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May 08
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Juushika
gave
 
to:
The Passion (Mass Market Paperback)
by Donna Boyd
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read in May, 2008
Juushika said:
"Werewolves, with brilliant intelligence and devastating beauty, live at peace amongst and above normal humans, running a business conglomeration that rules the Western world. But after the violent death of three werewolves leaves the scent of human o...more
Werewolves, with brilliant intelligence and devastating beauty, live at peace amongst and above normal humans, running a business conglomeration that rules the Western world. But after the violent death of three werewolves leaves the scent of human on the scene, Alexander, the leader of the werewolf pack, must reveal secrets he has long kept hidden, secrets which will redefine human and werewolf relations: he tells his son and heir a love story about werewolves and a human woman. Boyd's werewolves are unique—artisans, philosophers, and businessmen, they do not live on the fringes of society but instead rule over it. However, Boyd's werewolves also stretch hyperbole to the limit, and they are so stunning, so perfect, so aloof that her novel reads like bad fanfiction. The plot and writing style are unremarkable and the characterization is ludicrous, and so this book is mediocre at best. Although it is an interesting deviation from usual werewolf stereotypes, I don't recommend it.
"In the bright light of day [...] these two could not have passed unnoticed. Eyebrows would be raised, sentences would be left unfinished, small backward steps would be taken to clear a path as they walked by. Head would turn, gazes would follow, and for the space of a second, maybe more, thoughts would stutter and be forgotten. Later, someone might remark upon how tall and striking they looked, or how powerful they seemed. That was all.
"In this dark dead hour of the morning no one was about to notice them. Yet the night seemed to hold its breath until they passed (9)."
So begins The Passion, and here first impressions are reliable: so the book continues for the next 400 pages. Were werewolves are usually categorized as dark and dangerous strangers who live around the fringes of society, hidden from humanity and tied to their bestial nature, Boyd's werewolves break from the norm: perhaps still dark and dangerous, they are also beautiful, intelligent, and cultured—not only more cultured than humans, they created what humans recognize as "culture." They also have unconventional breeding practices, and humans cannot become werewolves. They still turn into wolves in a magical transformation they call the Passion, but on the whole this is a different sort of werewolf.
However, in her attempt to make a new sort of werewolf and to characterize these werewolves, Boyd relies on exaggeration. The quote illustrates it, and so it continues through the rest of the book. These werewolves are so beautiful as to strike humans dumb, their wit and intelligence defies description, their characterization stretches hyperbole to its breaking point. Worse, the narrator is often a werewolf, and his aloof pride only exacerbates the point. The werewolves are simply too perfect, so perfect that they seem like the "Gary Stu"s of bad fanfiction: idealized, exaggerated, and wholly unbelievable.
A combination of socio-political drama and love story, the plot has its fair number of interesting twists and logical conclusions, but it's nothing special and the resolutions are sometimes too convenient. The framed narration is abrupt and addresses the reader, which breaks the fourth wall and makes it impossible to suspend disbelief as the book requires. The narrative voice tries for lush and distinctive but manages only repetitive descriptions and constant exaggeration. Yes, the book remains readable, but it certainly isn't good, and the exaggeration can be inadvertently humorous. I heard of this book through a list of recommended werewolf novels, and I am glad to see a new take on werewolf clichés, but I was disappointed by The Passion. It is mediocre at best, and a thorough waste of time. I do not recommend it....less
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May 06
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Juushika
gave
to:
The Time Traveler's Wife (Paperback)
by Audrey Niffenegger
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read in May, 2008
Juushika said:
"Henry has an unusual condition: when under stress, and sometimes for no reason at all, he time travels, leaving him stranded naked and alone somewhere in the past or future until he returns to his present time. When Clare and Henry meet, she is a chi...more
Henry has an unusual condition: when under stress, and sometimes for no reason at all, he time travels, leaving him stranded naked and alone somewhere in the past or future until he returns to his present time. When Clare and Henry meet, she is a child and he is in his forties; when they meet again, 20-year-old Clare has known Henry her whole life but 28-year-old Henry has never seen Clare before. The Time Traveler's Wife chronicles, from both points of view, the circular journey that bring the lovers together through time. The premise of the novel is unparalleled, and Niffenegger presents it with care and realism, and so this is a truly unique book. The novel runs too long for its romantic content and the ending is abrupt, but on the whole this is an ingenious book that turns romance on its head and raises questions about the inevitability of love.
