Thoughts on Reading May 15, 2022

 

Reading: The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin 

May 15, 2022

    N.K Jemisin uses the show not tell method magnificently, crafting a very detailed and complex narrative that constantly surprises you but also makes you feel connected to it.  Well done stories that grip the imagination are often hard to find. Many stories now have lost a sense of prose and description that conveys to the reader a feeling and image within the world they are visiting. 

    I  find Gideon the Ninth and The Fifth Season betray this standard and remind readers that beautiful prose is key to good story-telling. Both books seem to understand that this world- no world in fact- is  as simple as it seems. They do not take long to focus on  the physical beauty of a person but rather how beautifully complicated people are. These stories, as wild as they are, feel more real than the polished and perfect heroes and heroines who feel like barbie dolls blessed by the gods that stumble through the pages of other works. 

    The gallery isn't very busy today so I've had plenty of time to think- as well as read of course... 

    These stories that I'm referring to- The Locked Tomb & The Broken Earth respectively, bring the story exploration of many flawed and imperfect people trying to make it through another day. I keep thinking about *why* I love the books that I love- and what it means to love different forms of media- or what that says about you as a person- or even if it says anything at all. 

    I think what you love says a lot about you. I have always leaned towards stories with strong character work rather than stories with more emphasized world-building or magic systems. To me, if the people you are following don't feel like people- I truly don't see a point in seeing what comes next because I feel no connection to the characters. 

    It actually upsets me to see bad character work. I feel sad when I realize that others don't share the same intense interest in characters that I do- which is fine if that's not your interest but I suppose strong characters are what I admire the same way I admire people who feel truly and personally real. 

    I worry that absolutely beautiful and well written books like The Fifth Season are overlooked in media because they are not popularized. I hardly see anyone talk about The Broken Earth trilogy other than high fantasy booktubers but I feel the story deserves more recognition than that. I want to bring recognition to these stories in particular that are overshadowed by the giants of mass sellers on booktok- not that there's anything wrong with those books- but it would be nice for adult fantasy and other wonderful stories like this one to receive the praise that booktok books do on a daily basis. 

My rambles are complete for now but this book is really good and you should read it :)