How to Rule A Country
“How to Rule A Country” ---- A Feast for Crows, 4th Volume, A Song of Ice and Fire, 776 pages
It’s a fast reading, finished in 2 weeks. Plowing through the cruel, bloody, while passionate plotline of A Storm of Swords, this book makes you feel as if come to a shallow cove with gentle flow of waters: mud and sand is brushed away; stones in different shapes, colors and sizes scatter over, making it illuminating.
Readers say the fourth book is not very readable as an independent work, as the whole series is bundled in tight continuation of storyline. But I quite enjoy my reading this time: since Martin puts more time and effort in just addressing one of the main stream of plots, the content becomes more persuasive, with more details on depictions of secular life, court conspiracy, war and political tactics, making the whole book deeper in thought.
Substantial part of this book is written from Cersei’s perspective. As a sensible comment from Jaime Lannister, Cersei is “not lack of wit, but without good judgment”. I think that is a very interesting remark considering the sympathetic perspective shift of the character of Jaime. A statesman requires vision and judgment, which the “paranoid narcissist” Cersei has no hold of. All she cares is a short-sighted personal gain of winning over enemies who may bring challenge to her power. But all her scheme is quite self-destructive, by simply creating more and more absurd conspiracies into the court life, until she herself is put down by the Sparrows. As soon as she sits in front of the Iron Throne, the realm degrades deeper in chaos.
At last, she thinks all she’s done is for her son – an unsurprisingly lame excuse.
Chaos is the major backdrop theme of this book. The aftermath of the “war of 5 kings” is such a losing proposition that no lord of any family is capable enough to solve. More and more absurdities in religion and common life are popping out, fundamentalist preachers are everywhere. The world is changing fast. This is a very interesting topic in this book.
Bonus of attractive element of this book is, starting here more differences in plot arrangement between novel and TV drama can be found. This adds a novel, exciting feeling to reading.
