Reading Update

Just re-read Naomi Novik's Temeraire series -- yes, all of them -- again. This was partly comfort food (It was getting cold and wet outside) partly to break me away from television, which is increasingly boring, and partly because I wanted to particularly examine how she builds the relationship between Laurence and Temeraire.

Laurence came across as stultifyingly virtuous this time ... at least until the fifth book, which is a welcome relief from all his goodness. But the relationship itself wasn't any more sentimental than at the last two readings, I think mainly because she is so economical about presenting the moments of positive emotion. For example, in the first book, Laurence and Temeraire, after spending a little time together, profess their devotion to one another. But it's not, as in most other books, a deliberate exchange of vows or emotion. Temeraire goes first: at the end of a conversation about something else, he says very openly and confidently that he'd rather have Laurence than ... I forget what, something valuable. Laurence is -- briefly, in a sentence -- moved by this. A couple of chapters later, Temeraire, in a moment of generosity, offers to release Laurence to return to his ship and his old life, and Laurence mirrors Temeraires earlier statement by saying he'd rather have Temeraire.

Novik doesn't spend a lot of time on Temeraire's reaction to this; it's focusing ad nauseum on reactions that make sentimental scenes sentimental. Someone's eyes fill with tears, or their hearts beat faster. Whatever. The mirroring of the two sentiments at a temporal distance sets up an emotional resonance that carries through the rest of the book. Temeraire's profession of devotion is a call that creates a bit of tension: will Laurence respond in kind? When Laurence does respond later, it closes the circle, and creates more satisfaction than it would have if he had responded immediately. It also carries more emotional weight.

Interestingly, their relationship doesn't substantially change between this moment of closure and the end of the fourth book. The end of the fourth book, where the two have to make a devastating decision with no good options, marks the end of Temeraire's childhood. They spend much of book five apart, with Temeraire learning leadership and acquiring his own voice. I think the development of these two as characters is very interesting in the fifth book, but their relationship doesn't develop successfully, which is why I think Novik keeps them apart. For the first time, Laurence emotionally stonewalls Temeraire, and that's interesting. But when they come out the other side, things are back to normal with them, and that rings false.

On the other hand, they didn't have a lot of time to develop the new footing after the end of Stonewall. So I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.