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

[regshoe]

Farewell even to our Scottish name, so famed in martial story...

Another pivotal set of chapters. It's all coming together now...

Next week we'll read Part IV chapters 5 and 6.

Comments

[killclaudio]

I really loved that line about something more painful than pity - that's love, Keith, you oblivious ninny!

I confess I was reading it thinking, goodness, could I ever do anything this elegant in a fic—it's such beautiful and well-controlled writing.

Right?! It's such an object lesson in how to write intense emotion between two characters who aren't given to talking about their feelings. Which is quite a lot of favourite characters in fandom. I'm definitely bookmarking it to read again next time I write a big emotional scene.

Interesting too that he gives us another reminder of the gulf between the Jacobite and Hanoverian treatment of prisoners.

This was exactly my thought when I read that bit about Dr. Cameron. The description in the previous section of how they didn't just deny the prisoners medical help but actually took away the Jacobite surgeons' instruments really hit hard, and it creates such a contrast. Every single detail Broster provides is essential to the picture she's creating. It really is beautiful writing.

[regshoe]

that's love, Keith, you oblivious ninny!

:D

It's such an object lesson in how to write intense emotion between two characters who aren't given to talking about their feelings.

Exactly! And, emotional repression combined with emotional intensity being such an attractive thing for fandom, doing this sort of thing so well just makes this book perfect for being fannish about. Argh.