The Lumatere Chronicles Readalong: Week 5

My Thoughts

I’m really getting into this readalong, friends. I’m so glad that we’ve made it to FROI OF THE EXILES!! Because while I enjoyed FINNIKIN OF THE ROCK a lot, I am already liking this book better. I am loving Froi, I’m loving the glimpses we got this week of Lumatere three years after Isaboe and Finnikin broke the curse, and I’m convinced that I’m going to love Lucian and Phaedra. Questions after the jump if you’ve read this week’s portion! (Or if you just like spoilers.)

1. The prologue in Finnikin of the Rock set the tone for the rest of the book, introduced the main characters, and highlighted the main conflict of the book. What did you think of this prologue?

I was really intrigued by the drama Melina Marchetta has set in play for this book and for Charyn and Quintana. It makes me very curious indeed about the role Charyn played in the five days of the unspeakable that we dealt with so prominently in the first book. I know that we actually get some more background about this from Rafuel, but that was one of the only times I found myself needing to reread parts to understand them better.

Anyway, I digress. The prologue: I liked this one a lot, although I found it interesting that the prologue was about Quintana, a character we don’t meet until nearly 100 pages in. Clearly, this curse on Charyn that has made the people of the land barren is going to be a BIG DEAL having to do with Froi, and I have no problems with that.

2. Three years have passed since the end of Finnikin of the Rock. What did you think about some of the changes that have taken place (such as Froi’s education or Finnikin and Isaboe’s daughter) and the things that haven’t changed (like Beatriss and Trevanion’s relationship)?

I think that things in Lumatere are interesting right now. I don’t think they’re out of the woods yet. I’m concerned about Beatriss and why she won’t leave the Flatlands even though everyone else is because the land is fallow. What’s your deal, girl? WHY YOU SO STUBBORN? Also, when are those two crazy kids just going to get together already?! Trevanion + Lady Beatriss = FATE. I didn’t like the feeling I got from some people/things in Lumatere that they were still clinging onto their anger and bitterness and the ugliness of the curse. One would hope that three years is enough time for people to start WANTING things to be different, and it seemed like this wasn’t always the case.

But I was pleased with the way Froi seems to have spent his time: learning from the Priestking and living with Lord August’s family. I think it’s great and also interesting that he still seems loyal to the death to Finnikin and Isaboe, even when it comes at his own expense (for instance, how he hasn’t slept with a woman since he tried to rape Isaboe three years before). Since A DEAL is made of this, one can only presume that this celibacy will be out the window before the book is done.

3. What did you think of the fact that Froi believes he has a monster inside him?

I love how much reflection we get from these characters. I love how well we get to know them through their own thoughts and perceptions! I love how Melina Marchetta words it: how Froi things he has a monster inside him that he needs to feed with cruelty and malice. **INTERTEXTUALITY ALERT** I just finished POISON by Bridget Zinn, and there was a conversation about this EXACT thing in it. The character in that book, though, is different from Froi, who believes this about himself and punishes himself for it. This makes me sad for him, that even though he has grown and learned things and is on the verge of becoming a member of the Queen’s Guard, he still won’t let himself off the hook for his actions. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure that Isaboe did either. Like, I know she has that line where she tells him that she trusts him to be alone with her, but then she follows it by saying she’ll never forget what he did, nor will he. OBVIOUSLY, I’m not holding that against anyone. But there was something vaguely unforgiving about Isaboe in that scene to me, and it’s obvious that Froi sensed it on some level, and it feeds his belief that he is somehow rotten on the inside.

4. Thoughts on the scene with Isaboe and the Sarnak ambassador?

This scene piggybacks a little bit on two points I’ve made already: one, the issue from question 1 about it being three years out and people in Lumatere still clinging to their pasts instead of looking ahead (wasn’t this a BIG issue between Isaboe and Finnikin in the first book? Where Isaboe was like, “why dwell?” to Finnikin’s “but what about what happened before?” Seems things have reversed themselves a little bit here). And two, that issue from above about Isaboe having an unforgiving streak. She doesn’t appear to be above holding things over people’s heads to get what she wants, and that’s not really an attractive quality.

Also, on a related note, Isaboe is clearly still not the kind of ruler who gives people a heads up about her decisions all the time, witnessed by the fact that she was AT the inn to meet with the Sarnak ambassador in the first place, when she should have been at the palace. You are not an island, Isaboe.

5. Did you note the differences between the curse upon Lumatere and the one upon Charyn, as well as the significance of blood in both books?

Ummm, NO not until I read this question! And then I was like, “DUH OF COURSE!” When I think of curses involving blood, it immediately gives me a feeling that this is no petty magic. Blood curses evoke real hardcore hatred to me. I had the impression of big-time similarities between the Oracle Queen and Seranonna. Did anyone else? And that it was their deaths that set these curses in motion? I see just as much a connection between the curses and the deaths of these powerful female mystics as I see with blood.

In terms of the differences between the two curses, I see irony, believe it or not. The curse on Lumatere resulted in the deaths of not just the royal children except Isaboe, but also the death of hundreds of daughters of Lumatere, both within the country’s borders and among the exiles abroad. Lumatere had the children, and the curse and the imposter king caused the deaths of so many. In light of the curse on Charyn–where none can breed at all–this seems like a waste, and an irony that one country has children enough to slaughter, and the other has virtually none at all.

