Huxley's Brave New World stands with Zamyatin's We, Rand's Anthem, Boye's Kallocain, and Orwell's 1984 as one of the great dystopian novels of the ear...moreHuxley's Brave New World stands with Zamyatin's We, Rand's Anthem, Boye's Kallocain, and Orwell's 1984 as one of the great dystopian novels of the early twentieth century. This satirical answer to the utopian works of H.G. Wells and others rewards multiple readings and continues to have much to say to the contemporary reader.
Set in London in 2540 C.E. (or 632 A.F. – that is, "After Ford," after the enshrinement of mass production), the novel draws a portrait of a society in which people are created, engineered, conditioned, and perpetually drugged to serve the goals of "Community, Identity, Stability." John the Savage, who has lived beyond the bounds of civilization, and the Resident World Controller of Western Europe, His Fordship Mustapha Mond, know the forbidden pleasures of Shakespeare and science, respectively; they are the symbols of what must be sacrificed - individualism, beauty, curiousity, even conscience - for this "perfect" world to survive.
Not only is Brave New World a brutally thoughtful answer to the naivete of the "Age of Utopias," but with Huxley's clever use of names and references (from Marx to Lenin, Freud to Ford, Malthus to Newman), the novel also serves as a cultural literacy test and survey of Western thought.
I highly recommend rereading this (and its contemporaries) every few years. Its message grows more relevant with time. (less)
Cultivating the Rosebuds invites a conversation about the education of women at the Cherokee Female Seminary from 1851 to 1909. It's by no means the f...moreCultivating the Rosebuds invites a conversation about the education of women at the Cherokee Female Seminary from 1851 to 1909. It's by no means the final word on the subject, as Devon Mihesuah makes clear; instead, Mihesuah poses fascinating questions and sets the stage for research and investigations to come. She does an able job of explaining how unique this institution (and, for that matter, the Cherokee values and assumptions undergirding it) truly was in the larger context of female education and Native American education at the time. The book also points out how the school's requirements and curriculum 1) highlighted distinctions of physiology (full-blood, mixed-blood, etc.) and cultural adherence (traditionalist, assimilationist, etc.) among the students and 2) prepared the young "rose buds" for a "true woman" role in which Native women might never be wholly accepted by the mainstream (that is, white) United States.
I was particularly interested in Mihesuah's discussion about the Mount Holyoke connection to the development of the Cherokee Female Seminary and how, in later years, an Eastern-feminist-"New Woman" ideal challenged the more domestic model that preceded it. This led to some Cherokee alumnae becoming graduates of universities across the United States and later businesswomen, educators, and even prominent physicians. I was also intrigued by examples of the curious ways in which students at the institution came to view their own (revised) history as citizens of the Cherokee Nation.
The book left me wanting to know more, especially about the memoirs and journals and other extant firsthand accounts of student experiences at the seminary.
The greatest strength of this book is its impressive documentation and citations, as well as generous appendices detailing the women who studied, graduated from, and/or taught at the institution. I read this for specific research purposes as well as for general information and enjoyment, and I was satisfied on all counts.(less)
I treated myself by rereading this Hugo and Nebula winner as I prepared to lecture on it for my science fiction class, and, as always, I found new asp...moreI treated myself by rereading this Hugo and Nebula winner as I prepared to lecture on it for my science fiction class, and, as always, I found new aspects of the work to appreciate. It marks one of the highest points in Bujold's marvelous Vorkosigan series, offering a compelling "whodunit" as the already sorely tested Miles must face his greatest test to date, going into his own backcountry to act as his father's Voice and find justice for a murdered infant girl. The parallel between Miles' own experience with his grandfather General Count Piotr and this slain baby's death at the hands of those who should have protected her puts an intimate human face on abstract issues in a most poignant way.
At the heart of this novella are grave questions about when is it legitimate to “force” progress, who decides what progress is, and when those in power/with authority must at last become intolerant of intolerance.
Beautifully done.
