Very mixed feelings about this one. If I promise a proper review later, that probably won't happen. Whatever I'm going to say, I have to say now. I ap...moreVery mixed feelings about this one. If I promise a proper review later, that probably won't happen. Whatever I'm going to say, I have to say now. I appreciated the depth and variety of characterization here, but felt the writing was pretty heavy-handed. Interesting meditations on God, philosophy, psychology. It really was the narrative voice that bothered me. It is very much a conceit here. The narrator introduces himself, calls himself N, names the whole town after himself (Ennistone - ha ha), and then proceeds to show us the deep inner workings of every single person's head. Which is hard enough to pull off when it's simply the Magical Omniscient Author doing it, but outright weird when it's a person in the story, tangential to the events, doing it. Also: flying saucer. I have to admit, that didn't make a lot of sense to me. So yes, of the two Murdoch books I have now read, I preferred the other.(less)
I love this book so much, but don't know what to make of it at all. It really is very like a unicorn itself: you try to explain it and you just sound...moreI love this book so much, but don't know what to make of it at all. It really is very like a unicorn itself: you try to explain it and you just sound crazy. How seriously should you take it? And yet is it not the very most serious thing that ever was?
This is my first Murdoch. I'm reading her because I read an interesting article recently that suggested that she and I have some overlapping ideas about morality. Reading this book, I suspect it's more than that. We have some overlapping and intersecting ways of being in the world and with other people, congruent preoccupations.
I want to contrast her with Mieville, who I found so hard -- not difficult but hard-edged. I ricocheted off the surface of him; he kept me at a great distance. This is the opposite: there is no surface, just interpretations, and we are already inside from the get-go. Way inside, like Effingham sinking in the swamp.
(That's the one thing I didn't quite believe: why didn't that sinking change him more?)
And that makes no sense, but you see, that's the crux of the matter: we are both neo-touchy-feely-ists. The most important sense is intuitive sense.
(I like this very much, but am gently suggesting that I can't tell if it's a good book by any objective measure. But then, I don't suppose it has to be.)(less)
Again, again, I am plagued by a dearth of time, but this one kind of has me laughing because on the whole, I enjoyed it much more than Embassytown, bu...moreAgain, again, I am plagued by a dearth of time, but this one kind of has me laughing because on the whole, I enjoyed it much more than Embassytown, but at the end - and this is where Embassytown suddenly came back for the win - at the end (I say) I just... he just...
It was like he had inflated this big balloon of a book and at the end he stuck a pin in it, only it didn't pop and it didn't fly around the room in noisy, flatulent glory, no, it just kind of sagged and buckled and deflated slowly into a little wrinkled pruny thing. All that for this? Bah.
And that's no kind of review. You deserve so much better. The sequel is squishing my brain cells, one by one.(less)
I really want to sit down and review this properly when I have time. Of course, I say that about a lot of books and then never get to them, so what do...moreI really want to sit down and review this properly when I have time. Of course, I say that about a lot of books and then never get to them, so what do you imagine the odds are, really?
I just want to say for now, though, as a kind of placeholder, that this is the first China Mieville novel I have ever successfully read all the way through, and I only managed that because I made the conscious decision that this was going to be the one! I wasn't going to bounce off the surface like I always do, like a rock skipping on a pond, no no, I was going to finish one. Because I tried Railsea, and I tried UnLunDun, or maybe Perdido Street Station, I dunno, they blur together, and I could never get more than about a hundred pages in before I realized that I had been reading an awful lot of words and none of them were leaving the faintest impression on me.
I like formulating theories about things, and I didn't feel I could properly formulate a theory until I had read at least one book all the way through.
Here's the working theory at the moment (and I'm sorry this will necessarily be incomplete, but I don't have time to delve into it the way it needs and deserves to be delved) -- Mieville and I are, in fact, interested in lots of the same things. This is why it is very difficult to understand why I can't seem to read his books. I mean, this whole book is about METAPHOR. I'm all about metaphor; it's a constant preoccupation of mine. But I think the difficulty is that he and I come at these subjects from such different angles, with such different emphases, as to render them almost unrecognizable.
At least, he's unrecognizable to me. I read, and I see no humans, and there is nothing for me to hold onto. I wonder what he would see if he read my book. Something superfluous, wallowing in the needlessly subjective? I don't know. I'll probably never know.
But hey, he pulled off a miracle: at the very end, I saw Avice and understood her and it was enough to earn this four stars. It was the prize in the box of sawdust cereal.
