The Shahnameh – Ferdowsi
Firstly, anyone who knows me knows how much I adore epics and the romance genre and the way they so nonchalantly mix the natural and the supernatural. I could talk about the penetrative, dominating nature of royal sexuality or the way evil subverts royal authority and thereby allows for royal creativity, but instead I will say that, top to bottom, there is no better dude than Zal, white hair and all. And I love this hefty volume, top to bottom and bottom to top, especially after getting to hear all sorts of interesting theories at conferences this summer.
Firstly, anyone who knows me knows how much I adore epics and the romance genre and the way they so nonchalantly mix the natural and the supernatural. I could talk about the penetrative, dominating nature of royal sexuality or the way evil subverts royal authority and thereby allows for royal creativity, but instead I will say that, top to bottom, there is no better dude than Zal, white hair and all. And I love this hefty volume, top to bottom and bottom to top, especially after getting to hear all sorts of interesting theories at conferences this summer.
The Gulistan – Sa’di
Practical ethics are so interesting to me, especially as they follow on the heels of an incredibly non-practical philosophical tradition. I like Sa’di’s style, the words of wisdom coated with amusement as if with honey. I do not like Sa’di’s views on wealth (did you know that rich men don’t commit sexual sin because they can afford hot wives? Also that the poor must be poor because of some moral iniquity?), and I do not like Sa’di’s views on women, but I do like the mobilization of friendship and the idea that knowledge – like wealth – only matters if it is put into circulation.
Practical ethics are so interesting to me, especially as they follow on the heels of an incredibly non-practical philosophical tradition. I like Sa’di’s style, the words of wisdom coated with amusement as if with honey. I do not like Sa’di’s views on wealth (did you know that rich men don’t commit sexual sin because they can afford hot wives? Also that the poor must be poor because of some moral iniquity?), and I do not like Sa’di’s views on women, but I do like the mobilization of friendship and the idea that knowledge – like wealth – only matters if it is put into circulation.
The Conference of the Birds – Attar
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Attar manages to make a story about some silly birds both profoundly amusing and sophisticatedly philosophical. His structure is SO carefully crafted, and his style allows for just enough divergence from the main theme to be able to loop you back into it seamlessly. This is probably the work I am most excited to read in the original.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Attar manages to make a story about some silly birds both profoundly amusing and sophisticatedly philosophical. His structure is SO carefully crafted, and his style allows for just enough divergence from the main theme to be able to loop you back into it seamlessly. This is probably the work I am most excited to read in the original.
The Masnavi, Book 1 – Rumi
You know, I get all the historical reasons why everyone loves Rumi, but he is one of my least favourite Sufi poets. Maybe because I have had to listen to people extol him over and over and over and over and…maybe because I feel the need to be contrary. Whatever it is, there’s no doubt that Rumi is technically talented, and that his insights into human nature are interesting (the Reed Flute theme pervading the work is a masterful touch, I will grudgingly admit). I just can’t bring myself to be excited about it.
You know, I get all the historical reasons why everyone loves Rumi, but he is one of my least favourite Sufi poets. Maybe because I have had to listen to people extol him over and over and over and over and…maybe because I feel the need to be contrary. Whatever it is, there’s no doubt that Rumi is technically talented, and that his insights into human nature are interesting (the Reed Flute theme pervading the work is a masterful touch, I will grudgingly admit). I just can’t bring myself to be excited about it.
The Euthyphro – Plato
It’s been too long since I read a Socratic dialogue. I always forget how fun they are! The Euthyphro dilemma is an interesting one, but I think what attracts me more here is the challenge Socrates raises to the question of unilateral morality, of rules that always apply. The complicating of structures is one of my favourite things. Also, Socrates is refreshingly un-pedantic for someone who, like me, finds philosophers almost uniformly impossible to tolerate without rolling my eyes.
It’s been too long since I read a Socratic dialogue. I always forget how fun they are! The Euthyphro dilemma is an interesting one, but I think what attracts me more here is the challenge Socrates raises to the question of unilateral morality, of rules that always apply. The complicating of structures is one of my favourite things. Also, Socrates is refreshingly un-pedantic for someone who, like me, finds philosophers almost uniformly impossible to tolerate without rolling my eyes.
Itinerarium mentis in Deum – Bonaventure
You know, as an irreverent anti-Aristotelian, anyone who follows Plato is a-ok in my books. Bonaventure has a really interesting proposition, that there might be something above knowledge, and all of the mystics I have read are just nodding in agreement with him. I like his structure, and I like most of all that he doesn’t seem to care about what kind of person can move beyond knowing.
You know, as an irreverent anti-Aristotelian, anyone who follows Plato is a-ok in my books. Bonaventure has a really interesting proposition, that there might be something above knowledge, and all of the mystics I have read are just nodding in agreement with him. I like his structure, and I like most of all that he doesn’t seem to care about what kind of person can move beyond knowing.
On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers – Friedrich Schleiermacher
Schleiermacher’s idea of religion as feeling is SO influential, so pervasive in my discipline that it was really nice to get to the source. It was less nice to read him interminably perambulate in circles, and also less nice to hear him reduce religion to Christianity for all intents and purposes.
Schleiermacher’s idea of religion as feeling is SO influential, so pervasive in my discipline that it was really nice to get to the source. It was less nice to read him interminably perambulate in circles, and also less nice to hear him reduce religion to Christianity for all intents and purposes.
The Essence of Christianity – Ludwig Feuerbach
I love polemical writing. I love it. I adore it beyond all reason. I love the rantings and ravings and you-are-so-wrong-let-me-tell-you-how-wrong-it-is-SO speeches, and while I can’t actually recall much of poor Ludwig’s argument, I can’t help but admire his vigor.
I love polemical writing. I love it. I adore it beyond all reason. I love the rantings and ravings and you-are-so-wrong-let-me-tell-you-how-wrong-it-is-SO speeches, and while I can’t actually recall much of poor Ludwig’s argument, I can’t help but admire his vigor.
Fear and Trembling –Soren Kierkegaard
It is an open secret that Kierkegaard is one of the only philosophers whose methodology I admire. Whether one agrees with him on the subject of faith or not, his appeal to a single textual example and attempt not to discredit canon but to understand WHY it might be canonical is brilliant. I have such a hard time with philosophers who pull things out of thin air (read: I have such a hard time with philosophers), and to have an analysis grounded in something and investigating it rather than being all “ugh, religious people, what are they talking about” is so nice. His type of philosophy of religion, where philosophy and theology both have a role to play, is one I whole-heartedly endorse.
It is an open secret that Kierkegaard is one of the only philosophers whose methodology I admire. Whether one agrees with him on the subject of faith or not, his appeal to a single textual example and attempt not to discredit canon but to understand WHY it might be canonical is brilliant. I have such a hard time with philosophers who pull things out of thin air (read: I have such a hard time with philosophers), and to have an analysis grounded in something and investigating it rather than being all “ugh, religious people, what are they talking about” is so nice. His type of philosophy of religion, where philosophy and theology both have a role to play, is one I whole-heartedly endorse.
Dandelion Wine - Ray Bradbury
Bradbury's prose is nostalgic and melancholic, his stories perfectly encapsulated moments of boyhood, his framing narrative excellently achieved, his characters at once transcendent archetypes and sympathetically individual, his pacing unhurried but inexorable, this book a perfect end to summer. People on the metro gave me weird looks when I was finishing this one, wreathed in tears.
Bradbury's prose is nostalgic and melancholic, his stories perfectly encapsulated moments of boyhood, his framing narrative excellently achieved, his characters at once transcendent archetypes and sympathetically individual, his pacing unhurried but inexorable, this book a perfect end to summer. People on the metro gave me weird looks when I was finishing this one, wreathed in tears.
