Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

This the thread for the August-September 2026 buddy read of Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

I'm really looking forward to this one. I first read it in high school. I was visiting a friend's house, and she got a phone call, so I picked up a random book on her floor and started reading. I'd never heard of Guy Kay. I just read the prologue, which is what, 3 or 4 pages long maybe? I was crying by the end of those few pages. Guy Kay remains my favourite fantasy writer to this day. I've attended his book readings a few times, and have signed copies of some of his books from those occasions.

I have one book to finish first, but I expect to be able to start this one in the next few days. Thanks for suggesting it, Teri-K, it's been too long!

Now that I've finished Bleak House I feel free to pick this one up. I first read it about 15 years ago, when my husband died after 3.5 years when he was brain damaged and I was his full time caregiver. Then I lost my parents , too, and for a while I was so exhausted and stressed I couldn't read anything.

I started listening to audiobooks on Libby and eventually picked this one because it was long. haha I loved it so much I immediately bought the book and read it right after, which I've never done before or since.

I remember being caught up in the questions of right, the greater good, personal responsibility... So much to think about. I'm eager to dip into it again and see what we both think now after so many years.

It has been a few years since I last read this one. Like Wobbley, this is one of my favorite fantasy authors.

Teri-K, I hope the read this time around brings you good memories to go with the hard ones.

Teri-K wrote: "Now that I've finished Bleak House I feel free to pick this one up. I first read it about 15 years ago, when my husband died after 3.5 years when he was brain damaged and I was his full time caregi..."

This sounds impossibly hard, Teri-K. It's not much consolation in comparison, but at least this tortuous path led you to an excellent book.

I just read the prologue. I cried again.

I never read fantasy, but I am not going to pass on a book that made Wobbley cry twice. I have asked for the library to get me a copy. Not sure how present I will be, but I will check in as I can.

I have read a number of GGK books but have saved this one and will be starting in a few days.

Sara wrote: "I never read fantasy, but I am not going to pass on a book that made Wobbley cry twice. I have asked for the library to get me a copy. Not sure how present I will be, but I will check in as I can."

I hope I'm not overselling it! :)

Yay, I'm glad so many people are joining this one.

After a couple of months where I have barely had the time/energy to read at all, I’m so looking forward to reading this book with all of you. Teri-K I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, but I’m glad that this book found you at a time when you needed it. I first read it maybe 20 or 25 years ago. Like Wobbley, I definitely cried in the first few pages, and expect to do so again (not for the only time in this book). Guy Kay is also one of my very favorite fantasy authors (or perhaps even just one of my very favorite authors, without the genre qualification needed) and I’m looking forward to reading this book again and seeing if it still holds up all these years later. I suspect it will. Hoping to start on it in the coming days.

This post has spoilers for the first 3 chapters

It's been a long time since I read this, so I don't remember all the details, though I remember the broad strokes of the book.

I'm not surprised that the prologue made me cry again -- that's a very strong 5 pages! It's pretty impressive that he can get readers to tears in so little time with characters we don't know. I find the writing in this section quite beautiful.

The first two chapters are mainly introducing us to some characters and the basics of the politics in this land. In the troupe (chapters 2 and 3), so far I'm starting to like Devin and Alessan (the piper) and Eghano (the very chill drummer). I also quite liked Rovigo from the bar, and I hope he'll turn up again.

I don't recall whether there's a point to the characters in the first chapter, or whether they were just there to introduce the region's politics and culture. Will Adreano become an important character? Is the unnamed stranger someone we know -- maybe Alessan? I don't remember, so time will tell.

The sex scene. Well, I never enjoy Guy Kay's sex scenes, but this one was a lot more benign than some (possibly because it's an early book from him, before he started getting carried away??). It's a suspect decision to add a scene like this so early, before we are attached to the characters. But what I like about it is that we learn by the end of the chapter that it's not gratuitous or idle sex; it was initiated intentionally as a distraction technique.

My favourite quote so far (yes, it's full of flowery fantasy stuffs, but the underlying sentiment is so right):

In mourning Sandre, Duke of Astibar, they mourned -- as was proper -- the dying of all the Triad's mortal children, brought through Morian's portals to move on Adaon's earth under Eanna's lights for so short a time. So sweet and bitter and short a season of days.

This post has spoilers through chapter 5.

Chapter 4 is the one in the hunting lodge. After the very strong prologue the first few chapters were really just setting the stage. I feel like chapter 4 is where the book starts getting pretty riveting, at least for me. We find out that Alessan is an important character, and we find out about a few conspiracies. Alessan feels very reassuring, like he has most situations in hand and is probably a good leader. I'm a bit sad that Tomasso doesn't look like he's going to get out of this; I was starting to like him. And I kind of liked his co-conspirators too.

