a NYT review! plus a spoiler filled q&a
have you read GARDEN yet?
if not this email is probably not for you bc it will contain spoilers but actually i'm in no position to draw that conclusion bc i read recaps for shows i don't watch all the time and will willingly spoil myself at the drop of a hat so idk do what you feel is right
anyway i thought i would do a quick spoiler filled q&a to chat about IN A GARDEN BURNING GOLD, its ending, and what's next for the four Argyros siblings
but before i do! some really cool news!!!!! garden (and wilder girls a little bit) was featured in the new york times book review
i will spare you the full text (although you can certainly find it at the link below) but the VERY COOL GIST of it is:
"In a Garden Burning Gold offers a window to an intriguing world"
"a stately and polished secondary-world fantasy"
"beautiful language and developing mysteries"
"a very smooth and enjoyable read, paving the way for the next phase"
and wilder girls! my firstborn! she also got a shoutout:
"a fever dream of postapocalyptic horror
"girls loving each other monstrously and parasitically"
"written in green and whipping prose"
green and whipping is pretty much exactly the vibe i wanted readers to get from wg so hell fuckin yeah
the times is doing a BUNCH of coverage of books to read this summer across genres so if you're looking for more titles to add to your TBR here you go!
nyt review and summer reading recs
okay ON TO THE Q&A to give you a chance to x out if you want to avoid the spoilers below i will present you with the cover of the book as a refresher followed by a handy buy link for the book in case you haven't got yours yet oh look how convenient
the aforementioned buy link is here
let's get to it
first of all i should say these are my interpretations/intentions but death of the author etc etc what you take from the text may not be what i "intended" blah blah honestly if you're reading this i'll just assume that we understand each other
most of these questions come from readers on instagram but also some of them come from me making them up bc i'm excited about the sequel and i want to talk about it and the first one is not actually about any spoilers but i got it a few times so
Q: is there a playlist i can listen to while i read?
A: yes! you can find playlists for all my books on my spotify HERE
Q: did rhea know that bringing michali back wouldn't work "properly"? does michali know what's happened to him?
A: no i don't think she did BUT i don't know that that knowledge would've changed her mind in any meaningful way. as for michali more details in the sequel but i think he's finding his new life to be.... a change for sure
Q: why did baba switch the birth order? did he do it on purpose?
A: yes he sure did and you will find out
Q: what about chrysanthi!!!!! (consider this an amalgamation of a number of worries for our most perfect youngest child)
A: i mean you will for sure find out more - she gets a POV in the sequel and i really think of it as being her book - but as far as the events of GARDEN are concerned chrysanthi is really more worried about what the fuck she's supposed to WEAR now that they left all her clothes behind at stratathoma
Q: what is the difference between saint and stratagiozi?
A: i mean basically nothing on like a magic level but it really depends on who in the book you ask. strat loyalists have an incentive to depict the saints as something negative that everybody is very grateful to have moved on from. and meanwhile saint worshippers place a huge emphasis on the Deeper Connection the saints had with the natural world and there's also a lot of "the past was a simpler time wasn't it" at play when really no i don't think that it was we just like. weren't alive then to know that.... kind of a six of one deal for ur average person living an average life in the series
on a political level the saints didn't function as heads of state the way the strats do until the Last Saint (luco domina) became the First Strat, so that's a difference, but the key one between the saints - the first people to take power from the earth - and the people who hold that power now is one you will see explored in book 2
Q: so rhea changes her mind like halfway through the book........... do we buy it or
A: lol yes and no like i think RHEA buys it. i think she really felt changed by learning about her mom and sees this as a Moment for her u know? but i think knowing where she's come from and how she's been raised that there is still a lot about her relationships with everyone (not just michali!) that she weighs in terms of convenience, transaction, and self interest. she feels to me a lot like the scorpion of the scorpion and the toad. all four of the siblings have to reckon with the nature that's been.... nurtured... into them (sorry) and the extent to which they can or can't is at the absolute core of the series
Q: how do you play Soldier's Teeth/Saint's Grave (this is my favorite question amazing)
A: i have no idea i was picturing it like circular backgammon??? but i don't even know how to play backgammon
Q: what is nitsos's deal (another amalgamation of several questions re: nitsos's plans/future/relationships with his siblings)
A: nitsos's plans for his siblings are what happen when you're the middle child for 100 years that's what his deal is. it would mean EVERYTHING for his father to look his way but at the same time he's also maybe the best equipped of the four kids to handle what happens when said father is unavailable (emotionally or like. alivewise) and while the other three might be completely unmoored by the loss of their home and their family's status nitsos is very clear about what he needs to do next bc he's never counted on his own family before so why start now
yes there's a nitsos pov in book 2
if you have other questions i will def do more of these! and i can't wait to tell you more about book 2 just as soon as i am able
in the meantime i hope you are safe and well and, when possible, vibing