I thought it interesting that there was a character named Sologon. Alex Haley mentions her in “Roots” as (I think, going by memory here) Sologon the Buffalo Woman, wife of Sundiata. Nice that her name was remembered.
I knew this book was not for me. I do love listening to Marlon James and Jake Morrissey on their podcast, Marlon and Jake Read Dead People. I have a copy of Brief History of Seven Killings. I will go back into your archives to read your review (late comer that I am). I am not sure it is for me either… thanks for your thoughtful review!!
Quickly want to say how much I enjoyed this review, while shielding my eyes from spoilers.
Fantasy and sci-fi genres are comforting pleasures for me, and while this one seems a bit more macho BS than I like—and especially given the inside-cover blurbs—I’m intrigued and will probably read it.
I thought your q "I wonder what the [violence involving women and children] means artistically" was an important one. I need to think about it more, I’m always struck by it. FWIW I‘m a fan of GOT; there was so much craft and artistry in the series, the violence came through for me mostly as a way to express the harshness of that reality versus simply for the sake of violence or prurience alone.
Anyway I’ll probably read this now for fun, and set my expectations appropriately low given your opinion. It can only go up from there!
As I was thinking about violence and this genre I kept coming back to the idea that violence has become almost like a crutch. It seems that authors are writing this as if they have no alternative but to make things over the top brutal. To me, it would seem like the more radical artistic act would be to tell a compelling fantasy story with no violence at all! Could such a thing be possible?
I am also a fan of Game of Thrones. In that violence serves an end for sure (at least in the books, the TV show I'm not even going to go there), in that it makes that world more realistic. Violence is not only a part of their reality, but it also deconstructs the hero's journey: you don't know who's going to be alive at the conclusion (just like in real life). It might not be the special boy with the magic sword! It could be anyone! That is really interesting to me.
And even though sometimes Martin's story drags and ends up in dead ends, well, so does real life and epic adventures. I also liked Arya Stark. She shows that children can have agency and don't necessarily need to be the victim all the time.
If you read 'Black Leopard' I would love to hear your thoughts. Heck, you can have my copy lol!
Totally agree with you on all these points. I've definitely read amazing fantasy and sci-fi without "hard core" violence like in GOT and the like, which, you're right, has become a sort of unfortunate trend; I feel it has its place but is now being abused and overplayed because it sells. Especially in fantasy, there's always Neil Gaiman, Madeline L'Engle, and Meredith Ann Pierce—though I know their stuff gets categorized more in the YA genre and is a different branch of fantasy...but I think this kind of work is evidence that you don't need gore, rape, and other brutality to be compelling.
SPOILER THREAD: If you've read this book and want to discuss it, reply to this thread!
I thought it interesting that there was a character named Sologon. Alex Haley mentions her in “Roots” as (I think, going by memory here) Sologon the Buffalo Woman, wife of Sundiata. Nice that her name was remembered.
Ah! I didn’t make that connection. Thanks, Lisa!
You’re most welcome! I love it when our reading is “in flow” and you can see connections like that.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the purpose of describing violence in writing, particularly as it pertains to memoir, but in this case fiction. Read this on poetry recently and it resents an interesting perspective. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet-books/2022/04/reading-for-subjectivity
Ooh! This looks interesting. It’s a fascinating and important question about violence in art. I am excited to read this. Thanks for posting it, Carla!
I knew this book was not for me. I do love listening to Marlon James and Jake Morrissey on their podcast, Marlon and Jake Read Dead People. I have a copy of Brief History of Seven Killings. I will go back into your archives to read your review (late comer that I am). I am not sure it is for me either… thanks for your thoughtful review!!
Thanks, Kate! I didn't realize he had a podcast. I'll have to check it out. Be careful with the old reviews: They're rough!!
Quickly want to say how much I enjoyed this review, while shielding my eyes from spoilers.
Fantasy and sci-fi genres are comforting pleasures for me, and while this one seems a bit more macho BS than I like—and especially given the inside-cover blurbs—I’m intrigued and will probably read it.
I thought your q "I wonder what the [violence involving women and children] means artistically" was an important one. I need to think about it more, I’m always struck by it. FWIW I‘m a fan of GOT; there was so much craft and artistry in the series, the violence came through for me mostly as a way to express the harshness of that reality versus simply for the sake of violence or prurience alone.
Anyway I’ll probably read this now for fun, and set my expectations appropriately low given your opinion. It can only go up from there!
Thanks so much for the kind word, Coleen!
As I was thinking about violence and this genre I kept coming back to the idea that violence has become almost like a crutch. It seems that authors are writing this as if they have no alternative but to make things over the top brutal. To me, it would seem like the more radical artistic act would be to tell a compelling fantasy story with no violence at all! Could such a thing be possible?
I am also a fan of Game of Thrones. In that violence serves an end for sure (at least in the books, the TV show I'm not even going to go there), in that it makes that world more realistic. Violence is not only a part of their reality, but it also deconstructs the hero's journey: you don't know who's going to be alive at the conclusion (just like in real life). It might not be the special boy with the magic sword! It could be anyone! That is really interesting to me.
And even though sometimes Martin's story drags and ends up in dead ends, well, so does real life and epic adventures. I also liked Arya Stark. She shows that children can have agency and don't necessarily need to be the victim all the time.
If you read 'Black Leopard' I would love to hear your thoughts. Heck, you can have my copy lol!
Totally agree with you on all these points. I've definitely read amazing fantasy and sci-fi without "hard core" violence like in GOT and the like, which, you're right, has become a sort of unfortunate trend; I feel it has its place but is now being abused and overplayed because it sells. Especially in fantasy, there's always Neil Gaiman, Madeline L'Engle, and Meredith Ann Pierce—though I know their stuff gets categorized more in the YA genre and is a different branch of fantasy...but I think this kind of work is evidence that you don't need gore, rape, and other brutality to be compelling.
And I would LOVE your copy! I'll email you—