Help Me Out with Feast

[Maxxine]

So I'm on my fourth reread of the books and I just got to the beginning of Feast. Feast is by far my least favorite, but I can't bring myself to just skip it. Even though I don't like it, I recognize important things happen. I know there are a lot of people on here who name Feast as their favorite book. So I'm asking specifically those people, what are the things you like? What should I be on the lookout for this time around? There's almost 0 plot movement in Feast and half the characters are missing, so what is it that makes it stand out to you?  I'm not necessarily looking to have my mind changed as in I don't foresee Feast ever becoming my favorite. But, I really want to go into this reread with a somewhat open mind so I don't miss anything just because I'm trying to rush through it. So if I can at least be on the look out for things that make it more enjoyable, I want to give it a try. 

[weirwoodface]

Well,

On my first read of the series, I admit that my reaction was like many people. After the breathless action of A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows felt like a huge speed bump in the road. However, I made myself read and pay attention, and by the second half of the book I was fine with it.

On my second reading, I had no such trouble with aFfC. I was reading the series slowly and trying to pay attention to small details that I might have missed. I even enjoyed it.

I disagree that there is 0 plot movement. Look at it this way. The previous book is titled "A storm of swords" as in fierce battles while this book is "A feast for crows" as in the crows are cleaning up all the corpses in the deadly silence. Behind that silence, new characters slide in and new plots develop, not to completely take the places of the ones of the first three books but to continue them. For instance, in Crows we really start to see the culture of the Ironborn start to come to life. That's just one thing I can think of.

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

I'm quite strange. I remember enjoying Feast much more than Dance and found it hard to believe that they were intended to be the same book. 

[Daendrew]

Read FeastDance. A combined ADWD/AFFC reading order

http://afeastwithdragons.com/

[rotting sea cow]

1 hour ago, Maxxine said:

So I'm on my fourth reread of the books and I just got to the beginning of Feast. Feast is by far my least favorite, but I can't bring myself to just skip it. Even though I don't like it, I recognize important things happen. I know there are a lot of people on here who name Feast as their favorite book. So I'm asking specifically those people, what are the things you like? What should I be on the lookout for this time around? There's almost 0 plot movement in Feast and half the characters are missing, so what is it that makes it stand out to you?  I'm not necessarily looking to have my mind changed as in I don't foresee Feast ever becoming my favorite. But, I really want to go into this reread with a somewhat open mind so I don't miss anything just because I'm trying to rush through it. So if I can at least be on the look out for things that make it more enjoyable, I want to give it a try. 

I consider Feast as an interim book towards Dance, in the sense it feels a bit like it is made of different chapters stapled together with relatively little connection with each other. Dance is imho a much better structured story, more potent thematically than any other book and contain more of these mysteries we much like. It also ends in several cliff hanging plots that keep us busy speculating.

Both books however, have that feeling that there is no much movement, compared with previous books. From a pure plot perspective both books are carefully arranging the pieces, in terms of character development and geographical positioning, towards TWOW where a lot of things will be resolved.

[Byfort of Corfe]

Help?  I don't know, is it helpful to realize that you are not alone?  I found much of "Feast" as well frankly as ADWD to pretty much be literary filler.  And to be honest the chapters that I have seen (I don't know that I've seen them all but what I've seen just seems to be about Sansa and Harry Hair) of WOW don't leave me much confidence in it either.  I get the feeling that GRRM is so over ASOIAF that he would like to just write the final chapters and move on to writing more D&E stuff. 

[White Ravens]

1 hour ago, Maxxine said:

So I'm on my fourth reread of the books and I just got to the beginning of Feast. Feast is by far my least favorite, but I can't bring myself to just skip it. Even though I don't like it, I recognize important things happen. I know there are a lot of people on here who name Feast as their favorite book. So I'm asking specifically those people, what are the things you like? What should I be on the lookout for this time around? There's almost 0 plot movement in Feast and half the characters are missing, so what is it that makes it stand out to you?  I'm not necessarily looking to have my mind changed as in I don't foresee Feast ever becoming my favorite. But, I really want to go into this reread with a somewhat open mind so I don't miss anything just because I'm trying to rush through it. So if I can at least be on the look out for things that make it more enjoyable, I want to give it a try. 

