Claire Duvivier

J’ai acheté ce livre un peu sur un coup de tête, pas tout à fait consciente qu’il était classé au rayon « fantasy », un genre que je lis peu, mais la couverture était belle et le titre une promesse. Finalement, je sors de cette lecture plutôt dubitative. La plume est belle, bien qu’un peu froide et impersonnelle à mon goût, l’histoire est étrange : on est dans un monde imaginaire mais très similaire au nôtre : impérialisme, lutte de pouvoir, castes… Mais sans crier gare on nous ajoute là-dessus un élément de pure fantasy, qui relance (mais trop tard) l’histoire.
Cela donne un livre qui semble ne pas arriver à décider de ce qu’il doit être et de là où il doit aller. Les thèmes à la mode sont abordés (racisme, esclavage, pouvoir, possession…), mais de façon plutôt superficielle et sans originalité. Ce livre m’es donc apparu comme décousu, tant dans sa forme que sur le fond, un peu comme s’il fallait cocher toutes les cases pour lui donner des chances de succès. Un succès qu’il a eu, d’ailleurs, mais qui ne m’a pour ma part pas convaincue.… (meer)

Having seen this book pass by numerous times, followed by mostly raving reviews, I decided to take the plunge, eh, buy a copy. Only 314 pages to read, but it's a book that requires its reader to take it easy and not fly through the pages.

In this novel, marketed as fantasy (still a dirty word for many, especially those unfamiliar with the large spectrum fantasy occupies), we follow the evolution and the life of a young boy (Liesse), whose mother can no longer take care of him, because life on the island has become difficult, also for a fisherman's family like his, having a slave background. With a heavy heart, his mother chooses to (has to) give him up for adoption by the local trading point. This doesn't go all too well - as its people haven't fully adjusted yet that slavery has been abolished -, but after some insisting, and through a sort of contract (based on an old law), they accept. There, Liesse will be trained and educated, especially to learn to read and write, something he will prove to be quite proficient at.

Little by little, he will ascend the hierarchical ladder, under the command of local, imperial ambassador Malvine Zélina de Félarasie; Zélina being a grand name in the history of the empire. Her task was to make the Archipelago attractive again, especially economically, although the imperial mainland doesn't really have an eye for the Archipelago or some of the islands. Instead of having the islands go through the classic steps towards modernisation, she skipped a few of those and tried projecting the people into the contemporary era. A bit like how certain African countries, in order to keep track with Western countries, skipped steps and instantly switched to the current, digital age.

Liesse is the main character, but we follow his doings through him and through the people who contribute to his upbringing and evolution; his girlfriends, his in-laws, his colleagues, his superiors, the other people he gets in touch with, ...

His life will be turned upside down along the way. He'll learn about structure, about the empire, about politics and more. One problem, though: Liesse comes from a slave background, is not recognised as imperial civilian. Once a slave, always a slave, especially in an era and in a region where former slaves never were accepted as proper civilians. His past will continue to pursue and haunt him, even if for a long time, he can hide behind the political power of his ambassador, who will also be faced with resistance when she returns to the mainland with Liesse as assistant/secretary.

'Un long voyage' (transl.: A long voyage/journey) is a correct title, as Liesse not only progresses into adulthood and more, but also learns to live a new life, opposite of that of his parents and siblings. The same goes for ambassador Malvine Zélina de Félarasie, whose life will also be quite different from before. She will serve as example for Liesse further evolution, as he will have much respect for her and how she tackles the various assignments and missions, no matter the hardships. Especially since the death of his wife and later that of Malvine, Liesse would have to climb the social ladder again (or put his life back on track). Because of the difficult situation, his son, Etincelle (Spark), would at a given moment decide to take the high road or rather waves and go work at sea. It would take several years before father and son (and daughter) would meet again and reconcile.

In the end, all's well that ends well, one way or another. We finally learn who this Gémétous is, for whom Liesse wrote his memoires. It's the woman who took possession of the house he had with his late wife, Danica, and to whom Étincelle always used to run when he was a child. Or rather, he ran back to his house, not understanding why he and his family had to leave it behind, had to flee. Despite the massacre than took place - like the ruse with the Trojan horse - Liesse's and his children's lives would not have been in danger, should they afterwards have returned to their house, as the new inhabitant was opposed to how her people acted upon their return.

As mentioned by Yuyine, the writing style is indeed not of the most accessible ones, although the story is beautifully written. Does the style affect the story, its desired effect? Perhaps. On the other hand, you could look at it from this point-of-view: Liesse was a quick learner, and had to learn quick to be able to execute his tasks. Hence the style can be considered as a reflection of the skills he had to master in an important position like the one he occupied for many years.

As Anne Grimm wrote, a map would have been of added value, in order to follow Liesse's and Malvine's journey.

The story itself, the setup reminded me of - when I look at the books I've read so far - The Farseer Trilogy (Robin Hobb), [b:Tigana|104089|Tigana|Guy Gavriel Kay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348738842l/104089._SX50_.jpg|1907200] (Guy Gavriel Kay), or even [b:The Goblin Emperor|22320446|The Goblin Emperor|Katherine Addison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506019920l/22320446._SY75_.jpg|24241248] (Katherine Addison). Maybe [b:The Name of the Wind|186074|The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)|Patrick Rothfuss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515589515l/186074._SX50_.jpg|2502879] (Patrick Rothfuss), which I haven't read, can also be used as an example, when it comes to the coming-of-age aspect. And of course many other, similar novels, be it regarding the character, the setting, or the whole picture.

In short: A journey that is very much recommended!… (meer)