"Well, these practices — mutie-killing — shame the Emperor, when he stands for Barrayar before the galaxy. I've been out there. I know. They call us all savages, for the crimes of a few. It shames the Count my father before his peers, and Silvy Vale before the District. A soldier gets honor by killing an armed enemy, not a baby. This matter touches my honor as a Vorkosigan, Zed. Besides," Miles's lips drew back on a mirthless grin, and he leaned forward intently in his chair — Zed recoiled as much as he dared — "you will all be astonished at what only a mutie can do. That I have sworn on my grandfather's grave."(less)
If you're going to read The Hobbit - which, of course, you should!!! - this is the edition to read. The annotations draw connections between the story...moreIf you're going to read The Hobbit - which, of course, you should!!! - this is the edition to read. The annotations draw connections between the story and its inspirations as well as J.R.R. Tolkien's other writings; explain how earlier editions differed from the "final text"; give added perspective into linguistic choices and plot ingredients; and show how illustrations by Tolkien and other artists across the world provide their own insights into the novel and its reception.
This is the edition I assign my undergraduate and graduate students when I teach The Hobbit, and it's the one I reread for my own pleasure.(less)
Rereading this in preparation for my teaching, I was struck anew by what a gift it is: a love letter to the imagination and speculative fiction of all...moreRereading this in preparation for my teaching, I was struck anew by what a gift it is: a love letter to the imagination and speculative fiction of all varieties, written by a man who was both a true fan and a true master. This is brilliant and darkly satisfying tale about what happens when the small-minded, in the effort to protect others from what they themselves disapprove of and fear, become the victim of their own intolerance. Bradbury lauds the nursery school rhyme and the fairytale, the works of Gothic terror and joyous fantasy, and of course science fiction itself as the sources of what truly makes us human. Most of all, this is a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe (whose "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Murders at the Rue Morgue," "The Hop-Frog," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Premature Burial," "The Black Cat," and "The Telltale Heart" all get their due praise and emulation here), ably executed (pun intended).
This macabre "android gone wrong" story is a classic for good reason. Alfred Bester's prose is noir-style tight and punchy, but the focus resolutely r...moreThis macabre "android gone wrong" story is a classic for good reason. Alfred Bester's prose is noir-style tight and punchy, but the focus resolutely remains on the psychological horror of the tale -- not only the fact that the android kills when the mercury rises above a particular temperature, but also the fact that the playboy owner of the android seems to have lost his own identity to the android. Or perhaps that's the other way around. Bester's masterful jumbling of first-person and third-person pronouns blurs the lines between the two psyches while never confusing the reader about what action is taking place. It's a dark and twisted tale, well worth reading.(less)
This collection is extremely satisfying. It captures a unique (and rather troubling as well as troubled) moment in time while showcasing both the dept...moreThis collection is extremely satisfying. It captures a unique (and rather troubling as well as troubled) moment in time while showcasing both the depth and artistry of the best of classic U.S. science fiction novels.
In The Space Merchants, Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth deliver a witty, biting dystopia about issues that are as relevant today as in 1953, including advertising and commercialism, overpopulation, and limited natural resources. It's a compelling read that rewards revisiting. "Five words from you, and... half a million consumers will find their lives completely changed. That's power, Mitch, absolute power. And you know the old saying. Power ennobles. Absolute power ennobles absolutely."
Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human (1953) is a lyrical, poignant look at Homo Gestalt, the gifted "freaks" who together form a new organism, the next stage in human evolution. It's a fascinating (and often genuinely wrenching) thought experiment about prejudice, cruelty, love, empowerment, identity, and belonging. Sturgeon's work is deeply disturbing, with brutal and beautiful purpose.
Leigh Brackett's The Long Tomorrow (1955) is a bleak look at a U.S Dark Ages in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse. Young Len flees the suffocating anti-intellectualism of his New Mennonite home and fights against constitutional restrictions forbidding the reestablishment of cities before reaching his goal, secretive Bartorstown, where science is supposedly unfettered. Bartorstown's reality, however, doesn't quite fit its legend.
