Recent reading
Feb. 26th, 2023 06:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
troisoiseauxRe-read Nona the Ninth alongside a friend who was reading it for the first time; I can say that my feeling of "first third was a slog" on read #2 was 100% a matter of not being in the right mood for it, because I was back to vibing with it this time.
One random detail that stuck out to me this time: other than Hot Sauce and (I think it's safe to assume) Kevin, it's ambiguous as to whether Nona's friends' names are actually their names, or somehow filtered through Nona's POV a la "Ortus." Exhibit A: "'Is his name really and truly Honesty?' ... 'That's how I hear it.'" Exhibit B: "Nona guessed again, 'Born in the Morning.' 'You mean Born in the Morning,' said Hot Sauce." If any of the OG lyctors or their cavaliers had names starting with H or B, I'd guess that it might literally be an "Ortus" situation - somehow? - but that doesn't check out. Theory #2 is that it's an effect of Nona's ability to understand languages— e.g., Honesty's name is something that translates as Honesty— but then why only some names? Why wouldn't she hear Camilla as Acolyte or Kevin as Handsome? Thoughts??
...I'm probably overthinking this, but if I've learned one thing from re-reading Muir's books 3-5 times, it's that every detail has significance and/or a double meaning. (See: this theory on the Bride's Dream Midge doll with a "weird mullet." I suppose this means Ianthe Naberius is Hollywood Hair Ken?)
It occurs to me that in my two prior posts on Nona I haven't talked about Camilla and Palamedes - or Paul - nearly as much as they deserve. To be always a split second's separation from the person who you love most in the world, because you occupy the same physical space??? The notes written back and forth, the conversations on tape??? Sometimes a family is four people in three bodies that, for 3 of the 4, didn't originally belong to them??? Paul??? The friend reading this for the first time texted me, circa the beach flashback, "to be clear I will throw HANDS if Camilla doesn't survive," and I deserve a prize for self-restraint.
I like to make my "current music" a song that reminds me of whatever I'm reading, but I couldn't decide between Steal Smoked Fish by The Mountain Goats (for Nona and friends, on the fifth day) or I've Been Dead All Day by Bayside (for Kiriona Gaia, the saddest girl in the whole entire world); this way I can have both.
In Les Mis, I've read through 3.4, in which Hugo makes the mistake of introducing nine guys in their 20s with just enough characterization to accidentally spawn one of the most insufferable fandoms of the 21st century. I'd braced myself for embarrassed-to-defensive nostalgia, so I was rather surprised to instead feel genuinely delighted to re-encounter Les Amis de l'ABC.
One random detail that stuck out to me this time: other than Hot Sauce and (I think it's safe to assume) Kevin, it's ambiguous as to whether Nona's friends' names are actually their names, or somehow filtered through Nona's POV a la "Ortus." Exhibit A: "'Is his name really and truly Honesty?' ... 'That's how I hear it.'" Exhibit B: "Nona guessed again, 'Born in the Morning.' 'You mean Born in the Morning,' said Hot Sauce." If any of the OG lyctors or their cavaliers had names starting with H or B, I'd guess that it might literally be an "Ortus" situation - somehow? - but that doesn't check out. Theory #2 is that it's an effect of Nona's ability to understand languages— e.g., Honesty's name is something that translates as Honesty— but then why only some names? Why wouldn't she hear Camilla as Acolyte or Kevin as Handsome? Thoughts??
...I'm probably overthinking this, but if I've learned one thing from re-reading Muir's books 3-5 times, it's that every detail has significance and/or a double meaning. (See: this theory on the Bride's Dream Midge doll with a "weird mullet." I suppose this means Ianthe Naberius is Hollywood Hair Ken?)
It occurs to me that in my two prior posts on Nona I haven't talked about Camilla and Palamedes - or Paul - nearly as much as they deserve. To be always a split second's separation from the person who you love most in the world, because you occupy the same physical space??? The notes written back and forth, the conversations on tape??? Sometimes a family is four people in three bodies that, for 3 of the 4, didn't originally belong to them??? Paul??? The friend reading this for the first time texted me, circa the beach flashback, "to be clear I will throw HANDS if Camilla doesn't survive," and I deserve a prize for self-restraint.
I like to make my "current music" a song that reminds me of whatever I'm reading, but I couldn't decide between Steal Smoked Fish by The Mountain Goats (for Nona and friends, on the fifth day) or I've Been Dead All Day by Bayside (for Kiriona Gaia, the saddest girl in the whole entire world); this way I can have both.
In Les Mis, I've read through 3.4, in which Hugo makes the mistake of introducing nine guys in their 20s with just enough characterization to accidentally spawn one of the most insufferable fandoms of the 21st century. I'd braced myself for embarrassed-to-defensive nostalgia, so I was rather surprised to instead feel genuinely delighted to re-encounter Les Amis de l'ABC.
