{"id":4878,"date":"2019-02-06T05:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=4878"},"modified":"2019-02-03T06:37:57","modified_gmt":"2019-02-03T14:37:57","slug":"mark-reads-wintersmith-chapter-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2019\/02\/mark-reads-wintersmith-chapter-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘Wintersmith’: Chapter 10"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the tenth chapter of Wintersmith<\/i>, Tiffany starts to head home. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of depression and seasonal affective disorder<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so happy that Roland is now going to play an integral part of the end of this book, and I hope we get a POV section from him in the Underworld. The Underworld! In order to set the story back straight, An Hero must head to the Underworld, afraid and terrified and doubting themself, and fetch the Summer Lady back so she can rejoin the world. Granny\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s belief that the Story rules all plays into this, but I understand why<\/i> this has to happen. Tiffany derailed the Story when she stepped into the dance, and now, the pieces have to align again in just the right way.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And that means there must be a Hero. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a story we all recognize, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? And while Pratchett has long played with tropes, I do enjoy how this meta-commentary has now found a place in the Discworld series with the concept of narrativium. The story has a weight and a drive, and Granny is just trying to push things back on track. She does so initially by making a point to the Feegles about why they<\/i> can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be the heroes, and it involves the spelling of the world \u00e2\u20ac\u0153marmalade.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Basically: they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not afraid enough! They may be hesitant to read, but even that is something they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d still face down. Reluctantly, but they wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be afraid. The Feegles have no shame whatsover, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like going into the Underworld is actually<\/i> a big problem.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the next step, then? Get Roland out of his home, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing, and away from his aunts. But how much will they prepare him for the journey into the Underworld? What monsters will he face on The Path That Goes Down???<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tiffany makes her way home. One thing I find interesting about her experience in this book is that she seems far more affected by events than usual. Look, Tiffany has been through some weird shit, and much of it was also INCREDIBLY INTENSE. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been afraid; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doubted herself; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s made mistakes. This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like that at all<\/i>, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m only now grappling with how much her role in the story is changing her, too. Obviously, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still Tiffany, but there are physical aspects to the Wintersmith\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presence and her transformation that are undeniable. In particularly, the sluggishness is hard to ignore. She even thinks about how hard it is for her to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153fight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the Wintersmith, especially when she sees him. That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sound like Tiffany, does it? Tiffany has faced down the Queen before! How is the Wintersmith worse<\/i>?<\/p>\n

Well, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help that winter is sinking down into her bones! I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know if this is Pratchett\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intent, but one thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve finally experienced now that I live in a city that has<\/i> winter is that seasonal affective disorder IS THE FUCKING WORST. I truly did not understand how much my body craves the sun, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Last winter was far worse than this one; I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only snowed two or three times in New York, and I missed all of them but one. Plus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not sticking around; it has melted quickly this year. That being said, while I deal with depression all year round, I discovered that without regular exposure to sunlight and heat, my body and brain WILL NOT HAVE IT. So, intent or not, the text reads like a version of that. Tiffany is sluggish, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s oversleeping, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard for her to make decisions, and she has no energy to fight off the Wintersmith. I RELATE TO THIS WAY TOO MUCH.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So how does she become the version of Tiffany that we saw in the first chapter? What changes? My guess is that this is the clam before the storm, that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll shortly figure out how to be<\/i> the Summer Lady. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only way, right? Granny said she had to see this through to the end. Ah, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not that much left in this book either!!!<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/oi-S5N0PT-o<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now up for pre-order!<\/a> It comes out on May 7, 2019.\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"