What do you think?
Rate this book
400 pages, Hardcover
First published March 2, 2004
This is a land that gives one little of what is expected or desired, but an abundance of what proves later to have been needed. The process proves hugely disorientating, with the result that even the most stable of individuals rather go to pieces. (p. 73)Like some other books from this series, Ms. Russell goes undercover as a man. I wouldn't be able to pull off this gender-bendering – even with my hair cut and a change in clothing; nonetheless, I enjoy reading about characters who convince me that they can do this successfully (this is at least the third book that I've read this year with characters successfully passing). I enjoy it both for the unexpected twist, but also for the opportunities it allows the novelist – and us – to consider the meaning of gender (and in the case of this book, to a lesser extent race and religion): the male’s passion for games often led him to become frivolous towards those things requiring serious thought, and to be serious about the essentially frivolous (p. 151).