A Jane Austen Education
William Deresiewicz
ISBN: 978-159420-2889
Penguin Press, 2011
I have a complicated relationship with Jane Austen. As a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic with a serious pragmatic streak, I have difficulties with the Austen/Bronte dichotomy that popular culture and academic culture alike have deemed insurmountable. I really like Jane Eyre, I really do. And I hate Wuthering Heights with a burning passion. I also think that Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park are quite lovely, and I still wish that I could get my hours back from Emma and Persuasion.
Therefore I feel a little unsuited to review this (at times uncomfortably obsessive) tribute to Austen and her ability to use her novels as object lessons to teach people how to be decent human beings. (I also question the parenting involved that leaves someone in their post-graduate work to realize that they are being schooled in how to be decent human beings.)
Our boy Will apparently grew up under a rock, or had his head so far up his nether regions as a child and young adult that I find it hard to believe that he had any long-term friends at all. Once he made the acquaintance of the delightful Ms Austen's writings, he began to slowly work his way intellectually into the social niceties of not being a self-absorbed twit.
Over the course of a review of the six main Austen works (likely much cross-pollinated with his graduate thesis and subsequent publication on roughly the same topic) Will realizes that Austen was purposefully creating main characters with character flaws, so that the reader would be tricked into identifying with them, and then subsequently shamed by their close identification when the character realizes their lapses (or not, as the case may be) and suffers the obvious consequences.
Perhaps I was read too many moralizing tales as an impressionable child, but I really do have to wonder how someone gets to be an adult without realizing much of what Will seems to attribute directly to the near-divine wisdom imparted by Austen's pen. Perhaps our social circles are simply very different.
In any case, while the rhapsodizing gets a little overwhelming at times, the voice is charming and self-deprecating enough that one doesn't quite want to hit him over the head (I did say quite), and the flow is very well handled between episodes of Austenia and episodes of the ongoing Will learns to be a decent person show.
If you're short on time, or have little patience for obsessive devotion, the back jacket will tide you over quite nicely with short paragraphs of the "point" of each of the novels according to our now totally humanized guide.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Humming Room, Ellen Potter
The Humming Room
Ellen Potter
ISBN: 978-0312-644383
Feiwel and Friends, 2012
What an interesting book this was. Way too short for my tastes.
Potter has taken the bare bones of the Secret Garden, transferred them to modern times in Upstate New York, and slimmed the story down to a tight 182 pages.
I have to say that her version is quite fun (an old sanitarium is the house, the garden is a central greenhouse surrounded by the interior rounded wall of the building, Dickon has become a wild child called the Faigne, and sallow Mary has been transformed into shifty magpie Roo) but I really do wish that it were a YA or adult book instead of Juvie. I can't imagine this story having quite so much resonance for an audience not familiar with The Secret Garden itself, but that story is a beast, clocking in at over 350 pages.
So I'm left with a bit of a twinge, because while I really enjoyed this interpretation, I have to say that it really doesn't quite have an audience. I don't think it's quite captivating enough on it's own merits to incite readers to tackle The Secret Garden, which is both old and huge, and I really don't think that anyone will find this more than a tantalizing tease of a mouthfull after they've devoured all of the rich details and fine storycrafting of The Secret Garden.
So... I really don't know what to say. Perhaps a lush graphic novel (similar to the work Young Kim did with the Twilight graphic novels) to embrace the setting and character changes and make the brevity a virtue?
In all actuality, I would suggest to the author that she consider an adult adaptation - the exact reverse of what Patterson did with The Lake House and the subsequent Maximum Ride series. This tiny little book has such an interesting quality to it, and I really think that many grown-up readers who are nostalgic for The Secret Garden would quite enjoy a really intense and deeply realized re-tread. There are moments here which feel very similar to the breathlessly magical impact of the Night Circus, but they're all just tiny little snatches, and then you're whisked along again.
Ellen Potter
ISBN: 978-0312-644383
Feiwel and Friends, 2012
What an interesting book this was. Way too short for my tastes.
Potter has taken the bare bones of the Secret Garden, transferred them to modern times in Upstate New York, and slimmed the story down to a tight 182 pages.