Tanglewood Tales - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Narrativization of Greek myth for school children of 150 years ago? It's like it was made for me. I love Hawthorne's frame narrative, love the variety of voices, love how brilliantly he infuses life into some of my favourite myths. His sanitization choices interest me - he maintains the villainy of female figures like Circe and Medea (both in the Theseus and the Jason story), but erases Hades' in kidnapping Persephone (he just wanted a friend!) and goes so far as to say that people who say Theseus abandoned Ariadne clearly don't understand Theseus' character. He has a justification for everyone but the women, which is very much in keeping with the spirit of mythic structures the world over. Enjoyable and personable, though, nonetheless!
Narrativization of Greek myth for school children of 150 years ago? It's like it was made for me. I love Hawthorne's frame narrative, love the variety of voices, love how brilliantly he infuses life into some of my favourite myths. His sanitization choices interest me - he maintains the villainy of female figures like Circe and Medea (both in the Theseus and the Jason story), but erases Hades' in kidnapping Persephone (he just wanted a friend!) and goes so far as to say that people who say Theseus abandoned Ariadne clearly don't understand Theseus' character. He has a justification for everyone but the women, which is very much in keeping with the spirit of mythic structures the world over. Enjoyable and personable, though, nonetheless!
The Maze Runner - James Dashner
Firstly, I have never heard an audiobook read so well. I usually have a hard time visualizing characters and narrative events when I hear them, but this rendition sparked my imagination almost as much as when I read myself. This is also one of the darkest dystopian fictions I've read, and, while I feel the main character is a little TOO good, I really appreciate the well-rounded cast. I think a lot of my problems relate to execution, especially with Thomas' reactions being largely told rather than shown, but the story is incredible and I can't wait to listen to the sequel!
Firstly, I have never heard an audiobook read so well. I usually have a hard time visualizing characters and narrative events when I hear them, but this rendition sparked my imagination almost as much as when I read myself. This is also one of the darkest dystopian fictions I've read, and, while I feel the main character is a little TOO good, I really appreciate the well-rounded cast. I think a lot of my problems relate to execution, especially with Thomas' reactions being largely told rather than shown, but the story is incredible and I can't wait to listen to the sequel!
Scorch Trials - James Dashner
I LOVE DYSTOPIAN FICTION. I LOVE WELL-WRITTEN YA FICTION. I do not love near-perfect protagonists, but that is the only thing about this book that doesn't satisfy me. The plot is so twisty-turny, so unexpectedly excellent, the supporting characters so well-fleshed out, and everything so beautifully, impossibly dark, and of course the reading was magically done. It's the first audiobook I've listened to that I had a hard time pausing. I hope reading the text of the final installment will prove as enjoyable!
I LOVE DYSTOPIAN FICTION. I LOVE WELL-WRITTEN YA FICTION. I do not love near-perfect protagonists, but that is the only thing about this book that doesn't satisfy me. The plot is so twisty-turny, so unexpectedly excellent, the supporting characters so well-fleshed out, and everything so beautifully, impossibly dark, and of course the reading was magically done. It's the first audiobook I've listened to that I had a hard time pausing. I hope reading the text of the final installment will prove as enjoyable!
The Riddle-Master of Hed – Patricia A McKillip
McKillip continues to be one of my favourite fantasy authors, almost chiefly for her use of simplicity and subtlety to wind a tale and its world about you without you noticing. Morgon is a perfect hero, his lands perfectly drawn out, his story unfolding with aaaaahhhhhh I had so many questions and I have so many reasons to love this book.
McKillip continues to be one of my favourite fantasy authors, almost chiefly for her use of simplicity and subtlety to wind a tale and its world about you without you noticing. Morgon is a perfect hero, his lands perfectly drawn out, his story unfolding with aaaaahhhhhh I had so many questions and I have so many reasons to love this book.
Heir of Sea and Fire – Patricia A. McKillip
If I thought Morgon was an excellent protagonist, Raederle is maybe the best female fantasy protagonist ever written. And this story is captivating and perfect and riddles just spin through it so perfectly that I could (and did) cry. I cannot put these books down.
If I thought Morgon was an excellent protagonist, Raederle is maybe the best female fantasy protagonist ever written. And this story is captivating and perfect and riddles just spin through it so perfectly that I could (and did) cry. I cannot put these books down.
Harpist in the Wind – Patricia A. McKillip
SO WELL SPUN. SO WELL WRITTEN. SO PERFECTLY SHAPED AND HELD AND LOOSED. I am in tearful awe of McKillip’s simplicity and her startling, unerring sense for the hearts of things. This is the way to end a series. This is the way to write a novel.
SO WELL SPUN. SO WELL WRITTEN. SO PERFECTLY SHAPED AND HELD AND LOOSED. I am in tearful awe of McKillip’s simplicity and her startling, unerring sense for the hearts of things. This is the way to end a series. This is the way to write a novel.
Provence, 1970 - Luke Barr
I think this book is not really what it claims to be (a history of a food revolution), and, instead, is a glimpse into the lives of people who love food so much that it is a part of them, that it IS their lives. It was sweet and sad and witty and charming, and amber-glassed moment in the history of love, and it resonated with me.
I think this book is not really what it claims to be (a history of a food revolution), and, instead, is a glimpse into the lives of people who love food so much that it is a part of them, that it IS their lives. It was sweet and sad and witty and charming, and amber-glassed moment in the history of love, and it resonated with me.
Lilith – George MacDonald
I read a lot of mystic texts, especially ones about weird metaphysical journeys, but this is by far the strangest, I think the more so because it is (I think?) a fictionalized mystic experience. MacDonald’s theology is pretty…bizarre. And this is hardcore weird, a weird, weird blending of a lot of different ideas. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think I would like it more if it were MacDonald’s own ecstatic experience.
I read a lot of mystic texts, especially ones about weird metaphysical journeys, but this is by far the strangest, I think the more so because it is (I think?) a fictionalized mystic experience. MacDonald’s theology is pretty…bizarre. And this is hardcore weird, a weird, weird blending of a lot of different ideas. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I think I would like it more if it were MacDonald’s own ecstatic experience.
Electra – Sophocles
Oh man how I adore Greek tragic heroines. I know exactly how I would play Electra, too; I love the moral ambiguity of her story, the chance to transpose honour codes into a different context. I love Sophocles’ deft hand with speech patterns and plot, too, even in translation.
Oh man how I adore Greek tragic heroines. I know exactly how I would play Electra, too; I love the moral ambiguity of her story, the chance to transpose honour codes into a different context. I love Sophocles’ deft hand with speech patterns and plot, too, even in translation.
The Fellowship of the Ring – JRR Tolkien
No matter how many times I read these books (it’s the 11th time around, I think?), I find something new to make me fall in love all over again. There are many flaws to Tolkien’s crafting, but the brokenness makes it all the more precious to me; it is so very clearly the work of a man blinded by love for a world he shaped to carry the weight of the languages he so carefully crafted. I get chills and tear up at points of linking and breaking rather than necessarily at plot points. These books are so carefully constructed. I can't imagine how much work and love went into them.
No matter how many times I read these books (it’s the 11th time around, I think?), I find something new to make me fall in love all over again. There are many flaws to Tolkien’s crafting, but the brokenness makes it all the more precious to me; it is so very clearly the work of a man blinded by love for a world he shaped to carry the weight of the languages he so carefully crafted. I get chills and tear up at points of linking and breaking rather than necessarily at plot points. These books are so carefully constructed. I can't imagine how much work and love went into them.