 

53 minutes ago, Daendrew said:

Read FeastDance. A combined ADWD/AFFC reading order

http://afeastwithdragons.com/

 

I agree with Daendrew in recommending the combined reading order.  I got the list from here: http://boiledleather.com/post/25902554148/a-new-readerfriendly-combined-reading-order-for-a

 

The two books contain events that occur in the same timeline but splitting the POVs into separate books creates the feeling that the events in Feast happen before those in Dance, especially for those of us that read them when they were released six years apart.  This reading list remedies that.

[Dorian Martell's son]

The problem with feast is that it takes characters that show up in, or that we get povs in later books and centers the story around them, Like Jamie, Cersei, Brienne and Asha. first book characters like Jon, Dany and Tyrion are not to be found.  

[Makk]

I didn't actually like Feast at all on my first read. When I started reading the series the first 3 books were all out and I read them through in quick succession. Then there was a long wait for Feast. As great a book as aSoS was, it was kind of depressing, but I felt Feast would be the start of the upswing. At the time I wasn't following any news or anything and suddenly discovering half the characters were missing, and not having the tone swing to a more optimistic note, was quite depressing.

Eventually Dance delivered everything and more that I had been waiting for in Feast, but it was overall a very long wait. On rereads since Dance has been released I came to appreciate Feast a lot more and really enjoy the Jaime and Cersei chapters, it just hadn't been what I was looking for at the time.

[Clegane'sPup]

It’s a bloated 49 chapter book with at least 12 points of view.

The combined reading order is a good suggestion.

I’ve only read FfC twice. The second time I challenged myself. With pen and paper in hand I read every page. I write rather small. I ended up with 16 pages (college ruled paper) notes.

Now that I have my notes and have access to the search site, I doubt if I will ever read FfC cover to cover again.

[snow is the man]

I think one of the big problems is that most (not all) of the characters in it were ones people didn't have as favorites. For example my favorite POV characters are jon,dany,and sir barriston and they weren't in it (I like arya as well but have a hard time rereading her chapters). I have reread all the books multiple times but only read feast one and had to push myself through certain parts. But at the same time I understand some of the reasons people like it.

It goes into alot of lore and shows stuff we hadn't seen and alot of stuff like that.

[wiredup]

I loved and still love it. When It came out, I re-read everything else so I could flow right into it. What I mainly love is the change of pace and the very large view it takes. The frenetic pace of Acok and ASOS is great, but AFFC is exactly what happens after a major war. Things slow down, people start to pick up the pieces, and the survivors survey where they stand.

Plus, finally there are POV's in some cool places I had only indirectly read about: Dorne, Braavos and a more thorough view of The Iron Islands. And personally, I love Brienne's entire quasi Don Quixote story, I love everything to do with Samwell, and Arya in the house of the many faced god is good reading to me.

Finally, when I first read it, and when Instill re-read it now, I am not hung up on how everythig will end. Great stories like these, IMO, are just passing stories in a larger history; Fictional or not. I read it for the writing, not the reveals or to root for who I identify with most.  

[Prof. Cecily]

I finished my second reading of AFFC.

The first time around I ripped through it impatiently.

The second, I was struck at how it brought back memories of traveling through the Fen country in England and the country around Mont st. Michel in France.

I'm deeply appreciative of GRRM's description of the lands he's created and so that probably influenes me.

