(no subject)

[skygiants]

Several people on my book year-end round-up post have asked what I thought about Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera's follow-up to Saint of Bright Doors. This is a great question and one that I am going to do an absolutely terrible job of answering. It has been like four months and I still have no idea what I thought about Rakesfall.

So instead I will try to answer a different question, which is, what is Rakesfall?

1. Rakesfall is -- sort of? -- a novel about the reincarnation of two individuals who are linked two each other, "tracing two souls through endless lifetimes," according to the cover copy. This is sort of true; it did also lead me to expect that I was indeed going to be able to consistently trace the aforementioned souls in the lifetimes in which they appeared, which is emphatically not always true, and also occasionally distracting, although I think that might be part of the point.

2. Rakesfall is -- sort of? -- a collection of short speculative fictions, linked together by the idea that the players are fundamentally the same throughout; that they are experiencing riffs and reprises on the same essential themes, and, moreover, that the players are constantly retelling the story of themselves to each other. Several of these stories, I know, were published individually before being pulled together into the form of this novel. I liked a lot of these stories very much in and of themselves! The one where the protagonist is helping her landlady file a legal case around her right to protect her home from her inconvenient zombie husband? Superb. Do I like this story the better for being part of something that could be called a novel? Is the whole, ultimately, greater than the sum of its parts? Unclear to me at this time.

3. Rakesfall is a book that, IMO, more or less demands to be studied. It makes a firm stand that it wishes to be read deeply and debated over. You could easily design a whole college course around this book, and I frankly think that course would be incredible. You'd read a lot of Sri Lankan history, including some really awful but interesting primary source texts from the period of Portuguese colonization, and a bit of weird 19th century mysticism, and ideally Vajra Chandrasekera would also provide a small packet of his favorite works from the AO3 for use in discussing the chapter that's framed as meta-TV fandom. I would love to take that class and I think I would learn a lot from it.

4. Relatedly, Rakesfall is definitely not a book that wants to be read in a single day. Unfortunately, for various reasons, that is what I did, which perhaps explains why I have still not sorted out my opinion about it.

Comments

[genarti]

It might also be about the reincarnation of three individuals. I expected it to be about two, based on the cover copy, but then we do have a third added eventually. (Or maybe there all along, but sometimes less noticeably? As you say, I was emphatically not always able to consistently trace them, and sometimes distracted by trying to.)

I still can't fully decide if I think the book doesn't quite work, if I think the book might work but doesn't for me, or if I think I'm just not smart enough or widely read enough for this one. Some combo of A and C, I guess.

(The story/chapter/whatever where the protagonist is helping her landlady file a legal case was absolutely my favorite, though, for sure. I would like to read the novel about that, but that is not what Vajra Chandrasekera was interested in doing.)

[skygiants]

I think there all along, but it doesn't become explicit until later on, yeah. It is probably also a book that wants to be read twice ... and far be it from me to say that a book shouldn't ask such things but I may or may not decide to acquiesce to its requests.

[chestnut_pod]

I've been delaying my hold on it to be Ready for it. I am willing to ponder! But perhaps during a more relaxed time. And Sig Sagar isn't reading this audiobook, so it will just have to wait :(

[skygiants]

I do think this is probably one it's worth waiting to be Ready for, yeah! It really wants to be read with WHOLE attention.

[asakiyume]

I do wonder about books that are collections of a person's short stories, woven together. I loved Claire of the Sea Light, which afterward I found out was essentially that. I thought Sordidez was less successful as a unified work, though it was super thought provoking and had some spectacular moments.

This got me to read your older review of the first book, though, which I'm definitely now going to read!

[osprey_archer]

Oh, I'm fascinated to learn Claire of the Sea Light started out as short stories! I didn't guess that at all when I read it, although I can see it now that you've said it.

[skygiants]

I did not know this about either Claire of the Sea Light or Sordidez! But I do hope you enjoy Saint of Bright Doors which I loved very much.

[asakiyume]

Based on what you wrote, I think it's very likely I'll enjoy Saint of Bright Doors!

[lirazel]

Well now I really want to take that class.

[hebethen]

....same.

[skygiants]

it would be so fun and interesting I think!! sometimes I just want to be back in college and have all the time in the world for deep reading

[lirazel]

I have said often that if I could have just stayed in undergrad forever, taking classes just for the heck of it, I would have. My plan if I'm ever able to retire is just to audit a zillion classes at my local university.

[graycardinal]

One has to wonder, given the parameters, where one would find the professor/instructor to teach that class....