I enjoyed Orson Scott Card books when the kids were reading them. The Ender space-battle training parts were a bit tedious for me, but I really enjoyed “Speaker for the Dead”
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No problem re the ‘splainin’. Richard died. Oops … bad magic, which is technically true. At least, that’s all the explanation the staff needs. Regardless the staff works under the constraints of an NDA, so it ends there. Black market customers get informed that privately Richard had not been well and had passed away with Maram and Nicholas by his side, which is also technically true. The funeral is private per Richard’s wishes, which may or may not be true. Nicholas - as heir - takes over the family business. Black market customers, being black market, can only do so much without exposure. Magic can handle the body and any pertinent paperwork needed.
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Yeah, and Richard is hundreds of years old, so his paperwork must be pretty dicey anyway!
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I thought about the loneliness and isolation of Joanna vs. that of Esther. It stuck out for me since my two daughters would handle those scenarios so differently. I have the daughter who is all about home; she hasn’t traveled anywhere in the last six years and she has the means to do so, should she want. The other daughter views her house as home base (not literally) but goes hither and yon regularly. Can you guess which one couldn’t handle the Covid shutdown? Anyway, I don’t think either could change places with the other without therapy? Luckily Joanna and Esther manage their respective roles in life.
Me - I’d adapt much easier isolated at home than pushed to move yearly. I just couldn’t; I’d have let Richard get me rather than keep going.
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I am definitely a Joanna and not an Esther. I’m happy to stay in my cozy house and feed the occasional stray cat.
The book’s sisters were originally named Joanna and Emily, after a song Joanna Newsom wrote about her sister. Emma Törzs is an extreme fan.
Why do you love her so much?
Because I was learning to be a writer when I first listened to Joanna Newsom when I was 20. Ys is my favorite album, hands down. I think it’s perfect. And I really think she taught me how to write a short story. Her songs are so narratively complete—really deep and multilayered. So, I decided what I really want to do is write a novel that feels like a Joanna Newsom album. In Conversation with Emma Törzs - Mpls.St.Paul Magazine
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I spent my childhood moving every two years, but I’ve lived in the same town since 1989. As a child I learned to make friends where ever we landed.That said, I am more of an Esther. When my husband said “Would you like it if I did a post-doc and Germany?” I said, “It sounds like fun. We should see if I can work there too.” When he asked about doing a sabbatical in 2018 in Hong Kong, I was equally enthusiastic and told my clients they could wait for me, or I could recommend someone to take over the project. (There was one project I finished up the last bits from afar.) The thing that bothered me was that Joanna really had no friends. At least Esther had figured out how to get close to people fast.
My homebody kid had a job that didn’t require leaving the house. He thinks it’s stupid they are now making him go in two days a week. My kid who likes to travel was in the Navy - so they move him around pretty regularly.
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D is more of a homebody. S is more into travel and adventure. I’m so glad DIL loves adventuring with him or when he goes alone. She’s flexible that way. Haha!
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Also from the above interview:
Plants and nature always feel so magical to me, but maybe that’s because of my ignorance of the science behind plants and nature.
Totally. I think that’s what a lot of magic, to me, is as a grown-up—it’s what I still don’t understand. And some of science seems pretty magic to me. I find plants very magical—even if you can explain why the compounds do what they do, it’s still amazing to me. But I didn’t want the magic in the book to be like an A-to-B Wiccan herbary; I wanted it to be its own thing and not rooted necessarily in one specific spiritual tradition. So, the herbs have multiple ways that they function in the book.
Törzs’ line that “some of science seems pretty magic to me” reminds me of that Arthur C. Clarke quote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Imagine if Emma Törzs had lived 300 years ago and written a fantasy about a magic book that was blank when you opened it, but if you wrote a single word or phrase on the page, the book would instantly fill with all the knowledge in the world on that subject. Pretty magical in 1724, but today we call it the internet.
So maybe one day we’ll create a hybrid plant that sprouts clusters of golden berries that ring like bells – or discover how to turn bullets into bees. (If only!)
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I’d be interested in discussing the two mothers in the book. On some level they both abandoned their daughters to Abe and his paranoia (though Isabel wouldn’t see it that way). Isabel/Maram’s abandonment was more extreme obviously, but Cecily also abandoned her kids - I can’t remember how old they were when she left - did they truly have the option to go with her and choose to stay? Or were they left there when she couldn’t take it anymore? Esther was abandoned twice of course - by her birth mother and then by the mother who raised her. The NDA complicated things but I’m not sure it completely absolves Cecily. Yet while Joanna has anger Esther doesn’t really show any - even when it’s revealed that Isabel is alive and well.
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Yes, the mothers and daughters didn’t really have much of any relationship. I personally can’t identify with the moms and their actions in abandoning their daughters.
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I don’t know it just sounds like twisting words. Science isn’t magic nor magic is science. Science explains “magic”. By then, magic isn’t magical anymore.
I’m joining this discussion late because (a) I totally forgot about it – that’s how much of an impression the book made on me, and (b) I didn’t like the book at all and didn’t want to sway anyone else’s impression or point of view.
I like some science fiction – Remarkably Bright Creatures, Project Hail Mary – because they’re sciency. But this book, with its magic – it seemed to me that the author just made up s— as she needed it. One needed to accept the magic “rules” to make this book credible, and I just couldn’t.