The Shrinking Man (1956) by Richard Matheson tells the story of Scott Carey who, because of exposure to a cloud of radioactive spray shortly after he had accidentally ingested insecticide, ends up shrinking at a rate of approximately 1/7 of an inch per day. He encounters all kinds of perils as he diminishes, from a drunken pedophile to sadistic street toughs, from the spider in the basement to the elements themselves, but this is first and foremost a psychological novel about the uncertainty of the individual in the 1950s and his/her place in the possibly futile, certainly alien post-war world. "What he wanted to know was this: Was he a separate, meaningful person; was he an individual? Did he matter? Was it enough just to survive? He didn't know; he didn't know. It might be that he was a man and trying to face reality. It might also be that he was a pathetic fraction of a shadow, living only out of habit, impulse-driven, moved but never moving, fought but never fighting."
These novels were written to unsettle, to discomfort, to provoke thought, and they do so with admirable success. I highly recommend this volume to anyone who is a fan or student of science fiction.(less)
No matter how many times I reread this, Dune doesn't disappoint. Frank Herbert was a master of worldbuilding, and his prose effortlessly captures the...moreNo matter how many times I reread this, Dune doesn't disappoint. Frank Herbert was a master of worldbuilding, and his prose effortlessly captures the reader and brings the story alive. So many issues - ecology and politics, genetics and religion, myth and time - factor into Herbert's analysis of what it means to be human. This is, simply put, one of the greatest works of the science fiction tradition.(less)
There's dinosaurs in them hills - er, that plateau!
This is the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger works (first published in 1912). Cha...moreThere's dinosaurs in them hills - er, that plateau!
This is the first of Arthur Conan Doyle's Professor Challenger works (first published in 1912). Challenger is quite a personality, as are the three companions who join him on an expedition to verify his previous discovery of a "lost world" inhabited by prehistoric dinosaurs (and, as they learn, ape-men and natives) hidden in the South American jungle. Doyle's full enthusiasm and wit are brought to bear on both the science fiction and adventure in this tale. It conveys a steady sense of wonder, but always with a wry twist.
Although I much prefer the darker, more desperate tone of Doyle's later Challenger work The Poison Belt, I quite enjoyed meeting these iconic characters as they are first introduced to readers (and each other). For science!(less)
When a group of scientific researchers discover a spaceship buried in the ice of Antarctica, they thaw its alien pilot for study, only to unleash a sh...moreWhen a group of scientific researchers discover a spaceship buried in the ice of Antarctica, they thaw its alien pilot for study, only to unleash a shape-shifting terror that makes each of them suspect as a deadly enemy - and all of them responsible for ending the threat before it flees the isolated base. This is the novella by the legendary science fiction editor John W. Campbell that inspired 1951's The Thing from Another World, as well as 1982's The Thing and 2011's The Thing, the X-Files episode "Ice," and Peter Watts's 2010 story "The Things."
The novella reads like the able descendant of other claustrophobic ice-bound works such as Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Jules Verne's An Antarctic Mystery, or The Sphinx of the Ice Fields, and H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, but it also effectively captures the paranoia and distress (Is the man standing next to me really an inhuman monster?) later seen in Robert Heinlein's The Puppet Masters and Jack Finney's The Body Snatchers. A truly chilling "What if?" story, Campbell's tale not only reflects a key moment of science fiction history, but it also holds up well for modern readers.(less)
This is perhaps my least favorite of the Holmesian pastiches by Barry Day that I've read. (I still have one more to go.) It's a solid enough book; the...moreThis is perhaps my least favorite of the Holmesian pastiches by Barry Day that I've read. (I still have one more to go.) It's a solid enough book; the actual mystery is rather complex, and the setting provides ample opportunity to exploit Day's deep knowledge of the Globe, the Rose, and the drama behind Elizabethan theater. Aspects of the tale seemed a bit disjointed, though, such as the unnecessary appearance of Dr. Freud and the gratuitous play on the Adlers' name, and the Holmes-fakes-his-death-and-grieves-Watson routine came in a bit late in the story to have the impact needed to make it more than an over-used trope.
