Great to finally see Watterson back on the horse after Calvin and Hobbes. A fantastic little fable. Loved the art and the story. Hopefully it won't taGreat to finally see Watterson back on the horse after Calvin and Hobbes. A fantastic little fable. Loved the art and the story. Hopefully it won't take him another 30 years to follow this up with a Jazz record, a contemporary art exhibition, or a performance piece at the MoMA....more
"Believe me, colonel, I'm not an atheist. I get just as upset thinking God exists as thinking he doesn't. That is why I'd rather not think about it." -"Believe me, colonel, I'm not an atheist. I get just as upset thinking God exists as thinking he doesn't. That is why I'd rather not think about it." - Gabrielle García Márquez, Leaf Storm
This book contains the novella "The Leaf Storm" along with the following stories:
1. - The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World - ★★★★★ 2. - A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings - ★★★★★ 3. - Blacaman the Good, Vendor of Mircacles - ★★★★ 4. - The Last Voyage of the Ghost Ship - ★★★★ 5. - Monologue of Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo - ★★★★★ 6. - Nabo - ★★★★
I need to come back and talk a bit more about it, but not now....more
I'm going to have to chew on this one a bit longer before I write a full review, but I loved how Coates brought in Magical Realism and seemed to blendI'm going to have to chew on this one a bit longer before I write a full review, but I loved how Coates brought in Magical Realism and seemed to blend a bit of Toni Morrison (high) with Colson Whitehead (low). It is funky to read two novels both playing around with the history of slavery and the Underground Railroad that seem both harmonious with each other and completely different. I loved Coates themes, especially the power of remembering and how we are all "tasked" to something. Beautiful. Magical. There were something that seemed to work REALLY well and other things that almost worked. This isn't Toni Morrison, but as Coates' first novel I enjoyed it....more
"We're not gods, but we are channels for something that is godlike." - David Mitchell, Utopia Avenue
[image] The irony with David Mitchell is the more e"We're not gods, but we are channels for something that is godlike." - David Mitchell, Utopia Avenue
[image] The irony with David Mitchell is the more explicitly fantasy-fixated his books become (I'm thinking everything after Boneclocks), the less magically real they feel. Mitchell's real talent is structure, bending language, and writing about real things with just the lick of a ghost hovering in the reader's peripheral. When Mitchell shines a light under the bed, the voodoo exists, and the magic disappears.
That isn't saying I didn't enjoy a lot about the book. The structure, like most of Mitchell's novels, is clever. It isn't as clever as Cloud Atlas (with the nesting doll structure), but having each of the chapters be equated with a song on the three Utopia Avenue ablumn worked. It did leave out the poor drummer, but doesn't the drummer usually get the shaft?
This novel reminded me a bit of Chabon's Telegraph Avenue. Not in form, but in substance. Both authors are prose ventriloquists whose prose often seems inspired by music. It is obvious that Mitchell likes music and appreciated the music that came out of the late 60s. He even has a talent for lyrics (like writing about sex, authors seem to stumble while trying to write songs).
"But for a society built on exploitation, there is no greater threat than having no one left to oppress." - N.K. Jemisin, The Stone Sky
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Book thre"But for a society built on exploitation, there is no greater threat than having no one left to oppress." - N.K. Jemisin, The Stone Sky
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Book three in the Broken Earth series turns solid what the earlier books hinted at. You could tell this was a series about race, culture, power, slavery, greed, family, etc., earlier in the series but The Stone Sky hammers Jemisin's themes home. This book had some serious Earth Mother energy to it. And while I was VERY impressed with the series, and I loved it, I still prefer the poetic writing of Ursula LeGuin. I feel like N.K. Jemisin has incredible (10 Ring) potential and while it appears these books came out like they were fired from a 9mm (fast and hard) in 2015, 2016, 2017. Perhaps, it took her longer than a year to write them. If THIS is what she can do in a bit over a year, I wonder what she could do if she refined her prose just a bit. But don't mistake my criticism as being heavy. It is a piece of sand on an eyelash. It is a mouches volantes. And, it may just be something I ate....more
"But just because you can’t see or understand a thing doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.” - N.K. Jemisin
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Book two in the Broken Earth trilogy, The "But just because you can’t see or understand a thing doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.” - N.K. Jemisin
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Book two in the Broken Earth trilogy, The Obelisk Gate is reallytwo (well perhaps three) stories woven together. Essun, the primary focus of Book 1 (three stories/narrators in one, perhaps?), and her daughter Nassun This really is one book, but it is a bit like juggling how talented Jemisin is at transitioning voices, perspectives, weaving up/down/forward/backward/in/out and creating a story out of the Earth and out of a mother's need to find her daughter.
