Gorgeous cover isn’t it? The art is by Dan Dos Santos and Tor.com has wallpaper available for it, so fyi to that. Jay Lake ran a photo contest that has some great pics you should see too.
For those unacquainted with how I talk about books online, I don’t really review our (Tor) books since it’s where I work. And truthfully, you wouldn’t believe my opinion anyway, right? But sometimes I do like to talk about things within a story and there you have it. There is a great review up on i09 for Green. Go read that if you are looking for a review.
Thar be spoilers in me ramblings…forewarned ye be.
What struck me most about the character Green was her fierce sense of will. She lost everything—even her name—when he father sold her into slavery. But something kept her going. Something that made her an inherent survivor, even at the age of three. And that would be her fabulous stubborn will. I love that!
There were so many times during the first part of the book where I thought, okay, she’s gotta cave now. She’s just a child. But nope. “I am Green, here me ROAR!” She didn’t actually ever say that, of course, but you get the idea.
Green’s world is brutal. Harsh. Crude. And the options she’s presented with are so damn limiting. You can A. Be shackled to a man and a few kids living in poverty, B. Be shackled to a man (or men) as a courtesan, C. Dismiss men all together and live as a lesbian, ass-kicking nun. Come on now, what will it be?
Heh. Well, there were other options but overall the world didn’t seem all that pretty for women, let alone a female child! And that’s what Green really was—a child. Sure she lived in one of those worlds where people marry as children. But that doesn’t exactly curtail childlike behavior. It’s that strange blend of being taught to act like a women but still often reacting as a child. Kick it first, ask questions later. Hell, there are times when I still want to do that and I’m just a wee bit older than 12! :P
The limited roles for women also played into Green’s struggle for self identity. She transitioned from being trained to be “woman” to disguising herself as a boy to taking a role normally given to a man. In the end, she will be woman as mother. And, she will also simply be Green.
Of course there is a lot more to the story than any of that tells you. There are Gods and Goddesses intertwining into the story too. And the ever present symbol of an ox named Endurance. Plus cat-like creatures and more! But it was Green’s stubborn will and reflecting on the roles of women in her world that stuck with me most and what I felt like rambling about today.
And that’s that.
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