The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 3

My Thoughts

SOOOOO much happened in this week’s reading!! One of the bigger reveals wasn’t really a surprise to me, though, as I had been thinking that very thing since week 1. Another bigger reveal was sad to me, but as always, the action keeps ramping up. More after the jump!

1. Did the comments about how Froi feels calm when the duke’s wife hugs him and how he wonders if anyone had ever looked at him the way Trevanion looks at Finnikin seem notable to you?
Froi really did have some great development this week, right? I have to admit to being heartily confused by his first chapter, though. I was never entirely sure what was going on there. But I definitely had a few “aww” moments with him, like when he notices how Trevanion looks at Finnikin. He’s still rather rough around the edges, but he’s come a long way from the spitting, snarling thief we first met. It was interesting, too, to see how his relationship with Evanjalin has changed. She seemed slightly less gruff with him, as if she had a little bit more respect for him, especially after he pretends to be Balthazar to save their lives from their Charynites.

2. Were you struck by either of these two statements, one from Evanjalin and one from Trevanion, in light of our discussions about omitting information? “There are different types of truth, Froi.” / “The queen omits rather than lies, Finnikin. For a purpose. One that will humble us each time.”
Evanjalin, Evanjalin, Evanjalin. What a slippery thing you are sometimes. I’ve always admired how strategically brilliant Evanjalin has been, revealing bits and pieces of herself as it serves a purpose of her own choosing, but that doesn’t mean I’ve always liked how she went about her business, either.

I was more struck by Trevanion’s quote because it seems to say to me that, as Evanjalin, her secrets were lies that she was holding over everyone else and revealing at her pleasure. Everyone was furious with her or shocked, and they all found her to be some degree of untrustworthy. But as the Queen, she is absolved of all of that and is expected to keep secrets for her own reasons, and it is her right to do so. People can’t be angry with her anymore, it seems. To me, this is more an issue of status (or something) and what people in positions of power can get away with that other people cannot. And I think the difference between lying and omitting depends on context: who is omitting? Evanjalin? Well, then she’s a liar. Is it Isaboe? Well, then…obviously. She’s the Queen. She’s entitled to keep her own council. To me, it’s all secretive and shady, no matter who we’re dealing with.

3. What did you think about Evanjalin and Finnikin’s conversation about measuring loss? (See my “So Quotable” section if you don’t remember this moment.)
So, I highlighted this entire quote because it was another one of those moments, to me, where Evanjalin takes Finnikin’s view on something and kind of turns it on its head and makes HIM think. How do you quantify someone’s loss as being worse or more than another person’s? I agreed with Evanjalin’s point that you can’t. It’s all the same. I like that they have these conversations because Evanjalin has always been, among other things, wise. I like how she clears away all of Finnikin’s own perceptions and gets to the heart of the matter sometimes. You know, when it suits her.

4. Were you surprised to learn that Balthazar was dead, or had you suspected all along?
This reveal kind of surprised me and didn’t at the same time. It definitely made me sad. I feel like Finnikin had been holding onto this hope of seeing his friend again, and I had been hoping to meet Balthazar again. To give him a chance at fulfilling his own destiny of being King. Once we learned the truth, though–that Balthazar has been dead this whole time–I got angry at Evanjalin that she would use him as a lure. Her own brother! Who died to protect her (right? sometimes it’s hard for me to follow things).

5. What did you think of Froi after he decides to follow Evanjalin and tries to claim he’s Balthazar when they are captured?
I mentioned this in the first question because it struck me quite a bit! So much growth for him this week. I think it speaks a lot to Evanjalin’s force of personality and conviction that Froi would still follow her and defend her considering their fraught past. I think he’s going to turn out to be one of those guys who always fights against his own perceptions of himself.

6. Did you like how the scene where Finnikin reunites with Lucian mirrors Trevanion reuniting with his Guard?
Lucian! I was so excited to meet him again. Is it just me, or did other people not pick up on the competition between Finnikin and Lucian in the beginning? I always thought they were all friends, the three boys, but it turns out that Finnikin and Lucian were frenemies? Anyway, I hope that this “you’re my friend but I kind of hate you sometimes” thing doesn’t stick around. I would love to see more of these two interacting positively. Finnikin has no guys his own age to be around.

7. Evanjalin’s true identity is revealed! Were you shocked by the truth, and did the story of how she survived break your heart?
This was the one reveal this week that didn’t surprise me. I’ve been thinking Evanjalin = Isaboe since week 1 and was kind of hoping that I was wrong so that I hadn’t figured out something big so early. Alas. But as always with Evanjalin, the truth behind her story was horrible and heartbreaking. She really is a tough cookie to have survived all of these terrible things. It made me INCREDIBLY sad for Balthazar, and also made me hold him in very high esteem. It was this part of the story that devastated me the most, now that I know we’ll never meet Balthazar again and get to know him better. Also, what is this wolf? I got the impression from the beginning that it was mythical? But now it’s real?

8. Did you notice that the recurring theme of identity becomes an issue for Finnikin after Evanjalin’s identity comes to light? “He knew how to be Finnikin of the Rock to Evanjalin of the Monts. But he had no idea who to be to Queen Isaboe.”
I noticed this, too, and thought it was really interesting. It’s interesting to me that Finnikin feels like he should be different when he is the one who has always been who we knew him to be: Finnikin of the Rock. Evanjalin is the one who has changed, and yet she’s the one of the two who seems more comfortable with her identity. Even when she was Evanjalin of the Monts she acted like Queen Isaboe. I feel like there’s more that I want to say, but don’t know how to say it clearly! (I don’t even know if this makes sense. I just took some cold medicine so, you know, foggy brain.)

9. What did you think of Evanjalin’s reasoning that she didn’t tell Finnikin everything, not because she didn’t love or trust him, but because she needed him to choose his path?
I don’t know about this one. I’m unclear about how Finnikin choosing his own path would have made any difference, truly. If there’s one thing that bothers me the most about Evanjalin and people like her it’s that they never admit to doing something wrong, like lying and keeping a HUGE secret. I hate how she thinks she can explain everything away all the time.

I also thought it was interesting that Sir Topher knew Evanjalin’s identity as well but didn’t say anything. I don’t think I can blame Finnikin for feeling lied to and betrayed and mistrusted.

10. Give me some clarity: did Trevanion really see Beatriss and their child alive in Lumatere? If so, why did she just walk away from him?
OMG ME TOO!! I was so thrown by this little nugget, and I have NO IDEA what it means. Beatriss couldn’t be alive, could she? I mean, people SAW her die, right? I didn’t understand this either. At all.