Wind and Truth – Day Two Review

Wind and Truth spoilers up to the end of Day 2.

If you’re here from my Wind and Truth Day 1 review and wondering where I’m going to talk about Day 1’s Interludes, you’re out of luck! While Stormlight’s Interludes are really exciting for some readers, I am not one of them, and as usual, Day 1’s did not thrill me.

The one thing I can say about them is that Odium’s chapter reminds me of my main frustrations with Mistborn Era 1 Book 3, which lingered far too heavily on more metaphysical aspects for my personal liking.

Onto the Day 2 review—which will not mention Day 2’s Interludes!

Relationship Issues in Wind and Truth

I was so happy to see Jasnah return early in Day 2 of Wind and Truth! I was less happy to see that she’s going through some rough times with her man—although I did totally call this based on some subtle cues from Wit in my Day 1 review (check it out!).

Jasnah has been trying to relinquish some of her need for control in the shape of the bed she shares with Wit. This hasn’t been going so well.

Originally, I loved her take on the bed situation—I have a similar issue in my married relationship, but perhaps the reasons and outcomes are different. My husband has a bad back and shoulder, meanwhile I often have anxiety and need some space to sleep.

This often leads to my seeking the sofa so we can both get some proper sleep and wake up healthier than we might otherwise.

Jasnah is a strong capable woman, Yes, relationships are about compromise, but a relationship without sleep isn’t healthy, and a relationship in different beds doesn’t mean that it’s a relationship without intimacy… but Jasnah and Wit clearly have a communication problem, and Jasnah seems very resentful of it.

In some ways, it seems cruel that Wit is her experiment on releasing control, but to some extent Jasnah’s self-critical perception makes the narration of her thoughts harsher. It doesn’t excuse her need for control, however, as she laments the secrets Wit keeps from her. She seems frustrated by her inability to control Wit, and it’s worse given her own history of secrecy, but perhaps it’s fair to expect more transparency within a relationship.

I’ll need more chapters to make a decision about where this is going.

Cruelly, Wit and Jasnah’s difficulties are followed by other characters intimately enjoying the final days of the apocalypse. Shallan and Adolin enjoy a steamy shower scene, and even Fen and Kmakl enjoy a close moment. The only couple we don’t see getting a moment of relief is Navani and Dalinar—but maybe that will come later.

The real question is whether Wit and Jasnah will repair things before the end of Wind and Truth. With all the death flags Wit was handing out in Day One, I’m concerned.

Thoughts on Honor and Trust

Forget wind and truth, what about honour and trust?

Day 1 and 2 pose that Dalinar will be the one to take Honor’s mantle, but I’m not so sure.

Throughout Day Two, Adolin’s perspectives show all the ways in which Dalinar fails to act honourably, which lead me to wonder if perhaps Adolin was separated from Shallan, Kaladin, and Dalinar because eventually he would be the one to find Honor.

Speaking of Dalinar, his argument with the Stormfather about how he should have more information and responsibility is written a fairly sympathetic way, however, Dalinar is behaving rather hypocritically. He accusses the Stormfather of failing to trust him, but Dalinar also fails to trust another in ascending to honour, as he directly tells Navani.

Don’t read me wrong, Dalinar has shared an awful lot of information with Alethkar, but he could go further, and he does shoulder an awful amount of responsibility.

As a last point on honour and trust, I’m worried that Colot (Dalianr’s bodyguard) could end up being a spy. I find it strange that he turned away from the Windrunners, possibly due to negative feelings, and Dalinar’s treatment of Colot isn’t great. I can see how the disrespect could push a man towards some small, but meaningful insubordination.

Maybe Adolin’s friendship can turn him around.

As a great contrast to Dalinar, I’d like to highlight Kaladin as an individual who lives honour and trust. The decision to step back and relinquish the need to be involved and in control is very opposite to both Dalinar and Jasnah, and his story shows how one’s destiny can be a grand adventure without succumbing to the pressure of the responsibilities that others expect of you. His decision to step back is also a great show of trust in his peers.

Feeling Like a Fake

Wind and Truth Day 2 also deals with imposter syndrome! Something I consider myself more intensely familiar with as an immigrant, where something so basic as fetching groceries can trigger the feeling.

My personal experience experience also leant an extra narrative for my reading of the section where Shallan fails to understand what Iyatil is saying in their native language, as this is another item I experience almost daily (assuming I go outside).

It also reminds me of a James Acaster skit where he talks about beign trapped in a conversation with a French person, without adequate French skills, and continued to make the person very angry by replying ‘oui’ to every statement… which is also how Shallan handles the foreign-language situation.

Overall, that whole section was very funny for me. I will always be a big fan of Shallan’s chapters.

Inclusivity and Representation in Wind and Truth Day 2

Hmmmmmmm!!

So, while we get words like ‘therapist’ in Day 1, we don’t see a specific diagnosis of ‘autism’ for Renarin in Day 2, but it is HEAVILY hinted at. About as a heavy as a brick through a window.

I think there had always been a lot of speculation from previous books in the Stormlight series because Renarin was showing some very autistic traits, but these feel very ramped up in book five, and honestly quite lazy.

My problem is that he is depicted in a very stereotypical way, and while I’m sure that there are some individuals who match the stereotype, I think that if one is trying to offer representation, then more important dialogues can be had by straying a little from the representations that the public are already aware of.

To me, Renarin’s chapters felt like someone had gone through the chapter and tried to insert autistic traits. I have the image of a comedian trying to add more puns into their set, but here, it’s autism instead of jokes. As someone who identifies strongly with autism (and scores very highly for it on various tests), I found this very distracting and awkward.

In contrast, I thought Sanderson portrayed mobility issues very well in Dawnshard, but I’m not a wheelchair user. I wonder if I’d have different opinions on Dawnshard if I was.

Final Thoughts

So everyone, including Gav, has been consumed by the perpendicularity. I’m glad that Gav is finally getting a weekend away with his grandparents… but at what cost!?

Kaladin made some stew and it wasn’t that bad.

Wit is a pokémon master and trying to catch ’em all when it comes to the many superpowers of the cosmere.

We’ve been told to expect the unexpected from the perpendicularity, and I feel there’s a slight chance the survivors are going to pop out of the spirit realm fifteen years older. This would mean that Gav would be old enough to take the Urithiru throne, and Shallan would suddenly be the cougar I’ve been wanting Brandon to write for years (because he always writes age gap relationships that position the male as the elder).

This review took me forever to write, so I’m going to have make the next few Day’s reviews shorter so that I can keep my pace for reading this book!

Read my Wind and Truth – Day Three review next!