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thesupermassive's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: War, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, and Injury/Injury detail
readingthroughthelists's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What is this book about, actually?
Not “what is its plot?” since this is fairly easy to follow (though it certainly meanders and repeats itself many times).
But what is it really about? What is it trying to say?
After 19.75 hours of listening, I still don't fully know.
Certain themes emerge more prominently than others: the power of women, the danger of patriarchal societies, the threat of unchecked religious fervor, and the strength required to stand and face one’s past.
Some of the themes are even effective: the consequences of the Bertrand-Urte-Aelis love triangle, resulting in years of lies, bitterness, and unforgiveness for all involved, were very resonant. Blaise’s own struggle with his abusive father moved me more than any other part of the book--the scenes between Blaise, Renald, and Galbert (and later Rosala) were chillingly real and deeply affecting. So was this a book about the necessity of confronting the past, of letting go of what cannot be changed and moving forward?
Maybe. But if so, this message is frequently lost among the ten thousand other themes and ideas jostling for our attention.
Is this a book about recognizing and respecting the power of women? Maybe. But if so, why is “woman-ruled Arbonne” still so shaped by the rules of men? Yes, certain women in Arbonne have political power (whereas in Gorhaut they are treated like doormats), but they are nevertheless subject to the wills and whims of powerful men, to the standards that men create for them. Soracina de Baud, for example, cannot enter the eye of the world until she is “ennobled” by Bertrand’s sexual attentions. He, for his part, is blatant in his objectification of her: she is pretty, he wants her, she means nothing to him.
Arbonne may be somewhat more progressive in its treatment of women than Garhaut, but really, the bar is on the floor there. Women in Arbonne may attain political and religious power, yet, in the end, many of them are still treated as objects. Beautiful objects, but objects nonetheless, for men to collect, prize, grieve, and ultimately control.
Because really this is a book about men--even the passages from Liseiux’s point of view are still centered on the men around her. Arianne seems to exist only for male attention. Only Cygne appears to have any genuine friendships with other women, and only Rosala seems determined to forge a life for herself with or without the help of men.
Is this a book about the celebration of romantic love between various partners? Maybe. But the book’s view on sex is deeply contradictory. On the one hand, sex is shown to be as a casual act, without weight or consequence, to be done with anyone at anytime. Yet at the same time it is presented as both deeply unitive and spiritual: the highest praise to the goddess Rian, the highest form of expression possible between two people (of the opposite sex mind you,--no same-sex attraction allowed).
The result of all this unity and intimacy is that the characters suffer deep and abiding consequences from their actions, yet the book chooses to lie and pretend they do not.
Blaise’s life is not better for his affair with Lucciana, the femme fatale who is meant to seem seductive when in reality she is both abusive and predatory. Arianne and Blaise are possibly the least convincing couple on the planet, but the book spills much ink desperately trying to make us believe that their attraction will be both permanent and lasting.
Is this a book about a god vs. a goddess? Maybe. And this brings me to perhaps my greatest problem with A Song for Arbonne. It is a world with song, but it is a world without story. Where are the myths about Rian and Corannos? Where are the legends and folktales and traditions of the six kingdoms? Where are the stories of the Ancients--who they were, the legacy they left behind? What are the stories these people tell themselves? How do they define themselves?
Without this foundation of mythos, the world of Arbonne, for all its pages, somehow ends up feeling flat and a little empty. There are messages here, to be sure, but they are so contradictory that they end up canceling each other out. In the end, I fear A Song for Arbonne says much without really saying anything at all.
Ok now I'm going to rant: Rosala was my favorite character, my girl, and she did not get her happy ending. A marriage to Bertrand? Pfffhhht. She should have been the first priestess of Rian in Gorhaut and I will die on this hill.
Also Thierry de Carrenzu did nothing wrong and is just a decent guy living his life and all the other characters are so aggressively homophobic toward him. Justice for Thierry!
Not “what is its plot?” since this is fairly easy to follow (though it certainly meanders and repeats itself many times).
But what is it really about? What is it trying to say?
After 19.75 hours of listening, I still don't fully know.
Certain themes emerge more prominently than others: the power of women, the danger of patriarchal societies, the threat of unchecked religious fervor, and the strength required to stand and face one’s past.
Some of the themes are even effective: the consequences of the Bertrand-Urte-Aelis love triangle, resulting in years of lies, bitterness, and unforgiveness for all involved, were very resonant. Blaise’s own struggle with his abusive father moved me more than any other part of the book--the scenes between Blaise, Renald, and Galbert (and later Rosala) were chillingly real and deeply affecting. So was this a book about the necessity of confronting the past, of letting go of what cannot be changed and moving forward?
Maybe. But if so, this message is frequently lost among the ten thousand other themes and ideas jostling for our attention.
Is this a book about recognizing and respecting the power of women? Maybe. But if so, why is “woman-ruled Arbonne” still so shaped by the rules of men? Yes, certain women in Arbonne have political power (whereas in Gorhaut they are treated like doormats), but they are nevertheless subject to the wills and whims of powerful men, to the standards that men create for them. Soracina de Baud, for example, cannot enter the eye of the world until she is “ennobled” by Bertrand’s sexual attentions. He, for his part, is blatant in his objectification of her: she is pretty, he wants her, she means nothing to him.
Arbonne may be somewhat more progressive in its treatment of women than Garhaut, but really, the bar is on the floor there. Women in Arbonne may attain political and religious power, yet, in the end, many of them are still treated as objects. Beautiful objects, but objects nonetheless, for men to collect, prize, grieve, and ultimately control.
Because really this is a book about men--even the passages from Liseiux’s point of view are still centered on the men around her. Arianne seems to exist only for male attention. Only Cygne appears to have any genuine friendships with other women, and only Rosala seems determined to forge a life for herself with or without the help of men.
Is this a book about the celebration of romantic love between various partners? Maybe. But the book’s view on sex is deeply contradictory. On the one hand, sex is shown to be as a casual act, without weight or consequence, to be done with anyone at anytime. Yet at the same time it is presented as both deeply unitive and spiritual: the highest praise to the goddess Rian, the highest form of expression possible between two people (of the opposite sex mind you,--no same-sex attraction allowed).
The result of all this unity and intimacy is that the characters suffer deep and abiding consequences from their actions, yet the book chooses to lie and pretend they do not.
Blaise’s life is not better for his affair with Lucciana, the femme fatale who is meant to seem seductive when in reality she is both abusive and predatory. Arianne and Blaise are possibly the least convincing couple on the planet, but the book spills much ink desperately trying to make us believe that their attraction will be both permanent and lasting.
Is this a book about a god vs. a goddess? Maybe. And this brings me to perhaps my greatest problem with A Song for Arbonne. It is a world with song, but it is a world without story. Where are the myths about Rian and Corannos? Where are the legends and folktales and traditions of the six kingdoms? Where are the stories of the Ancients--who they were, the legacy they left behind? What are the stories these people tell themselves? How do they define themselves?
Without this foundation of mythos, the world of Arbonne, for all its pages, somehow ends up feeling flat and a little empty. There are messages here, to be sure, but they are so contradictory that they end up canceling each other out. In the end, I fear A Song for Arbonne says much without really saying anything at all.
Also Thierry de Carrenzu did nothing wrong and is just a decent guy living his life and all the other characters are so aggressively homophobic toward him. Justice for Thierry!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
More...