If you consider these three books to be one, with one giant narrative arc (which you should) this is the point where the momentum twists, where it seems for a second or forever, like the death of the world will never end. But then the gravity of the series pulls the story back down again and accelerates the reader right into book three....more
“After all, a person is herself, and others. Relationships chisel the final shape of one's being. I am me, and you.” ― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
[“After all, a person is herself, and others. Relationships chisel the final shape of one's being. I am me, and you.” ― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
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This year, I'm trying to read more women, more minority voices. One advantage of this book was N.K. Jemisin presents the ability for a twofer. I had heard amazing things. With all things fantasy (or even the fantasy side of scifi, I am always a bit hesitant. I do have biases against fantasy). Reading Jemisin, for me, was like discovering Ursula K. Le Guin for the first time. Jemisin is a genius at world-making and characters. Her set-up is amazing and the reader only grasps what she is carefully unfolding with the three primary protagonists when you are about 4/5 done with the book. She is careful. She is at times beautiful. Her prose, for me, is almost there. She is wholly original. That doesn't mean there is no heredity to these books, but it doesn't mean she isn't confident to make big ideas hers; to bend and fold the genre to include issues on race, sex, gender, sexuality, family, class, community.
This is a book about power and control. Like all good scifi writing, it tells us, through scifi, hard things about ourselves. I am going to assume since this book (and her next two) won the Hugo that she is able to maintain her control over the next two novels. This amazes me. She is basically writing 400+ page novels in about a year. She is like Vollmann or King. She can write well, while writing BIG. I'm excited to see how the next installment plays out....more
“He grinned a little as he thought it; for he had always liked that pause, that fearful pause, the moment before things changed.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin “He grinned a little as he thought it; for he had always liked that pause, that fearful pause, the moment before things changed.” ― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Other Wind
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I don't have anything very revolutionary to write about this book. I've now finished both the Hainish Cylce and the Earthsea Cycle and feel like Le Guin floated above hard scifi or fantasy. She was a brilliant storyteller and used genre fiction to explore the caves, the deserts, and the forests of humanity. Her language was deceptive. You only recognized the poetry of her simple prose gradually. You only caught a glimpse of how BIG her themes were in increments. She built her literary castles, and we are lucky to have been able to walk among them.
Anyway, the novel is a near perfect ending to the Earthsea series. I loved the storyline of Alder, the Mender, and how his "narrative" seemed a low-key echo of Ged/Sparrowhawk's story. I loved the storyline of Lebannen, the King, and the Kargish princess. Finally, I loved the storyline of the Dragons, Tehanu, and the Mages. Mostly, I loved how Le Guin wove these threads all together. She harmonized the various stories and themes and told a lovely tale....more
"That’s the art, eh? What to say, and when to say it. And the rest is silence.” - Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea
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Solid. A couple of the "That’s the art, eh? What to say, and when to say it. And the rest is silence.” - Ursula K. Le Guin, Tales from Earthsea
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Solid. A couple of the stories really resonated with me (The Finder, On the High Marsh, Dragonfly). I cried at the end of one, and one made me pause for half-a-day chewing on it. Overall, I prefer her novels (or novellas) and this showed in this series because I gravitated towards the longer stories. Like with Tehanu, Le Guin alters the form. She is focused as much on the community as on the mages, witches, and magicians. She is looking at community, power, gender, and areas where the page folds, bends, or rips. Her magic is found in the ghost notes of fantasy. She would rather wander in the woods than travel over the expected trails of fantasy. The genre isn't where she creates. She creates in people, in weakness, in the humanity of the oppressed AND the oppresser.
