{"id":4664,"date":"2018-08-20T05:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T12:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4664"},"modified":"2018-08-19T14:08:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-19T21:08:53","slug":"mark-reads-a-hat-full-of-sky-chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2018\/08\/mark-reads-a-hat-full-of-sky-chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads &#8216;A Hat Full of Sky&#8217;: Chapter 8"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the eighth chapter of <i>A Hat Full of Sky<\/i>, Tiffany fights back. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read <i>Discworld<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><b>Trigger Warning: For discussion of trauma<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I know that this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the same, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still hard for me to read about Miss Level\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience and <i>not<\/i> draw parallels to being a twin. This is about the closest you can come to it while not being a twin, and the similarities certainly don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help me separate the two. So the idea of waking up and just <i>sensing<\/i> that your other half is gone is just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about one of the darkest feelings I can imagine. I know a lot of twins and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rather common fear, so I admit that this has affected my reading of the opening of the chapter. Not in a bad way, mind you! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 increased the horror, so to speak? It makes this feel about a billion times more effective than if a character not like this had died.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That being said, I still love this joke:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ye\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had a wee bittie accident, ye ken. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a wee bittie dead.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>He is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 not wrong? At all???? BLESS THEIR HEARTS. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a funny moment in a scene that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s otherwise <i>immensely<\/i> upsetting. See Miss Level struggle with her single-body reality is a challenge, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the only thing at work here:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Need, need, need,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d murmured Miss Level. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Everyone needs a witch. No one cares if a witch <i>needs<\/i>. <i>Giving<\/i> and <i>giving<\/i> always\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a fairy godmother never gets a wish, let me tell you\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fair to dismiss this as nothing more than just talk made during a traumatic time. Miss Level isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t wrong about her perception of witches in society, particularly how their labor is expected so consistently <i>without<\/i> reciprocation. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been lots of talk of that in the comments, too, in terms of how wizard labor is expected versus witch labor and surprise, THAT IS GENDERED, TOO. So, in this moment, Miss Level <i>does<\/i> have a great need: she has lost part of herself <i>literally<\/i>. How can she be asked to do <i>more<\/i>? She just gave up herself. Again: LITERALLY. So, I read this less as a statement made during trauma that she might not mean, and more as her just telling the truth <i>because<\/i> she just experienced trauma. Sometimes, when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re upset or in anguish or angry, our filters are gone.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, I get <i>why<\/i> the Feegles are so desperate for her help. There is very little time left before the Hiver snuffs out Tiffany forever, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re asking her for something small or insignificant. After getting her closer to Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body, they more or less trick Miss Level into a place where her natural witch inclinations kick in and she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just <i>ready<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so cool seeing that transformation because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second nature for Miss Level.<\/p>\n<p>But what was REALLY cool was getting to see the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153landscape\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of Tiffany Aching\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. I love so dearly that the motif of Tiffany being of the land and the land being Tiffany is brought up in a metaphorical <i>and<\/i> literal sense in this sequence. The Feegles find their way in through the Horse (WHICH I NOW OWN, THANK YOU FRIENDS WHO PURCHASED THIS FOR ME), and once they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re there, Pratchett does a fantastic job of pulling from <i>The Wee Free Men<\/i> and earlier parts of this book to build a world that is both familiar and utterly terrifying. Like, the sky being black, despite that the sun is out? NO THANKS. Or how about this line?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There was, indeed, no life. Stillness and silence ruled here. In fact Tiffany, who cared a lot about getting words right, would have said it was a hush, which is not the same as silence. A hush is what you get in cathedrals at midnight.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Hi, that sentence exudes a DARK ENERGY. Which is the point! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind would be anything other than a vibrant, colorful world of chaos and beauty and possibility, and the Hiver has changed that landscape.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Well, <i>Tiffany<\/i> changed the landscape, too, though at the time, I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand how she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d done so. When we first came upon the Horse, I assumed that the Hiver had misrepresented it, that it had tried to replicate it but didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand where it went. I know now that <i>that was Tiffany<\/i>. The Horse was sitting round her neck because she was <i>wearing<\/i> it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll get back to that near the end. LET\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S TALK ABOUT ROB BEING A GREAT LEADER. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s such a tender moment in the middle of A GIANT NERVOUS WRECK, and it comes about because Billy is uncertain he can actually help interpret Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. And I get it! This was just as new to me as it was to Billy, but I loved how Rob gave Billy the confidence to push past it. Yes, Billy was not experienced in this specific thing, but who else was?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Er\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 none I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever heard of, Mister Rob,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Billy confessed.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Aye. So you already know more about it than any o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 them big men,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Rob. He gave the boy a smile. