It’s more than a little breathless, but, if you’re looking for an introduction to the poem, Spencer’s Faerie Queen, some Serious Strikers think may be key to Strike5, Troubled Blood. Enjoy!
Hat-tip to ChrisC!
Rowling Writes Trans Views Tell All Post; Fandom Divides ‘Team Jo,’ ‘Team Trans’
June 12, 2020 by
On 6 June, J. K. Rowling tweeted nine separate times on the issue of transgender people and their rights. I think the most important thread is this one:
Though only a reiteration of her #IStandWithMaya Tweet Heard Round the World from last December, one with special emphasis in each part of the thread that the accusation that she hates transgender people is untrue and unfair, the world that believes with former Vice President Joe Biden that transgender rights “are the civil rights issue of our time” have doxxed her thoroughly. Celebrities as closely tied with her as Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, Eddie Redmayne, and Evanna Lynch have all gone public to affirm that “transgender women are women.” [To my knowledge, Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger have not yet checked in on this issue.]
On 10 June Rowling responded with an essay which was posted on her website, ‘J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reasons for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues,’ and she has pinned a link to this post to the top of her twitter page (she has been silent on twitter since 6 June). In this essay she reviews the history of her involvement with the transgender issue, the story of her several fat-finger mistakes at the keyboard that led to her being identified as “transphobic” by trans activists online, and of her decision to return to twitter in December after a long hiatus to support Maya Foraster. She details, too, the fallout thereafter, not only the verbal abuse and threats she endured and expected, but also the unanticipated “avalanche of emails and letters” “the overwhelming majority of which were positive, grateful and supportive.” These notes, she writes, [Read more…]
How to Get Ready for ‘Troubled Blood’
May 13, 2020 by 7 Comments
This May the #StrikeReadalong continues with THE SILKWORM! Are you picking-up the book for the first time or diving in again?https://t.co/lUWITCUZu8#TheSilkworm #RobertGalbraith pic.twitter.com/gZNFtIR6d0
— Robert Galbraith (@RGalbraith) May 8, 2020
What is the best way to get ready for the publication of Strike5, Troubled Blood?
I think, based on my experience with previous Rowling releases, at least three efforts will yield the best results.
First and most obvious: re-read the books that precede the new entry. Rowling is a maestro of narrative slow release, one who plants clues and foreshadowings of coming attractions in the first books of a series. I enjoy listening to the Robert Glenister audio-books of the Strike novels for a fun review (and I keep a notepad with me while I listen if something catches my attention).
Second: review the HogwartsProfessor posts and MuggleNet podcasts on the books in question. You won’t find discussion of subjects from mythology and alchemy to the links with parallel numbers in the Harry Potter series and the ring composition of each book and the series as whole anywhere else. Get yourself up to speed with the conversation that has been happening here at Serious Reader Central about Cormoran, Robin, and Company.
Third: Join that conversation! There are the comment threads here, of course, and now the #StrikeReadAlong for you to jump in and share your questions, insights, and critique. The more the merrier — and it’s never too late!
How are you preparing for Troubled Blood? Has anyone tackled Faerie Queen or a prolonged listen to Marilyn Manson albums?
Rowling Retweets Swan Reunion
May 7, 2020 by Leave a Comment
UPDATE#Swan that was #shot in the head whilst sat on her nest in Thatcham has been reunited with her mate. She had surgery to remove the shot from the base of her skull. She has recovered very well. The video is the first moments of their reunion. pic.twitter.com/vEB2YhwqAI
— SwanSupport (@swan_support) May 5, 2020
For Serious Strikers out there, this is a point of interest because… well, The Swan Symbolism in Lethal White. See also Elizabeth Baird-Hardy on the subject and Joanne Gray.
Swans separated and re-united may be the single most important image or metaphor for the Cormoran Strike-Robin Ellacott relationship.
Discuss.
Reading, Writing, Rowling 37: Troubled Blood? Spenser, Manson, and More!
April 27, 2020 by Leave a Comment
From the MuggleNet write-up by Laurie Beckoff:
In this bonus episode John and Katy predict what will happen in the next novel in the Rowling/Galbraith Cormoran Strike series with the help of Elizabeth Baird Hardy (Milton, Spencer, and the Chronicles of Narnia) and Beatrice Groves (Literary Allusion in Harry Potter). Given the Strike 5 title Troubled Blood, John explains Rowling’s reliance on the blood motif in Harry Potter and ponders its recurrence in Cormoran Strike. We speculate about the possibility of Marilyn Manson epigraphs through the book, how Manson lyrics could connect with key characters, and whether this blows apart the potential for repeating the chiastic structure of the Harry Potter series. Other clues point to the phrase “troubled blood” in Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene. Like Rowling, Spenser mixes genres, with literary allusions abounding. Britomart, Florimell, and the Redcrosse Knight provide hints for the plot and characters of Strike 5: women in danger, Robin in disguise, depression and suicide, doppelgängers. From tattoos to Twitter headers, we leave no clue unexamined! Are we on the right track? What do you think?
Recent Conversation