I have to say that her version is quite fun (an old sanitarium is the house, the garden is a central greenhouse surrounded by the interior rounded wall of the building, Dickon has become a wild child called the Faigne, and sallow Mary has been transformed into shifty magpie Roo) but I really do wish that it were a YA or adult book instead of Juvie. I can't imagine this story having quite so much resonance for an audience not familiar with The Secret Garden itself, but that story is a beast, clocking in at over 350 pages.
So I'm left with a bit of a twinge, because while I really enjoyed this interpretation, I have to say that it really doesn't quite have an audience. I don't think it's quite captivating enough on it's own merits to incite readers to tackle The Secret Garden, which is both old and huge, and I really don't think that anyone will find this more than a tantalizing tease of a mouthfull after they've devoured all of the rich details and fine storycrafting of The Secret Garden.
So... I really don't know what to say. Perhaps a lush graphic novel (similar to the work Young Kim did with the Twilight graphic novels) to embrace the setting and character changes and make the brevity a virtue?
In all actuality, I would suggest to the author that she consider an adult adaptation - the exact reverse of what Patterson did with The Lake House and the subsequent Maximum Ride series. This tiny little book has such an interesting quality to it, and I really think that many grown-up readers who are nostalgic for The Secret Garden would quite enjoy a really intense and deeply realized re-tread. There are moments here which feel very similar to the breathlessly magical impact of the Night Circus, but they're all just tiny little snatches, and then you're whisked along again.
Spell Bound, Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall #3)
Spell Bound
Rachel Hawkins
ISBN: 978-1423121329
Hyperion 2012
A solid conclusion to an overall quite decent YA girl-power thriller-urban fantasy trilogy.
Sophie Mercer first thought she was a witch, then she found out she was a demon, then she got wrapped up in an ancient blood-feud turned politial coup which left her friends possibly dead, and her father forcibly bereft of his own awesome powers. Now she's on the run, alone, and powerless.
Yay fun!
Rachel Hawkins has a style very similar to that of the Gallagher Girls books, and Sophie herself has that almost Clueless meets Buffy style of breezily taking in horrible news and immediately using sarcasm or wisecracks to take the edge off. I like it.
This final installment brings the trilogy nicely around full-circle, although I do wish that the last third of the book had been about two or maybe three times as long. I really felt that some of the desired impact and emotional intensity were lost through compression. Not to say that it was badly done, just that I felt that there was a lot more potential to be drawn out of that final stretch, and it is a shame to have let it go to waste.
However, a good series all the way through is hard to find, and this one was very enjoyable!
Rachel Hawkins
ISBN: 978-1423121329
Hyperion 2012
A solid conclusion to an overall quite decent YA girl-power thriller-urban fantasy trilogy.
Sophie Mercer first thought she was a witch, then she found out she was a demon, then she got wrapped up in an ancient blood-feud turned politial coup which left her friends possibly dead, and her father forcibly bereft of his own awesome powers. Now she's on the run, alone, and powerless.
Yay fun!
Rachel Hawkins has a style very similar to that of the Gallagher Girls books, and Sophie herself has that almost Clueless meets Buffy style of breezily taking in horrible news and immediately using sarcasm or wisecracks to take the edge off. I like it.
This final installment brings the trilogy nicely around full-circle, although I do wish that the last third of the book had been about two or maybe three times as long. I really felt that some of the desired impact and emotional intensity were lost through compression. Not to say that it was badly done, just that I felt that there was a lot more potential to be drawn out of that final stretch, and it is a shame to have let it go to waste.
However, a good series all the way through is hard to find, and this one was very enjoyable!
The Sword of the Land, Noel-Anne Brennan
Ran across this at the 25-cent table at Goodwill, and was struck by the cover - a young woman with short dark brown hair, and what looks to be a shaggy puma sprouting from the side of her head.
Despite certain issues in composition, I was struck by the hope that this story would include big cats (it does) and that it would have a heroine who wasn't a Rapunzel body-double (it did).
Rilsin (who my brain keeps insisting should be Rislin) Sae Becha is the heir presumptive, until a bloody coup leaves her family dead, and she only lives due to the effection of her elder cousin Sithli (may I note here that creating a character who is named SITH is perhaps not the wisest choice when trying to create nuance and ambiguity about the relative evilness of said character, but I digress).
Rilsin accepts that life changes, becomes her cousin's Sword (essentially Prime Minister and Commander in Chief rolled into one), and sits around moping while her bipolar cousin runs the kingom into the ground through graft, arrant stupidity, slave trading, and also the decay of a fleetingly-explored magical connection that the land should have to the ruler, and Sithli doesn't have.
