I've started my reread (am about 150 pages into GoK) and in some ways I can't even read too much of it at a stretch because it's too rich, if it makes any sense.
I adore Jerrott. I don't know why people don't like him, because unlike a self-righteous zealot like Austin (most annoying person ever) Jerrott might start out hostile but he learns from his mistakes and stays 'learned' and he comes to understand Lymond and he is just such a beautiful, loyal, level-headed in some ways character. He is also the closest Lymond has to a friend, IMO
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I’m very shallow, but he’s described as being also so beautiful that I don’t want him to join a celibate order of warrior-monks - I imagine that he met a lovely and normal girl somewhere along the line!
Oh, I am equally shallow too. Plus he really deserves happiness. If he found love with a normal girl once (the one who died of whatever disease), then he can hopefully do so again in a few years.
Richard is very 'family:' he loves Lymond but I don't think he likes him or gets him at all. At his core, they are too different. Jerrott, for all his being grounded, is a lot more 'romantic' in his notions and therefore more able to be imaginative (I am not sure if that sentence makes as much sense on the page as it does in my head).
I haven’t read PiF in years, and like you, I’m not really sure I CAN again. Even though I think it’s some of the most powerful stuff Dunnett ever wrote.It's such beautiful, polished prose but if just thinking of it makes me a wreck, I think reading it will total me. And I love that Dunnett followed through
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I am probably going to take a few days (4 or so) for each book. It depends.
I haven't read Niccolo so can't spoil you :)
Re: Lymond's development. I do think he develops as a character. He both develops into 'more' of himself and also sheds certain things that he had at first. He's come a long way by the end of CM from the acid-tongued but a bit immature showoff of beginning of GOK. Of course, he also develops a lot more issues :)
I am not sure about the inherent/outside distinction though. Aren't any developments we have are as a result of interactions with an environment? Unless you are someone who is by himself on a deserted island always stable, then any development will come as a result of outside stimuli
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Well, maybe it will take longer per book. It really depends on my schedule :)
guess my reservation about him is his intransigence. Of course, he applies this intransigence equally to himself and others, which is entirely FAIR, I suppose. I actually think he is kinder to others than himself in that regard. It is a flaw but hey, a perfect character would be boring
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One of the aspects I've loved about the LC is the bisexual element. The funny thing is, my husband read them at the same time I did and he didn't even see it. At all! I was full of "Wow, there's no doubt that women love slash, even back in the days before they knew what it was or how to name it," and he was just looking at me blankly, "Slash? What slash? Where?" It made me feel like we weren't even reading the same books. But to me it shows how beautifully they're written that you can see it or not depending on your inclination
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What an absolute pleasure to read some intelligent commentary about Dunnett. I first read "The Game of Kings" in 1963 (!!!!) and waited anxiously for each novel to come out. There is a reading group on Yahoo and I'll give you the URL if you are interested but your understanding is so much deeper than their's that I think it would be a waste. Most of the women in the group are in love with Lymond and hate all the women in his life -- plus they analyze the life out of the whole series, sentence by sentence. But congratulations on reading one of the great books of historical fiction!
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I've started my reread (am about 150 pages into GoK) and in some ways I can't even read too much of it at a stretch because it's too rich, if it makes any sense.
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It makes perfect sense. Her story, characters and language are very dense, so it does require some breathing space to let everything live and develop.
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Oh, I am equally shallow too. Plus he really deserves happiness. If he found love with a normal girl once (the one who died of whatever disease), then he can hopefully do so again in a few years.
Richard is very 'family:' he loves Lymond but I don't think he likes him or gets him at all. At his core, they are too different. Jerrott, for all his being grounded, is a lot more 'romantic' in his notions and therefore more able to be imaginative (I am not sure if that sentence makes as much sense on the page as it does in my head).
I haven’t read PiF in years, and like you, I’m not really sure I CAN again. Even though I think it’s some of the most powerful stuff Dunnett ever wrote.It's such beautiful, polished prose but if just thinking of it makes me a wreck, I think reading it will total me. And I love that Dunnett followed through ( ... )
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(The comment has been removed)
I haven't read Niccolo so can't spoil you :)
Re: Lymond's development. I do think he develops as a character. He both develops into 'more' of himself and also sheds certain things that he had at first. He's come a long way by the end of CM from the acid-tongued but a bit immature showoff of beginning of GOK. Of course, he also develops a lot more issues :)
I am not sure about the inherent/outside distinction though. Aren't any developments we have are as a result of interactions with an environment? Unless you are someone who is by himself on a deserted island always stable, then any development will come as a result of outside stimuli ( ... )
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(The comment has been removed)
guess my reservation about him is his intransigence. Of course, he applies this intransigence equally to himself and others, which is entirely FAIR, I suppose. I actually think he is kinder to others than himself in that regard. It is a flaw but hey, a perfect character would be boring ( ... )
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I am going to respond to the Richard point in the other reply :)
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But congratulations on reading one of the great books of historical fiction!
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*blushes*
hate all the women in his life --
That's horrible. I love LC in part because it has so many fascinating women characters.
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