illegible_scribble
1/31/2021
While it's not necessary in order to appreciate this story, I strongly recommend first reading the novelette "Grandmother-nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" (free online), since it features some of the same characters when they were younger.
The narration alternates between the present and the past so skilfully that I never got confused about the timeframes, as the connections between the two are gradually revealed. Refreshingly, the story features older protagonists who are feeling the effects of their age on their physical and mental resources, and it explores the pain of not being able to really be ourselves because the person we love cannot accept and love us as who we truly are.