Mothers can not tell us who we are.
Mirrors can not tell us who we are.
Only time can tell for every moment
we are choosing what to be.
The story:
Mouche is only a son. With no sisters, his parents have little choice
but to sell him to one of the houses that train Consorts. And so his
training begins.
When Ornery returns to her home, she discovers that her whole family is dead, buried under mud and stone and earth. So she puts on the veils and clothes of a man and travels the seas as no woman would be allowed to do.
The Questioner has the power to judge a world, and to punish those who do not respect human and nonhuman minorities. Now she is on her way to Newholme, to the world of Mouche and Ornery, to find answers to some of her questions.
Ellin is a clone, bred and raised to become a dancer. She loves the dance, but suddenly her world changes, forever, when she gets involved with the Questioner.
Bao is a man who dances the roles of women in the traditional Japanese Kabuki. He too finds himself entangeled with the Questioner and her search for answers. Answers that may mean the destruction of Newholme.
Thoughts about the book:
This is a fascinating and strange book, just like a lot of Sheri
Tepper's later books. She seems fond of these strange worlds that are
in some way so familiar to our own, and yet so different.
This is a book about women's rights, but also about the rights of men. It tells stories of both men and women who cannot choose their own destiny.
About the author
starcat@starcat.rlyeh.net