6. What did you think of the scene where Rafuel tells Froi that he is a Charynite?

I wasn’t surprised by this at all, really, since I was assuming that Froi would be a Charynite anyway, haha. When I read the prologue, I was like, “Oh, this other lastborn is going to be Froi. TOTALLY.” What I’m REALLY SO VERY interested in is the little connection that Froi makes to himself, Charyn, and Tesadora. What’s THAT about? Is Tesadora Froi’s mother?

(Side note: I was kind of confused by the way people–well, Rafuel–kept drawing parallels between Charynites and the Forest Dwellers. What was he trying to say there? I couldn’t follow.)

7. Since names played such a huge role in Finnikin of the Rock, were there any scenes in this first section that highlighted their significance in this book?

I thought the conversation Froi had with Gargarin of Abroi was interesting. Because, like Froi, I totally wondered if the rhyming between his name and Abroi had any significance at all. I’m still not convinced that it doesn’t, but we’ll see.

Also, I noticed the stark differences between Lady Abian talking about celebrating Froi’s birthday when he returns from Charyn, when Quintana’s birthday is known as the day of weeping. Not names as such, but words referring to the same thing.

8. Trevanion’s parting words to Froi were vague in reference to Princess Quintana, but Rafuel says that Froi is meant to kill her. What do you think Froi is supposed to do?

I have NO IDEA. This is a sticky wicket, and if I was Froi I’d be freaking out a little bit. Personally…nope, I STILL HAVE NO IDEA. I can totally see Trevanion meaning that Froi is supposed to sleep with Quintana, but that would mean he has some greater knowledge of the curse and of Froi’s ancestry, which I’m not sure that he does. On the other hand, Rafuel presenting his argument for killing Quintana by saying that Isaboe and Finnikin would want it because how can Lumatere win a war against Charyn if Quintana doesn’t die also makes TOTAL SENSE. I can see Isaboe being that ruthless and vengeful. (HELLO she murdered the impostor king.) Part of me thinks, though, that Rafuel has somehow come to understand Froi’s weakness: his loyalty to Isaboe and Finnikin, and the fact that he would do ANYTHING they asked of him, partly because he feels guilty over his attempted rape of Isaboe. I wondered if Rafule wasn’t playing some other game here, and if Froi wasn’t just a pawn in it.

9. What did you think of the interaction and scenes involving Froi and Quintana?

Quintana really is a feral, broken thing, no? With her ratty hair and the way she refers to herself in the third person plural. She seems not entirely in control of her mental faculties. Which made the scene with Froi and Quintana in her bedroom even more FEELy. I thought the way Froi acted towards her was more gentle and thoughtful than I’d imagined him capable of, but I can also see how going about things in the business-like manner Quintana was expecting would have made him think of his attempted assault on Isaboe. I know that we discussed how Froi thinks he has a monster inside of him, but this scene made me doubt it, just a little bit, and I wish it had done the same for him.

10. Finally, what do think of Lucian and Phaedra?

OMG THESE TWO. I kind of love them already. They have that hate-like thing going on, and I am glutton for that shizz. I am having all kinds of feels for them. I feel for Lucian, who has to learn how to fill his father’s shoes, and I feel for Phaedra, who seems timid but still stands up for her people. I HAVE FEELS.

Other bits of awesome (YES I DID JUST MAKE A BULLETED LIST)

• When Finnikin and Isaboe try to psych each other up to make their daughter sleep in her own bed and TOTALLY FAIL. LULZ.
  • In fact, that entire conversation they have in bed, about how Isaboe wants Finnikin to talk to Trevanion and Beatriss about getting married, and how she holds that little afternoon delight in the storage closet over his head as leverage. I’m not married, but I liked the vibe I got from them of a couple who will be good marrieds.
• This isn’t actually awesome at all, but the part where Froi sees Bestiano and Quintana in her bedroom. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his name kind of sounds like “beast.”
• Since I’m reading this one in print, I couldn’t highlight on my kindle like I did with FINNIKIN, so I took pictures of these two quotes:

“You can’t go around feeling too much,” Captain Trevanion had explained, watching amoment to ensure the man was indeed dead. “Because if you feel too much, enough to want to kill them so savagely, then one day you’re going to feel enough to spare their lives. Don’t ever let emotion get in the way. Just follow orders. Most times the orders you follow will be the right ones.” –page 11

“Nothing changes. Names stay the same. So do traits.” –Zabat, page 75

• The first quote is from a passage about Froi, Perri and Trevanion going after spies in Lumatere. Froi wants to do them harm to make them pay for their treachery, but Perri and Trevanion urge him to check his feels at the door, and just get it done. That there is no wrong in giving a traitor a quick, painless death. Of course, Froi following orders in Charyn is going to be tricky since he’s unsure what they are exactly, and I KNOW he’s going to develop feels for Quintana. I think he’s going to try and kill her, but just as Trevanion warned against, he’s going to feel enough to spare her life.
• The second is from a great passage about names between Froi and his Charynite guide, Zabat. He points out that the people in Lumatere and Charyn, even though they hate each other now, once all came from the same place. I also think this quote is SUPER interesting in relation to Froi. Froi has always been his name, it does not change. Perhaps it is part of what makes him a Charynite. But it’s interesting that Zabat also says traits stay the same, which I’m sure Froi latched onto in some corner of his mind as proof that he is a monster.