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Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser (view source)
Revision as of 11:33, 31 March 2020
, 11:33, 31 March 2020no edit summary
Oh, I loved, loved, loved this story. Firstly, I loved the subtle, organic worldbuilding, which always shows and never tells. There are no tiresome infodumps or exposition passages and yet you enter Caro's watery world with it fully-formed, vivid and interesting. I had no idea how much I would enjoy a girls on boats theme and it's thanks to the clever worldbuilding that I did. The same subtlety also makes its way into a clear authorial tone about sexism, classism and racism. The book refers to Caro's mixed ethnicity, sexual consent and classist snobbery but never in a preachy way and always as a natural part of the narrative. Full marks for this.
I fell in love with Caro's first mate, Fee, who is a frogperson. Again, there's no tiresome exposition about her, she's just there, fully-formed, interesting and unexpected. And the idea that the river folk communicate with their river god in the ''language of small things''. And that the river folk have a developed cant all of their own. I'll be saying ''current carry you'' as a greeting, a farewell and a benediction for weeks. But of course , it's Caro you'll be rooting for. Caro, who isn't sure where she belongs. Caro, who loves her family despite their faults. Caro, who will risk her own life to save a child's. And Caro, who will respond to a sexual advance by a social superior by pretty much saying ''Eh? Consent, please. And yes, kissing is cool but WHAT DO YOU THINK I'D DO WITH A BOYFRIEND ANYWAY?'' Ha. Go, Caro!
I am a reviewer and, enthusiastic as I am about ''Song of the Current'', I do have a duty to nitpick as well as gush. It isn't a perfect book. Some of the plot twists are telegraphed a little too heavily and some of them just appear out of nowhere with the ground insufficiently prepared. And Markos's political journey from snob to democrat is underdone. I realise that it's Caro's story first and foremost but I would have liked more attention to this. There. Nitpicks done. And honestly guys, these really are nitpicks. There is just ''so'' much to like about ''Song of the Current'' that you won't even think about them as you're reading.
Other fabulous stories with a watery theme include [[Dark Life by Kat Falls]], in which prospectors are colonising the ocean bed after global warming reaches crisis point, and the wonderful, lyrical [[The Deep by Helen Dunmore|Ingo sequence]] by Helen Dunmore about a girl who is part mermaid, part human.
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[[Category:Confident Readers]]