The Carpet Makers

[ironymaiden]

e_bourne handed me The Carpet Makers after the Oscars on Sunday. done now. this is the only Andreas Eschbach novel translated into english :(

i'd been struggling to get through Vellum recently (i like it so far but it's not holding my focus) so i wasn't sure that i was in a place to tear through a novel. apparently it just has to be the right novel. (should have known. i also recently ripped through Always, which i recommend to anyone interested in a mystery featuring totally kickass lesbians. it overflows with details about food, self-defense, stunts, and Seattle-love. and yes, the cherry tree is a metaphor. i was a little bummed that she hasn't been writing SF, but yay the not-SF is good. this book stood alone well, but apparently there are two earlier Aud Torvingen books for me to read.)

The Carpet Makers is a series of intertwined vignettes that tell the story of the end of a galactic empire. i'm glad that Orson Scott Card helped to get it into english, but his name on the book isn't bringing it to the right set of fans. i was repeatedly reminded of The Martian Chronicles, and sometimes Dune. the book seldom stays with one character for long. sometimes we see them again in the background, but Eschbach never spends time reminding us who they are again or unpacking their motivations. we are here to learn the history of the empire and the mystery of the carpets made of human hair, carpets that take a lifetime to complete. to an attentive reader, the ending is not a "twist" but the conclusion of a careful logical structure. lovely. e_bourne was right that it was the sort of thing i would like. interested readers need only try the first chapter to determine if they want to consume it all. five god-emperors out of five.

Comments

[mimerki.livejournal.com]

I love the fact that you have a 'card is a loon' tag.

[mrdorbin.livejournal.com]

I had the same experience with Vellum. Ink is better but I think I mostly wanted them to be different books than they are.

[ironymaiden]

yeah. Vellum is very rich, but it's so disjointed that i have to find the story again each time i open the book. i find myself rereading pages every time i pick it up, without realizing it until i've done it. monkey brain says it's more work than pleasure.
i may just need to put it down and try later - Perdido Street Station took me about three tries, i think A Game of Thrones took two...

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

I've been wondering about Vellum. I keep putting it back on the shelf, debating...

Yay! So pleased I figured you right for The Carpet Makers. I was entranced, and thought of you when I was done. I love that kind of matchmaking!


I've been trying to steel myself to go through R. R. Martin's Swords series, which I never managed to finish. Liked parts, couldn't manage to hack my way through others, but I feel I ought to like it. Just don't quite. So it's a comfort to hear others have the same struggle.