I struggled with this one a lot--I had read "Grandmother Nai-Leylit's Cloth of Winds" a few years ago so I was a little familiar with the context, but the author says you don't need that and I believe that is correct. It helped a bit to let go of the idea that this was primarily a story with a plot, and lean into the exploration of identity. And you know what, a little bit of plot and adventure does sneak in.
The characters are fully realized, imperfect people, which seems to distress some reviewers. Benesret, the great weaver, sits right on the line between good and evil. The best thing in the book for me was the profound struggle of the Nameless Man to claim his identity, particularly since he had transitioned to a man's body late in life but did not grow up as a man and therefore was profoundly uncertain about how he fit. Us cis-gendered folks do not realize how much context we get from being raised with our genders.The prose is heavily styled and poetic, and takes some getting used to. I can appreciate the exploration but since the book was not meant for me I can't get my arms around it.
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