Greetings once again from Madame Sidler! This week I read chapters 12-17 of On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness, and while there were a great many scenes of action, suspense, humor, and love, I enjoyed the footnotes most of all. (Best of all? Festival? Now I’m getting ahead of myself; that’s from chapter 31.)
Here are my favorite footnotes from these six chapters.
- Ships and Sharks is a yard game introduced to Skreeans by merchants from the Green Hollows. Typically, the children play the role of Ships, and the adults are the Sharks. The game begins when the Shark says to the Ships, “Gwaaaaah!” which is generally agreed to be the sound a shark would make if it weren’t a Sea Creature. The Ships then run like mad to escape the Shark. If a Ship is overcome by a Shark, the Ship is rolled in the dirt and tickled severely. This brutal simplicity is typical of games invented by the Hollowsfolk. Another popular game from the Green Hollows is called simply Trounce.
- Of the Torrboro Baimingtons, who prided themselves on having an ancestor who coined the phrase “Jouncey as a two-ton bog pie.” The Baimingtons were careful to insert the phrase into every conversation of which they were a part.
- Three Honored and Great Subjects: Word, Form, and Song. Some silly people believe that there’s a fourth Honored and Great Subject, but those mathematicians are woefully mistaken.
- Snot wax is too repulsive a thing about which to write a proper footnote.
- According to Padovan A’Mally’s The Scourge of the Hollows (Ban Rona, Green Hollows: The Iphreny Group, 3/111), “Ridgerunners are particularly fond of artful verse, though their subject matter is almost exclusively fruit. A free-thinking ridgerunner named Tizrak Rzt scandalized the ridgerunner culture when he composed a poem entitled ‘Love, Love, Love Hath No Endingness’ and famously made no mention of fruit.”
If you’ve been reading along with us, which parts did you love best? And if you’re somewhere else in the books, that’s fine! I’d love to read your favorite lines—footnotes or otherwise!
Come on over to the forum! This week, we’ve been talking about our favorite books, the hope we find at the end of the Saga, the meaning of names—and Andrew’s many sly sneakeries, which we shall gleefully discover together.
I love the ridgerunner footnote, particularly the idea of a “free-thinking ridgerunner” that “scandalized” his culture. Ridgerunner culture! Ridgerunners have culture, taboo, and progressive literature that betrays tradition! This is worldbuilding at its finest. 😀
My favorite quote, this week, was from Leeli in Chapter 11:
“I saw Nugget chase the thwap into the alley, and when he turned the corner, he tripped that Fang.”
“Slarb?” Tink asked.
“Yes. I think so. And that thing – Slarb – picked up Nugget and was about to bite him, so, I kicked it in the shin.” Leeli said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“You KICKED a fang?” both boys repeated.
“Well, what was I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know, but that’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Janner said.
“And the bravest,” Tink said.
This little conversation characterizes Leeli so well! Her plucky personality is absolutely hilarious.
All of Chapter 13 (“A Song for the Shining Isle”) is incredibly well written, from Nia’s vulnerability to Armulyn’s suspicion and Podo’s relief. Honestly, Armulyn has to be one of my favorite characters. I ran across one of Rich Mullins’s songs the other day – “Here in America” – and I could totally envision Armulyn performing it. It’s such a sweet song, longingly poetic, one that perfectly paints the passion of a traveling bard. I love how in the books, Peterson wrote that “Armulyn had put his secret dreams to music.” Come to think of it, I have one other favorite quote this week:
“‘My name is Armulyn. I don’t like it here,’ he said with a smile…”
Definitely! When I first read the book I didn’t read the footnotes very carefully, and now I’m reading the book again, so I’ll do more than skim over them this time. 🙂
The footnotes are awesome. *nods* I also love Oskar’s quotes. Like:
“As the infamous Bweesley the Leaf Thief said in his memoir, ‘Cheap is almost free.'”
“As the great explorer Jinto Qweb said, ‘Hurry! reading is fun!'”
And on a more serious note, the quote Miss Linda mentioned is also lovely. It kind of describes how some truly amazing books make me feel.
The second quote that I wanted to post has less “deep meaning,” but I enjoy it just as much. I love the way Podo reacts so honestly to things and then has to adjust his reaction to the one that Nia will approve of. It is so childlike, especially coming from a grandfather. It makes me smile every time I read it.
From chapter 14- Secrets and Cheesy Chowder
“Leeli tried to protect Nugget from a Fang. She kicked it.”
“The dog?”
“The Fang.”
“She did? My little warrior lass had the sweet pluck to round on a Fang?”
Janner couldn’t see Podo, but knew he was smiling proudly with his bushy eyebrows raised. He also knew his mother’s expression would be disapproving.
Within seconds, Podo cleared his throat and said gravely, “She did, eh? Reckless child. Oughter’ve known better.”
While I do love the footnotes, there were a couple other quotes I picked this week. This first one I loved because this is the same effect that really good songs sometimes have on me too… only Janner can actually put words to the feeling and I usually can’t.
From Chapter 13, A Song for the Shining Isle
Janner hadn’t realized it, but his cheeks were wet as well. “There’s just something about the way he sings. It makes me think of when it snows outside, and the fire is warm, and Podo is telling us a story while you’re cooking, and there’s no place I’d rather be- but for some reason I still feel… homesick.” Janner looked down, embarrassed.
Tink and Leeli were silent, for Janner had spoken their thoughts as well.