Most of all, I missed what I've come to think of as one of Day's greatest strengths, his ability to show the fellowship and trust between not only Sherlock Holmes and Watson but also Lestrade and Mycroft Holmes, as the four form an unlikely "team" galvanized by Holmes's unique genius. In this novel it's clearly implied (Holmes works separately with Lestrade and Mycroft without Watson's knowledge, and all four men ultimately are required to play their parts for the villain to be thwarted), but the reader isn't privy to their debates, doubts, or more human moments, and Watson feels both poorly and under used.
I'm certainly glad I read it, but I would recommend other Holmesian novels by Day before this one. (less)
I read this aloud for my little niece Kaitlyn, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a delightful fantasy centered around the adventures of Joe and Sylv...moreI read this aloud for my little niece Kaitlyn, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
This is a delightful fantasy centered around the adventures of Joe and Sylvia (both removed from their abusive/neglectful homes by the benevolent Society for the Removal of Superfluous Children and relocated to a magical island) and their friend Gorbo, a Snerg, who finds through the course of the novel that he is far less a fool than he (and everyone else) thinks he is.
It features classics of the genre (an ogre, a witch, a knight, and even the crew of the Flying Dutchman), along with original additions such as the short and feast-loving Snergs. Some of the most charming moments come from the author's sly and clever asides to the reader.
J.R.R. Tolkien loved this book and read it to his children, and it's easy to see some of the inspiration for The Hobbit in its pages, from Gorbo's character growth to the peace and new understanding found between peoples where violent conflict seemed inevitable. (Not that there isn't violence. There is!) A few small details show the book's age, especially with regard to Sylvia's character, but on the whole this is a deeply enchanting read that refuses either to take itself too seriously or to talk down to its audience, and thus it offers rewards for both the adult and the child reader. (less)
What a dark and fascinating read! Marie Belloc-Lowndes wrote this work in 1913, after living through the Jack the Ripper phenomenon, and she captures...moreWhat a dark and fascinating read! Marie Belloc-Lowndes wrote this work in 1913, after living through the Jack the Ripper phenomenon, and she captures the horror and morbid fascination of Londoners with chilling effect as she recounts the bloody crimes -- and the media sensation -- of "The Avenger." The novel is less about the killer, though, than about Robert and Ellen Bunting, a solid and hardworking lower-middle-class couple who both left service to try for an independent life running a boarding house. At the start of the novel, their entrepreneurial gamble seems to have failed. The middle-aged couple have pawned all they could and tightened their belts, but starvation is staring them in the face. The appearance of a young gentleman who wishes to be their lodger seems to be a godsend.
The author traces the complex and sympathetic descent of both Buntings as their self-interest wages war against their consciences -- for, although the lodger is all that stands between them and utter financial ruin, and they feel justly loyal and protective of him, Ellen first and later Robert gain good reason to suspect that the young gentleman is "The Avenger." This is a psychologically rich piece, fraught with internal tension and steeped in a sense of place and time. The changes in the Buntings are believably drawn as the weight of their secrets grows heavy on their shoulders. The ending is both satisfying and, in the long term, quite disturbing.
It's no wonder Alfred Hitchcock (who adapted this novel both for radio and film, the first of five filmmakers to do so) found inspiration in this haunting story. I recommend anyone interested in the Gothic, psychological horror, historical mystery, and/or the story of Jack the Ripper. (less)
Sherlock Holmes and the Copycat Murders takes place in 1900, when Sherlock Holmes begins investigating a series of murders that all are reenactments o...moreSherlock Holmes and the Copycat Murders takes place in 1900, when Sherlock Holmes begins investigating a series of murders that all are reenactments of his former cases. The story soon morphs into a tale of international espionage and the foreshadowing of future war.
As usual, I find the mystery to be the least interesting aspect of Day's novel, although there are some satisfying allusions to Holmes's past cases here. Some of the suspenseful moments of the mystery-building, however, fail to have full impact, as the reader can see through them even if Watson does not.