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Do yer best, laddie. I dinna expect any more of you than that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an interesting contrast here between how Rob approaches someone who is inexperienced versus how Miss Earwig or even Annagramma does. Rob accepts that they may not know that much, but he still encourages Billy to <i>try<\/i>, you know? With that support, Billy manages to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 pretty much be right??? He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s certainly correct that this specific area held so much meaning to Tiffany that she likely used it to hide \u00e2\u20ac\u0153somewhere close.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d SHE LITERALLY DID SO. And it <i>is<\/i> the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153soul and center o\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 her\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in every way imaginable! (Which is also what I meant by the reference to <i>The Wee Free Men<\/i>. This development is so much more fulfilling after having read that book.)<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s from this that the Feegles, as a group, figure out what the plan of attack should be. In short: bring the Hiver to Tiffany. Which might be strange out of context, since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s already taken over her mind, but I understood Daft Wullie\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Rob\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point. <i>This<\/i> was her own turf, and it was the place she would have the most power compared to all other places. AND I LOVE THAT ONCE THEY FIGURE THIS OUT, SHE STARTS TELLING THEM HOW TO LURE THE HIVER. I am so pleased that <i>this<\/i> scene was read aloud at the UK Discworld convention. Oh my god, trying to figure out what each of the letters were was SO RIDICULOUSLY FUN. As was the joke about Daft Wullie and beetle brains. I LOVE THE FEEGLES SO MUCH.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the fun of the <i>Discworld<\/i> books, particularly many of these latter ones. The stories can be heavy, terrifying, and tense, and then Pratchett can transition seamlessly into a joke, and it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel wrong. For example: moving from the nightmare that is the Hiver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grip on Tiffany right into Hamish and Daft Wullie trying to fly a broomstick. I love it, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here for it, and I also think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <i>in character<\/i> for the story and the Feegles. They accomplish things in\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 interesting ways? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an understatement, I feel, but they <i>do<\/i> get shit done. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just never in the way that humans often expect it. We see it again later in the chapter when the Feegles have to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153imitate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d a human, and I use \u00e2\u20ac\u0153imitate\u00e2\u20ac\u009d very loosely because what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s accomplished here is better described as <i>not<\/i> imitating a human, but rather frightening humans into compliance because the thing they become is so NOT human. But the Feegles exist in such a fascinating place on the Disc. They spawn legends; they upend notions of the fae; they come and go as they please, and more often than not, they avoid being caught not because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re necessarily crafty and sneaky, but because the things they do are so outright absurd that humans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 minds mostly press those memories far, far back, out of consciousness, because there was no <i>way<\/i> grown men were arguing about rat poison underneath the sink, right? And if those memories aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t repressed, then they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re turned into the kind of tales that Grandma Mildred tells her grandchildren. (I still can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get over them gifting back the very thing they stole.) Yet while these characters are distinctly not human in many ways, part of what makes them such a delight is when they act undeniably human. Like Awf\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ly Wee Billy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tearful plea to the other Feegles for fighting during such a stressful time, or all of the wonderful teamwork shit we get to see as the various Feegles work towards a common goal.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finally discuss Tiffany\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s awakening. After the Feegles assemble all the items Tiffany asked for, they \u00e2\u20ac\u0153awaken\u00e2\u20ac\u009d her through scent memory. (Bit of an aside, but I have my strongest memories associated with sound, <i>particularly<\/i> music.) The big fight doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t happen here, but one thing I picked up on is how the Hiver, working with so much memory that it stole from the bodies of those it destroyed over the eons, believes that it knows <i>everything<\/i>. The hiver claims:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are you. We think like you. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re better at thinking like you than you are.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>And based on some conversations I had in the comments last week, I wonder if this is also a nod towards the idea that the Hiver is ego unrestrained, that it is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153better\u00e2\u20ac\u009d at thinking like a person it steals only because it views the unfiltered ego as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153best\u00e2\u20ac\u009d version of a person. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not the best version of Tiffany. Tiffany may have dark, petty, or spiteful thoughts, but she is not <i>best<\/i> when she does not restrain herself.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Rather, Tiffany becomes the land, and the land becomes Tiffany, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both a dream and not a dream, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most terrific and impressive display of power that Tiffany has ever exhibited, and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I was gonna say that the Hiver bit off more than it could chew, but there are still a hundred pages left in this book. This fight is happening way sooner than I expected, so I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 nervous? Why is this happening <i>now<\/i>? I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also guessing that the three knocks is Granny Weatherwax, who has arrived at Miss Level\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cottage, and that just means this is going to get even <i>more<\/i> chaotic. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M READY.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/youtu.be\/4634udGJdrs<\/p>\n<p><b>Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&#8211; <strong>My YA contemporary debut, <a href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/AngerIsAGift\">ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><strong>If you&#8217;d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/ey636\">sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the eighth chapter of A Hat Full of Sky, Tiffany fights back. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[451],"tags":[551,463,248],"class_list":["post-4664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discworld","tag-a-hat-full-of-sky","tag-mark-reads-discworld","tag-terry-pratchett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4664\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<!-- WP Super Cache is installed but broken. 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