Claire Barham

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Claire is Currently Reading

Claire Barham is currently reading

Briar's Book (Circle of Magic, #4)

by Tamora Pierce (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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Claire Barham said: " I love this book. I've read it multiple times. You would think during our pandemic, covid-19, that it would stress me out but it actually does the opposite. I find it soothing. Every time I read this books or others from this series, something differ I love this book. I've read it multiple times. You would think during our pandemic, covid-19, that it would stress me out but it actually does the opposite. I find it soothing. Every time I read this books or others from this series, something different stays with me than the last time I read it, different parts have more meaning.
This quote is so appropriate for our lives now..

"You know why I hate plagues? ... Most disasters are fast and big. You can see everyone else's life got overturned when yours did, houses are smashed, livestock dead, but plagues isolate people. They shut themselves inside while disease takes a life at a time, day after day. It adds up. Whole cities break under the load of what was lost. People stop trusting each other because you don't know who's sick."
- Rosethorn in her sickbed

I just can't get over how this book, published over 20 years ago, touches on so many aspects of our lives, my life, now and the past two years. It's also a great book to deal with death and dying. I read it after my father died. It was like therapy then, and it's like therapy now.

It's kind of cool to look at the symbolism of the book. Briar is a greenmage, his powers are earth based. The book is very grounded, and earth is the epitome of being grounded. In this book you don't see huge magical workings, not a ton of fancy overt magic going on especially with Briar. This book in some ways is the least magical of this 4 book series, maybe even of all Tamora's books, which is somewhat poetic. We get to process the pandemic in the book more or less as a "normal" human being. We are brought low, and it's good. We see the pandemic through the eyes of a boy, a former street urchin learning to be a healer or nurse. He sees first hand how plague effects someone just like him, had he not had a wealthy man pluck him from gutters because he was talented. We get small insights into the disproportionate amount of damage to the lower classes that a pandemic has. It addresses prejudice and classicism. It shows the ignorance of those who have never had to worry about money. It's fantastic.

Oh and, p.s., Frostpine feels very strongly about 4th amendment rights! He very briefly tells how he does not like making protective items for the "police" which seems like a very prophetic subject given what was going on with the people's opinion of the police as the beginning of the Pandemic. He thinks that a little civil disobedience keeps police in their place, gives them a "healthy fear" which prevents them from abusing their power. "how can you object to protection of those who keep the dukes peace?" - (said by wealthy white snob character, who later redeems himself) "A proper fear of such things keeps soldiers polite. Otherwise they might be tempted to push common folk around. Orders to enter peoples homes uninvited are a sore temptation for peacekeepers I've found." ...more "

Mar 07, 2022 12:05PM · see review

Claire’s Quotes

“Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age. The child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.”
― Edna St. Vincent Millay

tags: childhood, loss-of-innocence

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