The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 4

My Thoughts

I can’t believe we’ve read a whole book already!! It feels like such an accomplishment to finally read a book that’s been on my TBR for ages. The end of FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK was pretty satisfying, in a Melina Marchetta way. I haven’t read any of Melina Marchetta’s books before this one, but I feel like I already have a sense of her storytelling ways: She doesn’t spell things out for her readers, which I appreciate. And she doesn’t always tie things up in a super neat bow for everyone, either. The thing that I most appreciate–and the thing that also frustrates me the most–is that her characters ALWAYS seem to have qualities that I don’t like. Kind of prominent ones, too. But she always gives us hope for them to be people of great character anyway. You know, kind of like real human people. The end of this book had some of that, but lots of other things to talk about besides! I can’t wait to start FROI OF THE EXILES next week!!

1. What did you think about Trevanion and Beatriss’ reunion where they meet and shake hands? When Trevanion learns what Beatriss suffered? And when he promises to wait for her? 

Beatriss and Trevanion’s storyline was probably one of my favorite secondary stories in the whole book. I was completely captivated by the way their romance seemed so perfect and so epic and so renowned across all of Lumatere, so the way things ended for them here was bittersweet and still hopeful. I was sad for them when they met and shook hands. That seems so impersonal to me, so I was like, “AHH, NOO!! Passionate kisses, please!” But really, even though it broke my heart, that wouldn’t have been genuine. Not in this story, where everything is colored over by darkness. ESPECIALLY when that darkness is the things that happened to Beatriss during the impostor king’s reign. *sad face* I’m amazed all the time at the things people in this book are able to live through. And thankfully Beatriss and Trevanion DID live through all those things, because I swooned at how perfect it was when Trevanion promised to wait for her, and she had that great line about waking up every morning with his name on her lips because it made her hopeful. I hope there’s more of these two in FROI.

2. Did you notice how Evanjalin/Isaboe is the one to break the curse, but Finnkin is the one to break the years of silence?

I don’t think I noticed the first part explicitly (although it’s more than likely that I just forgot…oops!), but I definitely noticed how it was Finnikin who went out to the people and visited with them and made them feel like they could share their stories with him. I find that talking about difficult things is so important, when you’re ready to do it. I appreciated that it was Finnikin with this gift, especially because I sometimes don’t see Isaboe as having that kind of warmth. Or something.

3. Since we talked previously about the blood curse and what was happening to the daughters of Lumatere, how did you feel about the revelation about what was going on inside its walls?

This was so hard to read about. Having to choose which one of your family members dies and choosing your daughters to be killed so that they wouldn’t be raped instead? Devastating, and honestly as awful as I thought it would be, but perhaps not as…magical? For some reason I thought the reason all the daughters were dying would be something related to the curse, not simply barbaric, despicable men.

4. In light of last week’s discussion on identity and Finnikin trying to figure out who he is in relation to Isaboe, what did you think about his conversation with Beatriss about choosing Isaboe versus her choosing him?

I really liked how Finnikin could talk to Beatriss. I liked that, out of all the things the two of them had lost and endured, they still had their closeness. I was really satisfied that he respected her opinion as well, as if he might be talking to his mother. I definitely got that kind of vibe with their relationship.

This conversation, to me, also spoke to this thing about Finnikin’s personality that I can’t quite pinpoint, although I can’t say it’s positive. In some ways, the fact that he perceived a difference between him choosing Isaboe over Isaboe choosing him seemed to be Finnikin not thinking he was worthy, which is fine. But it also seemed a little like he was self-pitying or something. It wasn’t flattering the way he went on about Isaboe not needing him and avoiding her all the time, and basically being emo about the breaking of the curse. He sometimes wallowed in it, and that annoyed me.