Also as usual, there are quirky and clever cameos from both fictional characters (in this case, for example, detective Hercule Poirot "undercover" as "Aristide Nemo") and real historical people (for instance, John Buchan serves as John Watson's "sidekick" and even draws his inspiration for the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps from their adventures) sprinkled into the action.
What I enjoy most, and what brings me back to Day's work repeatedly, is his ability to underscore Sherlock Holmes's science of deduction and its centrality to the story, while at the same time highlighting that Holmes's support network of John Watson, Inspector Lestrade, and Mycroft Holmes is indispensable to the successful resolution of each case. Day does so grandly here, giving Watson, Lestrade, and Mycroft Holmes key roles to play, which each does ably. One of my favorite moments comes when the four of these very different men assemble for one of Holmes's big "reveals," only to muse on what even then feels like the growing inevitability of world conflict. It's rich in both appreciation for these unusual men (Watson and Lestrade both, though not genius Holmeses, are given their due as extraordinary "ordinary" figures) and steeped in a sense of time and place.
Here's a passage I especially enjoyed, which highlights the humanity of Watson's voice in this piece, as well as the brotherhood of those who watch and watch after Sherlock Holmes. This comes early on in the text, as Watson -- and, as he'd discovered, Mycroft Holmes as well -- fears for Sherlock Holmes's sanity, because the reenacted murders seem to suggest that the Great Detective has altogether snapped. Lestrade pays Watson a visit:
"But after all me and him have been through -- and you, too, of course, Doctor," he added hastily. "But if he doesn't come forward in the next twenty-four hours... well, I'm sure you can appreciate, Doctor, it'll be more than my job's worth. Forty years on the force next year and I can just see that pension slipping away. But there's got to be some simple explanation for it all, eh, Doctor? Tell me there is..."
The two explanations Mycroft and I had discussed the previous evening spring readily to mind but there was no way I was going to put them into words.
"Well, I just popped in to pay my respects, like -- and to ask you to keep me posted personally, if anything should crop up. You can trust me to do the right thing, Doctor, I think you know that."
And, funnily enough, I knew that I did. Whatever his shortcomings Lestrade was as good a man as you would hope to find, no matter how long you looked. As he often said, he believed in hard work, not sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. Words failed me but, as he rose to leave, I shook him so firmly by the hand that he seemed a little surprised by the warmth of my salutation.
Hayek's The Road to Serfdom was both prophetic and influential in its day, and its message is as timely now as it ever was. He offers a compelling war...moreHayek's The Road to Serfdom was both prophetic and influential in its day, and its message is as timely now as it ever was. He offers a compelling warning that the collectivism required for centralized planning is incompatible with democracy and the individualism on which it's built. In so doing, he provides key insights into economic concepts rarely discussed or understood today in mainstream conversations, such as how the price system works as a means of conveying information, how the rule of command is diametrically opposed to the rule of law, and how the increased complexity of our system demands a technique based on decentralization and automatic, impersonal coordination.
Hayek's work is both profound and humane, and it deserves fresh revisiting in the twenty-first century, where its lessons are all too needed and applicable. (less)
Philip Sugden's The Complete History of Jack the Ripper is widely considered to be the best single-volume history of the Whitechapel murders, and with...morePhilip Sugden's The Complete History of Jack the Ripper is widely considered to be the best single-volume history of the Whitechapel murders, and with good reason. Sugden is not only intimately familiar with the details of the case thanks to his own painstaking personal research (some of which is presented here for the first time), but he's also conversant with the many works that preceded his study. As he recounts those facts we know and those bits of contemporary evidence that contradict each other and thus leave us uncertain, he also ruthlessly exposes the misconceptions and myths that have been perpetuated by lesser scholarship over the years. As he explores the chronology of the killings, he considers the victims (both canonical and possible), the investigators, and those suspects favored by various authorities at the time. While he finds George Chapman to be the least unlikely candidate of the four he discusses, he is far from convinced of the man's guilt. This isn't an extended argument for the guilt of one suspect; this is an able and fascinating overview of the Whitechapel murders as a whole. It succeeds well in putting the story and its related mythology into a clear-eyed context. I recommend it to anyone interested in Jack the Ripper in particular or Victorian London in general. (less)
It's a great shame this isn't available anymore, because Eric Rabkin's lectures are tighly crafted, densely packed, and wonderfully insightful. I've r...moreIt's a great shame this isn't available anymore, because Eric Rabkin's lectures are tighly crafted, densely packed, and wonderfully insightful. I've revisited them again and again, and I always take away something new.
