It's hard to believe that we are already halfway through our Literary Sewing Circle round for this fall! Today's the day for some serious book talk! How are you doing with the book? Have you started it yet? Finished it? Do you have any reactions you'd like to share?
Here are a few questions to ponder today and for the next while -- whether you have begun reading, or you've only read blurbs & author interviews so far and still have something to say, join in! Although there might be a few spoilers in the questions and discussion below so if you haven't got too far yet you might want to come back to this post.
I'll add some of my own thoughts and you can reply to them or add your own impressions. If you want to hear other takes on a part of the book that you are curious about, leave your own questions in the comments, too. I hope you are all enjoying it so far!
Is there a particular character that you found especially compelling? Any themes or symbols that really resonate with you?
I was interested in all the characters, but I don't think one stood out as my "favourite" -- except perhaps Berol's Anna, who I would have loved to learn more about. In a world where language shapes reality quite literally, the choice to be a poet seems pretty edgy! I did appreciate the way in which Vanja's viewpoint shapes the story; not only is the world grey and tenuous, so is her perspective on life, which adds to the uncertainty.
The themes of language and how we name things and affect our world really strike me with this story. It seems quite magical, but makes us think about the ways we easily name things in everyday life shape our experience of them. On a lighter note, the fact that this whole world is based on fungi is kind of funny and intriguing. There's so much research going on right now on mushroom-based textiles and various other areas that this doesn't seem implausible!
Language and its ability to shape our worlds is such a key element of this book. How do you see this idea playing out in our current world?
Like I mentioned above, I think that we use language and naming in everyday life in ways we might not be aware of. How does slotting an experience into one specific named perception change it? How can calling something good or bad affect it? How can using a name for something that is not the appropriate cultural name for it alter it, or how can misusing a word from another culture change it or us? Or, how about the question of personal names -- if your name is hard to pronounce for someone from a different culture, so you change it, or have it changed for you, how does that affect you as an individual? So many ways to think about how language shapes us. That's not even getting into the experience of the world as a monolingual speaker rather than someone who has facility in more than one language.
What about that ending? Good or bad? Positive development or terrifying one? Why do you think so?
The ending can seem like a triumph, or a disaster, depending on your viewpoint. What's more important, the safety and security of survivalist colonies, or freedom and independence for individuals? Another element to the ending is the question as to whether trying to sustain and reproduce an old system of society in a new world that doesn't quite work with it is wise or even achievable. Does it make more sense in this setting to abandon the need to be human in one specific way and liberate the population into becoming something new and different? The first time I read this book the ending was mind-blowing, and I wasn't sure what was going on. Was this terrible or fantastic? I couldn't tell. When I read it again for this project, I found the ending more understandable and a little bit less unsettling; it seemed more hopeful in some ways. It's tough to settle on one interpretation though!
Did you like the narrative style, with elements laid out but never over-explained? Or do you prefer a little more elaboration of ideas in your reading?
I like a writer who leaves me guessing. I suppose that's why I like Tidbeck's work. I like the feeling of not quite knowing what's happening as I start reading. The way that they describe and mention parts of Amatka, like the tunnels and the mushrooms and the lake freezing each night, but never elaborate to explain why or how or even what part those elements are playing, is kind of interesting. It's like the characters in the story know and understand these things so they wouldn't think of explaining them in detail. In some ways you can sense the beginnings of this story in the dream world, with its strong imagery of inexplicable things.
Is there anything specific in the book that has sparked an idea for a project yet? Are you mulling over any ideas?
I am mulling over a few different ideas, some of which may appear in next week's inspiration post! Let's just say mushrooms are a key image from this book, for me, and might appear in something I make. But I'm also intrigued by Berol's Anna so might tie her presence into a project somehow.
