Marks, Laurie J. - Earth Logic

[oyceter]

This is a sequel to Fire Logic (spoilers marked partly down the page).

I may have liked some of this better than Fire Logic (and I really liked Fire Logic), despite some problems with the plotting. While Fire Logic is about war and breaking people to make them over, Earth Logic is about healing and reconciliation. Also, one of the characters in there is an excellent cook, so there are some luscious food descriptions, which really bias my opinion.

Spoilers for Fire Logic

This book centers largely on Karis; Garland, a Sainnite cook who lives among the Shaftali; and Clement, a lieutenant-general of the Sainnites. I'm still rather impressed by how much Marks makes me love her characters. It's six years after the events of Fire Logic, and Karis now has a makeshift family (Emil, Medric, J'han, Norina, Zanja, and Leeba). But she's finally taking steps to claim her place as the G'deon of Shaftal, and it's fascinating to watch how carefully she attempts to move.

coffeeandink has said that Marks is writing heroic myth on negotiation and reconciliation, as opposed to the usual focus on warfare. Another thing that has struck me is how Marks writes heroic myth about the slow and steady, about the sometimes glacier-like move toward peace, as opposed to the One Big Battle model. I like how spread out her timelines are; things are not accomplished in a year or two, and while the first steps toward peace may have begun in this book, there is still the sense that true peace will take generations.

Even though Zanja often acts as a catalyst, things continue to take time. One of my favorite parts of the book (aside from the food porn) was watching Clement gradually change, incident by incident. Medric notes one moment as the moment that actually changes things, but in reality, it is a gradual accumulation of those moments that creates the Clement we get by the end of the book. And I find that much more believable than a single moment of conversion.

I also appreciate how Marks privileges words over swords -- it isn't just Mabin's book that is influential, but Medric's book, and Harald G'deon's long-lost thoughts. It feels so hopeful, that words can heal and hurt, that they can change things. I nearly cried when Karis read Harald's book because of that hope, because of that optimism. That, and Marks' focus on the healing power of food. And she doesn't simplify it; clearly one book and a good meal will not wipe away thirty-five years of violent occupation, but it is that belief in words and food and peace instead of swords and hurt and violence that I find encouraging. (Also, I am a great believer in books and food.)

This is, despite its epic topic and scope, a slow and quiet book, which is why it felt so fitting to have Garland the cook as a viewpoint character. And it's also fitting for a book about making peace, which is slow and difficult and often unglamorous. And it does so without lessening the impact of occupation -- one of my favorite conversations in the book is between Clement and another very hurt character, in which the history of Sainnite occupation hangs over the two like a sword.

On the other hand, I did have some plot problems...

Spoilers for Earth Logic

I was so confused by the Zanja plot, that I had simply written it off to my complete lack of a plot brain. Then I went back and read some reviews to find that other people were just as puzzled as me.

But yes. I would like to say: Huh?

On the other hand, I am so glad Zanja made it out alive; I adore her and her quietness and her strength, and I loved that final conversation between her and Clement. It makes me think about reactions to decolonization, particularly on the personal level, with regard to race and gender, and touches on questions about anger and separatism and pain that I am still thinking about.

And most importantly: did I mention the tasty food descriptions?

Links:
- coffeeandink's review and a comparison of Earth Logic and Laura Kinsale's Shadowheart (spoilery for both books)
- pocketgarden's review
- yhlee's review
- rachelmanija's review (spoilery for both books)

Comments

Probably spoilery

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

The Zanja plot was something of a "huh?" moment, but I was able to enjoy it as an interesting possible interpretation of the phenomenon called susto in Latin American cultures, and other things in other cultures (it appears to be called poob plig among the Hmong) -- soul loss, where a trauma might make some or all of someone's soul flee, leaving behind a semi-functional shell. In this case, of course, it was a purposeful shamanistic journey, although to what end is still a little fuzzy for me. I'm guessing it has to do with the theme of interrelations between the two cultures, and her being a guide for the threshold crossing, something she couldn't have done if she were in her right mind because of all the baggage involved.

[keilexandra]

Food porn! Adding to my list.

[quivo.livejournal.com]

Man, even after reading your review, I couldn't resist picking Earth Logic up even though I knew it would be a slow read, and that I'd been spoiled. When I got to the part where (I think) Emil was beating Zanja up, I just decided to let it go. Marks' writing is beautiful, but this book and the last one could barely hold my interest at times. I don't know if the Interesting Ideas phenomenon (usually, such books bore me to death, since the plot tends not to be as strong) was mainly the cause of my frustrated disinterest, but I'm thinking it might be. I wonder why the slow pace of this grated on me when Bujold's The Sharing Knife: Beguilement did not.

Oh, and by the way? I don't think I said this before, but THANK YOU for putting me on to Scott Westerfeld's masterful duology. Just...thank you.

Re: Probably spoilery

[oyceter]

Oh, that's really cool! I'll have to look those up.

I didn't have a problem with what happened to Zanja; it was the entire bit beforehand in which Emil, Medric and Norina convince themselves that they have to kill Zanja that was puzzling. Because it would make more sense if it weren't literal (like how Norina eventually figured out), but as a literal, I feel like Emil and Medric would have worked more to avoid that or something...

[oyceter]

Both of the books are really good! And, of course, food porn!

[oyceter]

Hrm, yeah... some other people have also mentioned that they find Marks' writing distancing, which may have something to do with it?

Also, whoo! You read Succession? Awesomeness! I keep trying to get more people to read it, because again with the awesomeness!

Re: Probably spoilery

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was a little baffled by Emil and Medric. I get the impression that in matters of magic, fire bloods are supposed to be complete literalists, which is why air bloods can do sleight of hand and make them believe that something has happened. Despite the fire bloods being supposedly the imaginative ones -- you'd think that imagination would go to the "oh! right! we could do this symbolically!"

Makes the fire bloods a little doofy, really.

Re: Probably spoilery

[oyceter]

Yeah, exactly... and they were talking about Zanja's death possibly being symbolic, and they usually do intuitive leaps, so... yeah.

[quivo.livejournal.com]

Yeah, could be. She's definitely one of those 'great writer, but...' authors for me. Compared to the butt-busting awesome wonderfulness of Succession, her stuff totally pales - I'm sure I'd have gotten more fun out of my time if I'd just started the reread :D

And I did manage to push off the series onto my boyfriend before we broke up. He still has the second book, I think, and raved about the first.

Oh, I also read Peeps! Disgustingly good :D. Scott W. just seems to crank out believable, sympathetic AND kickass male and female characters with unnatural ease.