They are as follows:
Lecture 1: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the Emergence of Science Fiction Lecture 2: Jules Verne and the Popular Passion for Science Lecture 3: H.G. Wells and Science Fiction Parables of Social Criticism Lecture 4: Pulp Culture, World War II, and the Ascendancy of American Science Fiction Lecture 5: And the Winner Is…Robert A. Heinlein Lecture 6: Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the Expansion of Science Fiction Lecture 7: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Modern Science Fiction Film Lecture 8: New Wave, Cyberpunk, and Our Science Fiction World
Rabkin's newer offering, "Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature’s Most Fantastic Works," is a pale and disappointing substitute. Of course this is dated, due its publication date; recent movements such as the (re)emergence of steampunk aren't covered. Nonetheless, the foundation is there and very well done. I highly recommend "The Literature of the Technological Imagination" to anyone interested in the history and evolution of the genre.(less)
This is one of the pioneering works of steampunk, and I'm glad I read it. It has many of the staples of the subgenre, from the Victorian setting to cl...moreThis is one of the pioneering works of steampunk, and I'm glad I read it. It has many of the staples of the subgenre, from the Victorian setting to clockwork men, from time travel to not-so-mythical creatures (in this case, selkies). There are several well-crafted moments of ironic social commentary. It's easy to see how this wry and imaginative tale helped to set precedents for what followed.
That said, I didn't really enjoy this as a reading experience, despite Jeter's always-elegant prose. The narrator, who inherited his father's watchmaker's store but not the man's talent for imaginative clockwork inventions, remains passive and rather baffled throughout the action. The parade of characters he encounters are colorful, but none are exactly sympathetic enough to evoke an attachment. The tone was a bit too flippant for my taste, as well; it's hard to take the danger seriously when the story doesn't take itself seriously.
For most of the novel, the episodic adventures/perils are unexplained and meant to be mysterious, but they didn't engage me quite enough to leave me wondering how they fit together. Ironically, in the eleventh hour, when the "infodump" portion of the novel connected all the dots, I discovered the underlying story was far more interesting than I'd realized. By that time, of course, the novel was drawing to a close.
I love Jeter's Morlock Night, and I'm sure I'll reread it in the future. I appreciate Infernal Devices for its impact and legacy, but I doubt I'll revisit it for anything more than the insights it provides into the history of steampunk. (less)
I read this aloud for my baby niece Kaitlyn. You can never get started too early on the classics, right? It's an able distillation of Arthurian tales,...moreI read this aloud for my baby niece Kaitlyn. You can never get started too early on the classics, right? It's an able distillation of Arthurian tales, mostly based on Sir Thomas Malory's work. The chapters include Geraint and Enid, Lancelot and Elaine, Pelleas and Ettarde, Gareth and Lynette, Sir Galahad and the Sacred Cup, and the Death of Arthur. I believe the original version of this collection was published c. 1906/ 1907.(less)
It's a testament to the strength of Kate Wilhelm's grasp of "hard" science and the subtlety of her grasp of human nature that this 1977 science fictio...moreIt's a testament to the strength of Kate Wilhelm's grasp of "hard" science and the subtlety of her grasp of human nature that this 1977 science fiction novel (winner of the Hugo Award) is as relevant today as when she wrote it. It easily could have been published yesterday.