Chapter 5 is interesting. We find out the premise of the book, in the sense of learning what is driving these characters. What I find interesting is that at first glance, it's almost a bit "so what?". Why can't they just use a different name for their province and cities? Surely the loss of all those people is more important, and securing the safety of the remaining people should be a higher priority for the prince than restoring a lost name. But. I feel like this is about how important symbols are to us. It's about what it means to lose not only people but a culture. It's about the power of memory, and about how much bigger and more tragic a loss is if it can't even be remembered. (Plus, honestly, Alessan's goal, should it be achieved, is also going to be better for the remaining people.) I also didn't at all see coming who the 6th person at the meeting was going to be. Sneaky.

Well, obviously I'm enjoying this so far.

This post has spoilers through chapter 6 (end of Part 1).

I'm giving this chapter its own post because chapter 7 starts a new section with new characters.

I enjoyed chapter 6 very much. Happily, we were reunited with the engaging Rovigo, and we also met his family. This entire section was pretty great, and among the new characters I particularly like his daughter Alais (predictable of me, since she got the most attention and is being set up as a possible end-of-book match for Devin, though I don't think she'll play a big role in the adventures between now and then). There was a twist with Rovigo already knowing Alessan. This didn't surprise me, but I think that's only because I sort of remembered it from a previous reading.

I don't know why it took me so long to realize it, but Devin is totally the "Harry Potter" character (or Arthur Dent, or Watson): the reader's guide to this world. He starts with very little more knowledge than we do, and is the legitimate within-story reason to explain all the things that most of the characters know but that the audience doesn't know (so that the need for explanation comes across as natural).

The ending section with Tomasso was heartbreaking, and yes, I admit it, I cried (again, over another character I barely know). But that's the thing about Guy Kay's best books: you have to be ready to have your heart broken.

This post has spoilers through chapter 8 (end of Part 2).

This part was pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the other characters we are following. Still, it did become quite engrossing, particularly in chapter 8. For me the most compelling parts of these chapters are the parts that take place in the present, in the palace. One of the things I like about Guy Kay's books is that the different sides in a war can all be filled with people we root for; there doesn't need to be a good side and a bad side. This is an early Guy Kay novel, and we see him starting to experiment with that here: Brandin is not purely a villain, and this section shows him through the eyes of someone who loves him.

The reveal about Dianora's brother being Baerd was something I did remember from a previous reading, so I can't comment on how well that surprise was handled. I will say it's economical, since it handles the back story of two characters from different sections of the book at the same time. The scenes of the soldiers bullying a 15-year-old Baerd help us to understand why it was hard for him to tell the story of Tigana to Devin, and to wait to see whether he could hear the word. Also, the sculptor from the tragic prologue returns as their father. Thinking of things from his perspective the night before the battle (in the prologue), and how he was remembering his family, I was particularly saddened by his wife's fate.

I guess the elephant in the room is the sexual relationship between Dianora and Baerd. First I'll say, the sex scenes here are not tasteless, and that's always nice in a Guy Kay (I've mentioned before that I think he sometimes gets carries away with them). He seems to know that restraint is needed here. My general feeling is that the sexual relationship is unnecessary for moving the story forward, that the normal brother-sister love would have fulfilled the same purpose. But maybe I feel that way simply because I'm from a culture where there is a strong taboo against this. I'm trying instead to think of it as demonstrating to the reader just how unimaginable their situation was in the wake of the war. In a way this section is about what happens when people reach their breaking point, both in terms of the relationship between the siblings, and also the paths they each choose moving forward.

You are cruising through - I haven't read your comments in detail yet as I want to approach it "fresh". Unfortunately I have a very sick cat and can't find it in myself to pick up a heavy book right now, I hope to get to it soon, though. I do look forward to reading your thoughts soon. :)

Teri-K wrote: "You are cruising through - I haven't read your comments in detail yet as I want to approach it "fresh". Unfortunately I have a very sick cat and can't find it in myself to pick up a heavy book righ..."

Oh I'm so sorry Teri-K! A sick cat is really stressful. I hope your kitty recovers soon!

Yes, I'm getting a bit too far ahead of everyone. I'll see if I can talk myself into taking a short break to let people catch up. I'll admit it is a bit daunting to be trying to make progress in both this and Bleak House at the same time, since they are both door-stoppers in their way (especially the Dickens of course).

Wobbley wrote: "Teri-K wrote: "You are cruising through - I haven't read your comments in detail yet as I want to approach it "fresh". Unfortunately I have a very sick cat and can't find it in myself to pick up a ..."

You should read at whatever pace works for you - even if it's torpedo speed. :)