The Two Towers – JRR Tolkien
I love Tolkien’s deft hand with dialogue and dialect; I learn something new every time I read these perfect, flawed books, and this time it was an awareness of how each character – even minor ones, have a unique manner of speaking. Tolkien’s threads of myth are so carefully drawn together, too, and I think his best achievement was to make Smeagol inspiring of compassion rather than of loathing. Also every chapter has at least one moment that tugs a little too hard on my heart strings.
I love Tolkien’s deft hand with dialogue and dialect; I learn something new every time I read these perfect, flawed books, and this time it was an awareness of how each character – even minor ones, have a unique manner of speaking. Tolkien’s threads of myth are so carefully drawn together, too, and I think his best achievement was to make Smeagol inspiring of compassion rather than of loathing. Also every chapter has at least one moment that tugs a little too hard on my heart strings.
Ivanhoe – Sir Walter Scott
Rollicking adventures coupled with a sensitive treatment of a religious minority? I approve! I have been waiting to read this book since I was about eight and read bits and pieces of an abridged graphic novel version in the shop where my parents were pricing out wood-burning stoves. It has not disappointed – the dialogue, the descriptive, the plot, the characters…masterful and utterly charming.
Rollicking adventures coupled with a sensitive treatment of a religious minority? I approve! I have been waiting to read this book since I was about eight and read bits and pieces of an abridged graphic novel version in the shop where my parents were pricing out wood-burning stoves. It has not disappointed – the dialogue, the descriptive, the plot, the characters…masterful and utterly charming.
Blackfeet Indian Stories – George Bird Grinnell
I always enjoy retellings of myth, and I wish I could find more compendia of First Nations stories and traditions. This one managed to avoid too much excess commentary, and read very much like a transcription of an oral history, which was so nice! The figure of Old Man intrigues me to no end - he doesn't seem like the other tricksters I've encountered in myth, and I'd love to get a mytho-anthropologist's view.
I always enjoy retellings of myth, and I wish I could find more compendia of First Nations stories and traditions. This one managed to avoid too much excess commentary, and read very much like a transcription of an oral history, which was so nice! The figure of Old Man intrigues me to no end - he doesn't seem like the other tricksters I've encountered in myth, and I'd love to get a mytho-anthropologist's view.
The Return of the King – JRR Tolkien
The way that everyone reacts to the hobbits is always heartbreaking; it's a craving for news of peace and simplicity in the face of a lifetime of war, and it is beautiful. Also beautiful: the deep love everyone seems to have for each other. Maybe one day I'll make it through this book without crying every few pages, but probably not. What I have learned, I think, FINALLY, is that this trilogy's heroes are the hobbits. That's why the scouring of the Shire is important. It's the whole bloody point - The Lord of the Rings is a story, just like The Hobbit is, about growing up and growing into yourself, and the other characters and plot points are ancillary to Merry's, Pippin's, Sam's, and maybe even Frodo's losing their childhoods and gaining something equally as precious. I find, as I get older, I identify more and more with Sam.
The way that everyone reacts to the hobbits is always heartbreaking; it's a craving for news of peace and simplicity in the face of a lifetime of war, and it is beautiful. Also beautiful: the deep love everyone seems to have for each other. Maybe one day I'll make it through this book without crying every few pages, but probably not. What I have learned, I think, FINALLY, is that this trilogy's heroes are the hobbits. That's why the scouring of the Shire is important. It's the whole bloody point - The Lord of the Rings is a story, just like The Hobbit is, about growing up and growing into yourself, and the other characters and plot points are ancillary to Merry's, Pippin's, Sam's, and maybe even Frodo's losing their childhoods and gaining something equally as precious. I find, as I get older, I identify more and more with Sam.
Right Ho, Jeeves! – PG Wodehouse
Hilarious, amiable, and utterly charming. I always love how Bertie Wooster manages to tread the fine line between being likeable and being the absolute worst. Also, Aunt Dahlia is such a treat!
Hilarious, amiable, and utterly charming. I always love how Bertie Wooster manages to tread the fine line between being likeable and being the absolute worst. Also, Aunt Dahlia is such a treat!
Medieval and Tudor Drama - John Gassner, ed.
Medieval English is amazingly cool to me as a language undergoing lots of changes, and the dramatic tradition is this great mix of colloquial and formal speech. It's pretty neat how a lot of jokes have such incredible staying power along the centuries, too. Imagining the staging was a little tough sometimes, but in others - like the Second Shepherd's Play from a Passion cycle and Gorboduc, the forefather of Elizabethan drama (and TOTALLY proto-Lear, which was a joy) - were very clearly translatable from page to stage. Colourful! Witty! Moralizing! An overall excellent collection.
Medieval English is amazingly cool to me as a language undergoing lots of changes, and the dramatic tradition is this great mix of colloquial and formal speech. It's pretty neat how a lot of jokes have such incredible staying power along the centuries, too. Imagining the staging was a little tough sometimes, but in others - like the Second Shepherd's Play from a Passion cycle and Gorboduc, the forefather of Elizabethan drama (and TOTALLY proto-Lear, which was a joy) - were very clearly translatable from page to stage. Colourful! Witty! Moralizing! An overall excellent collection.
King Solomon’s Mines – H Rider Haggard
Hurrah for jolly English racism! Novels of the colonial era always give me such pause. The story was excellent, but much compromised by the genuinely awful way things and people were described and spoken to by the main character/narrator (also first person narration is abysmal at the best of times), and by the fact that the book was top-heavy. So much time was devoted to trivial encounters at the beginning, and then the end just came all at once as the chapters dwindled in content. PLUS what to me was the most exciting storyline was tossed aside because it starred the main African character rather than the white dudes. Altogether rage-inducing.
Hurrah for jolly English racism! Novels of the colonial era always give me such pause. The story was excellent, but much compromised by the genuinely awful way things and people were described and spoken to by the main character/narrator (also first person narration is abysmal at the best of times), and by the fact that the book was top-heavy. So much time was devoted to trivial encounters at the beginning, and then the end just came all at once as the chapters dwindled in content. PLUS what to me was the most exciting storyline was tossed aside because it starred the main African character rather than the white dudes. Altogether rage-inducing.
Gnosticism and Early Christianity - Robert M. Grant
Sometimes I forget why I didn't go into the more Judaeo-Christian branch of religious studies. Scholarly works like this remind me - I can't stand the epistemic angst. I can't deal with the simultaneous and cognitively dissonant rejection of Christianity and slavish adherence to reverential tone. I can't deal with how bogged down they get in "proving" what WAS Christian and what was not. I did get some tantalizing tidbits about early gnosticism for future study, though, so this wasn't entirely a loss.
Sometimes I forget why I didn't go into the more Judaeo-Christian branch of religious studies. Scholarly works like this remind me - I can't stand the epistemic angst. I can't deal with the simultaneous and cognitively dissonant rejection of Christianity and slavish adherence to reverential tone. I can't deal with how bogged down they get in "proving" what WAS Christian and what was not. I did get some tantalizing tidbits about early gnosticism for future study, though, so this wasn't entirely a loss.
An Edible History of Humanity – Tom Standage
ANTHROPOLOGY AND FOOD ARE TWO OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS. Standage does a great job on both research and readability, and manages to deal with controversy quite well. His history does not hide the ugliness of food's place(s) in history, nor does it glamourize. And I don't think it needs to; the narrative is pretty impressive. Some issues I had involved the at times unnecessary dichotomizing of "developed" and "developing" countries, and the inconsistent application of statistical analysis. Also all of the contributions to food-related science, agriculture, etc. that he records are overwhelmingly white European/North American, which provides a somewhat inaccurate picture. Overall, though, a magnificent work on a magnificent subject!
