you participated but do not have an LJ account, please simply leave a comment saying so. :) This is VERY IMPORTANT THIS MONTH, because there's a giveaway once it's all said and done!
Poll April Participation
If you started but couldn't finish it, please comment and talk about the reasons why. What turned you off from the book? How far did you go before throwing in the towel?
And as you already know, the May Book Club selection is Justina Robson's Natural History. Some of you may have started it already, but need additional details on the title, just click here. Don't forget to look for Robson's guest blog at the start of May!