I may just hammer my head through another one.(less)
Enjoyed the family dynamics in particular. He really captured the intensity of love/rivalry between siblings. Been there, lived that. I felt it read a...moreEnjoyed the family dynamics in particular. He really captured the intensity of love/rivalry between siblings. Been there, lived that. I felt it read a little younger than I like, although probably not younger than its intended audience. I also thought the last chapter fell kind of flat after everything else. I assume this was intended to reflect Victor's shock, and I get that, but it's devilishly hard to make a shocked character very engaging, and it's an underwhelming place to end it.
I'll read the next one, however. I'm trying to work out whether my son would like this one.(less)
Once again, I am utterly charmed by Nielsen's voice and how her characters are so completely themselves. This one deals with a much more serious (and...moreOnce again, I am utterly charmed by Nielsen's voice and how her characters are so completely themselves. This one deals with a much more serious (and topical) subject than Word Nerd did: bullying, and its most horrifying aftermath. Our protagonist's brother, after enduring years of abuse (some of which is described in graphic, disturbing detail), does the... well, it's not the unthinkable anymore. I wish so hard it were unthinkable, but these kinds of incidents happen and keep happening, which makes this book poignant and timely and important.
This isn't Jesse's story, however, though he hovers at the edges of the pages like a ghost. It's the story of his younger brother Henry, trying to pick up the pieces of a life and family blown apart, trying to start over and realizing slowly that you can't, exactly.
It made me cry, which is a rare thing in books, but I also need to stress (before I make this sound all gloomy) what a FUNNY book this is. Darkly funny, sometimes, but other times just plain funny. Nielsen gives us a diverse cast of high school misfits, weird neighbours, grieving parents, professional wrestlers, odd mental health professionals, all through the eyes of honest Henry, who is (like Ambrose in Word Nerd) observant, introspective, level-headed, and still so much a kid.
The language caveats from my review of Word Nerd apply, and then some. The bullying scenes (one in particular) are deeply, deeply upsetting. But you know, kids are resilient. That's what this book is about. I think this is an important (and upsetting) subject, and one that needs to be brought out into the light. The tragedy of Jesse is that he feels he can't tell anyone, especially his parents. He wants to protect them from the truth. I don't think young readers need to be protected from this truth. The truth is an important inoculation against bullying.
(Full disclosure: Susin Nielsen is my fellow GG Literary Award nominee, and my neighbour here in Vancouver. This book is set in our neighbourhood, which tickles me to no end. I didn't tell her I was reading her book, in case I didn't enjoy it. So, there's the pinch of salt. YMMV, and all that.)(less)
I don't usually enjoy realistic YA, but I found this utterly charming. It was the voice, frankly. I know this kid. I've BEEN this kid. Socially awkwar...moreI don't usually enjoy realistic YA, but I found this utterly charming. It was the voice, frankly. I know this kid. I've BEEN this kid. Socially awkward, lying to spare mom's feelings, thinking my too-small purple pants are awesome. Funny, and occasionally lightly mortifying.
In addition, the book is set in my neighbourhood, which was hilariously fun. Like seeing someone you know in a movie, and you can't stop giggling.
Fair warning for the squeamish: some bad language and discussion of bodily functions. 12-year-old boy starting to notice female anatomy (and his own, frankly). It didn't bother me at all, but it does make me wonder about the book's intended audience. The narrator is 12, and while I do not personally think there's anything in here a 12-year-old couldn't handle (or hasn't thought about already), it's definitely outside what you usually see for that age. I have a sad feeling that a lot of kids who would enjoy this - and are of an age to benefit from its "stand up for the wonderful weirdo you are" message - aren't going to be allowed to read it, and that's a shame.(less)
That's five big fat stars, and I say that as someone who started out a sceptic. I was not sold on this thing at all until almo...moreWaaaaah! Crying, damnit.
That's five big fat stars, and I say that as someone who started out a sceptic. I was not sold on this thing at all until almost the end of Part 1. I just couldn't believe the voice, or that anyone could write that kind of narrative (view spoiler)[under those circumstances and on the back of little scraps of paper (hide spoiler)]. It was all over the place.
My mother read it aloud to me once and then refused to read it again. In fact, she washed her hands of the w...moreThis book is the reason I learned to read.
My mother read it aloud to me once and then refused to read it again. In fact, she washed her hands of the whole series on the grounds that it was "creepy". I was forced - forced! - to teach myself to read, if I wanted any more Moomins, ever. I got my revenge, however: I read this book out loud to HER while she was working in the kitchen and couldn't get away.(less)
I haven't read it, in fact, but my 8-year-old son really loves it. This has resulted in some enormous cardboard constructions, which I'm cool with. Wa...moreI haven't read it, in fact, but my 8-year-old son really loves it. This has resulted in some enormous cardboard constructions, which I'm cool with. Wandering the alley in search of junk to use is less fun for me, but I am pleased by his focus on this project.