After a bad marriage, a few wars, an alliance, and a magical transformation in a grotto with candles (no, I'm not kidding) Rilsin finally gets on with it, and thus ends the book in a solid tear of action to make up for the first three-quarters.
Now, that review sounds really harsh, and on the face of it - yeah, kindof. There are sequels, but I'm not really interested enough to hunt them down, which says a lot about how invested I am.
That said, it was an enjoyable light read, and while the story plodded in a lot of ways, there were always interesting characters and dynamics going on, even if there wasn't much action. In addition, the world was very well realized, with an interesting dynastic structure of squabbling family Houses and a gender-equal society where no one ever comments on how marvelous their gender-equal society is.
Plus there were hunting cats, which are always worth a few extra credit points in my book. :)
Despite certain issues in composition, I was struck by the hope that this story would include big cats (it does) and that it would have a heroine who wasn't a Rapunzel body-double (it did).
Rilsin (who my brain keeps insisting should be Rislin) Sae Becha is the heir presumptive, until a bloody coup leaves her family dead, and she only lives due to the effection of her elder cousin Sithli (may I note here that creating a character who is named SITH is perhaps not the wisest choice when trying to create nuance and ambiguity about the relative evilness of said character, but I digress).
Rilsin accepts that life changes, becomes her cousin's Sword (essentially Prime Minister and Commander in Chief rolled into one), and sits around moping while her bipolar cousin runs the kingom into the ground through graft, arrant stupidity, slave trading, and also the decay of a fleetingly-explored magical connection that the land should have to the ruler, and Sithli doesn't have.
After a bad marriage, a few wars, an alliance, and a magical transformation in a grotto with candles (no, I'm not kidding) Rilsin finally gets on with it, and thus ends the book in a solid tear of action to make up for the first three-quarters.
Now, that review sounds really harsh, and on the face of it - yeah, kindof. There are sequels, but I'm not really interested enough to hunt them down, which says a lot about how invested I am.
That said, it was an enjoyable light read, and while the story plodded in a lot of ways, there were always interesting characters and dynamics going on, even if there wasn't much action. In addition, the world was very well realized, with an interesting dynastic structure of squabbling family Houses and a gender-equal society where no one ever comments on how marvelous their gender-equal society is.
Plus there were hunting cats, which are always worth a few extra credit points in my book. :)
Friday, April 27, 2012
Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George
Tuesdays at the Castle
Bloomsbury, 2011, ISBN: 9780599906447
Celie is the youngest daughter of the King and Queen. They live in a wonderfully accepting Castle, that helps (or hinders) people according to how well it likes them or not. Thankfully, Celie's parents (and ancestors) have been good people, and the castle has currently taken quite a shine to not only Celie's parents, but to her and to her siblings (good thing too, as her brother Rolf is in line to be king).
The book begins with tragedy - parents missing, presumed dead. The Council takes over, menacing envoys from neighboring greedy kingdoms appear almost magically soon after, and before one can blink, the three siblings are in a fight for their lives, and for the continued existance of the kingdom and the Castle.
This is a super-quick read, on the juvenile level (characters have crushes, but are gently teased for it, and exhibit those crushes by being overly nice or by blushing a lot). The siblings have a delightful relationship, and they are believably stubborn and amusingly defiant in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Very good addition to the collection of modern stories told with a fairy-tale feel. I'll put this one up there with Liar's Moon, Princess Academy, and Bella at Midnight. Keep an eye out for this author - this was a delightful read.
Bloomsbury, 2011, ISBN: 9780599906447
Celie is the youngest daughter of the King and Queen. They live in a wonderfully accepting Castle, that helps (or hinders) people according to how well it likes them or not. Thankfully, Celie's parents (and ancestors) have been good people, and the castle has currently taken quite a shine to not only Celie's parents, but to her and to her siblings (good thing too, as her brother Rolf is in line to be king).
The book begins with tragedy - parents missing, presumed dead. The Council takes over, menacing envoys from neighboring greedy kingdoms appear almost magically soon after, and before one can blink, the three siblings are in a fight for their lives, and for the continued existance of the kingdom and the Castle.
