Is this surprising? The book series centers around the struggle for political control of a kingdom and as a result is told by the people involved in that struggle. What would the perspective of an uninvolved peasant or stevedore add?
oat
joined 3 months ago
Suttree strikes me as being similarly world weary as Maqroll but McCarthy's characterization is much richer than Mutis's and I enjoyed the book more than I'm enjoying Maqroll.
You know - I read the comparisons to Don Quixote before I picked up this book and I REALLY disliked Don Quixote. I did finish part 1 but could not bring myself to start part 2 - not sure if that counts as DNF or not.
In answer to your question, I'm not sure I see strong parallels between Maqroll and Don Quixote, the tone in Don Quixote was much less disenchanted/jaded and more... well, quixotic. I don't think Maqroll as character has the same "humorous" (I didn't find it funny) self-delusion that people appreciate in Don Quixote. Maqroll is a realist his adventures just aren't very believable and I don't think the writing/atmosphere outweighs the trudging plot. I think my main objection to Maqroll (hearkening back to the Dr. Evil reference) is that it comes across to me as if it was written by a person who isn't very worldy but uses obscure/exotic settings to seem like they are. Which is strange because by all accounts Mutis was actually quite well traveled. I guess in my opinion where Melville succeeds in building credibility by delving into the minutia of cetology Mutis fails in establishing his worldliness with his plot/settings (in my opinion of course).
The question is not whether a peasant could be an interesting character. Obviously they could. A talented writer could make almost anyone’s life compelling. The question is whether that perspective serves the story being told.
ASOIAF is a story about political power. The people who have the ability to affect those outcomes are the obvious focus.
A peon’s POV would be telling a different story and shift the focus from the people competing to the people living with the consequences of the competition. That could be a great novel, but it would not advance the retelling of the dynastic struggle for control of Westeros.
This is why I asked why you find the absence of lower-class POVs surprising. It seems like an obvious consequence of the scope and focus of the story.