Hi again, everyone! In case you didn’t know, The Reader by Traci Chee was one of my favorite books of 2016 (see my review here). The Speaker, which is Book 2 in the trilogy, was one of my favorite books of 2017. The final installment, The Storyteller, is coming out next Tuesday the 13th (in the U.S.).

For the purpose of promoting The Storyteller and its prequels, I signed up for the official blog tour and put together two playlists of five songs each for Sefia and Archer, the two main characters of the series, based on The Speaker and The Reader.

There will be some spoilers involved in the synopsis for The Speaker and my commentary for the songs I chose, so reader discretion is advised. If you have read The Reader and The Speaker, hopefully you’ll enjoy this tribute, and if you haven’t read them [yet], it’s never too late to join the fandom. 🙂

The Book

Having barely escaped the clutches of the Guard, Sefia and Archer are back on the run, slipping into the safety of the forest to tend to their wounds and plan their next move. Haunted by painful memories, Archer struggles to overcome the trauma of his past with the impressors, whose cruelty plagues him whenever he closes his eyes. But when Sefia and Archer happen upon a crew of impressors in the wilderness, Archer finally finds a way to combat his nightmares: by hunting impressors and freeing the boys they hold captive.

With Sefia’s help, Archer travels across the kingdom of Deliene rescuing boys while she continues to investigate the mysterious Book and secrets it contains. But the more battles they fight, the more fights Archer craves, until his thirst for violence threatens to transform him from the gentle boy Sefia knows to a grim warrior with a cruel destiny. As Sefia begins to unravel the threads that connect Archer’s fate to her parents’ betrayal of the Guard so long ago, she and Archer must figure out a way to subvert the Guard’s plans before they are ensnared in a war that will pit kingdom against kingdom, leaving their future and the safety of the entire world hanging in the balance.

The Author

Traci Chee is an all-around word geek, she loves book arts and art books, poetry and paper crafts. She studied literature and creative writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned a master of arts degree from San Francisco State University. Traci grew up in a small town with more cows than people, and now feels most at home in the mountains, scaling switchbacks and happening upon hidden highland lakes. She lives in California with her fast-fast dog. The Speaker is the second book in the Sea of Ink and Gold trilogy that began with The Reader.

The Playlists

Note: Clicking on the hyperlinks will redirect to YouTube where you can listen to the songs. The translated lyrics I’ve included correspond to the parts of the song that resonate the most with the story and the characters’ feelings. All lyrics translations were done by me unless otherwise specified. Please do not use my translations without my explicit permission.

Sefia’s Playlist

• 星光 – S.H.E (Star Light – S.H.E)
  • This song represents Sefia and Archer meeting and becoming traveling companions and the hope they carry for the future.

Arranged to arrive on this Earth, yet separated in en route
Are the roads we walk the same?
Looking at the same radiant sun, I suddenly have a premonition
Long-estranged strangers will meet each other

Perhaps it’s that your smile has a similar curve to mine
Perhaps it’s because the constellation you guard is the same as mine
Perhaps it’s that the endless night is especially lonely
So leaning back to back, we wait for dawn

If the night is not dark, why yearn for beautiful dreams?
The breaking of dawn will be the ultimate reward for those who persist
If the night is too dark, then we will close our eyes and gaze
Hoping that if it doesn’t extinguish, it will brighten into starlight in the heart

• 心牆 – 郭靜 (Heart Wall – Claire Kuo)
  • This song represents Sefia’s curiosity about Archer and her desire to know him better and how she coaxes him out of his shell.

The first time I encountered you, the overcast sky obscured your side profile
Whatever stories you had, I longed to understand
I feel I understand your uniqueness

Your heart has a wall, but I’ve discovered a window
Sometimes revealing a trace of warm glimmering light
Even if you have a wall, my love will climb onto the windowsill and bloom
Opening the window, you’ll see the sorrow dissolve

• At the Beginning – Donna Lewis and Richard Marx
  • This song represents the happier side of Sefia and Archer’s relationship, where they’re partners in adventure.
• 愛情的海洋 – S.H.E (Ocean of Love – S.H.E)
  • This song represents the difficult side of Sefia and Archer’s relationship, the obstacles that trouble them.