Also, that harrowing description of the effect of war on men is some of the most powerful writing I've come across

Spoiler

Septon Meribald disagreed. "More less than more. There are many sorts of outlaws, just as there are many sorts of birds. A sandpiper and a sea eagle both have wings, but they are not the same. The singers love to sing of good men forced to go outside the law to fight some wicked lord, but most outlaws are more like this ravening Hound than they are the lightning lord. They are evil men, driven by greed, soured by malice, despising the gods and caring only for themselves. Broken men are more deserving of our pity, though they may be just as dangerous. Almost all are common-born, simple folk who had never been more than a mile from the house where they were born until the day some lord came round to take them off to war. Poorly shod and poorly clad, they march away beneath his banners, ofttimes with no better arms than a sickle or a sharpened hoe, or a maul they made themselves by lashing a stone to a stick with strips of hide. Brothers march with brothers, sons with fathers, friends with friends. They've heard the songs and stories, so they go off with eager hearts, dreaming of the wonders they will see, of the wealth and glory they will win. War seems a fine adventure, the greatest most of them will ever know.

"Then they get a taste of battle.

"For some, that one taste is enough to break them. Others go on for years, until they lose count of all the battles they have fought in, but even a man who has survived a hundred fights can break in his hundred-and-first. Brothers watch their brothers die, fathers lose their sons, friends see their friends trying to hold their entrails in after they've been gutted by an axe.

"They see the lord who led them there cut down, and some other lord shouts that they are his now. They take a wound, and when that's still half-healed they take another. There is never enough to eat, their shoes fall to pieces from the marching, their clothes are torn and rotting, and half of them are shitting in their breeches from drinking bad water.

"If they want new boots or a warmer cloak or maybe a rusted iron halfhelm, they need to take them from a corpse, and before long they are stealing from the living too, from the smallfolk whose lands they're fighting in, men very like the men they used to be. They slaughter their sheep and steal their chickens, and from there it's just a short step to carrying off their daughters too. And one day they look around and realize all their friends and kin are gone, that they are fighting beside strangers beneath a banner that they hardly recognize. They don't know where they are or how to get back home and the lord they're fighting for does not know their names, yet here he comes, shouting for them to form up, to make a line with their spears and scythes and sharpened hoes, to stand their ground. And the knights come down on them, faceless men clad all in steel, and the iron thunder of their charge seems to fill the world . . .

"And the man breaks.

"He turns and runs, or crawls off afterward over the corpses of the slain, or steals away in the black of night, and he finds someplace to hide. All thought of home is gone by then, and kings and lords and gods mean less to him than a haunch of spoiled meat that will let him live another day, or a skin of bad wine that might drown his fear for a few hours. The broken man lives from day to day, from meal to meal, more beast than man. Lady Brienne is not wrong. In times like these, the traveler must beware of broken men, and fear them . . . but he should pity them as well."

When Meribald was finished a profound silence fell upon their little band. Brienne could hear the wind rustling through a clump of pussywillows, and farther off the faint cry of a loon. She could hear Dog panting softly as he loped along beside the septon and his donkey, tongue lolling from his mouth. The quiet stretched and stretched, until finally she said, "How old were you when they marched you off to war?"

A Feast for Crows, Brienne V

Still, as I say, I'm only on my second reading of the saga.

My concepts and opinions about GRRM's work have changed radically since my first reading and I have no doubt they'll change yet again as I go into a third reading.

[Helikzhan]

13 hours ago, Byfort of Corfe said:

Help?  I don't know, is it helpful to realize that you are not alone?  I found much of "Feast" as well frankly as ADWD to pretty much be literary filler.  And to be honest the chapters that I have seen (I don't know that I've seen them all but what I've seen just seems to be about Sansa and Harry Hair) of WOW don't leave me much confidence in it either.  I get the feeling that GRRM is so over ASOIAF that he would like to just write the final chapters and move on to writing more D&E stuff. 

I noticed this myself in a lot of storytelling through movies, video games and books. Some kind of creative entropy where it's clear the author was just done and wanted to wrap things up. 

