Flight of the Heron read-along: Part I chapters 3-4

[regshoe]

I have just finished reading a Mary Renault novel and feel, predictably, absolutely awful about it. Time to distract myself with some Jacobites!

Next week we'll finish Part I with chapters 5 and 6.

Comments

[hyarrowen]

I too love the bit where Keith and Ewen smile at each other. I think Keith challenges Ewen in a way that he's not used to; his foster-brothers and tenants are utterly devoted to him, Aunt Margaret and the rest of the family love him dearly and look after him and he's close to the centre of their world. Keith is an annoyance and unpredictable and he's all prickles - and he's an equal in a way that the others are not.

I like the adroit way that DKB changes POVs - not something you see much of in fanfic but it happens very naturally here. Also her long, long sentences. Radio was just getting going when FotH was published and there were far fewer sources of entertainment than even ten years later.

The threads have always confused me too. Prisoner and captor, perhaps, turn and turn about? Or in the sense of spun threads that you twist together to get a stronger, single yarn? Baffled.

[regshoe]

All good points about Keith and Ewen! And yes, I love Broster's omniscient POV that moves between the characters.

I think the two threads are probably either Keith and Ewen themselves, with the different colours being their different allegiances, or the conflicting feelings they both have for each other (admiration and friendship vs enmity—bs pbhefr gur snpg gung Xrvgu obgu nqzverf Rjra naq frrf uvz hanibvqnoyl nf na rarzl vf irel vzcbegnag ng obgu gurve svefg zrrgvat naq gurve ynfg!—but Ewen's feelings in particular do change considerably over time, so I'm not sure)—probably both? I like the 'spun threads that you twist together to get a stronger, single yarn' interpretation, though!

[hyarrowen]

It's such a pity we can't ask her! Everyone seems both confused and intrigued by it. Maybe she left it quite deliberately ambiguous, a la Balrog wings.

[luzula]

I think Keith challenges Ewen in a way that he's not used to; his foster-brothers and tenants are utterly devoted to him, Aunt Margaret and the rest of the family love him dearly and look after him and he's close to the centre of their world. Keith is an annoyance and unpredictable and he's all prickles - and he's an equal in a way that the others are not.

Yes! How insightful--I do think you're right.

[cahn]

- and he's an equal in a way that the others are not.

Oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense! I can see how that would be really attractive to Ewen :D