This is a super-quick read, on the juvenile level (characters have crushes, but are gently teased for it, and exhibit those crushes by being overly nice or by blushing a lot). The siblings have a delightful relationship, and they are believably stubborn and amusingly defiant in the face of overwhelming opposition.
Very good addition to the collection of modern stories told with a fairy-tale feel. I'll put this one up there with Liar's Moon, Princess Academy, and Bella at Midnight. Keep an eye out for this author - this was a delightful read.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Cinder, Marissa Meyer
Cinder
2012, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), ISBN: 9780312641894
First in a proposed set of four, with Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) supposedly out in 2013, Cress (perhaps the Princess and the Frog?) in 2014, and Winter (most likely Snow White, or perhaps The Snow Queen) in 2015. Of course, this far out, it's hard to say whether they'll actually happen, but it seems likely that we'll get to see at least Scarlet.
Ok - everyone knows Cinderella. She lives with her stepmom and two stepsisters (common variation has that one sister is kind and the other is mean), dad is deceased, and she gets treated like dirt. Somehow she finds herself at a royal ball, conveyed by the power of a fairy godmother, and usually an unusual coach. Prince sees her, she runs, leaves the shoe, and he uses it to find her. They re-unite, and live happily ever after.
Up until the "he uses it to find her" part, take the above summation and put it into a vaguely caste-based Indian/Chinese society, with strange biologial and biomechanical advances and social implications, and a rapidly diverging set of humans who colonized the moon about a century ago. Got it? Ok, that was the book. And, that's also the main problem with the book.
This wasn't a bad story. It was simply entirely predictable. In one way, that's an impressive feat. Character traits and actions ALL led immediately to one inescapable (and ultimately all confirmed) conclusion. That takes effort. On the other hand, because it was a fairy tale, there are very few surprises, and by keeping so close to the original fairy tale structure, that meant that the story had a certain sense of spoon-feeding that made it ultimately less compelling than it could be. I mean - it had an evil mind-controlling Queen of the Moon for crying out loud! There should be some oomph there!
I liked Cinder, I felt sorry for Kai, and I thought that Dr. Erland was sadly creepy. Iko was an amusing addition, but never really accomplished much - I felt like she could have been utilized better.
Ultimately, I'm really invested in the world, but less so with the characters. I am very glad that the series will be switching protagonists regularly - I feel like the world itself makes for a more compelling through-line character.
2012, Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), ISBN: 9780312641894
First in a proposed set of four, with Scarlet (Little Red Riding Hood) supposedly out in 2013, Cress (perhaps the Princess and the Frog?) in 2014, and Winter (most likely Snow White, or perhaps The Snow Queen) in 2015. Of course, this far out, it's hard to say whether they'll actually happen, but it seems likely that we'll get to see at least Scarlet.
Ok - everyone knows Cinderella. She lives with her stepmom and two stepsisters (common variation has that one sister is kind and the other is mean), dad is deceased, and she gets treated like dirt. Somehow she finds herself at a royal ball, conveyed by the power of a fairy godmother, and usually an unusual coach. Prince sees her, she runs, leaves the shoe, and he uses it to find her. They re-unite, and live happily ever after.
Up until the "he uses it to find her" part, take the above summation and put it into a vaguely caste-based Indian/Chinese society, with strange biologial and biomechanical advances and social implications, and a rapidly diverging set of humans who colonized the moon about a century ago. Got it? Ok, that was the book. And, that's also the main problem with the book.
This wasn't a bad story. It was simply entirely predictable. In one way, that's an impressive feat. Character traits and actions ALL led immediately to one inescapable (and ultimately all confirmed) conclusion. That takes effort. On the other hand, because it was a fairy tale, there are very few surprises, and by keeping so close to the original fairy tale structure, that meant that the story had a certain sense of spoon-feeding that made it ultimately less compelling than it could be. I mean - it had an evil mind-controlling Queen of the Moon for crying out loud! There should be some oomph there!
I liked Cinder, I felt sorry for Kai, and I thought that Dr. Erland was sadly creepy. Iko was an amusing addition, but never really accomplished much - I felt like she could have been utilized better.
Ultimately, I'm really invested in the world, but less so with the characters. I am very glad that the series will be switching protagonists regularly - I feel like the world itself makes for a more compelling through-line character.
Austenland, Midnight In Austenland, Shannon Hale
Austenland
2007, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781596912854
Midnight in Austenland
2012, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781608196258
These were a bit of a tangent for me, but I have to say that I enjoyed them more than I thought I would.