- Foreword - nonfiction introduction: ★★★☆☆ - "The Finder" - School of magic is established (largely by women; or the Women of the Hand) on Roke island: ★★★★★ - "Darkrose and Diamond" - Romance between the daughter of a witch and the son of a rich merchant: ★★★★☆ - "The Bones of the Earth" - Ogion the Silent deals with an earthquake: ★★★★☆ - "On the High Marsh" - Mysterious healer arrives in a remote village with a livestock epidemic: ★★★★★ - "Dragonfly" - Postscript to the novel Tehanu: ★★★★★ - "A Description of Earthsea" - Fictional reference material*: ★★★☆☆
* Most of the story descriptions were lifted/based on the Wikipedia page for Tales from Earthsea....more
"Alone, no one wins freedom." - The Tombs of Atuan
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I adore Le Guin's voice and her soul. I hate fantasy. Or, rather, I have told that to SO man"Alone, no one wins freedom." - The Tombs of Atuan
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I adore Le Guin's voice and her soul. I hate fantasy. Or, rather, I have told that to SO many people I believe it is true. But, I make exceptions. Le Guin could have writen self-help and business books and I'd gladly read them. She was a feminist, but unafraid to write a book both with a female lead, and a female lead who is helped by a man/wizard. She is interested in power, in evil, in humanity, in big questions and nuanced answers. Her prose is very good, but her characters are amazing. She recognized, I believe, that the secret to writing about strength is to write about weakness. Just like the secret to writing about light is to write about darkness. This isn't one of her GREAT novels, but I might even change my mind about that, if the ideas in this book are still pounding around in the labrynths of my brain in a couple weeks. I might need to give this book 5-stars just to escape it.
"For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing." - Ursula K Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
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I rarely venture into YA fiction. Less often "For magic consists in this, the true naming of a thing." - Ursula K Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
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I rarely venture into YA fiction. Less often still do I pick up and read a book of fantasy. There are exceptions. When I trust the author, we I think there is art/beauty/originality lurking there, I will often venture into spaces and places I usually avoid. Ursula K Le Guin died last year and I started reading her bit by bit, largely focusing on her Hainish novels/cycle. I needed more women in my 2019 plan, and Saga Press recently (on the 50th aniversary of the publishing of Book 1 [this book]) published a wonderful omnibus, illustrated, edition: The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition. So, I figured I might as well get into the Earthsea boat and give it a go.
I loved it. I didn't read much YA fiction when I was a kid. I've read more with my own kids when they were younger, but mostly skipped over this stuff. At the time, I'd rather read Bradbury or Vonnegut. My sister-in-law drives me nuts with her books with swords and dragons. I usually ignore the pulp. But THIS. This is great stuff. It is essentially a Bildungsroman with Taoist elements (equalibrium, etc). It is carefully plotted and spare. She isn't flitting around talking too much about the dragon or the gold and jewel -strung lair of the dragon. She weaves a story about very human things: jealousy, fear, guilt, pride, friendship. The risk was worth it. The journey to other islands in this fantasy archipeligo will continue. I also think it is strangely fitting I finished it on Epiphany (bring on the Mages/Magi).
