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reflections on Spindle's End
FINALLY got off the phone with a Civil War buff halfway across the country who spent (literally) 20 minutes talking my ear off about local arms manufacturing in the month of April of 1861 when he could have conveyed what he actually wanted to me in less than a minute (all the April 1861 editions of the local German newspaper, pretty please). He wasn't even that terrible compared to most Civil War buffs, but goodness gracious, give me a train person any day. At least they have some awareness that no one else cares about their niche interest and actually apologize for going on and on.
ANYWAY! I wrote up some thoughts on rereading Spindle's End while at my sister's house. And here they are.
+ I really think this book is Peak McKinley. It's got every single one of her quirks, every single one, and they all come together in a really satisfying way in a really well written book.
+ The opening chapter is one of my favorite first chapters of any book ever. It doesn't even introduce our main characters, just the world they're living in, but it's so delightful and compelling and detailed. I feel like if you don't vibe with that chapter, McKinley isn't for you.
+ I saw a GoodReads review talking about how it's slow and nothing happens until the end and...so what????? It's just about life in this little village and how music works in this world and it's all told so charmingly that it's a delight. Plus: all these women loving each other so much!!!!!
+ The worldbuilding in this book makes the worldbuilding in every other fairytale-ish, vaguely medieval European fantasy setting look pathetic. All the glorious details! The texture! The way that magic is everywhere but it doesn't solve anything. I love it so! This is what I'm always looking for in fairytale-ish settings, and I never find it except with McKinley. (And with Ella Enchanted, I suppose, but I haven't reread that one in a great many years, and it's more whimsical and less grounded. Equally delightful, though!)
+ I just love the way she always portrays magic as being deeply rooted in how people live--that using something again and again can imbue it with magic it didn't originally have. I know the connection isn't obvious, but to me it just feels very Le Guin talking about women's work and remaking love, etc.
+ I'm still torn about the romance. It's never seen directly, really--it's in the background. On the one hand that makes me feel like the work wasn't put in--I have to watch two people really interact and build their relationship in order to find it plausible; on the other hand, I really kind of like that it isn't the point of the story, which is focused firmly on the relationships between the women: Aunt and Katriona and Rosie and Peony. The men are extraneous (until the climax) in a way that reminds me of L.M. Montgomery. The implication is, "This romantic part has been going on the whole time, but it's not important to the story we're telling, because we're focused on the women." Part of me has always thought that Rosie/Peony should be the ship, but that would ruin the ending solution, and also I value depictions of deep friendships between women so much. So I guess in the end I come down on the side, "Eh, the ships are fine." Not like with Uprooted, where I am Up In Arms about the protagonist not ending up with her bff.
+ There is the age thing with Narl, who is a grown man who meets Rosie literally as an infant. Some mitigating circumstances: 1. he's a fairy, and it's implied they can live a very long time, so it becomes like any other immortal fantasy lover story where you just suspend disbelief. 2. There isn't a hint of romance between them until Rosie is 20, thank God. 3. I have always thought this was Robin's salute to her own great romance--her husband was significantly older than her as well. Again, I come down on the side of, "Eh, whatever," but I respect those who are grossed out about it.
+ We have the Usual McKinley Climax of lots of magical weirdness in a world apart with our protagonist accompanied by a motley crew of animals who provide her with emotional support as she faces down the big evil (see also: Deerskin, Rose Daughter, etc. I do wish that McKinley hadn't recycled that particular thing so very much, but oh well. I do think it works here, even if the whole climactic scene is way too long.
+ This is a found family story, all about how blood doesn't matter and love does. LOVE THAT.
+ I love that, in the end, Rosie and Peony's love for each other actually alters the magic so that Peony, in a way, becomes the literal princess in addition to just taking on that role (except to the animals. To them, Rosie is always the princess). I am also glad that there's the hint about the spell wearing off on the queen eventually--her love for her daughter is intense enough that even magic won't be able to confuse her for long. That's very good. I like to think that the queen is absolutely thrilled that she now has two daughters to love completely.
