Top of my list will always be " 'Diplomacy,' said Attolia, 'in my own name,' as the rest of her guard rose up from the grass behind their captain." I adore Attolia's calm assertion of power and the way she turns Nahuseresh's words back on him.
I also love this one, when Eugenides has just found himself back in Attolia's power and hasn't yet discovered her true intentions, "My god, he thought, I am so frightened. O my God, if you will not save me, make me less afraid." It's so poignant and human of him, and a wonderful glimpse at the way he now relates to his gods. (Contrast this, a few chapters later, with "I can demand. Whether my demands are met or not, I can demand. I can act as I choose and not as some god directs.")
And finally, in the very last scene, "She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth." The prose in these books is very spare, usually relying on simple descriptions of the characters' actions and brief explanations of their thoughts, but the language in those descriptions can be so lovely and evocative.
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Favorite Lines
Date: 3/13/17 02:49 am (UTC)Top of my list will always be " 'Diplomacy,' said Attolia, 'in my own name,' as the rest of her guard rose up from the grass behind their captain." I adore Attolia's calm assertion of power and the way she turns Nahuseresh's words back on him.
I also love this one, when Eugenides has just found himself back in Attolia's power and hasn't yet discovered her true intentions, "My god, he thought, I am so frightened. O my God, if you will not save me, make me less afraid." It's so poignant and human of him, and a wonderful glimpse at the way he now relates to his gods. (Contrast this, a few chapters later, with "I can demand. Whether my demands are met or not, I can demand. I can act as I choose and not as some god directs.")
And finally, in the very last scene, "She sat perfectly still, looking at him without moving as his words dropped like water into dry earth." The prose in these books is very spare, usually relying on simple descriptions of the characters' actions and brief explanations of their thoughts, but the language in those descriptions can be so lovely and evocative.
What are your favorites?