{"id":5233,"date":"2020-07-15T05:00:20","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/?p=5233"},"modified":"2020-07-06T14:20:05","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T21:20:05","slug":"mark-reads-the-fifth-season-chapter-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/2020\/07\/mark-reads-the-fifth-season-chapter-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Reads ‘The Fifth Season’: Chapter 16"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixteenth chapter of The Fifth Season<\/i>, Syenite learns many things that I also learn at the same time. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read The Broken Earth<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of slavery, police brutality, torture, compulsory heterosexuality<\/b><\/p>\n

What the fuck is this book DOING to me!!!!! That whole bit about why no one seemed to be mentioning islands was A HUGE CLUE, and even though it was OPENLY hinted at, I still wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ready. I clearly don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have all the answers, but I have so much more. In terms of structure, though, this is such a fascinating chapter to come after the previous one. If I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m correct in that the comm that Essun has reached is an orogene comm, then that means that Syen is on a parallel journey, one that is revealing to her that the order of the Stillness is not the only way to live. There is another way, which is what Alabaster was trying to get her to accept anyway<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect that his \u00e2\u20ac\u0153friend\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (I use that term loosely) Antimony would save him and Syenite by depositing them on a PIRATE comm named Meov, located far, far from Allia out in the sea.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That sentence is a lot.<\/p>\n

This book<\/i> is a lot.<\/p>\n

So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s go through this, one thing at a time. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take long for Syenite to realize something was horribly wrong once she woke up, and I love so much that we are right there in the moment. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an immediacy to this text here, in the sense that I felt completely within Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body, experiencing Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s consciousness at the same time as her. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a power in narrating a character that knows as much of the reader, since it allows us to slip into the story in an intimate way. As she realizes that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on an island, it comes along with the realization that she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t use her orogeny; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been numbed by her experience. (Was that due to being inside the obelisk or due to a stone eater taking her to Meov? Both???) And then, almost immediately after that, Antimony is just there<\/i>, as well as Alabaster.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All of this is deeply disorienting, but on a metaphorical level, I think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s brilliant. This book seems to be setting up a journey for at least two of its characters: How will they learn to shed the brainwashing they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve experienced their whole lives? (I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite claim this to be the point for Damaya, as she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s younger and at a different point in her journey.) What does it mean to challenge the very foundations of one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s existence, particularly in a violent and oppressive system like this? So it fits so well that Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s journey (as well as Essun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s) feels so visceral. Shedding these accepted norms is a painful, confusing process, as is what Syenite is currently going through. Change on this level is never easy.<\/p>\n

And so, we meet yet another stone eater, which kinda makes me think these three POVs are happening simultaneously? Like, are stone eaters revealing themselves at the same moment around the Stillness? But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a problem with that theory, since neither Syenite or Damaya have referred to the Fifth Season happening, so that<\/i> suggests they are all at different periods of time. Anyway, Antimony fascinated me. We get the same sense of detachment from her as we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen from the others, but that detachment is more because they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re simply not human, and they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t behave like anyone we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re used to. I think the stone eaters have different needs. Different concerns. Different interests and motivations and desires! And it makes them seem weird and cold to humans.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Look, even Alabaster\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwho has been talking to Antimony for FIVE YEARS\u00e2\u20ac\u201ddoesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really get her any more than Syenite does. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just saved him a number of times, though he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not sure that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because Antimony cares about him or because the stone eaters have some other use for him. (I suspect it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the latter, to be honest.) Here, Antimony didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just save Alabaster from the Guardian\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s attack on him and Syenite. Turns out that Allia is basically\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 gone???<\/p>\n

She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pointing. Syenite turns to follow the gesture and sees the western horizon. But this horizon is broken, unlike the rest: There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a flat line of sea and sky to the left and right, but at the midpoint of this line is a pimple, fat and red-glowing and smoky.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Allia,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says the stone eater.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, unearthing the obelisk had another disastrous effect: it destroyed Allia and everyone in it, I assume. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153pimple\u00e2\u20ac\u009d actually is, but it was serious enough that Antimony intervened to save both of these orogenes. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unknown here, concerning Allia and the obelisk and the stone eater in<\/i> the obelisk and a thousand other things, and I think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the reasons Alabaster lets his guard down here. He is<\/i> much more open and honest here about what he knows is happening and what he suspects<\/i> is happening. Plus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s kind of hard to deny certain things\u00e2\u20ac\u201dlike the presence of Antimony\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwhen there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s proof that this shit is RIGHT THERE. So Alabaster is far less coy or frustratingly vague than he usually is, but that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean he has answers. That<\/i> unnerves me, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Because he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to actually<\/i> know why the Guardian attacked him, though I think his theory is sound. Someone did not want that obelisk to be unearthed, and since they assumed only Alabaster would be able to access it, they poisoned him. But then Syenite threw everyone for a loop by raising it herself, and a faction within the Guardians was sent to take both of them out.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on with the Guardians, then? Again, I feel like Alabaster probably has a good grasp on what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening here, but there are still so many other factors that are mysteries. Who really<\/i> controls the Guardians? Is it the Emperor, someone we have never seen? There have only been passing references to this person, so how important are they to the Stillness and the system in place at the Fulcrum? Are the Guardians aware of just how powerful and radical Alabaster is? They knew he had the ability to raise that obelisk. But I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m mostly focusing on Alabaster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s admission that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been able to find powers and abilities outside<\/i> the Fulcrum:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I<\/i> don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even know what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m capable of, Syen. The things the Fulcrum taught me\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I had to leave them behind, past a certain point. I had to make my own training. And sometimes, it seems, if I can just think<\/i> differently, if I can shed enough of what they taught me and trying something new, I might\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He trails off, frowning in thought. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. But I guess it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just as well that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t, or the Guardians would\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve killed me a long time ago.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