ANTHROPOLOGY AND FOOD ARE TWO OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS. Standage does a great job on both research and readability, and manages to deal with controversy quite well. His history does not hide the ugliness of food's place(s) in history, nor does it glamourize. And I don't think it needs to; the narrative is pretty impressive. Some issues I had involved the at times unnecessary dichotomizing of "developed" and "developing" countries, and the inconsistent application of statistical analysis. Also all of the contributions to food-related science, agriculture, etc. that he records are overwhelmingly white European/North American, which provides a somewhat inaccurate picture. Overall, though, a magnificent work on a magnificent subject!
Lexicon – Max Barry
Speculative fiction at its height; Barry's prose is smooth, his dialogue sharp, his characters amazing, his plot just tangled enough. But it is the conceptual work that astounds me, so much so that I am immediately settling down for a re-read. Linguistic anthropology, neurology, and science fiction combined with writing this good and a plot this well-planned meant that I absolutely devoured the book. And anticipate doing it again and again.
Speculative fiction at its height; Barry's prose is smooth, his dialogue sharp, his characters amazing, his plot just tangled enough. But it is the conceptual work that astounds me, so much so that I am immediately settling down for a re-read. Linguistic anthropology, neurology, and science fiction combined with writing this good and a plot this well-planned meant that I absolutely devoured the book. And anticipate doing it again and again.
The Jewels of Aptor – Samuel R Delaney
I was prepared to really like this, being a fair Delaney fan, but it was pretty disappointing. SF as allegory is all well and good, but any allegorizing that hammers you over the head is just not very fun.
I was prepared to really like this, being a fair Delaney fan, but it was pretty disappointing. SF as allegory is all well and good, but any allegorizing that hammers you over the head is just not very fun.
Fireweed
Firstly, I love how open academic feminism is to breaking conventions. And it's always awesome to read about the ways in which things like race and gender intersect with war. And the writing was great, and the insights were pretty good (although some a little outdated). My two big criticisms were: 1) find a copy editor! Changing spellings to challenge convention should be signalled by an explanatory footnote, and misplaced punctuation and nonsensically repeated phrases all could be fixed by a few hours and a red pen. Let's be taken seriously as an academic publication, yes? 2) I get this issue was in response to dominant narratives in the wake of the September 11th bombings, but I have such an issue with the exclusive terrain for the intersection of race, gender, and war to be an Arabo-Islamic one. Otherwise, so much good stuff in one slender volume!
Firstly, I love how open academic feminism is to breaking conventions. And it's always awesome to read about the ways in which things like race and gender intersect with war. And the writing was great, and the insights were pretty good (although some a little outdated). My two big criticisms were: 1) find a copy editor! Changing spellings to challenge convention should be signalled by an explanatory footnote, and misplaced punctuation and nonsensically repeated phrases all could be fixed by a few hours and a red pen. Let's be taken seriously as an academic publication, yes? 2) I get this issue was in response to dominant narratives in the wake of the September 11th bombings, but I have such an issue with the exclusive terrain for the intersection of race, gender, and war to be an Arabo-Islamic one. Otherwise, so much good stuff in one slender volume!
Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China - Arthur Waley
For a book written in the 30s, the scholarship here is remarkable. Actual primary text citations (South Asianists were notoriously lacking in those), critical understanding of his own limitations (it's important to link text and culture, but he does not know enough history to be the right man for the job, he says - and tries to anyway, signalling his inadequacy the while). It is neither exoticising nor derisive, and he paints some great pictures of the interactions between Daoism, Confucianism as articulated by Mencius, and what he calls Realism (and transliterates as Fa Chia, the School of Law). And it's super accessible! And super interesting.
For a book written in the 30s, the scholarship here is remarkable. Actual primary text citations (South Asianists were notoriously lacking in those), critical understanding of his own limitations (it's important to link text and culture, but he does not know enough history to be the right man for the job, he says - and tries to anyway, signalling his inadequacy the while). It is neither exoticising nor derisive, and he paints some great pictures of the interactions between Daoism, Confucianism as articulated by Mencius, and what he calls Realism (and transliterates as Fa Chia, the School of Law). And it's super accessible! And super interesting.
Poems from the Diwan of Hafiz – trans. Gertrude Bell
Ah, the manifest pleasure of reading Orientalist scholarship (not). I have such an issue with anything written about Muslim poets by colonial-era Westerners. The horribly racist introduction (longer than the poems themselves) aside, I loved this. Hafez is super great. I always wonder, in poetry, where the division between literalness and figurative language lies, especially with mystic poets who are maybe always writing about God. Hafez's political affiliations make the question even more interesting. His work is beautiful, too, even in translation, and the translation work isn't bad at all! I read another translation of some of Hafez's Dewan, and the differences are pretty negligible.
Ah, the manifest pleasure of reading Orientalist scholarship (not). I have such an issue with anything written about Muslim poets by colonial-era Westerners. The horribly racist introduction (longer than the poems themselves) aside, I loved this. Hafez is super great. I always wonder, in poetry, where the division between literalness and figurative language lies, especially with mystic poets who are maybe always writing about God. Hafez's political affiliations make the question even more interesting. His work is beautiful, too, even in translation, and the translation work isn't bad at all! I read another translation of some of Hafez's Dewan, and the differences are pretty negligible.
Mary Poppins in the Kitchen – PL Travers
Oh man I need to re-read those novels. This collection of a week where the inimitable nanny taught her charges how to cook is charming and light and precisely all of the things about Mary Poppins that I loved growing up. Plus the recipes are rather advanced - soufflés and custards and roasts! I quite like the idea that children can and should cook complex things. Also everything I have cooked from it so far has been a roaring success.
Oh man I need to re-read those novels. This collection of a week where the inimitable nanny taught her charges how to cook is charming and light and precisely all of the things about Mary Poppins that I loved growing up. Plus the recipes are rather advanced - soufflés and custards and roasts! I quite like the idea that children can and should cook complex things. Also everything I have cooked from it so far has been a roaring success.
Adolphe – Benjamin Constant
What a profoundly beautiful, profoundly upsetting book. This semi-autobiographical chronicle of the wasting away of a relationship long past its expiration date is unsettling in how clearly Constant identifies the moods and behaviours and thoughts that accompany a decline into toxicity. The writing is beautifully lyrical, even in translation. The treatment of women is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the narrator is so obviously more than a little sketch? Maybe?
What a profoundly beautiful, profoundly upsetting book. This semi-autobiographical chronicle of the wasting away of a relationship long past its expiration date is unsettling in how clearly Constant identifies the moods and behaviours and thoughts that accompany a decline into toxicity. The writing is beautifully lyrical, even in translation. The treatment of women is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the narrator is so obviously more than a little sketch? Maybe?
Children of Odin – Pádraic Colum
Hurrah for part-prose, part-verse transcriptions of Edda tales! These are always some of my favourite stories, and I love especially how phenomenally aware of their impending demise are the dwellers in Asgaard. To know without a shadow of a doubt that you are going to die, that you have to shore up your strength against a doom you know you cannot avoid, is a beautiful thing, and so much of what the Aesir and the Vanir do is coloured by this knowledge. It lends a weight to otherwise light tales, and gives sinister meaning to even the smallest doing. I love it.
Hurrah for part-prose, part-verse transcriptions of Edda tales! These are always some of my favourite stories, and I love especially how phenomenally aware of their impending demise are the dwellers in Asgaard. To know without a shadow of a doubt that you are going to die, that you have to shore up your strength against a doom you know you cannot avoid, is a beautiful thing, and so much of what the Aesir and the Vanir do is coloured by this knowledge. It lends a weight to otherwise light tales, and gives sinister meaning to even the smallest doing. I love it.
