Reading Wednesday

[troisoiseaux]

Read A Conspiracy of Kings, the fourth book in Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series. The narrator was initially at somewhat of a disadvantage by not being Costis, but I warmed up to him quickly. The theme of what one has to give up as an individual in order to be a king was surprisingly heart-wrenching. I loved the significance of when the narrative referred to characters by their royal names (Sounis, Attolis) vs. by their real ones— sometimes in the same exchange, as they let their masks slip and/or had to switch back into king mode.

Read Lavinia by Ursula K. LeGuin, about the character from Virgil's Aeneid, in the vein of Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad or Madeline Miller's Circe or Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls. It's the most meta example of this niche I've encountered, except maybe for Atwood's— Virgil appears to a teenaged Lavinia as something that's half a ghost, half T.H. White's time-wonky Merlin, while dying some hundred years in her future; Lavinia-as-narrator is aware of being Virgil's creation, but Le Guin breathes such life into her and such detail into her world that it's easy to forget.

Comments

[osprey_archer]

I ought to reread A Conspiracy of Kings at some point. Sadly I could NOT forgive Sophos for not being Costis, which probably blinded me to many of the finer points of the book.

[troisoiseaux]

Sadly I could NOT forgive Sophos for not being Costis

I mean, it's a pretty dastardly crime.

I still have two more books in the series to go and I already want to re-read it— I feel like each book will have more to offer on a second reading, both because so many of them rely on a plot twist on at the end and just because of knowing how the characters have grown and changed? Like, it will be interesting to re-read The Thief and revisit Sophos as "Useless the Younger" after seeing Sophos as Sounis.

(Side note: how old do you think Eugenides is??? That appears to be the Question for the Ages of this series, no pun intended.)

[osprey_archer]

Yes, definitely, I think the series grows each time you read it. I'm thinking of rereading the whole series before I read the last book, but also... if I wait to do that I may NEVER read the last book... a quandary.

Re: Eugenides' age: I DON'T KNOW. I think the only definite information we know is that he's younger than Attolia, who is perhaps... early thirties??... we don't really know her age either. I'd say maybe late teens/early twenties in The Thief (kind of leaning late teens just because his plan in that book is SO stupid, in a very very "I am seventeen and EXTREMELY full of myself" kind of way). Probably early twenties by The King of Attolia.

[troisoiseaux]

Okay so I kind of assumed Gen was at least mid-twenties in The Thief, because I got the impression that he was older than both Sophos and... the other one, whose name I am forgetting... and it was mentioned that whatshisface - Useless the Elder - was married with four children, which would put him at early 20s, at least? AND THEN we get to The Queen of Attolia where everyone was like "Eugenides is so young, he's basically a literal child" and I just sort of threw my hands up in despair.

ETA: ....it's only just occurred to me that the "married with four children" might have been in reference to Pol, not whatshisface. (That... would make more sense, contextually.) Oh my god. Were the magus and Pol really out there babysitting three petty teenagers on a possibly suicidal quest??? OH MY GOD.

[osprey_archer]

I'm pretty sure "married with four children" is Pol, and the magus and Pol really and truly ARE out on the road babysitting three petty teenagers on a possibly suicidal quest. Why? WHY NOT?

[sovay]

It's the most meta example of this niche I've encountered, except maybe for Atwood's— Virgil appears to a teenaged Lavinia as something that's half a ghost, half T.H. White's time-wonky Merlin, while dying some hundred years in her future

That's one of the parts of the novel I love most.

[troisoiseaux]

Virgil realizing he had underestimated Lavinia and regretting how little he included her in his poem! Virgil being confused as to what happened in his poem vs. his life vs. his own literary afterlife!! Their interactions were so lovely and as a concept it was so interesting. Definitely a highlight!