"The Spear Cuts Through Water" by Simon Jimenez (BR)

[Silvana]

Come and join Mareike, Sarah, and yours truly to read the latest novel from Simon Jimenez: The Spear Cuts Through Water. BR starts from September 25.

Some synopsis (pretty long)
(view spoiler)[Two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family in this new epic fantasy from the author of The Vanished Birds.

The people suffer under the centuries-long rule of the Moon Throne. The royal family—the despotic emperor and his monstrous sons, the Three Terrors—hold the countryside in their choking grip. They bleed the land and oppress the citizens with the frightful powers they inherited from the god locked under their palace.

But that god cannot be contained forever.

With the aid of Jun, a guard broken by his guilt-stricken past, and Keema, an outcast fighting for his future, the god escapes from her royal captivity and flees from her own children, the triplet Terrors who would drag her back to her unholy prison. And so it is that she embarks with her young companions on a five-day pilgrimage in search of freedom—and a way to end the Moon Throne forever—the journey ahead more dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

Both a sweeping adventure story and an intimate exploration of identity, legacy, and belonging, The Spear Cuts Through Water is an ambitious and profound saga that will transport and transform you—and is like nothing you’ve ever read before. (hide spoiler)]

Don't forget to use spoiler tag and chapter marks for discussion, etc etc you know the drill. See you soon!

[Silvana]

I might be late a few days! Still have to finish Babel first.

[Gabi]

Silvana wrote: "I might be late a few days! Still have to finish Babel first."

I would love to re-read it with you all, but I'm as well on Babel atm and it goes slowly (but I love the book!)

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "Silvana wrote: "I might be late a few days! Still have to finish Babel first."

I would love to re-read it with you all, but I'm as well on Babel atm and it goes slowly (but I love the book!)"

would love to have you, Gabi! Yes I am also slowly moving with Babel, more due to work commitment :(

[Mindy]

I do not have time to read the book right now, but I absolutely adored The Vanished Birds, do not mind spoilers, and I am very interested in this discussion. I will be lurking and silently cheering you all on!

[Silvana]

Thanks, Mindy!

[Mareike]

I'm still early in the book, in the "Before" chapter (pg. 58) (view spoiler)[but I really like how the narrative flows fromoone character's perspective to the next. And how this is used to introduce certain characters. I'm looking forward to seeing what roles they will play.

I also really like the framing device (if you can call it that) of the Theater and how it keeps being woven into the larger story that is being told.

I did NOT expect the Emperor to die so early or like that. (hide spoiler)]

@Gabi: I hope you'll still join us in the discussion. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[Silvana]

Starting tomorrow!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm about halfway and wow. what a masterful use of story telling techniwues. has anyone here been a "follow" in formal/ballroom dancing? I feel like I'm being led by a champion dancer who doesn't need to SAY what's about to happen because they are gently but firmly directing things

[Mareike]

That „follow“ analogy fits really well, Allison!

[Mareike]

What a first chapter!

"Before": (view spoiler)[There's so many things I want to say, I'm not even sure how to get it all out. Let's see...

First, I really like the narrative situation and how fluidly the POVs shift between characters and the framing story. The latter is also really well done! It's been a while since I've read a 2nd person narration and Jimenez weaves it in so well with the third person perspectives if the larger story!

Second, this first chapter was so well-plotted, in my opinion. Similar to The Vanished Birds, it feels like it could be a story on its own. I especially liked that I was thinking things would go one way with the assassination plan against the First Terror and then everything went sideways in a way I didn't see coming.

Third, back to the narrative situation for a moment (see, I told you my thoughts sre disorganized): I also like the Greek chorus like "we"-narration/comments in italics. It has a way of emphasizing things. (hide spoiler)]

I'm excited to see how this continues.

[Mareike]

There's an official playlist for the book!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/302...

And a book club kit with an introduction by the author, a map, etc. here: https://sites.prh.com/simon-jimenez

[Silvana]

Mareike wrote: "There's an official playlist for the book!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/302...

