Rec: The Roots of the Ivy
Oct. 4th, 2012 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee34I just read Aranel Took's The Roots of the Ivy, and it was a completely and utterly satisfying story and exactly the kind of commentary on human/hobbit relationships that I was looking for. My only complaint about the story (which really isn't a complaint at all) is that every now and again the story would have one of those typos that just happen even in the best edited fics that are like 100,000 words long. LOL
MAJOR STORY SPOILERS
The story is Merry/Eowyn, Eowyn/Faramir, Merry/Estella, Pippin/Diamond of Longcleeve, and Ivy/Pippin.
Okay, here's the deal. There are a ton of original characters in this fic. Ivy is Merry and Eowyn's daughter who obviously does not exist in canon. I have a hard time telling which of the hobbits are OCs and which are mentioned in some genealogy (probably, for instance, Sam and Rosie's children are canonically named), but for all intents and purposes those characters may as well be original for the amount of time they get in canon. If you don't like OCs, please give this fic a chance. This is some of the most amazing characterization and world building I've read in fic in a long time. The exploration of what it means to be hobbit and human and to straddle both those worlds is absolutely wonderful as is the development of culture in the Shire and in the world of men--politics, ritual, every day life. Wow.
The basic premise is that Merry and Eowyn take comfort in each other on the eve of battle; Eowyn gets pregnant but doesn't realize it until after she and Faramir are married. Faramir is utterly awesome in this story. He understands (though is understandably hurt and a bit jealous). Eowyn has the baby in secret in Rivendell and Merry takes her to the Shire to live where he and Pippin basically raise her. Eowyn is devastated for years, and then she and Faramir start a family. Merry is devastated for years, and then he marries Estella and starts a family. Eventually, Ivy starts going on journeys to Rohan and Gondor, and people from the Fellowship and from those lands also visit the Shire.
This is a fascinating look at what it might be like to be both hobbit and human. Ivy is too tall for a hobbit and her feet get cold unlike other hobbits. She matures much faster, becoming a woman in her early teens rather than twenties like hobbits would. Yet, she's short for a human and she has the hairy feet of hobbits. Eowyn doesn't want to raise her in Gondor because she doesn't want her patronized and underestimated the way she saw Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin treated. She's also concerned because of the taboo of illegitimacy (particularly for royal women with illegitimate children). And yet, Ivy feels uncomfortable in the Shire as well. Because she matures a lot faster than her compatriots, that causes a lot of tension for her, as does her height. She feels awkward and out of place in both worlds.
I cried about a billion times reading this story, both because of the heart breaking moments and the moments of pure joy. This is a story about love and friendship and family (both chosen and of birth) and finding a place in the world. I cannot wait to read the sequel to it and devour more of this author's writing.
MAJOR STORY SPOILERS
The story is Merry/Eowyn, Eowyn/Faramir, Merry/Estella, Pippin/Diamond of Longcleeve, and Ivy/Pippin.
Okay, here's the deal. There are a ton of original characters in this fic. Ivy is Merry and Eowyn's daughter who obviously does not exist in canon. I have a hard time telling which of the hobbits are OCs and which are mentioned in some genealogy (probably, for instance, Sam and Rosie's children are canonically named), but for all intents and purposes those characters may as well be original for the amount of time they get in canon. If you don't like OCs, please give this fic a chance. This is some of the most amazing characterization and world building I've read in fic in a long time. The exploration of what it means to be hobbit and human and to straddle both those worlds is absolutely wonderful as is the development of culture in the Shire and in the world of men--politics, ritual, every day life. Wow.
The basic premise is that Merry and Eowyn take comfort in each other on the eve of battle; Eowyn gets pregnant but doesn't realize it until after she and Faramir are married. Faramir is utterly awesome in this story. He understands (though is understandably hurt and a bit jealous). Eowyn has the baby in secret in Rivendell and Merry takes her to the Shire to live where he and Pippin basically raise her. Eowyn is devastated for years, and then she and Faramir start a family. Merry is devastated for years, and then he marries Estella and starts a family. Eventually, Ivy starts going on journeys to Rohan and Gondor, and people from the Fellowship and from those lands also visit the Shire.
This is a fascinating look at what it might be like to be both hobbit and human. Ivy is too tall for a hobbit and her feet get cold unlike other hobbits. She matures much faster, becoming a woman in her early teens rather than twenties like hobbits would. Yet, she's short for a human and she has the hairy feet of hobbits. Eowyn doesn't want to raise her in Gondor because she doesn't want her patronized and underestimated the way she saw Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin treated. She's also concerned because of the taboo of illegitimacy (particularly for royal women with illegitimate children). And yet, Ivy feels uncomfortable in the Shire as well. Because she matures a lot faster than her compatriots, that causes a lot of tension for her, as does her height. She feels awkward and out of place in both worlds.
I cried about a billion times reading this story, both because of the heart breaking moments and the moments of pure joy. This is a story about love and friendship and family (both chosen and of birth) and finding a place in the world. I cannot wait to read the sequel to it and devour more of this author's writing.
