Hild, by Nicola Griffith

[sophia_sol]

There is a lot that I love about this book! There is also a thing that I do not love.

okay so things I love:
- bisexual main character!
- delightful nature porn a la Sutcliff! (she also borrowed Sutcliff's "redcrest" terminology for Romans :P)
- excellent worldbuilding!
- Hild!
- gemaecce!!!!!!!! (aka: important formally-recognized lifelong platonic female friendship!!!!!!)


things I do not love:
- gdi, incest is one of my few major squicks WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO THERE. I was okay when there was some sort of unacknowledged something between Hild and her half-brother, but as soon as the text made it clear that she was definitely sexually attracted to him and definitely aware of her attraction to him, I was like NOPE NOPE NOPE. And then at the end they get MARRIED auuuuuugh. I mean yes it is for political reasons, and also the half-brother does not know he's related to Hild, but Hild knows and Hild is pleased that the political reasons mean she can have guilt-free sexytimes with her half-brother. Augh no thank you no no no WHY DID THIS BOOK HAVE TO GO THERE.

While I was reading the book I was mentally composing my book thoughts post, as I often do while I read, and for most of the book everything I was composing was pretty complimentary. But the last scene was Hild and her half-brother's wedding night, and ending on that note just makes it really really hard for me to muster up the squee that everything else about the book was inspiring.

SIGH.

(the other problem I had while reading the book is something I don't bear the book any ill-will for: I kept getting the names of people and places confused, so most of the politicking went right over my head. Which is too bad because I enjoy that kind of thing!)

Comments

[sineala]

I have to say I was also not a fan of the surprise incest finale, but I really loved the rest of it; I always love Griffith's writing. (lysimache, OTOH, spent the entire book complaining at me that gemaecce existed, because she felt that in a historical novel that is trading a lot on its authenticity you shouldn't just make something like that up out of nothing, and neither of us could find it attested via quick googling. Didn't bother me. But hey, maybe that's why it's up for the Nebula.)

[cahn]

hmmmmph, as a result of this comment I asked a DW friend (thistleingrey) who studies the era, and in fact I was informed that gemaecce don't exist in that form (the word exists, so I am told, but mostly means (hetero) spouse). I had totally bought into it as a thing! Grrrr. Please to put that in an author note if you make up something huge like that!

I didn't mind the surprise incest finale, though partially because incest is not a huge squick for me, and partially because I thought there were hints that it was going to end really badly in the next book (Paulinus knows... and in 633 she goes to live with her sister...).

[sophia_sol]

Yeah, I do rather wish she'd been clearer about what was and wasn't made up wholesale, but on the subject of gemaecce at least I do not care at all that she made it up because I'm just so delighted by the concept.

Yes, given the hints I'm quite sure it won't be a happy relationship forever. But - alas, it's a major squick for me. SO. It disappointed me a lot. I'm glad it wasn't a problem for you at least!

[sophia_sol]

I did some googling on gemaecce myself when partway through the book, and Griffith did talk in an interview about having made up the concept, yes. And...I do see lysimache's point, but the amount I care is less than zero because HOLY GODDAMN, the notion of a nonsexual nonromantic relationship being recognized as one of a person's most important lifelong relationships is just so tragically unusual and I am into it times a million.

[sholio]

I just read this book this week, and eeeee, LOOOOOVE. So rich and glorious and fun! So many excellent women doing excellent things and having relationships with each other! Also with you on the WTF SURPRISE INCEST NO NO NO, however. I get that it's a different world from ours, with different morality, and there are extenuating circumstances, but I was still very NO WHY NO about that, too. :P (The worst part is that it makes me rather look forward to Cian getting killed off -- I mean, I don't have a single spoiler, but given a) Hild's historical future, and b) the world he lives in, let's face it, he's probably dying sooner rather than later in the sequel.)

... although I am sad to find out that gemaecce is not a thing! And yeah, as much as I love the book, I do kinda wish she'd been clearer about what parts are historically based and what parts are completely EH, HISTORY, WHAT. Actually, I kind of want a whole entire book about the process of writing this book! I have been totally stalking her research blog and her personal blog because she talks more about the book, and what went into writing it, and I kinda just want to immerse myself in it right now. :D

[sophia_sol]

I'm glad you got so much enjoyment out of the book! It really is very good, even if the surprise incest ending kind of put the kibosh on my excitement.

And it's like, in certain situations I am actually okay with incest? I'm fine with reading about ancient egyptian royal sibling-marriage, or nineteenth century british first-cousin-marriage, etc etc. I personally get squicked not by the actual degree of consanguinity, but by the degree of consanguinity that the characters' culture would have found taboo. And it clearly IS a taboo degree of consanguinity that Cian and Hild share, despite the various ways in which their culture differs from modern culture. Sigh.

More clarity on what all was historical fact and what was extrapolation and what was whole-sale made up would be EXCELLENT, yes, I agree! I probably wouldn't read a book's worth of it (still too put off by the incest ending...) but dvd commentaries of stories by the authors are an EXCELLENT THING in my opinion.