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izilen 's review for:
Something Human
by A.J. Demas
An absolute delight!!!! So refreshing.
EDIT: I'm coming back for a better review. The first thing you need to know about this is that the summary provided is inadequate, and the characterisation of this story as an enemies-to-lovers romance is misleading. Adares and Rus, our protagonists, are barely enemies in name only. There is never any enmity between them. They meet as people on the field of battle, and when they save each other's life, it is without expectation of reward and utterly without resentment. This sets the tone for the whole book.
The most remarkable thing for me about this book is the sheer generosity of spirit between the protagonists. They both have any number of reasons they might distrust one another, and they're neither of them naïve, but it is their choice, over and over again, to strive for understanding. They fall into an easy companionship: what might be received as a barb, is instead harmless teasing; what could be a grievous cultural misunderstanding is instead a learning opportunity; what might cause offence somehow doesn't. And this is how, in the span of a few days, they fall into a joyful emotional intimacy.
There is something very nice, very soothing, and utterly refreshing about their interactions as they get to know one another in the temple. I got the impression as I was reading it the first time that it was sort of a liminal space, beyond death and not yet returned to real life, in which it was possible for two very different people to become friends. But although there is certainly a sense of unreality about it, it's not merely their circumstances but rather their personalities that allow their rapport to grow and endure beyond the walls of the temple.
This is serendipity that takes root, through the repeated choices and hard work of our protagonists. Rus and Adares are both curious people, in their own ways. Rus has an intellectual background and a personal interest in religion. Adares has a genuine care for people. They are both inclined to sincerity. Rus is the kind of person who is not used to lying and would rather not have to, and Adares the sort who feels honesty is a good policy, if it can be had. They could be lying. They understand that under their circumstances, perhaps they ought to. They choose, for the most part, not to. It's not that there's not conflict, or disagreements, or strife (there's all of that): it's just that there's always a lightness that remains between Rus and Adares. It's wonderful.
I loved this story. I enjoyed the setting, which felt grounded without overwhelming with detail. The care the author took in forming her characters as people who could conceivably exist in this world, and making it feel expansive even in the chapters where the only setting was the temple. Both protagonists have friends, family, a community, and a culture, quite apart from their relationship with one another. I felt it only made the romance stronger.
It feels like they're getting away with love, and pulling this great emotional heist. The situation in which they find themselves seems impossible: Rus's people are besieging Adares's, themselves interlopers in this land. Moreover, Rus is a priest, of a faith that demands celibacy, and Adares holds a public position that invites scrutiny of his personal life. They've only just met each other. But this book and these characters seem to say: and after all, why not? The leap of faith they each take in trusting one another—first to preserve each other's life, and then in every subsequent encounter and exchange of intimacies,—is amplified, and in the end, richly rewarded.
P.S. Please read the epilogue on the author's Fragments website.
EDIT: I'm coming back for a better review. The first thing you need to know about this is that the summary provided is inadequate, and the characterisation of this story as an enemies-to-lovers romance is misleading. Adares and Rus, our protagonists, are barely enemies in name only. There is never any enmity between them. They meet as people on the field of battle, and when they save each other's life, it is without expectation of reward and utterly without resentment. This sets the tone for the whole book.
The most remarkable thing for me about this book is the sheer generosity of spirit between the protagonists. They both have any number of reasons they might distrust one another, and they're neither of them naïve, but it is their choice, over and over again, to strive for understanding. They fall into an easy companionship: what might be received as a barb, is instead harmless teasing; what could be a grievous cultural misunderstanding is instead a learning opportunity; what might cause offence somehow doesn't. And this is how, in the span of a few days, they fall into a joyful emotional intimacy.
There is something very nice, very soothing, and utterly refreshing about their interactions as they get to know one another in the temple. I got the impression as I was reading it the first time that it was sort of a liminal space, beyond death and not yet returned to real life, in which it was possible for two very different people to become friends. But although there is certainly a sense of unreality about it, it's not merely their circumstances but rather their personalities that allow their rapport to grow and endure beyond the walls of the temple.
This is serendipity that takes root, through the repeated choices and hard work of our protagonists. Rus and Adares are both curious people, in their own ways. Rus has an intellectual background and a personal interest in religion. Adares has a genuine care for people. They are both inclined to sincerity. Rus is the kind of person who is not used to lying and would rather not have to, and Adares the sort who feels honesty is a good policy, if it can be had. They could be lying. They understand that under their circumstances, perhaps they ought to. They choose, for the most part, not to. It's not that there's not conflict, or disagreements, or strife (there's all of that): it's just that there's always a lightness that remains between Rus and Adares. It's wonderful.
I loved this story. I enjoyed the setting, which felt grounded without overwhelming with detail. The care the author took in forming her characters as people who could conceivably exist in this world, and making it feel expansive even in the chapters where the only setting was the temple. Both protagonists have friends, family, a community, and a culture, quite apart from their relationship with one another. I felt it only made the romance stronger.
It feels like they're getting away with love, and pulling this great emotional heist. The situation in which they find themselves seems impossible: Rus's people are besieging Adares's, themselves interlopers in this land. Moreover, Rus is a priest, of a faith that demands celibacy, and Adares holds a public position that invites scrutiny of his personal life. They've only just met each other. But this book and these characters seem to say: and after all, why not? The leap of faith they each take in trusting one another—first to preserve each other's life, and then in every subsequent encounter and exchange of intimacies,—is amplified, and in the end, richly rewarded.
P.S. Please read the epilogue on the author's Fragments website.