The Man in the Iron Mask – Alexandre Dumas
I mean, I guess the plot surrounding Phillipe was what kickstarted most of the action here, but I think this book would be more accurately entitled, "D'Artagnan Gets His Heart Broken Repeatedly, as Does the Reader". Quibbles over the inordinate amount of sorrow aside, I love Dumas as a writer. He has an elegance, even in translation, and his prose is vivid and lively. His characters, too, are wonderful and subtle and surprising and yet somehow entirely approachable. And I suppose heartbreak is a fitting end to the Musketeer saga.
I mean, I guess the plot surrounding Phillipe was what kickstarted most of the action here, but I think this book would be more accurately entitled, "D'Artagnan Gets His Heart Broken Repeatedly, as Does the Reader". Quibbles over the inordinate amount of sorrow aside, I love Dumas as a writer. He has an elegance, even in translation, and his prose is vivid and lively. His characters, too, are wonderful and subtle and surprising and yet somehow entirely approachable. And I suppose heartbreak is a fitting end to the Musketeer saga.
Eutopia: A Novel of Terrible Optimism – David Nickle
Eugenics! Cults! Young people! History! Subtle and not so subtle critiques of racism! All wrapped up in one creepy, well-written package. Some structural changes and some added detail (there were bits that felt needlessly barren and a little too much left to inference), and this book would be thoroughly incredible. As it is, it was really rather good anyway.
Eugenics! Cults! Young people! History! Subtle and not so subtle critiques of racism! All wrapped up in one creepy, well-written package. Some structural changes and some added detail (there were bits that felt needlessly barren and a little too much left to inference), and this book would be thoroughly incredible. As it is, it was really rather good anyway.
Pyramids – Terry Pratchett
Ugh, Pratchett is far too clever. Spoofing Ancient Egypt/Egyptologists' vision of it anyway, quantum physics, and philosophy (three of my not-so-secret loves) this time around, he also managed to have a gripping narrative flow that the jokes helped rather than hindered. I love him so much.
Ugh, Pratchett is far too clever. Spoofing Ancient Egypt/Egyptologists' vision of it anyway, quantum physics, and philosophy (three of my not-so-secret loves) this time around, he also managed to have a gripping narrative flow that the jokes helped rather than hindered. I love him so much.
The Magician King – Lev Grossman
I remember not being terribly impressed with The Magicians, the book to which this is the sequel, but I somehow can't remember why. Whatever it was, Grossman fixed it here. The book has heart and character depth and personality; it takes some very real questions and problems and does what speculative fiction does best: removes them enough from the regular sphere to be able to say something truly insightful about them. I think everyone who was ever a child who wanted to escape into another world can empathise with the adults Quentin and Julia turned out to be. I think the references to Narnia and The Railway Children and all of those other books about kids travelling through other places are both clever and meaningful. The prose is perhaps mundane rather than extraordinary, but, in this case, I think that adds to the overwhelming realness of this profoundly unreal story. Needless to say, the last few chapters caused people on the train to look at me askance.
I remember not being terribly impressed with The Magicians, the book to which this is the sequel, but I somehow can't remember why. Whatever it was, Grossman fixed it here. The book has heart and character depth and personality; it takes some very real questions and problems and does what speculative fiction does best: removes them enough from the regular sphere to be able to say something truly insightful about them. I think everyone who was ever a child who wanted to escape into another world can empathise with the adults Quentin and Julia turned out to be. I think the references to Narnia and The Railway Children and all of those other books about kids travelling through other places are both clever and meaningful. The prose is perhaps mundane rather than extraordinary, but, in this case, I think that adds to the overwhelming realness of this profoundly unreal story. Needless to say, the last few chapters caused people on the train to look at me askance.
The Beautiful Mystery – Louise Penny
I find detective novels profoundly formulaic and boring and can never quite seem to enjoy them. This one, however, had twists and turns and overlapping plots the likes of which I've seen but rarely (outside of Kay's novels, which are chock full of them), and, perhaps more than that, it was about monks and medieval plainchant and Northern Quebec. Beautiful indeed, and well-plotted, and thoroughly enjoyable. Sorry for doubting you, grandma! Your recommendations continue their perfect track record.
I find detective novels profoundly formulaic and boring and can never quite seem to enjoy them. This one, however, had twists and turns and overlapping plots the likes of which I've seen but rarely (outside of Kay's novels, which are chock full of them), and, perhaps more than that, it was about monks and medieval plainchant and Northern Quebec. Beautiful indeed, and well-plotted, and thoroughly enjoyable. Sorry for doubting you, grandma! Your recommendations continue their perfect track record.
Saint Joan – George Bernard Shaw
Shaw's wittiness and biting criticism of society and of people are just spot on, making this narrative an amazing metonym for the modern world as much as it is a fantastic dramatization of a historical moment. Joan's voice is everything I always imagined her to be, and, while the whole thing is a little short and sparse for what I think her story deserves, he hits all the salient points with vigour and precision. And lots of stage directions, too. I don't know how I feel about those - they enhance the reading but make for some pretty extravagant set requirements. I wouldn't necessarily want to stage manage this play, if those stage directions were followed.
Shaw's wittiness and biting criticism of society and of people are just spot on, making this narrative an amazing metonym for the modern world as much as it is a fantastic dramatization of a historical moment. Joan's voice is everything I always imagined her to be, and, while the whole thing is a little short and sparse for what I think her story deserves, he hits all the salient points with vigour and precision. And lots of stage directions, too. I don't know how I feel about those - they enhance the reading but make for some pretty extravagant set requirements. I wouldn't necessarily want to stage manage this play, if those stage directions were followed.
The Lions of Al-Rassan – Guy Gavriel Kay
I still think that this is the best book I have ever read. I think I understand it better than I did when I last read it, at the end of CEGEP. There is a part of me that wishes I didn't. There is another part of me that thinks Jehane is the epitome of womanhood, and wants to be her when I grow up.
I still think that this is the best book I have ever read. I think I understand it better than I did when I last read it, at the end of CEGEP. There is a part of me that wishes I didn't. There is another part of me that thinks Jehane is the epitome of womanhood, and wants to be her when I grow up.
Layla and Majnun - Nizami
Everyone who does anything with Persianate Sufi poetry knows the story of Layla and Majnun, but actually reading it is something I wish I'd done sooner. The course of Qays' descent into madness, the sense of inevitability, the difference between Majnun's freedom to grieve and Layla's imprisonment within the constraints of her gender, the gradual purification of both of their passions - the narrative course is fluid and unerring, and I can't help but be in awe of the skilled weaving. I'm excited to read this in verse, and in Persian. So much anti-blackness, though! I'm noticing this trend in a lot of the Persianate poetry and prose I've been reading, and it's seriously upsetting.
Everyone who does anything with Persianate Sufi poetry knows the story of Layla and Majnun, but actually reading it is something I wish I'd done sooner. The course of Qays' descent into madness, the sense of inevitability, the difference between Majnun's freedom to grieve and Layla's imprisonment within the constraints of her gender, the gradual purification of both of their passions - the narrative course is fluid and unerring, and I can't help but be in awe of the skilled weaving. I'm excited to read this in verse, and in Persian. So much anti-blackness, though! I'm noticing this trend in a lot of the Persianate poetry and prose I've been reading, and it's seriously upsetting.
King Lear: A Tragic Reading of Life – John M Lothian
I have some disagreements here, and some agreements. I think he's right to correct the critics who suggest Lear's climax is the end of Act I, and those who see no value in the majority of the play. I don't quite agree that it's the best play of all time, but it's certainly up there. And that's why I have trouble with the idea that Lear is exclusively about Lear's development, that everything else serves or highlights or foils or parallels that. See, I think that Lear is about the human condition, but to isolate it to the titular character alone (and to so villify his daughters! to have more compassion for Edmund than for them!) is, I think, an oversight. Lear is a play about family, about how who we are and what we become is because of what we do to our families, and what they do to us. And I agree with his assessment of the Fool as more than just a showpiece, but he misses out on the character's place as the loyal family member, more so even than Kent. And he glosses over the Gloucesters, my precious babes, and the hugely important arcs of the "villains". Lear has no heroes, no villains. And to ignore the moral ambiguity of everyone (even Cordelia! even Kent. even the Fool.) is to miss out on the most significant insights of the play.