The novel follows an extended family as they retreat from society to survive a global meltdown (economic, environmental, topped off by a nuclear holocaust). Led by far-sighted leaders and gifted scientists, they seek to preserve their line through an extended experiment in cloning. The result is more Village of the Damned than Paradise, as a new "breed" of people -- intelligent but unimaginative, forming brother and sister groups that share a common mind and experience -- inherit (or take over?) the community. The story follows several generations, ending with the struggle of the lone individual against the dystopian community, with the stakes being both the survival and the very nature of the human species.
The premise of this novel and its execution are fascinating, and I was most interested to see how the generational struggles would resolve themselves. For some reason I can't quite pin down, I never felt fully emotionally engaged with most of the characters, and the one who evoked my empathy most had a truncated role in the novel. In other words, this novel always had my mind, but it never quite captured my heart completely, as well. Despite being held somewhat at arm's length from the characters (which may indeed be intentional, given the nature of the characters themselves), I highly recommend it, and I'm glad I read it. It's considered a classic for good reason, and I'm richer for having encountered it. (less)
While this would be ideal reading for October, I'm glad I didn't wait until then to read it. This book has been recommended to me several times, and I...moreWhile this would be ideal reading for October, I'm glad I didn't wait until then to read it. This book has been recommended to me several times, and I now understand why. It's a perfect storm of Lovecraftian Victoriana: figures such as Jack the Ripper, Count Dracula, the Wolfman, Victor Frankenstein, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, and other identifiable "types" (a mad monk, a witch, a druid, occultists, etc.), most with animal familiars, draw together to either open or close the door that will allow Lovecraft's Great Old Ones to enter and reclaim the world on the night of Halloween.
It's told over the thirty-one days of the month, and it balances a light tone with grim subject matter. The entire tale is recounted by Snuff, Jack the Ripper's dog, with wit and sometimes surprising poignancy. Zelazny is having fun here, but it's a loving, informed, and thoughtful kind of fun. Knowledge of Lovecraft and Gothic Victoriana isn't required, but it most certainly helps, and it's very richly rewarded.
I'll be reading this one again.
Here's one of the many passages that I found to be touching. Snuff is describing Sherlock Holmes, disguised for his investigation as a woman, playing his violin for a Gipsy audience:
He played and he played, and it grew wilder and wilder--
Abruptly, he halted and took a step, as if suddenly moving out of a dream. He bowed then and returned the instrument to its owner, his movements in that moment entirely masculine. I thought of all the controlled thinking, the masterfully developed deductions, which had served to bring him here, and then this -- this momentary slipping into the wildness he must keep carefully restrained -- and then seeing him come out of it, smiling, becoming the woman again. I saw in this the action of an enormous will, and suddenly I knew him much better than as the pursuing figure of many faces. Suddenly I knew that he had to be learning, as we were learning other aspects, of the scope of our enterprise, that he could well be right behind us at the end, that he was almost, in some way, a player -- more a force, really -- in the Game, and I respected him as I have few beings of the many I have known.(less)
**spoiler alert** I understand why this is a "classic" of young adult dystopian literature - the alternating emptiness and claustrophobia of fifteen-y...more**spoiler alert** I understand why this is a "classic" of young adult dystopian literature - the alternating emptiness and claustrophobia of fifteen-year-old Ann Burden's life in the protected valley of her farm, seemingly the only survivor of the fallout of nuclear war, is haunting - and I'm quite glad I read it.
That said, I was surprised and troubled by several aspects of the novel.
For one, Ann's "voice" in her journal never quite felt believable to me. Honestly, part of this may be the strange formality and stiltedness that comes from the lack of any contractions whatsoever. (If this was a character quirk of Ann's meant to give the reader insight into her, that would make sense, but the reader is given no clues that this is the case.) There is also a jarring contrast between the mature practicality of her hands-on knowledge of the workings of the farm and her emotional maturity, which seemed inexplicably stunted. She seemed far, far younger than her years: naive and simple and lacking the deeper introspection characteristic of so many teens.