Regardless, I was intrigued by the scenes in Antarctica and thought the relationship between Esther and her lover were very very good. But then, there was no magic involved with that part of the plot.
I’m going to be quiet now. Sorry.
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I think science can be perceived as magic, if you don’t understand the mechanism at work behind what you are seeing.
That perception doesn’t have to be restricted to science. I remember reading a book (I think it was I Heard the Owl Call My Name) where a missionary is viewed as a god because the meaningless scribbles he puts on paper become stories when handed to another person. I’m explaining that poorly, but the scene is about language, specifically about reading aloud the written word. What is commonplace to some can seem magical to others.
@VeryHappy, don’t be quiet; that’s no fun! 
Science fiction and fantasy are frequently lumped together, but they seem like two different things to me – the former being something that could one day happen or be explained, and the latter being a flight of pure imagination.
I didn’t have any problem with the rules in Ink Blood Sister Scribe. Doesn’t most of fantasy literature involve making stuff up and creating arbitrary rules for the strange new world built by the author? I’m not a fantasy reader, but it seems like even the stories of my childhood — Narnia, Oz, and so on – have rules for their worlds – unrelated to science, just born of imagination.
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No need to be quiet. I am always interested in negative opinions!
Curious, did you also not like fantasies as a child? I grew up on the Narnia books, E. Nesbit, Tolkien and while I also read plenty of realistic fiction, (and every sports biography in our tiny school library in sixth grade!), I always wanted the world to be more magical than it is.
Edited to add, while there is some overlap between sci fi and fantasy I don’t think they are the same thing at all. There’s also magical realism which I guess by definition is on the more realistic end of fantasy.
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@Juno16 what are you thoughts about the mother figures, and how that worked in the story?
It annoyed me. Is this a modern day feminist twist to fairy tales, when the evil step mother fulfill their own dreams and ambitions, not putting their children first.
Did Torz, also borrow themes from other famous fairy tale themes using the wardrobe, the mirrors, and dungeon/ library motifs?
But, mostly as you question @Juno16, the mother daughter abandonment themes, were so prominent.
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From @Mary13 questions-
I like this question. The mirror likely symbolizes different things for the different individuals in the story. I used the below blog link to brush up on the use of mirrors in literature. It is a little redundant at times, but I found it helpful.
Symbolism: Mirrors and Symbolism: Reflecting on Deeper Meanings - FasterCapital.
From the blog:
“The use of mirror symbolism in literature has been a recurring motif throughout history. From the ancient Greeks and Romans to modern-day writers, the mirror has represented many different things. It can be a reflection of one’s true self, an entryway to another world, or a warning of impending doom. The prevalence of this symbol throughout literature is a testament to its enduring significance.”
Here are some quick thoughts:
To Joanna, Esther, and Nicholas the mirror seems like a symbol of self-reflection and self-discovery.
The blood on the mirror definitely seems like a warning of impending doom.
When thinking about the symbolism of Esther and Nicholas being able to go through the mirrors, the above blog mentions the title Alice through the looking Glass a few times and that makes me see going through the mirror as a symbol of a deeper level of self-discovery, more than just reflection.
I’m sure I am just scratching the surface of the mirror symbolism.
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I’m not sure Cecily truly abandons the girls. Esther leaves home before Cecily, I think. Cecily leaves hoping Joanna will come with her. She stays nearby in order to remain close to her daughter, all the while hoping Joanna follows at some point. The fact that Joanna doesn’t becomes a source of friction between the two, and the NDA prevents Cecily from speaking “her truth.” As Abe dies, he asks Joanna to keep Cecily out of the house, knowing that she’ll try to get rid of the NDA.
Abe manipulates his daughter in much the same way that Richard does Nicholas - confining her to the house with lies.
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I think she definitely did this – homage to both classic fairy tales and myths. On the mother subject, there’s a passage where Esther notes her deep connection to the motherless heroines of fairy tales (and their stepmothers). Someone put the passage on Goodreads:
As for the last sentence, “What would it mean if her mother had not died, but left her?” – I don’t think we really see that answer all the way through in the book. Esther responds coolly when she learns the truth – she doesn’t want it to break her – but certainly it would have upended her view of her own life and history.
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From that same quote:
What would it mean if her mother was alive? Not only alive, but aware of Esther and watching out for her, passing notes through magic mirrors and protecting her from afar, her own fairy godmother. What would it mean if her mother had not died, but left her?”
Isn’t that exactly what happened? Maram leaves but protects Esther as needed. Maram warns Abe that Esther needs to uproot her life yearly. When Esther stays in Antarica Maram passes not only notes but travel arrangements through a magic mirror to help Esther leave quickly. Protection awaits Esther at the airport and Nicholas and Collins tumble into her life on the plane. Last but definitely not least Richard’s bullets turn into bees. By then Esther has enough trust in Maram that she moves toward Richard.
Isabel/Maram may not have wanted to be a mother but she never truly abandons Esther. She also knows and likes Cecily and their connection evidently remains enough that Cecily can reach out to her through mirror magic.
Certainly not June Cleaver but then again should she have to be? Abe wanted a child; Maram was reluctant from the beginning.
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Replying again to my above quote from the book: sounds like foreshadowing to me. 
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