I have some disagreements here, and some agreements. I think he's right to correct the critics who suggest Lear's climax is the end of Act I, and those who see no value in the majority of the play. I don't quite agree that it's the best play of all time, but it's certainly up there. And that's why I have trouble with the idea that Lear is exclusively about Lear's development, that everything else serves or highlights or foils or parallels that. See, I think that Lear is about the human condition, but to isolate it to the titular character alone (and to so villify his daughters! to have more compassion for Edmund than for them!) is, I think, an oversight. Lear is a play about family, about how who we are and what we become is because of what we do to our families, and what they do to us. And I agree with his assessment of the Fool as more than just a showpiece, but he misses out on the character's place as the loyal family member, more so even than Kent. And he glosses over the Gloucesters, my precious babes, and the hugely important arcs of the "villains". Lear has no heroes, no villains. And to ignore the moral ambiguity of everyone (even Cordelia! even Kent. even the Fool.) is to miss out on the most significant insights of the play.
The Sorcerer’s Apprentices – Lisa Abend
I really appreciated the human side of this story of a restaurant, and of a madman/genius. I don't really know what else to say. It caught me at the crux of my own feelings and fears about the industry and my place in it, and as such provided some excellent food for thought, but at the moment I'm simply pondering the beginnings of those.
I really appreciated the human side of this story of a restaurant, and of a madman/genius. I don't really know what else to say. It caught me at the crux of my own feelings and fears about the industry and my place in it, and as such provided some excellent food for thought, but at the moment I'm simply pondering the beginnings of those.
Dragonflight – Anne McCaffrey
Scifi dragons?! How excellent! This book is well-plotted, although a little fast-paced for my liking, and missing a LOT of character development. Still, the conceptual work is great, and there aren't the sort of gaping holes one tends to expect with inter-genre efforts. I'm anticipating the sequel, although I hope it will be less rape-y.
Scifi dragons?! How excellent! This book is well-plotted, although a little fast-paced for my liking, and missing a LOT of character development. Still, the conceptual work is great, and there aren't the sort of gaping holes one tends to expect with inter-genre efforts. I'm anticipating the sequel, although I hope it will be less rape-y.
Dragonquest – Anne McCaffrey
Dragon politics! I don't quite grasp how the system of ranking within a dragon weyr works - it seems fraught with potential disaster - and I'm sad that Lessa has been domesticated. And I'm upset that the whole non-consensual sex thing gets repeated - especially between two characters right after they discuss how potentially problematic it is! It's a fun read, for sure, and I love the vagaries of politics and the complexities of science, but I guess I miss character development. And I guess there are some world-building elements that are a little off for me.
Dragon politics! I don't quite grasp how the system of ranking within a dragon weyr works - it seems fraught with potential disaster - and I'm sad that Lessa has been domesticated. And I'm upset that the whole non-consensual sex thing gets repeated - especially between two characters right after they discuss how potentially problematic it is! It's a fun read, for sure, and I love the vagaries of politics and the complexities of science, but I guess I miss character development. And I guess there are some world-building elements that are a little off for me.
The White Dragon – Anne McCaffrey
Well, Jaxom at least gets SOME character development, but to be honest the only characters I really care about are the dragons - McCaffery is not terribly good at writing people. This is even less structurally sound than the other two, and I will admit to being thoroughly tired of easy resolutions to problems that are described as insurmountable. And the lack of consequence! There's no real narrative depth here, although the conceptual work is still interesting. So much wasted potential.
Well, Jaxom at least gets SOME character development, but to be honest the only characters I really care about are the dragons - McCaffery is not terribly good at writing people. This is even less structurally sound than the other two, and I will admit to being thoroughly tired of easy resolutions to problems that are described as insurmountable. And the lack of consequence! There's no real narrative depth here, although the conceptual work is still interesting. So much wasted potential.
The Magician’s Land – Lev Grossman
One thing I really appreciate about Grossman is how adroitly his narratives skip around time; another is how irreverent he is with fantasy tropes (although he doesn't challenge the bad-things-happen-to-women-so-the-hero-can-grow one, which is disappointing). This series is a love-letter to the genre written by someone so intimately versed in its ways that he knows just where to gently prod and just where to whole-heartedly gush. It is also, ultimately, a letter to his younger self, to all of the younger selves (and current selves) of those of us who found in fantasy novels a place to call home, a letter saying that homes are things that you can build for yourself, but that, until you feel brave enough to try, literature of the fantastic has a space where you can belong. These books are about a lot of things, but mostly about how fairy stories save lives. It's a message I can get behind, great gushing tears and all.
One thing I really appreciate about Grossman is how adroitly his narratives skip around time; another is how irreverent he is with fantasy tropes (although he doesn't challenge the bad-things-happen-to-women-so-the-hero-can-grow one, which is disappointing). This series is a love-letter to the genre written by someone so intimately versed in its ways that he knows just where to gently prod and just where to whole-heartedly gush. It is also, ultimately, a letter to his younger self, to all of the younger selves (and current selves) of those of us who found in fantasy novels a place to call home, a letter saying that homes are things that you can build for yourself, but that, until you feel brave enough to try, literature of the fantastic has a space where you can belong. These books are about a lot of things, but mostly about how fairy stories save lives. It's a message I can get behind, great gushing tears and all.
The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door – Hafez, trans. Robert Bly and Leonard Lewisohn
I think translations of poetry should only be written by poets. And scholars of poetry. This translation is sensitive, informed, idiomatic, and manages to capture that remarkable tension between metaphor and literality that pervades Hafez's poetry. I think it goes without saying that I love these ghazals, look so forward to reading them in Persian.
I think translations of poetry should only be written by poets. And scholars of poetry. This translation is sensitive, informed, idiomatic, and manages to capture that remarkable tension between metaphor and literality that pervades Hafez's poetry. I think it goes without saying that I love these ghazals, look so forward to reading them in Persian.
At the Bottom of the Dark - Kay Smith
This is a profoundly affecting collection of absolutely beautiful, sometimes awkward poetry. Smith's writing is very simple, almost minimalist, except for moments when she unleashes an intricate, wordy metaphor - it seems, every time, to force its way through the simplicity she is trying to achieve, as if her thoughts and emotions refuse to be reduced to easy digestible chunks. The first and third sections were nice, but in the second what felt like a narrative structure linking the poems was...intense. The bottom of the dark that she writes about, especially in that second section, is expressed in such a way that it feels intimately familiar, in that place between raw emotion and something that can be articulated.
This is a profoundly affecting collection of absolutely beautiful, sometimes awkward poetry. Smith's writing is very simple, almost minimalist, except for moments when she unleashes an intricate, wordy metaphor - it seems, every time, to force its way through the simplicity she is trying to achieve, as if her thoughts and emotions refuse to be reduced to easy digestible chunks. The first and third sections were nice, but in the second what felt like a narrative structure linking the poems was...intense. The bottom of the dark that she writes about, especially in that second section, is expressed in such a way that it feels intimately familiar, in that place between raw emotion and something that can be articulated.
Divergent - Veronica Roth
GEEZ I LOVE DYSTOPIAN FICTION AND REAL FEMALE CHARACTERS. I would have loved for Tris to be asexual, but, you know, beggars can't be choosers. Listening to this book made my normal icky feelings about first-person narration less pressing, I loved the characters (and the ethnic diversity attempts), and the conceptual work was not bad. I feel as though a stronger frame narrative might help me buy into the conceptual framework, but hopefully that problem will be solved in the next two books. I'll read them, but less for a "what will happen next" question and more because I genuinely like Tris and Tobias as characters.
