Voigt, Cynthia - On Fortune's Wheel
Tue, Apr. 11th, 2006 05:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI reread this because I was in the mood for a quiet, deep love story. I may have misremembered how important the love story is in the book, but it's slow and quiet, which perfectly suited my mood.
On Fortune's Wheel is set two generations after Jackaroo (which I also love) in a land simply called the Kingdom. It's vaguely reminiscent of your standard medieval-European fantasy setting, but instead of focusing on place and worldbuilding, Voight uses the Kingdom more as a backdrop for her characters. As a result, it feels somewhat like a fairy tale, roughly sketched out, but leaving detail to the reader's imagination.
Birle, the Innkeeper's daughter, manages to head off on a long journey with Orien, a stranger she finds stealing their boat. She has her own reasons for leaving; she feels confined by her life at the inn, and she wants to escape a hasty engagement that she got herself into.
I like Birle a lot. She actually reminded me a great deal of Gwyn in Jackaroo; both women are looking for something larger out there, pushing boundaries in their own ways while not being "spunky" or "spirited." And I love Birle's practicality, despite her weakness for blue eyes.
I especially like how Voigt shows how limited Birle's options sometimes are; it's unflinching but not depressing, and it feels realistic.
Despite Birle and Orien's journey to different places and assorted unpleasant circumstances, this is a small book at heart, centered on Birle and how she changes. I found that I rather liked that, even though me ten years ago would probably be bored by it.
On Fortune's Wheel is set two generations after Jackaroo (which I also love) in a land simply called the Kingdom. It's vaguely reminiscent of your standard medieval-European fantasy setting, but instead of focusing on place and worldbuilding, Voight uses the Kingdom more as a backdrop for her characters. As a result, it feels somewhat like a fairy tale, roughly sketched out, but leaving detail to the reader's imagination.
Birle, the Innkeeper's daughter, manages to head off on a long journey with Orien, a stranger she finds stealing their boat. She has her own reasons for leaving; she feels confined by her life at the inn, and she wants to escape a hasty engagement that she got herself into.
I like Birle a lot. She actually reminded me a great deal of Gwyn in Jackaroo; both women are looking for something larger out there, pushing boundaries in their own ways while not being "spunky" or "spirited." And I love Birle's practicality, despite her weakness for blue eyes.
I especially like how Voigt shows how limited Birle's options sometimes are; it's unflinching but not depressing, and it feels realistic.
Despite Birle and Orien's journey to different places and assorted unpleasant circumstances, this is a small book at heart, centered on Birle and how she changes. I found that I rather liked that, even though me ten years ago would probably be bored by it.