And a book club kit with an introduction by the author, a map, etc. here: https://sites.prh.com/..."

thank you, Mareike! I love that more authors are doing this kind of thing :)

[Mareike]

You're welcome! And me too!

I have a friend visiting today and tomorrow, so I probably won't make much progress. But Monday is a national holiday, so I hope to spend at least some of it with this book.

[Silvana]

No worries, take all the time you need.

I also just finished the first chapter and reading your comments, I actually did not pay attention to the narrative style at all coz it flows so well! Jimenez always makes such an explosive first chapter, at least from his two books. I too can't wait to know what happen next.

By the way, I wonder where or which country the main character (view spoiler)[the one in the modern world is from? It says in the new world, so maybe somewhere in the Americas? Or a completely different world from our own? (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

I've been wondering about that, too!

[Sarah]

I'll jump in soon. Working up the nerve to tackle these 100 page long chapters.

[Silvana]

Sarah wrote: " Working up the nerve to tackle these 100 page long chapters."

OMG I thought I was the only one ;p

[Sarah]

Nope- it’s definitely intimidating. I know there are smaller breaks between that but it’s still daunting.

[Silvana]

Also it is rather difficult to mark where you are. Hmm. Anyway, I am roughly 30% (page 151) and just want to say I love (view spoiler)[The Defect Tortoise, it is amusing. And I like the budding friendship between Keema and Jun.

Speaking of Jun, he was the Prince that the Emperor thought he killed, right? So he said he was already in league with the Mother for six months. Interesting. (hide spoiler)]

[Feliciana]

Silvana wrote: "Also it is rather difficult to mark where you are. Hmm. Anyway, I am roughly 30% (page 151) and just want to say I love The Defect Tortoise, it is amusing. And I like the budding friendship between..."

Yes.

I initially started the book by eye reading, but then I bought the audiobook and switched back and forth. I liked the audiobook because the intonation of voices changed with the different perspectives.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I had such a great time picturing this as a play and how it could be staged. I pictured a large ensemble cast like in "The Tempest" with people holding different props to represent the different characters in the asides.

[Mareike]

@Silvana: Definitely not the only one!

[Rebecca]

Exactly Allison, and mixed with The Lion King the musical - creative costumes that make people look like stampedes of animals, or the sunset, etc.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

yes!!

[Silvana]

Allison wrote: "I had such a great time picturing this as a play and how it could be staged. I pictured a large ensemble cast like in "The Tempest" with people holding different props to represent the different ch..."

what do you mean by people holding props? I've never seen the Tempest btw ;p

[Mareike]

The First Day - Midday (view spoiler)[So that's where the stolen bird was! I wonder who stole it abd where it was supposed to go. I also love how Jimenez zmused the bird's flight to switch perspective to the First Terror.

In addition, I didn't think pornograpgy would come up, but here we are. Looks like Keema is a confused baby gay. (hide spoiler)]

[Gabi]

Silvana wrote: "No worries, take all the time you need.

I also just finished the first chapter and reading your comments, I actually did not pay attention to the narrative style at all coz it flows so well! Jimen..."

I've now re-listened to the first chapter. And Silvana, I was the same. When I read some reviews after my first read I was perplexed for a second, because it was mentioned that he used all three kind of POV narration. My thought was "he did?"
Now on re-listen of course the 2nd, 3rd and 1st person parts stand out. But on my first listen I didn't even realise it, because everything worked so perfectly together.

The Greek chorus kind of intermissons are genius, imho.

As for the where (view spoiler)[ I also thought about where and when this story could take place, but I have so little knowledge of world history. The past parts feel Chinese to me, the present parts ... Mexican? ... I don't know where and when there were wars he is referring to. So I guess my mind just settled for AU kind of fantasy settings for both. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

I just finished "The First Day" (view spoiler)[and I'm very goad they found a way to bring the tortoise with them. I was strangely invested in that. XD

I also really like how many stories within stories we have here. I'm particukarly intrigued by Keema's stories about himself, at least some of which we know are false. Like the bit about the dagger and self-disembowlment. He and Jun both have sectets and with Jun's biggest one (I assume) now revealed, it'll be interesting to see their dynamic change. And I wonder how it might chabge again if/when we learn more about Keema. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Re: where the book is set: (view spoiler)[ I just googled the term of endearment "lola" (because it came up in Spider-Man: No Way Home) and it's apparently a term used in Filipino culture. So the Phillippines are a likely location, too. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Mareike wrote: "The First Day - Midday ..."

