The Scorpio Races

[sophia_sol]

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

I would have been a million percent into this book as a kid when I eagerly read every single horse book I could, and I will not lie, I am super into it now as well. It is basically Misty of Chincoteague with MAN-EATING WATER HORSES awww yeah. SUPER INTO IT.

I like both the main characters and I like their relationship with each other and I like how they're both so passionate and driven, and so connected to the island despite all its danger. I like how small-town the island is. I like the clear long history of the island, the island's people, and the water horses. And I love love love the water horses!

When halfway through this book I went online and read some reviews, so I spent the entire second half of the book angrily debunking the bad reviews in my head as I read. It was very satisfying. I turned out to be extremely protective of this book! It doesn't do everything perfectly (for example I am not a huge fan of the conjunction of first person with present tense. It just feels very false, because how could a person ever tell about what's happening to them AS IT'S HAPPENING?) but largely it's REALLY REALLY GREAT.

But okay the author's note at the end mentions that early attempts to write this book included attempts to include the aspect of the folk stories about water horses where the horses can turn into humans and seduce people into the water? but it didn't work for her? wellllll now I really want Sean/Corr in a version of events where the water horses can indeed turn human. UM WHOOPS

(also I will not lie George Holly is my favourite. I just really like him! Mmmaybe I want Holly/human!water-horse?)

(WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME I HAVE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME IN TRAGIC FANDOMS OF LATE I THINK)

Comments

[justice_turtle]

"I am not a huge fan of the conjunction of first person with present tense. It just feels very false, because how could a person ever tell about what's happening to them AS IT'S HAPPENING?"

Ooh, interesting! I use past tense because it's what I learned from books as a kid, but I do often narrate my life inside my head as it's happening -- not as much anymore, but when I was littler/pre-teen, it'd literally be how I filed my memories, I had to translate everything into a narrative WITH PROPER PUNCTUATION before I could, like, get past "okay someone said a thing to me" and come up with an answer and say it?

(Which was really good experience for writing, I think! I've had literally almost thirty years of practice in picking the right punctuation to make a thing sound in the reader's head like it did when somebody originally said it.)

I don't do that as much nowadays because keeping up with a conversation is kind of an important social skill to have -- it's very hard to make friends when your every contribution to a conversation comes out at least two minutes after the remark you're responding to -- but yeah, first-person narration always feels very natural to me because I DO IT.

*fascinated by brains as usual* :D

ETA: except also when I... became trans? genderfluided to trans for the first time? When I first became a boy instead of a girl, however you say that? ...I switched to using third-person narration a lot more, and thinking of myself as fictional male characters, narrating my life to myself as How Would X Do This Situation. Interesting! I hadn't really realized that connection. :D

[sophia_sol]

Well - yes, I do narrate my life in my head as well, also in past tense.* But I think that's the key. Both of us do it in past tense! Narrating one's life in present tense is, I think, far far far more unusual. And that's what made the narrative style in this book feel unnatural to me.

* for me it's because I'm...rehearsing, I guess, what I'm going to write in my daily email to Essie about what I've been up to that day. I mostly only do it in downtime or when I'm bored, though. I started writing Essie a daily email when we stopped living reliably in the same city as each other, which was, gosh, six and a half years ago. So that's how long I've been doing the narrating-in-my-head thing. I narrate my life in my head to Essie, even if whatever I'm thinking doesn't ever end up in an email to her.

[sineala.livejournal.com]

now I really want Sean/Corr in a version of events where the water horses can indeed turn human

YES PLEASE.

[sophia-sol.livejournal.com]

RIGHT? I mean, it's the obvious ship in this book! I am glad I'm not the only one to see it!

[sineala.livejournal.com]

It never occurred to me before, but I really, really want it now.

[sophia-sol.livejournal.com]

I rather wish I were a good enough writer to attempt it! I don't think such a story would play to my writing strengths. I guess I'll just have to hope someone else writes it. (Would you consider doing so?)

[sineala.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's a style I've ever really tried, but... I really want to read this now. So, uh, maybe? If no one else is?

[sophia-sol.livejournal.com]

\o/ good luck if you do decide to try!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I liked this book a lot too! And now I am kind of mad that the water horses who turn into people like man-eating selkies didn't make it in the book, either as a thing that happens in the book or a folk tale, because that is probably the only thing in the world that would have made me love the book even more. More folk tales! More interesting customs about how to control the water horses! More time spent roaming around Thisbe getting to know the island!

This book would make such an amazing movie. All the scenery porn! The wind whipping Puck's hair in her face as she stands on the cliffs looking down at the water horses practicing on the beach! (Animating the water horses might be an issue.) The firelight flickering as everyone swears their oath on the rock!

Oh, and I kind of wanted a recipe for November cakes. They sounded amazing.

Also, I totally had mixed feelings about the ending. Obviously it's good for Sean that Corr decided to stay with him, given that Corr is the only solid emotional attachment that he's had for years and probably if Corr left Sean would just sit around and mope all the time until Puck threw something at him. But on the other hand, I kind of wanted Corr to go into the water and be freeeeeeeeee.