The cat-and-mouse mindgames that follow the appearance of Mr. Loomis are wonderfully tense and worrisome, and I quite liked the idea of Ann discovering she's not the sole person left in the world, only to realize that the only other person is mad and deeply dangerous. There are interesting generational and gender issues packed into his desire to control her. I was really stunned, though, by her reaction. The unjustness of surrendering all she and her family had worked for to him, of packing up and moving on and never once considering defending herself, her livelihood, and any future innocents who might stumble upon him, made little sense to me. I'm not sure where her instinctive "policy of appeasement" comes from, but some discussion of her principles would have been helpful. As it is, this doesn't feel like taking the "high road" (pacifism or the like): it feels simply like unconditional surrender and defeat.
(Note: When armed Mr. Loomis uses Faro the dog to track Ann, her first instinct is to shoot the family dog, her only living friend, and not the villain seeking to do her harm? What?!?!?...WHAT?!?!? I'm still reeling from that one.)
In the end, the final images of the novel haunted me, but I felt little appreciation for Ann, who seemed to run away from a problem rather than solve it. Even if she wanted to leave the valley anyway and search out other survivors, she left a potentially deadly mess for others to encounter by ceding everything to Mr. Loomis and allowing him to survive and thrive. It would've been nice for her motivations to be given more attention, because she acted in ways deeply contrary to what I would've expected; as it is, I can't help finding this a deeply problematic and disturbing story. Then again, perhaps that is itself the point. (less)
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I'm quite familiar with the classic film adaptation of it, but this was my first time to read the original text, and...moreI thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I'm quite familiar with the classic film adaptation of it, but this was my first time to read the original text, and I was delighted and fascinated by the differences between the two, small and large, from the introductory framing of the story (in the novel, as a space-faring couple's discovery of a "message in a bottle" floating through space) to the "big reveal" of its great twist.
The dystopian elements of the tale are chilling and still quite timely. I particularly appreciated the emphasis on the horrors of a so-called advanced species' choice to use another for scientific experimentation and the swiftness with which humans (as individuals or as a group) may devolve into brutes. The relationship between the human Ulysse and his keeper/savior/patron, the chimpanzee Zira, is particularly well drawn, as are the divisions and political posturing within the monkeys' society.
A few small notes struck me as false -- I found the use of suddenly-tapped atavistic memory as a plot device to be rather weak, not to mention jarring -- but on the whole this hit far more often than it missed. The questions it raises about the arbitrary and often unthinking power humans exert over other creatures are lasting and important, and I appreciate how Boulle puts us, as it were, in our place.
I'm glad I read this. It deserves its respected position in genre history. (less)
This is a very important novel to read - the first novel by an American Indian author to be honored with the Pulitzer Prize, a work that helped to ins...moreThis is a very important novel to read - the first novel by an American Indian author to be honored with the Pulitzer Prize, a work that helped to inspire a new renaissance in Native American literature - and yet reading it isn't a pleasure. Part of this is intentional: the story of Abel, a (perpetually drunken) World War II veteran returning to his reservation and failing to readjust to life there is gritty, lumbering, and genuinely uncomfortable.
Momaday presents the story as a loosely thematic collage with snippets representing different times, perspectives, and narrators, and he's not entirely concerned with whether the reader knows when the action is taking place or to whom vague pronouns refer. At some level, the impression of Native estrangement and alienation in the "relocation era" (read that as literally or as figuratively as you like) is far more important than the details; at another, the reader is sometimes left flailing. There is, after all, a reason why critics have said, among other things, that it is "a batch of dazzling fragments" and "a reflection, not a novel."
The book is best when it reflects Momaday's personal experience and voice, and when it allows the outsider reader a glimpse into a precise moment in time in Native America. Especially effective are the sections with Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah, self-styled Priest of the Sun.
While I recommend this strongly to any student of American Indian history/culture/identity, I would stress that this should be a starting point, and not an ending one, for any journey into Native literature.
I'll end this with a favorite quote:
“They have assumed the names and gestures of their enemies, but have held on to their own, secret souls; and in this there is a resistance and an overcoming, a long outwaiting.”(less)
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