(view spoiler)[I liked that bird! It and the Defect gave some brightness in otherwise a rather bleak story. I think I hate the Second Terror more than the First. (hide spoiler)]

Mareike wrote: "Re: where the book is set: [spoilers removed]"

Cool, thanks!

[Mareike]

I agree on both counts, Silvana.

[Sarah]

I don’t have a lot to add just yet but I have re-started this.

The language and tone are so perfect. Jiminez is such a talented writer.

[Silvana]

Gabi wrote: "Silvana wrote: "No worries, take all the time you need.

I also just finished the first chapter and reading your comments, I actually did not pay attention to the narrative style at all coz it flow..."

I think I would need to reread this via audio just so I can experience the POV changes in that form ;p

[Silvana]

Sarah wrote: "I don’t have a lot to add just yet but I have re-started this.

The language and tone are so perfect. Jiminez is such a talented writer."

and he's so mysterious. I don't think I've seen an event with him in it.

[Silvana]

End of the Third Day

(view spoiler)[oh no they killed the Defect :(( and eating its mom and the Moon while they were still alive was just sooo disturbing.

The bear scene was kinda cool though (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Third Day, Morning (view spoiler)[ I just to the Moon describing how she used to ask the man who helped her leave the sky why I wanted sons and this description of societal power dynamics and how they shape people is so neatly done and so beautifully written. Especially the very last sentence.

[…] I’d ask myself if things would have been different, had one gotten through; if there had been an empress to answer for all the emperors. If the earth would drown in so much blood had she been there to stop the swinging of the blades. I had many tempting fantasies of such description. But I think now I know that, even though she would have been a welcome respite and perhaps even a soothing balm to the burned hand of the people, it would not have been enough. I had seen what happened to all of those sons I gave birth to. How they were molded by the world they had been given, for even the man who had started it all did not know why he made the choices he did. It is all a spiral that feeds into itself with the gathering weight at the center we call Power. That was what occurred to me as I was trapped with my sick child on his fancy boat. It was an old lesson that everyone in the old village knew: You can fault the dancer, but more often than not, it is the dance itself that has to change.

(hide spoiler)]

@Silvana: I agree. (view spoiler)[And I can’t stop thinking about how this small description foreshadowed that Luubu had been eating the tortoise god, both in mentioning his lack of appetite and in how the food he is eating here is described: Luubu, who of late did not have much of an appetite, sat quietly on his throne of pillows, where he was served a simple tajeline; his porcelain spoon swirling around the creamy innards in an uninterested way while the important members of the various families approached him, one by one, and made their expected overtures. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Oh gosh. That was just horrible.

I am at the Fourth Day, evening now.

(view spoiler)[The purple elk...hmm purple... This made me suspect the purple little birdie might be the third terror or related to him. After all, when Keema smelled something pungent out of it right after he became a god, it must have meant something. (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Finished!

wow, that was something. yet... (view spoiler)[why do I feel I don't really like or just neutral about the climax and the ending?

First of all yay I was right about the bird = Third Terror and gosh his story was really sad and all, but making him into a colossus was a bit weird, and then the way Keema and Jun beat him at the end with their dance, was just, eh? I guess I was expecting something more. and the fact that there is a super long and dense epilogue, I was just overwhelmed with all the information especially that in the previous chapter there were some long-ish travel chapters so getting a really packed epilogue after the weird ending/climax felt off to me. And having Keema and Jun having sex at the end, why not have it when they were exploring their telepathic thing? it felt like the ending of a James Bond movie (forgot which one). I don't know, the plotting near the end just did not click well to me.

