Flight of the Heron read-along: Prologue

[regshoe]

The news frae Moidart cam yestreen will soon gar mony ferlie...

Welcome everyone to the Flight of the Heron read-along! I'm delighted by the amount of interest there's been in this lovely book recently, and I hope this will be a great opportunity to discuss it in more depth.

Some notes:

A reminder of where to find the novel as a free ebook and a free audiobook.

My plan is to cover two chapters in most weeks, but I thought we'd start with just the Prologue, partly to provide a gentle introduction and partly because it makes it easier to split the rest of the book up in a way that makes sense.

We have a mixture of people re-reading the book and people reading it for the first time participating, so, if you've read the book before and would like to discuss earlier chapters in the context of what happens later on, please warn for or hide spoilers! I suggest using rot13, if that works for everyone.

Next week we'll read Part I chapters 1 and 2, and meet Keith Windham...

Comments

[philomytha]

Broster sets up so much in the prologue! The relationship between Ewen and Lachlan, and the way it's so unequal and Ewen is obviously fond of Lachlan but also takes him completely for granted almost as one of his possessions, it's all setting up what happens later. Naq Ynpuyna'f fvatyr-zvaqrq bofrffvirarff nobhg Rjra, gur jnl ur qvfborlf Rjra orpnhfr ur'f fb svkngrq ba gelvat gb fnir uvz - guvf vf nf zhpu n frghc bs jung unccraf yngre nf gur ovg nobhg gur oybbq ba gur qnttre, nyy gur frrqf bs gur gentrql ner urer.

I love the introduction of Ewen swimming in the loch, his character comes across so clearly, happy and optimistic and strong and determined, and then the sweetness of the scene with Alison, they're so tender with each other, it's adorable.

Also, help, you've earwormed me with Wha'll be king but Charlie! My favourite version is this one by Silly Wizard.

[regshoe]

That is very true about how well things are set up for what happens later on! This is just what I love about re-reading books, getting to see all these complex bits of foreshadowing...

Also, help, you've earwormed me with Wha'll be king but Charlie!

:D

I do like Jacobite folk music, so I thought it was a good opportunity to rec some! And thanks for linking that version, it's great, very vivid.

[luzula]

Ooh, good point with your rot13'd bit! That's very true.

and then the sweetness of the scene with Alison, they're so tender with each other, it's adorable.

They are! Although it feels weird to me to read it, because I wrote a whole novel of Ewen/Alison + Ewen/Keith, where Alison had so much more page time than in canon. So it's almost like the Alison I extrapolated from canon is more real in my head now than the one in canon, and I kind of judge her against my version, ha ha...

(The introductory text in the Silly Wizard version is WRONG! He did not intend to only rule Scotland, he wanted the whole of Britain...it's a catchy version though.)

[hyarrowen]

I can't help but feel that Lachlan's nose is already slightly out of joint because of Alison. His chieftain and foster-brother comes home and Lachlan is all ready to take up his former position - and Ewen has someone else, besides his blood relatives, who comes before Lachlan.