1. Sindbad the Sailor [the frame] - ★★ 2. The Valley of Diamonds [2nd voyage] - ★★★★ 3. The Black Giant [3rd voyage] - ★★★ 4. The Cannibal King [4th voyage] - ★★★★
The editors of this edition did a fine job of keeping the feeling of the frame story, linking the last three through the beginning. I loved "Thousand and One Nights" as a kid (and Richard Burton's translation as a teenager). Returning to Sindbad as an adult, I enjoyed the style and absurd BIGNESS of the stories of Sindbad (I will never question James Bond's luck again). I even enjoyed how each of the stories was built on the same framework. It reminded me of certain popular television series and cartoons. We love to be entertained, and sometimes we even want a bit of predictability in our entertainments. You know what you are going to get when reading a tale of Sindbad the Sailor:
1. Sindbad leaves Baghdad (by-way-of Basra) in search of fortune on a ship. 2. Something happens on the journey 3. He loses everything 4. He finds himself in a strage land, among strange beasts/people 5. His friends are killed 6. Through his wiles he escapes 7. He finds himself among other people. 8. He ends up, through a combination of fortune and his wits, making a fortune 9. He returns to Baghdad, gives money to his family and the poor...more
Rating Aesop is like rating the King James Bible or rating the Brother Grimm. The stories are so ubiquitous it is easy to both overappreciate and undeRating Aesop is like rating the King James Bible or rating the Brother Grimm. The stories are so ubiquitous it is easy to both overappreciate and underappreciate them at the same time. I'll come back and give this more attention as soon as this damn snake warms up....more
“The cook was ordered to stew them in salt, and the wicked woman devoured them, thinking she had eaten the liver and lungs of Snowwhite.” ― The Brothe“The cook was ordered to stew them in salt, and the wicked woman devoured them, thinking she had eaten the liver and lungs of Snowwhite.” ― The Brother's Grimm, "Snowwhite"
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Vol N° 68 of my Penguin Little Black Classics Box Set. This volume contains a selection of seven tales written by Jacob and William Grimm and translated by David Luke. These stories first appeared in Penguin's Selected Tales. This selection contains:
1. The Master Huntsman ★★★★★ 2. The Robber Bridegroom ★★★★ 3. The Devil's Three Golden Hairs ★★★★ 4. The Six Servants ★★★ 5. The Bremen Town Band ★★ 6. Snowwhite ★★★★★ 7. Lazy Harry ★★★
Most were really good with a great mix of macabre that doesn't appear in the more cartoonish versions that appear in Disney or other mass-market reproductions. A couple like "Lazy Harry" and "The Bremen Town Band" were kinda throwaways. Cute, perhaps, but nothing super compelling....more
"People need something, you know, to escape. They do. They need something to make them feel free." - China Miéville, "Jack" from Looking for Jake
I'm no"People need something, you know, to escape. They do. They need something to make them feel free." - China Miéville, "Jack" from Looking for Jake
I'm not going to go into much detail on these stories. But, I'm happy to give them stars:
1. Looking for Jake - ★★★★ 2. Foundation - ★★★★★ 3. The Ball Room* - ★★★★ 4. Reports of Certain Events in London - ★★★★ 5. Familiar - ★★★★★ 6. Entry Taken from a Medical Encyclopaedia - ★★★ 7. Details - ★★★★★ 8. Go Between - ★★★★★ 9. Different Skies - ★★★★★ 10. An End to Hunger - ★★★★★ 11. ' Tis the Season - ★★★ 12. Jack - ★★★ 13. On the Way to the Front - ★★ (audio/writing) ★★★1/2 (art) ★★★ (together) 14. The Tain - ★★★★★
"In the streets of UnLondon, a group of a girl, a half-ghost, a talking book, a piece of rubbish, and two living words was unusual, but not very." -- C"In the streets of UnLondon, a group of a girl, a half-ghost, a talking book, a piece of rubbish, and two living words was unusual, but not very." -- China Miéville, Un Lun Dun
I kinda gave this a pass because it was written for teens and it felt like an early jaunt in world building that was entertaining, but not perfect. Miéville's novels that followed (The City & The City, Kraken, Embassytown, got significantly better. Anyway, one of my least favorite CM novels thus far. But when he strikes out it is only because he tends to swing hard and risk it all, everytime....more
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