Because we can’t fly
The voyage to happiness is long
Inevitably, there are storms ahead of us
That will try to tear apart our tightly gripped hands
If you aren’t afraid, you aren’t troubled, then I won’t fret

When we’ve crossed over the ocean of love
We’ll celebrate that we ultimately never gave up or backed down
On the flourishing shore, the glistening teardrops from the along the way
Will be buried as treasure

This turbulent ocean of love
Has too many, too many sorrowful waves
Let’s not be like that, let’s not regret anything
We have to cross the ocean together
We have to reach the shore together

If at times we lose heart or are disappointed
That’s because we love the other person too much
Who can be skilled in love at the very start?
Who can have a direction when they’ve just embarked?
Not arduous, not difficult, no need to yearn

• 只要為你活一天 – 謝霆鋒 (As Long as You Live One Day – Nicholas Tse)
  • This song is a near-perfect representation of Sefia’s desperate wish to save Archer from the fate foretold by the Book and her willingness to sacrifice everything.

I’ve fallen in love with you, I’ve fallen in love with you
It’s fated to be you; I’ve failed utterly
I’ve fallen in love with you, I’ve fallen in love with you
It was long prophesied that we would separate, decided that it would be a tragedy

Whatever time Heaven has allotted me
I’ll give it all to you; I’ve forgotten myself
Hurrying in the limited time left in life
Let this moment halt right here

As long as you live another day, I’m willing
No matter if there’s worse news tomorrow
As long as you live another day, my heart
My heart will be satisfied

Archer’s Playlist

• Heart of Sword ~夜明前 (Before Dawn) – T.M. Revolution
  • This song is one of the ending themes for the anime adaptation of the manga series Rurouni Kenshin (aka Samurai X), which focuses on a samurai who was once a notorious assassin but has since reformed. To me, this song suits Archer’s life after being kidnapped by impressors and forced to live a violent life on the edge, living for the next fight, the next day.
    Here is a translation of the chorus, which I found on AnimeLyrics.com (translated by Rizuchan)

Though I’m alone, I think I can cross over the distant tomorrow
As long as it’s still dawn
These feelings that will rush if they are left alone
And that dream will pass by each other again

• You Found Me – Kelly Clarkson
  • This song represent Archer’s feelings when Sefia rescues him from the impressors and his attachment to her as a result of her kindness toward him.
• 自從有了你 – 趙薇 (Ever Since I’ve Had You – Vicki Zhao)
  • This song is also about Archer’s feelings for Sefia and the promise of “we” that keeps them together.

Thank the Heavens, thank the Earth
Thank Fate for letting us meet
Ever since I’ve had you, life has been full of miracles
Drifting together, roaming together, interweaving into a brilliant tapestry of memories

Thank the wind, thank the rain
Thank the sunlight for illuminating the earth
Ever since I’ve had you, the world has become very beautiful
Drifting together, roaming together, the years are all filled with drunken sweetness

The sea can dry up, the stones can rot, the sky can collapse, the earth can split
We will stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand

• 明天是最後一天 – 何潤東 (Tomorrow Is the Final Day – Peter Ho)
  • This song represents the angst of Archer’s separation from and farewell to Sefia in The Speaker when fate pulls them in different directions.

It was you
Who, in the wilderness
In the discouraged mortal world
Let me glimpse you in one glance

It is I
Who doesn’t have a complete heart
Nor am I a perfect person
Able to love you

So you can be infatuated
I can be unrestrained
Neither of us mentioning the hurt we’ve endured
As long as there is a place for us to roam

Tomorrow is the final day to see each other one last time
Let the dawn pass before us
Please settle into sleep before I leave
I fear the feeling of breakups the most

Tomorrow is the final day to see each other one last time
So forget what month, what year it is
When you open your eyes
I will appear one day to say I love you again

• Leave Out All the Rest – Linkin Park
  • This song represents Archer’s fear that he has become a monster, having killed so many people, and his desire for redemption.