Privilege of the Sword

At some point I'll go back and just post links to my missing reviews I suppose, but this was one of the more charming books I've read and a good fit for my middlebrow views on how literature should address important topics.


The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lucius Perry was masked so it's a good thing I recognized his smooth dark hair, that and his sleeve, which was of an unusual cut in that glorious peacock blue. When you've mended as many clothes as I have, you sort of memorize fabrics without meaning to.

This book started seeming a little forced to me but grew into such a pleasure soon I was convinced the initial problems were all on me. This is definitely true of the ending, which initially felt unsatisfying but after sleeping on it seemed to be exactly what it should have been.

The setup has Katherine, a young woman, invited by a rich relative to come to the city. Against all conventions of civilized behavior he then dresses her in men's clothes and starts training her in swordplay. You could have ended up with an straightforward young-adult style adventure story which just plopped a girl in the hero's slot. But for a story that is rather explicitly about gender it's a testament to Kushner's craft how the points fill the background too. The mad uncle's idea is that a woman, given a sword and trained in dueling, can now decide for herself what "honor" is. This metaphorical give-a-woman-her-own-voice approach is mirrored in a book with long segments from women's point of view, neither of whom are Arya Stark like tomboys. Hence the quote--when Katherine thinks of needle, she is in fact thinking of a sewing needle and her domestic skills, and those have an unembarrassed place in this swashbuckling yarn.

I picked this up on an Audible sale with a 2-for-1 offer without knowing anything about it, except the "Neil Gaiman presents" bit on the recording. I've never been so satisfied with such a blatant marketing ploy.

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