GEEZ I LOVE DYSTOPIAN FICTION AND REAL FEMALE CHARACTERS. I would have loved for Tris to be asexual, but, you know, beggars can't be choosers. Listening to this book made my normal icky feelings about first-person narration less pressing, I loved the characters (and the ethnic diversity attempts), and the conceptual work was not bad. I feel as though a stronger frame narrative might help me buy into the conceptual framework, but hopefully that problem will be solved in the next two books. I'll read them, but less for a "what will happen next" question and more because I genuinely like Tris and Tobias as characters.
Sabriel - Garth Nix
I mean, Nix is the master at temporal mixing, at commenting on the juxtaposition between magic and modernity, and at thinking about both underlying structures and moral implications of magical practice. The way he characterizes is beautiful, too, and his writing style flows nicely. I loved Sabriel when I first read her, and I love her more now for seeing how mature she is in the midst of her fragility. I continue to appreciate love stories where women have agency, and continue to question their ubiquity in female-centric fiction.
I mean, Nix is the master at temporal mixing, at commenting on the juxtaposition between magic and modernity, and at thinking about both underlying structures and moral implications of magical practice. The way he characterizes is beautiful, too, and his writing style flows nicely. I loved Sabriel when I first read her, and I love her more now for seeing how mature she is in the midst of her fragility. I continue to appreciate love stories where women have agency, and continue to question their ubiquity in female-centric fiction.
Napier's Bones - Derryl Murphy
How so intriguing a concept could be so stunningly awful in execution boggles my mind. The Idiot's Guide to Algebra is a better read - I know this because I read both in the same week (the GRE is a ridiculous test). Numbers as magic is great! The conceptual work is just not there, the plot is useless, the structure is worse than stuff I wrote in elementary school (yes I have fanfiction for The Hobbit, no you may not read it), the character development is non-existent, there is a romance subplot that appears OUT OF NOWHERE, the writing is just bad, both technically (very flat and repetitive) and in terms of expressiveness (SHOW, don't tell, geez), there is time travel and angels and William Blake and Archimedes and none of it is used in a way that is remotely coherent. I cringed the whole way through at the bad writing, the bad storytelling, and the horrible treatment of what at its heart is a very cool thing.
How so intriguing a concept could be so stunningly awful in execution boggles my mind. The Idiot's Guide to Algebra is a better read - I know this because I read both in the same week (the GRE is a ridiculous test). Numbers as magic is great! The conceptual work is just not there, the plot is useless, the structure is worse than stuff I wrote in elementary school (yes I have fanfiction for The Hobbit, no you may not read it), the character development is non-existent, there is a romance subplot that appears OUT OF NOWHERE, the writing is just bad, both technically (very flat and repetitive) and in terms of expressiveness (SHOW, don't tell, geez), there is time travel and angels and William Blake and Archimedes and none of it is used in a way that is remotely coherent. I cringed the whole way through at the bad writing, the bad storytelling, and the horrible treatment of what at its heart is a very cool thing.
Food of Bodhisattvas - Shabkar
Shabkar is such a good scholar! I mean, I'm biased because he writes the way I do, curating all the evidence, making an argument, forcing his argument into contact with alternative interpretations, and demonstrating conclusively that his argument alone accounts for all the evidence. This is first and foremost a scholarly work, and, having read his autobiography, I find myself impressed that he so fully mastered both this genre and the poetic genre of Tibetan life-writing. I also admire the way that he weaves sutras and tantras together; I've missed Tibetan Buddhist religious scholarship a lot more than I expected I would, I think.
Shabkar is such a good scholar! I mean, I'm biased because he writes the way I do, curating all the evidence, making an argument, forcing his argument into contact with alternative interpretations, and demonstrating conclusively that his argument alone accounts for all the evidence. This is first and foremost a scholarly work, and, having read his autobiography, I find myself impressed that he so fully mastered both this genre and the poetic genre of Tibetan life-writing. I also admire the way that he weaves sutras and tantras together; I've missed Tibetan Buddhist religious scholarship a lot more than I expected I would, I think.
The Taste of Conquest - Michael Krondl
I do love popular histories, and, while this one is super Eurocentric, it's the first one that I've read that is VERY aware of that fact. The grimy bits aren't sanitized, either, which is nice, and the style is precisely the best sort of enjoyable, a mix between travelogue and history book. Spices! I now know way more about them than I did after my grade 2 research project (the beginning of my fascination with the academic study of anything). And I have a much better understanding of the role food played in the colonial project, as well as an inkling of how it plays into industrialism. Also, nutmeg, in large enough quantity, is a hallucinogen. Like a violent one. Makes eggnog a more interesting drink, I suppose.
I do love popular histories, and, while this one is super Eurocentric, it's the first one that I've read that is VERY aware of that fact. The grimy bits aren't sanitized, either, which is nice, and the style is precisely the best sort of enjoyable, a mix between travelogue and history book. Spices! I now know way more about them than I did after my grade 2 research project (the beginning of my fascination with the academic study of anything). And I have a much better understanding of the role food played in the colonial project, as well as an inkling of how it plays into industrialism. Also, nutmeg, in large enough quantity, is a hallucinogen. Like a violent one. Makes eggnog a more interesting drink, I suppose.
The Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night
Racism! Misogyny! Magic! The frequent use of the (horribly translated) phrase "Allah upon thee"! Plots, djinns, beatings, extra-marital affairs, barbers, deaths and near-deaths, long-lost children/parents/siblings, terribly food, falling in love at first sight, and other unsavoury things! The conceit is of course marvelous, the stories adroitly told and amusing, the translation amusing, the characters almost uniformly unappealing. That is to say: perfectly charming, deliciously tangled, and majestic in scope, all in the same ways that a soap opera is.
Racism! Misogyny! Magic! The frequent use of the (horribly translated) phrase "Allah upon thee"! Plots, djinns, beatings, extra-marital affairs, barbers, deaths and near-deaths, long-lost children/parents/siblings, terribly food, falling in love at first sight, and other unsavoury things! The conceit is of course marvelous, the stories adroitly told and amusing, the translation amusing, the characters almost uniformly unappealing. That is to say: perfectly charming, deliciously tangled, and majestic in scope, all in the same ways that a soap opera is.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum
Baum's introduction explicitly states that kids these days don't want high drama, just whimsy, and so he's going to make something purely whimsical, gosh darn it. Frankly (ha!), having read a great deal of children's fiction in my childhood that WAS full of high drama, I vastly prefer it to this kind of watered-down, non-sequiter storytelling that can barely be bothered to keep a discernible narrative shape. The one redeeming feature, for me, was the clever use of the placebo effect, whereby the Lion and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman all developed the qualities they sought after, but otherwise everything was far too coincidentally lucky for me.
Baum's introduction explicitly states that kids these days don't want high drama, just whimsy, and so he's going to make something purely whimsical, gosh darn it. Frankly (ha!), having read a great deal of children's fiction in my childhood that WAS full of high drama, I vastly prefer it to this kind of watered-down, non-sequiter storytelling that can barely be bothered to keep a discernible narrative shape. The one redeeming feature, for me, was the clever use of the placebo effect, whereby the Lion and the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman all developed the qualities they sought after, but otherwise everything was far too coincidentally lucky for me.
