Back in May, when I logged the latest Brust, I said “next time I read something pre-publication I’m going to put it directly in the posting queue.” I didn’t expect the question to come up so soon after; yes, it’s August now, but I’m catching up, remember? I read Jo Walton’s Farthing in manuscript form just a few days after I posted that.
Farthing is set in an alternate world where the U.K. made peace with Hitler in 1941. It’s now 1949; the Third Reich remains in power across the Channel, and the politician who made the peace has just been murdered in an English country home. The story is told by two characters, in first-person by the daughter of the country-home owner’s, and in third by the investigating detective.
I’m afraid that thumbnail sketch gives the wrong impression, by mainly describing the political and not the personal aspects of the premise. However, as I did read it in manuscript and it has been revised since, I don’t like to say too much about it. There is a strong personal component, which is tightly woven with the political aspects in a way that, for me, increases the emotional effects of the book until at the end, I felt rather like I’d been kicked in the chest. (Okay, I’ve never been kicked in the chest, but it was how I imagine it to feel.) Your mileage may vary, of course, but I found it a very book hard to shake.
I suspect Farthing will be one of those works that I hold up for the proposition, “‘I didn’t enjoy this’ isn’t the same as “This isn’t good.'” It was tightly written, a gripping and fast read; I liked the characters I was supposed to and admired the construction of the narrative and plot; and I really don’t want to re-read it, because it depressed the hell out of me.
[ Also, yes, I’ve changed the format here, mostly so I can put the “Recent Comments” list on the side. Bugs, reactions, let me know. ]