Also: he's stopped bugging me to give him a sibling, so that's a bonus.(less)
Mayer's masterwork. Accept no substitutes. Revel in the expressive linework. Ahhhhh.
My sisters and I read this a hundred thousand times, and we never...moreMayer's masterwork. Accept no substitutes. Revel in the expressive linework. Ahhhhh.
My sisters and I read this a hundred thousand times, and we never stopped howling with laughter, especially at the old lady with the salad. Frog, you naughty amphibian!
It's true: I'm the person who ignores the paintings at art museums in favour of squinting at the etchings and pen-and-ink drawings stowed in dimly lit corridors. And it's all the fault of my childhood reading material.(less)
Why am I suddenly remembering all my favourite books from my childhood? I have no notion why. Must be on a nostalgia kick. This one was delightfully s...moreWhy am I suddenly remembering all my favourite books from my childhood? I have no notion why. Must be on a nostalgia kick. This one was delightfully silly and detailed. I always felt Mercer Mayer's drawing was superior to Maurice Sendak's (shhhh! Don't tell, or I'm sure Sendak's ghost will come after me). He doesn't have the same depth of story, perhaps, but I am such a sucker for good brushwork that in some degree I don't care. Ooh! I should go rate his frog stories! Good thinking, Rachel!
I will just add that for sheer busy silliness, nobody beats Who Needs Donuts? NOBODY. And his draftsmanship is for crap, so clearly linework isn't everything.(less)
The Barretts are better known for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, but I think this lesser-known opus is the superior work. It does stretch credulit...moreThe Barretts are better known for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, but I think this lesser-known opus is the superior work. It does stretch credulity a bit. My father, a plant pathologist who was raised on a farm, used to go to great lengths to explain to us exactly WHY one could not turn an apartment building into a farm, the way Old MacDonald does in this book. I didn't care; it doesn't matter. This is a parable about nature and the city finding ways to accommodate each other, soft-hearted gardeners and practical capitalists finding common ground, cats and dogs lying down together... well, you get the idea. A peaceable kingdom in a five-story walk-up.
I loved it as a kid. One could make a legitimate argument that this book is why I write. Not the only reason, but one of the first.(less)
We had our disagreements in the middle, this book and I, but it acquitted itself mightily in the final act, and it is far and away m...moreThat ending! Weep!
We had our disagreements in the middle, this book and I, but it acquitted itself mightily in the final act, and it is far and away my favourite of the three books.
I didn't think it could be done, but we finally found it: a chapter book my son and I both enjoyed equally. It wasn't too scary for him (at least not...moreI didn't think it could be done, but we finally found it: a chapter book my son and I both enjoyed equally. It wasn't too scary for him (at least not once it became clear that Stanley really was going to be able to dig that first hole -- B was super worried about him), and it wasn't too tedious for me. We both looked forward to reading it together, and even made excuses to read longer than usual each evening because we were enjoying it so much.
I enjoyed watching my son piece together past and present, watching his jaw drop as he realized the way the characters' families and histories were interconnected. It's a surprisingly sophisticated narrative for a book aimed so young, and it really got him thinking about history, consequences, coincidences, and the bonds that tie us all together.
Obviously, if you're an adult you pretty much see it coming, but it's still so much fun to watch a kid work things out and be amazed. Watching my son THINK is just about my favourite part of parenting.(less)
I think my long-enduring passion for this book pretty much says everything there is to say about me. If you've never seen it before, well. It is the t...moreI think my long-enduring passion for this book pretty much says everything there is to say about me. If you've never seen it before, well. It is the trippiest piece of work ever created. There are elephant-headed birds, cars coming out of people's ears, infinitesimally tiny (and hilarious) words in all the pictures, and just about the most Dada storyline imaginable.
When I was a kid, this was THE book. I would have married it, but that still isn't legal in Kentucky. I lost track of it for many years, forgot the name of the author even, but when it was reprinted (ten years ago, or thereabouts) I went to extraordinary measures to obtain it. I still like to squint at the tiny tiny details, although that's much harder than it was when I was eight.
Hm. This book may be the reason I began to need glasses. I hadn't thought of that.
Anyway, if you like it seriously absurd and eerily grotesque, this is your book. If you'd like to see what it looks like INSIDE my brain, I'd prefer you to read this book instead of cutting my head open. It's close enough.(less)
I read this as individual issues, back in the day, and am OMG SO EXCITED I'M PEEING MY PANTS!!! to see this collected in hardcover. YES YES YES!
[Homer...moreI read this as individual issues, back in the day, and am OMG SO EXCITED I'M PEEING MY PANTS!!! to see this collected in hardcover. YES YES YES!
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