Secrets of the Fire Sea - Stephen Hunt
UGH NO. Steampunk is cool, religion is cool, but this book is not. Anti-religious diatribe (all religious people are fanatics by definition, did you know? and they all do violent shit, but anti-religious people are peaceful and compassionate but no one else is) mixed with intensive appropriation of Buddhism and some bizarre form of Benthamite utilitarian calculation does not a good main narrative pillar make. Casual/not so casual setting up of white, abled, rationally-addicted, HUMANS as better than everyone else does not a good main narrative pillar make (like it's super gross). Incompetent writing of the one female character who is more than a supporting character combined with more nuanced character development of the men (including A MALE ROBOT)...basically, this guy needs to be taught how to write beyond his narrow white-anti-religious-dude frame of reference. Steampunk! Do better!
UGH NO. Steampunk is cool, religion is cool, but this book is not. Anti-religious diatribe (all religious people are fanatics by definition, did you know? and they all do violent shit, but anti-religious people are peaceful and compassionate but no one else is) mixed with intensive appropriation of Buddhism and some bizarre form of Benthamite utilitarian calculation does not a good main narrative pillar make. Casual/not so casual setting up of white, abled, rationally-addicted, HUMANS as better than everyone else does not a good main narrative pillar make (like it's super gross). Incompetent writing of the one female character who is more than a supporting character combined with more nuanced character development of the men (including A MALE ROBOT)...basically, this guy needs to be taught how to write beyond his narrow white-anti-religious-dude frame of reference. Steampunk! Do better!
Lirael – Garth Nix
I have forgotten how much respect I have for both Nix's writing and his conceptual work. The underlying structure of his entire universe is unveiled in ways that make sense, but more important for me is the fact that there IS an underlying structure. Too frequently fantasy novels are not well grounded, and Nix's thoughtful thoroughness is quite a treat. Also I love Sam and Lirael, how both are fairly useless but think they are more useless than they are, and I love the subtle foreshadowing, and I love how Nix's prose flows so easily.
I have forgotten how much respect I have for both Nix's writing and his conceptual work. The underlying structure of his entire universe is unveiled in ways that make sense, but more important for me is the fact that there IS an underlying structure. Too frequently fantasy novels are not well grounded, and Nix's thoughtful thoroughness is quite a treat. Also I love Sam and Lirael, how both are fairly useless but think they are more useless than they are, and I love the subtle foreshadowing, and I love how Nix's prose flows so easily.
Abhorsen – Garth Nix
I feel as though my sixteen-year-old self unfairly underestimated this trilogy. The conceptual work is so well knit together, the prose seamless, the plot intricate and elegant, everything deliberate and measured and so carefully crafted. But the chiefest pleasure here is how, with few words, none of them direct, Nix crafted characters whose loves and sorrows one cannot help but share. If 2014 was the Year of Sobbing over Fantasy Novels, what a way to end it.
I feel as though my sixteen-year-old self unfairly underestimated this trilogy. The conceptual work is so well knit together, the prose seamless, the plot intricate and elegant, everything deliberate and measured and so carefully crafted. But the chiefest pleasure here is how, with few words, none of them direct, Nix crafted characters whose loves and sorrows one cannot help but share. If 2014 was the Year of Sobbing over Fantasy Novels, what a way to end it.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth - Chris Hadfield
I have wanted to go to space for as long as I can remember. It will surprise no one that I loved this book - Hadfield is eloquent and witty (although he uses too many parenthetical remarks for my keen editorial eye to tolerate), humble and matter-of-fact. His stories are magical and his advice is simple and straightforward and totally mind-blowing. In the event that a space mission needs a cultural attache, I will be busy following his example, working to make myself the perfect person for the job.
I have wanted to go to space for as long as I can remember. It will surprise no one that I loved this book - Hadfield is eloquent and witty (although he uses too many parenthetical remarks for my keen editorial eye to tolerate), humble and matter-of-fact. His stories are magical and his advice is simple and straightforward and totally mind-blowing. In the event that a space mission needs a cultural attache, I will be busy following his example, working to make myself the perfect person for the job.
Stations of the Tide - Michael Swanwick
This book is well-crafted and genuine, story wreathing story, just enough mystery and just enough revelation, arcing and concluding like waves. It's exceptionally well-written without feeling artificial, and yet I couldn't get emotionally invested in any of the stories or characters. It's such a curious feeling, to be so detached from a book so perfectly shaped. I think that, too, is a brilliant element of artistry; the reading experience, in a way, matches everything else about the book.
This book is well-crafted and genuine, story wreathing story, just enough mystery and just enough revelation, arcing and concluding like waves. It's exceptionally well-written without feeling artificial, and yet I couldn't get emotionally invested in any of the stories or characters. It's such a curious feeling, to be so detached from a book so perfectly shaped. I think that, too, is a brilliant element of artistry; the reading experience, in a way, matches everything else about the book.
Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer - Wesley Stace
I do not like love stories, or murder mysteries, or postwar novels, or first-person narrative, or biographical frame narratives or repeatings of plot or slightly switched retellings or anything, really, that this book was. But I found it captivating and beautiful and impossible to put down and I loved it more than I have loved a book in a long time. There is artistry here, and something more than artistry: Stace is a master of music, of prose, of narrative, of plot, of dialogue, of revelation and inevitability and beautiful, debilitating sadness mirroring sadness. I cried about this book off and on for two days after finishing it. I have not been so in awe, so profoundly moved and profoundly respectful at once, in a very long time.
I do not like love stories, or murder mysteries, or postwar novels, or first-person narrative, or biographical frame narratives or repeatings of plot or slightly switched retellings or anything, really, that this book was. But I found it captivating and beautiful and impossible to put down and I loved it more than I have loved a book in a long time. There is artistry here, and something more than artistry: Stace is a master of music, of prose, of narrative, of plot, of dialogue, of revelation and inevitability and beautiful, debilitating sadness mirroring sadness. I cried about this book off and on for two days after finishing it. I have not been so in awe, so profoundly moved and profoundly respectful at once, in a very long time.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith
Someone I once loved told me to read this book because the main character reminded them of me. Five years later, almost, I consider it a compliment of the highest order. It is a beautiful thing to read women writing about women, writing about men through women's eyes, writing without glamourizing or pedestal-placing or anything but carefully, simply, sympathetically writing women's experiences, hopes and dreams and losses and settlings. Unflinchingly honest, yet open and forgiving, gracious without making excuses: this book reflects so very well the voice of the type of woman I have always wanted to be. I had not known that this person I loved knew me so well. That revelation is as quiet a happiness as is reading this book.
Someone I once loved told me to read this book because the main character reminded them of me. Five years later, almost, I consider it a compliment of the highest order. It is a beautiful thing to read women writing about women, writing about men through women's eyes, writing without glamourizing or pedestal-placing or anything but carefully, simply, sympathetically writing women's experiences, hopes and dreams and losses and settlings. Unflinchingly honest, yet open and forgiving, gracious without making excuses: this book reflects so very well the voice of the type of woman I have always wanted to be. I had not known that this person I loved knew me so well. That revelation is as quiet a happiness as is reading this book.
Dance with Dragons – George R.R. Martin
I have a lot of issues with how GRRM uses the physical and sexual abuse of women as a plot point for the development of his male characters. I have a lot of issues with how thinly spread is the development of the plot, but that is less about principle and more about impatience. I have a lot of feelings about the Starks and the Greyjoys, and I just want everyone to get over Daenerys, including herself. I want better exposition of religion and mythology and less time spent worrying about the weather. I want a lot of things, but mostly for Winds of Winter to hurry up and be published.
I have a lot of issues with how GRRM uses the physical and sexual abuse of women as a plot point for the development of his male characters. I have a lot of issues with how thinly spread is the development of the plot, but that is less about principle and more about impatience. I have a lot of feelings about the Starks and the Greyjoys, and I just want everyone to get over Daenerys, including herself. I want better exposition of religion and mythology and less time spent worrying about the weather. I want a lot of things, but mostly for Winds of Winter to hurry up and be published.