The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner

My April recommendation is the continuation of last month’s. I read the second book in the Queen’s Thief series, The Queen of Attolia. This book, just like the first, had me enthralled by storytelling, specifically the way that the author masterfully conceals information from the reader. I enjoyed the complete record-scratch flip(s) that the story gives us after the first book. Starting the book off by permanently incapacitating your main character—the greatest thief in the world, no longer able to thieve—will go down as one of my Top Anime Betrayals, and it’s the most, truly astounding plot device and tool of character development that I have ever read.

The story places Eugenides in the uncomfortable position of rediscovering his place in a world of warring kingdoms, political power-plays, and within the plans and boundaries of his gods. Unlike the first book, the gods do not fully comply with Eugenides, resulting in a heart-breaking moment (for me) near the end of the book. Gen becomes a kind of stereotypical vision of a man shaking his fists at the heavens and asking his gods, “Why?” On the heels of the first book, the contrast of Eugenides’ encounter with the gods while stealing Hamiathes’s Gift, and his encounter at the end of The Queen of Attolia, reveals a clear shift in path for the Thief. Perhaps a shift that he isn’t fully ready for. 

I can’t not talk about the insane romance this book presents. Both Eugenides and Attolia are tortured emotionally and physically by their love for one another on a scale I have never seen, and I was Eating. It. Up. I enjoyed seeing how much they are changed by one another, especially Attolia. Throughout the book she presents as a stoic and hardened leader, but privately she’s plagued by the things she’s done to Eugenides. By the end we see her mask soften because of Gen’s devotion to her, despite and because of what it cost him.

-Elise

Cowboy Gangster Politician (EP) by Goldie Boutilier 

I am a defender of country music, and I believe country is at its best when it’s simple: a guitar, a story, and a strong voice. That’s all that’s needed on the new EP by Goldie Boutilier, Cowboy Gangster Politician. With the power of her husky voice, Boutilier’s straightforward storytelling becomes all the more impactful. It’s her first release under the name Goldie Boutilier, the first, in her words, working “with a producer that plays real instruments,” and like her name, she’s struck gold. 

“He Thinks That I’m an Angel” starts off soft and slow, letting the lyrics and instruments build gradually until the switch in the chorus: “He thinks that I’m an angel / But I’m in love with you.” The eponymous track, “Cowboy Gangster Politician,” thrums with a plucky, Fleetwood Mac-inspired bass line. She defends, if not pleads for, a relationship that already ended, sounding so impassioned that the chorus sounds less intimidating than hopeful: “You can’t separate a fire from a flame that already burns / You can’t get away from a woman who loves you.” The last song on the EP, “Body Heat,” takes an 80s edge to create a fiery track about desire and love, again from the perspective of a cheater. The electric guitars punch up the raunchiness of the track, especially in the pre-chorus, which builds in desire and frustration lyrically and sonically. The chorus breaks upon a simple phrase, “Gotta feel your body heat / baby,” but the repetitive breathiness perfectly matches the atmosphere of the song. 

The remaining song on the album, “K-Town,” is Boutilier at her most personal. It’s a classic country fable, following her trajectory from small-town to stardom, with a reference to country classics, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams. “Cause I’ve been through a ring of fire / Been so lonesome I could die,” Boutilier laments in the chorus. Then she finishes off with her own words, adding the self-assurance and determination with which she’s infused the whole album: “I’m the daughter of a coal miner’s daughter / And if I had the chance, I know I’d do it twice.”

End Notes: Credit for The Queen of Attolia book covers, Credit for Cowboy Gangster Politician album cover