Originally posted by: CogitoErgoSum
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Yay yay!! When I commented on the Finale & Epilogue of the Frost Knight yesterday, feeling all bittersweet and full of saudade at the end of the Winter series đ, little did I know that you were going to be back with a bang, with a spin off series to the SS I hold as my second favorite among all your works. đ (Of course, I have a hard time deciding between Icarus and Elixir...but maybe, just maybe a teeny, tiny edge to Icarus. Though some chapters in Elixir literally made me cry...).
I am so very happy now đ Still waiting for the Spells of Spring, though for now Calypso will keep me very intrigued indeed.
I loved how you focused on the Annapurna--Sanskaar bond here, a relationship which both of us find so fascinating, and have explored in different ways. A mother--son bond forged in the heart, fraught sometimes with misunderstanding, pain and bias---but ultimately proving that sometimes, the ties of the soul go deeper than both blood and water...
Your portrayal of Annapurna was something I really loved in Icarus. A mother who had chosen to sacrifice her son's values, his love, his very sense of identity and honor; in order to protect the facade of the perfect, united family she thought she had. And the ceaseless, all consuming guilt that was eating away at her ever since.
I loved how in the spin off, you gave such a beautiful description of the scene when Sanskaar walks out of the home in betrayed disgust, in weary, bitter bewilderment. Those lines "I am not taking your guilt with me" were so full of the pain he had felt, at being betrayed by someone whom he adored.
I liked the 3 quotes on the nature of guilt you had mentioned. Very apt! The Anna Godbersen one beautifully depicted Annapurna's frame of mind in the beginning, as did the Saba Taahir one for the last section. And in between----that amazing, wonderful quote from one of my favorite novels and favorite authors of all time, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini! Such an accurate quote to describe Lakshya's frame of mind after having committed that murder in the heat of the moment; and then being gutless and cowardly enough to do anything his father says, to divert suspicion from himself. To the extent of framing the woman he "loved" and to marrying her own half sister! There was, though, that small moment earlier, when as so powerfully conveyed in that quote, he almost wanted to be discovered in his wrongdoing, so that he would not have to carry this huge, crippling burden of guilt alone. But in his case, the feeling seems to have passed, or least, suppressed very well indeed...
So this is exactly how Annapurna came to know about Lakshya's involvement, and how she knew about his mehndi stained dress. You'd mentioned it in Icarus of course, but reading it in detail here made it all seem so hard hitting, almost as if it was happening right in front of me.
The last section was beautiful. The dichotomy between fear and power that Annapurna faces. Fear of getting caught in what she was doing, of turning against the husband she had meekly obeyed all her life. But a sense of power of doing the right thing, power of preventing a further ghastly sin.
And above all, her extremely hopeful desire, of seeing the son of her heart again. As a mother, I found that so very moving.
Dozens of đ¤ đ¤ for Calypso, Saku. So does Calypso refer to Annapurna? She is trying to, well, not detain, but to bring Sanskaar back after all. Or are you referring to Casper đ as Calypso? The person to save whom SK actually returns initially---before of course, falling deeply in love with her, and subsequently reconciling with his mother?
Lots of Love,
----Viji