[bent branch]

Actually, there is probably nothing anyone can do to help you enjoy AFFC more. Whether you can reach that place depends pretty much on you. Ask yourself, "How can I put aside my current opinions of this book and see the story with new eyes?" Maybe reading them combined would be enough to help you bring a fresh perspective to the books.

I read AFFC precisely two weeks before ADWD came out. I already knew that both of these books (AFFC and ADWD) were written because GRRM felt he couldn't move forward in the story without writing these two books. When I read the books, I asked myself what in these books was so important that GRRM was willing to take the venomous anger of some fans to write these books. I think this gave me a different POV which led to my great love of the book.

I hope you enjoy your reading of AFFC this time. Good luck.

[StarkofWinterfell]

I liken the people who like the previous 3 books over AFFC to be those that would rather watch a Michael Bay Transformers film over something more meaningful and deep.

AFFC is by far the best book in the series and really shows GRRMs mastery of English and places him at the upper echelons of literary geniuses.

[Foot_Of_The_King]

20 hours ago, White Ravens said:

 

 

I agree with Daendrew in recommending the combined reading order.  I got the list from here: http://boiledleather.com/post/25902554148/a-new-readerfriendly-combined-reading-order-for-a

 

The two books contain events that occur in the same timeline but splitting the POVs into separate books creates the feeling that the events in Feast happen before those in Dance, especially for those of us that read them when they were released six years apart.  This reading list remedies that.

I like this reading order the best. It's simple (no jumping back and forth).

As far as the OP. Yes Feast and Dance are the dullest books. But after all the plots "coming to a head" in ASOS, it seems natural to have another "building" period. I suspect Winds to be non stop action. 

Having said that, I enjoy Feast. I love Cersei's descending further into paranoid madness, I love GRRM's interpretation of a fantasy quest with Brienne, and I really love the IRONBORN. I'll admit it took me at least 3 rereads for them to grow on me but now Victarion and Euron are two of my favorite characters. 

[Daendrew]

Read this blog on why Dance is one of the best books. GRRM personally said this guy "got it" https://meereeneseblot.wordpress.com/

[300 H&H Magnum]

On 5/7/2017 at 0:01 PM, Maxxine said:

So I'm on my fourth reread of the books and I just got to the beginning of Feast. Feast is by far my least favorite, but I can't bring myself to just skip it. Even though I don't like it, I recognize important things happen. I know there are a lot of people on here who name Feast as their favorite book. So I'm asking specifically those people, what are the things you like? What should I be on the lookout for this time around? There's almost 0 plot movement in Feast and half the characters are missing, so what is it that makes it stand out to you?  I'm not necessarily looking to have my mind changed as in I don't foresee Feast ever becoming my favorite. But, I really want to go into this reread with a somewhat open mind so I don't miss anything just because I'm trying to rush through it. So if I can at least be on the look out for things that make it more enjoyable, I want to give it a try. 

Which book you like will depend on the characters you like.  There is nothing wrong with Feast the way it is written.  I just don't like Sansa and Arya.  One silver lining for me is it doesn't have Jon either and that is great from my point of view.

[Cas Stark]

On 5/7/2017 at 1:53 PM, Byfort of Corfe said:

Help?  I don't know, is it helpful to realize that you are not alone?  I found much of "Feast" as well frankly as ADWD to pretty much be literary filler.  And to be honest the chapters that I have seen (I don't know that I've seen them all but what I've seen just seems to be about Sansa and Harry Hair) of WOW don't leave me much confidence in it either.  I get the feeling that GRRM is so over ASOIAF that he would like to just write the final chapters and move on to writing more D&E stuff. 

I agree.  I didn't like it when I read it, and I don't like it now.  It is mostly filler and uninteresting filler at that.  Dance is also full of filler but at least it's balanced out by relevant progression of the story.  I expect Winds to be more of the same...people who think Feast and Dance were setting things up for author to return to his previous pace I suspect are very much mistaken.