"The Lions of Al-Rassan"

The Lions of Al-Rassan has been a favorite of mine for at least fifteen years or so. Last week I recommended it to a new friend, and decided that it was a good time to re-read it myself.

It was as wonderful as I remembered it being.

I read the last one-quarter last night and ended up crying hard as I finished -- not something I remember doing before. Maybe it's because my experience of both love and loss are far deeper than they were two years ago. Maybe my increasing awareness of the tragedy of war and violence increased the emotional impact of the wars in the book. Whatever the reasons, I cried and cried, and finally had to call oakmouse to help talk me through it.

The heart of the book are the characters: Jehane, Ammar and Rodrigo, and their friends, family and comrades -- people of goodwill who are able to transcend the tragic, violent histories of nations and religious conflict to find connection, friendship, and love, but who ultimately must choose between loyalty to friends and loyalty to nations and faith.

There is adventure, political intrigue, religous conflict, romance, warfare, poetry, subterfuge, daring, and humor.

I love this book so much.

She's Going Down

I was utterly surprised to receive a phone call a few minutes ago from the other admin in the old group: someone who was re-org'd into the division months before I left, but I never really worked with. Her opening question: "Did you have any. . . problems with anyone in the old admin group?" (or words to that effect).

She's on my new floor, so I went down to her desk for a chat. (This was not a conversation I wanted to have over the phone with someone I didn't know.) She told me that previously she had considered Miss V a friend, but not since she started working with her. She says the exact same things I did, the same things I've been hearing from the other new admins.

The thing Miss V doesn't realize is that now that there are three other admins to alienate at once, they have strength -- and safety -- in numbers. If all three of them complain together to their bosses, and ask them to intervene with her boss, then I can't imagine her being able to continue to get away with treating people the way she does. Admin #3 told me that even a VP confided to her how badly Miss V treated him.

I shouldn't feel such fierce satisfaction at the thought of Miss V going down in flames, but after so many years of struggle with her, I just can't help it.

I hope they fire her.