HOWEVER. Simon Jimenez can really write *chef's kiss*. I read some reviews saying the book is confusing but I think there lies the beauty. I admit I was not too invested in the non Keema-Jun story as much as theirs, but it is just refreshing to get all this mix of PoV voices and choirs and the whole Inverted Theater thing - very well crafted and it must have taken a huge effort.

He is one of my fave writers now, will be in my autobuy list. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Silvana wrote: "Oh gosh. That was just horrible.

I am at the Fourth Day, evening now.

[spoilers removed]"

Oh!!! That's an interesting thought!

Early on in "The Fifth Day". Some speculation: (view spoiler)[ So....is the war that keeps being mentioned in the "now" part of the story (i.e. the part about the "you" who is dreaming the performance) the same war as the one that's about to start in Keema's and Jun's part of the story? (hide spoiler)]

[Ariana]

I finished this yesterday, and really loved it. I agree with Silvana about the climax, but I enjoyed the book so much over all that I let some issues at the end slide.

[Silvana]

Mareike wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Oh gosh. That was just horrible.

I am at the Fourth Day, evening now.

[spoilers removed]"

Oh!!! That's an interesting thought!

Early on in "The Fifth Day". Some speculation: [sp..."

(view spoiler)[I thought there's like a huge time gap between the war in the now and the war with Keema-Jun? And to me it looks like these characters lived in the same world, though Keema-Jun came from a long time ago and became like, legends or something. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Yeah, by now I think that, too. But (view spoiler)[the repeated mentions about no one remembering the causes for the war in the “now” made me wonder briefly if it was all the same war. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Silvana wrote: "Finished!

wow, that was something. yet... [Spoiler removed]"

I’m giving myself some time to sit with this before I write up a review. But (view spoiler)[I was not quite sure what to do with the ending, either. I was very happy Keema and Jun actually remained together at the end and even admitted and explored their desire. But I’m still not sure what to do with the ending.

I think the fight during the Fifth Day worked for me. Since the dance only stopped the Water, not the Third Terror. They killed him before dealing with the wave. The Third Terror’s story was maybe one of the saddest in the book.

What I find really interesting is that after the last page there’s a…I guess post-dedication that says This one’s for me and that the Acknowledgments are also written in second-person POV. So it seems that Jimenez wrote the book for himself and wanted to highlight that. I kinda wish there were interviews with him about it, but he seems very private, given how short his author bio is. (Good for him, tbh. Not sure I’d want to deal with too much publicity as an author either.) (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

Mareike wrote: "Yeah, by now I think that, too. But [spoilers removed]"

Now you got me thinking and wishing I paid more attention LOL

About the ending(view spoiler)[ Ah right, it's for the tsunami, but idk I want more than just a random dance to fight it? But maybe it's like in the Avatar world when Korra used water bending to quell the spirits? hahaha sigh my expectation built up too much coz the Bowl actions were so cool.

By the way, I wish we got to know more about this Water character - seemed like he's more elemental than a fully realized being like the Moon.

Thanks for pointing out the dedication and acknowledgment since I usually skip those ;p (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I am moving very slowly through this. It’s hard not to click spoilers. 😂

[Mareike]

Silvana wrote: "Mareike wrote: "Yeah, by now I think that, too. But [spoilers removed]"

Now you got me thinking and wishing I paid more attention LOL

About the ending [Spoiler removed]…"

(view spoiler)[I thought the dance worked really well. Because dancing and “the Rhythm” as a kind of magic had been present throughout the story about Keema and Jun. And of course “mirrored” in some ways through the theater which was telling their story.
But, yeah, it was very different from the more standard fighting in the Bowl or even in the city.

And I was really thrilled when I realized how the titlte of the novel was connected to everything.

I think the difference between Water and Moon is that Moon lived among humans for a long time and had a mortal body. Whereas Water stayed in its realm. But now I wonder what a human version of Water would have been like. (hide spoiler)]