Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Golden Fool

Sadly, this was my least favourite Fitz book so far. I can forgive that not much happened even by Robin Hobb's standards, or that what did happen was punctuated by endless conversations with Chade, such that I was almost excited when another character appeared for Fitz to talk to. I can forgive that this book is mostly set-up for the next one. But the unchecked homophobia and ableism? Much, much harder to forgive. It's tricky to discuss the homophobia without spoilers, and I hold out hope that things will develop in a positive direction in later books.

So, the ableism. As a warning, this section contains ableist language that is all quoted from the book. In this book there is a prominent autistic-coded character, named Thick (yes, and this is only the beginning), who is repeatedly and matter-of-factly referred to as stupid, simpleton, halfwit, dimwit, and idiot. Fitz even considers that perhaps he shouldn't call Thick halfwit where he can hear in case it upsets him, yet continues to use ableist language throughout his internal narrative (because apparently slurs are only bad if the target can't hear you). There are glimpses of good intentions in Thick's presentation and treatment; the characters begin to think maybe he's not so "simple" after all, and his Skill is so strong that they don't care. So, the disabled character has a superpower that makes him useful – where have I heard that before? Oh yes, it's a common ableist trope used to make disability palatable. Still, the characters do eventually seem to accept Thick for who he is, so at least the author tried. A bit.

I loved the books up until this one and I want to continue the series. And I understand that when writing from the first-person perspective of a homophobic and ableist character in a homophobic and ableist world, it's difficult to show sensitivity in these areas and not appear to be endorsing that behaviour. But then why do it at all? Maybe things were worse than I thought when this was published in 2002. But as a reader in 2023, certain parts of this book made for a very uncomfortable and at times sickening read, and I'll be much more wary approaching this author's books in future. I really hope this was just a bump in the road.

Content Warnings

anaguana's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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