5. How did you feel about the deaths of the imposter king and his men – and Evanjalin/Isaboe’s role in it?

THIS. On the one hand, I was endlessly admiring of the way all of the women were so in control of what was going on here–Isaboe, Tesadora, Beatriss, and Lady Abian. If we are to believe the conversation they have with Finnikin at Beatriss’ house where he point-blank asks them if they plotted the poisoning of the impostor king and his men and they basically admit it wordlessly and then talk around it, then these ladies have an awesome amount of power. On the other hand, it’s totally dastardly to poison the king and his men, knowing full well that it might be just as important to Lumatere to interrogate them. Also, it’s murder. No two ways about it. On the OTHER other hand, this is the impostor king! The man who slaughtered thousands out of power-lust, raped women and killed daughters. He deserved some retribution for those crimes, no? What a gray area this is. Bottom line though, for me? It made me feel icky about Isaboe and the other women. It made them seem no better than other ruthless monarchs who kill their enemies. I didn’t like the “eye for an eye” feeling I got from it, mostly because I don’t hold with that philosophy personally.

6. Names and their importance have been a reoccurring theme in Finnikin of the Rock, so were you struck by Beatriss’ story of the birth of her first child? 

This was one of the small things about these last chapters that I really enjoyed. I loved how names have such weight in this world, and that Beatriss thought she heard Vestie scream the name of her and Trevanion’s dead baby, Evanjalin, when she was first born. I think it’s interesting that Evanjalin is the name Isaboe chose for herself as a secret identity, considering the provenance of that name here. I think it’s lovely that Beatriss said Trevanion’s name every day as essentially a beacon of light in her world. And I think it’s really interesting that Beatriss’ child’s name is Vestie, a name that evokes vestal virgins in my mind, which is, I think, a thought-provoking name to give a child conceived in rape.

7. Were you struck by the conversation Froi has with Perri, Trevanion and Moss where he reveals that he would die for Evanjalin and Finnikin?

Ah, Froi. I can tell that I’m probably going to continue to love-hate you in your own book. I thought this conversation said a lot about Froi, and how far he has come in this book. It speaks to his powerful feelings of protectiveness and loyalty to Finnikin and Isaboe, which is such a great turnaround for him. But it also speaks to his self-preservation, that he would die ONLY for them, and not for anyone else. I can’t say that I disagree with his opinion that he wouldn’t be good in the King’s Guard, and so I felt kind of bad for him that the other men basically forced him into it. But truly, one who would fiercely promise to die for the Queen and King can’t be anything else, right?

8. Since we’ve talked in the past about empathy and power, what do you think about Tesadora telling Finnikin he alone has the power to bring Isaboe out of the darkness because of his strong empathy for her?

This conversation that Finnikin has with Tesadora was really interesting to me. I liked very much that there was this dichotomy between them that makes them so good for, and so different from, one another. The dark and light aspect of their relationship wasn’t as clear to me until this point, but I thought it was another instance of someone showing Finnikin that there is another way of looking at a situation in front of him. Up until this conversation, Finnikin was being emo about Isaboe and, it seemed to me, about the fact that he thought he had no power and Isaboe had lots, until Tesadora essentially soothed his ego a little bit. But I like very much that Isaboe and Finnikin are two sides of the same coin.

9. What did you think of the “If I” / “If you” back-and-forth between Finnikin and Queen Isaboe? 

I liked what came after it more, to be honest, in a strictly “awww” kind of way. This scene…I’m not surprised that these two would hardly give an inch, even for each other. But at the same time, it made them seem like they were in a real relationship at the same time, especially Isaboe’s issue with Finnikin’s pretty young scribe, who turns out to be an old hairy-chinned lady. I think these two are just basically always going to be pushing and pulling one another.

10. Did you notice the repeating use of the “choose a hand” scene? I was swooning over the last scene when Anna pointed out that it was the third appearance of that motif.

I totally didn’t notice that this was a thing. At all. But I’m so glad that it is, and that Melina Marchetta used it again in this scene. Because I definitely loved it. I didn’t often swoon with these two. In fact, I can’t really recall swooning at all, but this scene, and Finnikin’s profession that he would die for Isaboe, was pretty powerful. All in all, I think things ended on as good a note as they could have, and I’m really excited to see where things go in FROI OF THE EXILES!