This book rewards the second read (or third, or fourth, or...I've read it a lot, okay?) by letting us reinterpret so many moments with our knowledge of what the characters are actually planning.
Some of my favorite such moments:
- Attolia's encounter with her future father-in-law, when he helps her down from her horse, his hands tighten about her waist, "and for a moment she was irrationally frightened, caught by him, her feet dangling above the ground."
- Following that, when the Medes attack the Eddisian camp, we see Eugenides and his father (who isn't identified as such until later) mounting a defense. They fight brilliantly together, perfectly coordinated. It's a great reminder of Gen's training, of his father's investment in his swordsmanship, and of the tension that caused in their relationship.
- When Irene sits in her bath, right before she rejects her attendants' first choice of earrings, she thinks over her relationship with Nahuseresh, including her care in making him think she was open to his advice. It's at this point that it becomes a little more obvious that she's been trying to avoid an alliance with the Medes. I love this glimpse of how calculating she is, but also of how difficult her situation is--she's had to work hard to keep her options open.
- And, of course, I love all the double meanings in the scene immediately after this, where she goes to meet Gen and send his father back to Eddis. " 'Goatfoot,' she said, 'do you understand what is going to happen to you?' " and " 'What remains of his life, he spends with me, do you understand, messenger?' "
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Rereading
Date: 3/13/17 03:53 am (UTC)Some of my favorite such moments:
- Attolia's encounter with her future father-in-law, when he helps her down from her horse, his hands tighten about her waist, "and for a moment she was irrationally frightened, caught by him, her feet dangling above the ground."
- Following that, when the Medes attack the Eddisian camp, we see Eugenides and his father (who isn't identified as such until later) mounting a defense. They fight brilliantly together, perfectly coordinated. It's a great reminder of Gen's training, of his father's investment in his swordsmanship, and of the tension that caused in their relationship.
- When Irene sits in her bath, right before she rejects her attendants' first choice of earrings, she thinks over her relationship with Nahuseresh, including her care in making him think she was open to his advice. It's at this point that it becomes a little more obvious that she's been trying to avoid an alliance with the Medes. I love this glimpse of how calculating she is, but also of how difficult her situation is--she's had to work hard to keep her options open.
- And, of course, I love all the double meanings in the scene immediately after this, where she goes to meet Gen and send his father back to Eddis. " 'Goatfoot,' she said, 'do you understand what is going to happen to you?' " and " 'What remains of his life, he spends with me, do you understand, messenger?' "
Others you enjoyed?