AHHHHHH, THERE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO MUCH HERE! No wonder Alabaster has been trying to get Syen to see outside of her training and the mindset she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s had forced on her. But this also speaks to the training system that the Fulcrum utilizes. I bet the Guardians (and whomever controls them) are fully aware that the orogenes could be much more powerful than they are. But the training they receive limits them on purpose. It deliberate aims to keep them in line through fear and intimidation. And how much of it is just factually wrong, you know? For example: Syenite fully believed that it was not possible for orogenes to utilize or share the orogenic powers of another, and yet, now she knows that definitely is not true.<\/p>\n

How much of her \u00e2\u20ac\u0153education\u00e2\u20ac\u009d was a lie? What does Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life look like if she can escape the clutches and the brainwashing of the Fulcrum? I have no idea, but I like thinking about it!<\/p>\n

Anyway: back to Alabaster. Because his story about Hessionite is just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 lord. First of all: ALABASTER ISN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T STRAIGHT. There was a moment in one of his early chapters where I had this quiet suspicion that maybe this was the case, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t commit to it in a review because it was so fleeting. Plus, I just assumed that his disinterest in sex was because it was required. I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 actually, that is<\/i> still true, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another layer to this. Heterosexuality is required<\/i> of him because this system wants to breed more children from him. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a literal<\/i> manifestation of the notion of compulsory heterosexuality. Which, I should note, is a term created by Adrienne Rich and was initially intended specifically<\/i> to comment on lesbians and patriarchal expectations, so I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to lose sight of that intersection here. I learned about this term in college, and by the early 2000s, it was used to also talk about queer men and expectations of heterosexuality, but still. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s important to know where these terms come from. I also want to note that so much of this book is grappling with chattel slavery in a fantasy setting, so I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ignore that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a whole separate meaning to this in terms of how enslaved people were used for breeding, and IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S SO FUCKED UP. So fucked up!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know if this world is like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 overtly homophobic either? I sense it is, since Alabaster says that he and Hessionite had to look for a place to be alone? I dunno, I feel like that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tacit admission that things needed to be hidden somewhat? I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. Either way, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t negate or diminish the tragedy of a Guardian murdering Hessionite for no apparent reason, and doing so with glee<\/i> on their face. And that part, more than anything, is what got me. Look, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard for me not<\/i> to start thinking about agents of the state and the glee in which they torture people, often killing them, too. I say that as someone who has experienced this kind of terror from someone who seemed overjoyed to harm me and threaten my life. Where does that joy come from? How can something so vicious inspire joy in others?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak to that necessarily, but these characters are in a world in which this sort of violence is encouraged. The state supports them. Urges them to remind orogenes what place they occupy always<\/i>. To them, it very well might be the most beautiful thing in the world. Which fucks me up a lot, because how do you stop someone like that from acting out extrajudicial executions? How do you change the hearts and minds of people like that<\/i>?<\/p>\n

I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fucking know. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible to live outside of this framework, and let the island of Meov be proof of that. First of all: I just gotta<\/i> appreciate how fucking FUNNY some of the moments are in this chapter. Alabaster LOVES proving Syenite wrong, and she just keeps walking right into it? Like, she was so CERTAIN that Alabaster should let her talk to these strangers first because\u00e2\u20ac\u201dunderstandably so\u00e2\u20ac\u201dshe believed he would just get them in trouble again. Turns out she can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t speak their language but he can:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I told them you were afraid I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d get us killed if I spoke first,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says, and she considers killing him right then and there.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

INCREDIBLE, THIS IS THE HEIGHT OF COMEDY. Also??? Like the end of the previous Syenite chapter, this line KILLED me:<\/p>\n

Also, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re pirates.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Just a casual addendum, no big deal, also: PIRATES. AN ISLAND OF PIRATES.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just that. Everything about Meov is mind-blowing to Syenite. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a comm on an island, one that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sits on top of a hot spot,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and they basically can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t grow their own food, so they take advantage of the competition\/rivalry between Coaster comms and steal<\/i> everything they need to survive. As impressive as that was, it still didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t explain the bigger issue: How the fuck<\/i> did these people live where they did? Like Syenite, I assumed that this was a very recent and modern comm, one set up in during this Season because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t that the world? Everything I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve learned confirmed to me that living near a hot spot is absurd, because a quake could just wipe you out. An island??? Forget it! Volcanoes and tsunamis and quakes and a million other things would prevent you from being able to do anything long-term!<\/p>\n

I thought that because even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a character in this book, I believed what I was told, too. I accepted that everything was within a world just like the Stillness. But that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point. Meov isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t within that world<\/i>. In fact, IT OUTDATES THE EMPIRE. They weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever annexed, it appears virtually no one knows they even exist, and then, Alabaster saves the best part for last:<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Roggas.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He looks at her and grins, and she realizes he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been waiting to tell her this. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve survived all this time. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kill their roggas, here. They put them in charge<\/i>. And they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re really, really glad to see us.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because of course you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t live on an island with a system like that on the Stillness. But maybe you can if you treat orogenes with respect and adoration, because maybe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be willing to help an island comm survive.<\/p>\n

This fucking book is incredible. y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n

NOTES<\/b><\/p>\n