Shannon Hale is the author of several Juvenile fairy-tale-esque stories that I have enjoyed - most particularly Princess Academy, The Books of Bayern, and the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. (I recommend them all - they are amazing.)
With this duo, Hale sets off into a (presumably imaginary) world where rich young (or not so young) things bored or tormented by modern life and modern loves sequester themselves in the Regency version of an SCA convention, proceed to be romanced (carefully and properly) by handsome young actors in tight Regency pants, and enjoy a few weeks respite from the raging modernity by relaxing in a world where class and gender roles are rigidly imposed.
Ooookay. Sure. On the surface, that sounds a little kooky, but lets be honest here - this seems perfectly logical to me. There have been umpteen different revivals and restagings of Austen's works, women like being romanced, and just about everyone can have fun with a costume party if they let themselves.
In Austenland, our first protagonist is Jane Hayes. She works in marketing, and she's never had a "real" boyfriend. When her elderly aunt notices a certain DVD hiding in her potted plants, Jane is sent off on an adventure to clear the romantic preconceptions from her mind and heart once and for all, so she can settle into a rational life with realistic expectations of love that don't involve beautifully-worded protestations of infatuation or incidents of feet-sweeping-off-of. No one who reads this sort of book will be in the least surprised that this doesn't exactly go according to plan.
In Midnight in Austenland, after having settled our first protagonist (no spoilers) we're treated to a brokenhearted recent divorcee who, while extremely intelligent in many ways, is totally blinded to the reality of the trainwreck that was her marriage. This vacation to fantasy Austenland is an attempt to see herself as something more than an abandoned woman and a mother. Her hopes of finding herself are thwarted from the start as a series of unfortunate and perplexing events culminate in a possible murder! Are the actors simply outdoing themselves, or is something truly afoot?
These are not high literature. They are not classics, they are not treasures of the nation (I would argue strenuously that Rapunzel's Revenge IS) and they are not intellectual reads. They are pure, unadulterated Austen-flavored fluff. I enjoyed the hell out of both of them!
2007, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781596912854
Midnight in Austenland
2012, Bloomsbury, ISBN: 9781608196258
These were a bit of a tangent for me, but I have to say that I enjoyed them more than I thought I would.
Shannon Hale is the author of several Juvenile fairy-tale-esque stories that I have enjoyed - most particularly Princess Academy, The Books of Bayern, and the graphic novels Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack. (I recommend them all - they are amazing.)
With this duo, Hale sets off into a (presumably imaginary) world where rich young (or not so young) things bored or tormented by modern life and modern loves sequester themselves in the Regency version of an SCA convention, proceed to be romanced (carefully and properly) by handsome young actors in tight Regency pants, and enjoy a few weeks respite from the raging modernity by relaxing in a world where class and gender roles are rigidly imposed.
Ooookay. Sure. On the surface, that sounds a little kooky, but lets be honest here - this seems perfectly logical to me. There have been umpteen different revivals and restagings of Austen's works, women like being romanced, and just about everyone can have fun with a costume party if they let themselves.
In Austenland, our first protagonist is Jane Hayes. She works in marketing, and she's never had a "real" boyfriend. When her elderly aunt notices a certain DVD hiding in her potted plants, Jane is sent off on an adventure to clear the romantic preconceptions from her mind and heart once and for all, so she can settle into a rational life with realistic expectations of love that don't involve beautifully-worded protestations of infatuation or incidents of feet-sweeping-off-of. No one who reads this sort of book will be in the least surprised that this doesn't exactly go according to plan.
In Midnight in Austenland, after having settled our first protagonist (no spoilers) we're treated to a brokenhearted recent divorcee who, while extremely intelligent in many ways, is totally blinded to the reality of the trainwreck that was her marriage. This vacation to fantasy Austenland is an attempt to see herself as something more than an abandoned woman and a mother. Her hopes of finding herself are thwarted from the start as a series of unfortunate and perplexing events culminate in a possible murder! Are the actors simply outdoing themselves, or is something truly afoot?
These are not high literature. They are not classics, they are not treasures of the nation (I would argue strenuously that Rapunzel's Revenge IS) and they are not intellectual reads. They are pure, unadulterated Austen-flavored fluff. I enjoyed the hell out of both of them!
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