Fudoki

[magenta]

I just finished reading Kij Johnson's new book "Fudoki". It was really excellent. I wish I had the words to write a review. It would be like reviewing the dawn, or a rainbow. She has such a delicate touch with words and ideas. And it was another book about an old woman, this time really old, 70, and dying. Excellent next book after "Paladin of Souls". I didn't want to read any fiction after "Paladin", and anyway, books like Molly Ivin's "Bushwhacked" came through – there's a scary book! I couldn't think of anything that I would want to read after reading about Ista. Like, what do you want for dessert after a perfect bouillabaisse? Ah, a perfect chocolate souffle. Not that "Fudoki" is in any way fluff, but it has the same delicacy as a perfect souffle. I lingered over it, spending about 5 days, when I could have finished it in an evening. But then it would have been over. I cried copiously at the end, which I seldom do, not just over the deaths and impending deaths, but because there was no more to the tale.

I really enjoy reading about older women as heroes, as protagonists. We had a workshop at Wiscon on that subject. The details have faded, six months later, but we talked about how different it would be for a middle aged or older woman to go on a quest. But if one has escaped or been denied quests earlier in life, they must perforce take place when and how they do. What would my quest be? What would yours?