+ Rosie is like, "Hey, Narl, if you want to marry me, you have to move into my house and be part of my family." And he's like, "Duh." Very Knightley-y. I approve.
ANYWAY! I wrote up some thoughts on rereading Spindle's End while at my sister's house. And here they are.
+ I really think this book is Peak McKinley. It's got every single one of her quirks, every single one, and they all come together in a really satisfying way in a really well written book.
+ The opening chapter is one of my favorite first chapters of any book ever. It doesn't even introduce our main characters, just the world they're living in, but it's so delightful and compelling and detailed. I feel like if you don't vibe with that chapter, McKinley isn't for you.
+ I saw a GoodReads review talking about how it's slow and nothing happens until the end and...so what????? It's just about life in this little village and how music works in this world and it's all told so charmingly that it's a delight. Plus: all these women loving each other so much!!!!!
+ The worldbuilding in this book makes the worldbuilding in every other fairytale-ish, vaguely medieval European fantasy setting look pathetic. All the glorious details! The texture! The way that magic is everywhere but it doesn't solve anything. I love it so! This is what I'm always looking for in fairytale-ish settings, and I never find it except with McKinley. (And with Ella Enchanted, I suppose, but I haven't reread that one in a great many years, and it's more whimsical and less grounded. Equally delightful, though!)
+ I just love the way she always portrays magic as being deeply rooted in how people live--that using something again and again can imbue it with magic it didn't originally have. I know the connection isn't obvious, but to me it just feels very Le Guin talking about women's work and remaking love, etc.
+ I'm still torn about the romance. It's never seen directly, really--it's in the background. On the one hand that makes me feel like the work wasn't put in--I have to watch two people really interact and build their relationship in order to find it plausible; on the other hand, I really kind of like that it isn't the point of the story, which is focused firmly on the relationships between the women: Aunt and Katriona and Rosie and Peony. The men are extraneous (until the climax) in a way that reminds me of L.M. Montgomery. The implication is, "This romantic part has been going on the whole time, but it's not important to the story we're telling, because we're focused on the women." Part of me has always thought that Rosie/Peony should be the ship, but that would ruin the ending solution, and also I value depictions of deep friendships between women so much. So I guess in the end I come down on the side, "Eh, the ships are fine." Not like with Uprooted, where I am Up In Arms about the protagonist not ending up with her bff.
+ There is the age thing with Narl, who is a grown man who meets Rosie literally as an infant. Some mitigating circumstances: 1. he's a fairy, and it's implied they can live a very long time, so it becomes like any other immortal fantasy lover story where you just suspend disbelief. 2. There isn't a hint of romance between them until Rosie is 20, thank God. 3. I have always thought this was Robin's salute to her own great romance--her husband was significantly older than her as well. Again, I come down on the side of, "Eh, whatever," but I respect those who are grossed out about it.
+ We have the Usual McKinley Climax of lots of magical weirdness in a world apart with our protagonist accompanied by a motley crew of animals who provide her with emotional support as she faces down the big evil (see also: Deerskin, Rose Daughter, etc. I do wish that McKinley hadn't recycled that particular thing so very much, but oh well. I do think it works here, even if the whole climactic scene is way too long.
+ This is a found family story, all about how blood doesn't matter and love does. LOVE THAT.
+ I love that, in the end, Rosie and Peony's love for each other actually alters the magic so that Peony, in a way, becomes the literal princess in addition to just taking on that role (except to the animals. To them, Rosie is always the princess). I am also glad that there's the hint about the spell wearing off on the queen eventually--her love for her daughter is intense enough that even magic won't be able to confuse her for long. That's very good. I like to think that the queen is absolutely thrilled that she now has two daughters to love completely.
+ Rosie is like, "Hey, Narl, if you want to marry me, you have to move into my house and be part of my family." And he's like, "Duh." Very Knightley-y. I approve.