The premise of The Time Traveler's Wife is ingeniously simple and makes a summary rather hard to write. Henry time travels; Henry and Clare and in love. Henry's travels take his future into Clare's past so that when they meet in the present, they are destined to be together. Of course this idea denies any sort of science, and for the most part Niffenegger avoids a pseudo-scientific explanation. But while the concept goes against common sense, it does not require a suspension of disbelief: Niffenegger is so dedicated to the reality of her story that the concept's impossibility is irrelevant. Henry's travels are realistically difficult and dangerous, the narration frequently switches between time periods to bring both the periods and Henry's constant changes between them to life, and the plot turns back on itself to form an intricate spiral or past, present, and future that brings together major plot points as well as the smallest details. As a result, the novel's premise comes to life. It defines the book and sweeps away the reader until it seems entirely real. It takes a very simple story about a couple and their love and turns it into a very complex story about their love as created by and challenged by Henry's journeys through time. The book is worthy of recommendation on this point alone: it is rare to see a novel with such a unique premise, and rarer still to see one that fulfills the potential of its premise.
Outside of the brilliant time travel, however, The Time Traveler's Wife isn't much better than average. The writing style is apt, but not exceptional. Although Niffenegger avoids much of it, the dual narration and multiple timelines leads to some repetition, and the repeated sections slow the book down and feel like filler text. They are not the only time that the book feels slow or padded: the novel runs over 500 pages, a fair bit longer than the average book and a bit too long for this love story. Time traveling turns romance on its head, but even upside down the romance remains a romance, and there's only so much that can be done with it. Without any secondary aspects (like science fiction) or further complications, the love story is spread thin over the 500 pages. Conversely, the conclusion comes too quickly in a series of swift events that make only a clumsy attempt to do what the rest of the story does so well: loop, inescapably but always meaningfully, back up themselves. The conclusion seemed immature compared to the rest of the book, and makes for a disappointing end to the story. None of these flaws are major, and they're certainly not enough to detract from the brilliant premise of the book, but they do knock the novel down to "above average" rather than "excellent."
Even an above average novel can deserve a hearty recommendation, and this one does. The concept of a time-warped romance is ingenious, and Niffenegger fulfills the premise and brings it to life in a captivating novel. The circuitous plot holds the reader's attention to the end, and all in all the novel is intriguing and quite readable. The reader that looks deeper into the text will also discover some interesting questions: where does Clare and Henry's romance begin? is it inevitable? how can fate and free will coexist? The Time Traveler's Wife has its flaws, but on the whole it is readable and intriguing, and quite unlike anything I've read before. I'm glad that I picked this book up, and I recommend it to all readers--don't be put off by the would-be-sci-fi aspects or by the romance, because neither are as they appear, and trust that the plot is more logical and more magical than I make it sound here. With such a unique concept, made so realistic by the author, this is a romance unlike any other....less
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May 01
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Juushika
gave
to:
Ambergate (Hardcover)
by Patricia Elliott
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read in May, 2008
Juushika said:
"Ambergate is the sequel to Murkmere, and picks up approximately where the first book left off, but with a new narrator: The servant Scruff has never had a real name, and came to Murkmere after committing a crime in the Capital. When sol...more
Ambergate is the sequel to Murkmere, and picks up approximately where the first book left off, but with a new narrator: The servant Scruff has never had a real name, and came to Murkmere after committing a crime in the Capital. When soldiers come looking for her, she must flee, beginning a journey that leads her back to the Capital, towards Leah, and into the heart of a revolution against the country's ruling government and religion. After Murkmere I came to this book hoping to find Murkmere's atmospheric sense of magic and more mature writing, since this is Elliott's second book. Unfortunately, Ambergate is a step down: magic is fleeing and unexplored, Scruff fails to be a compelling protagonist, and Elliott's style is disjointed by constant changes in point of view. It is a disappointing sequel, and drags down both books in the series. I don't recommend it.
I generally avoid reading series because I don't like being obligated the book that comes next. Murkmere had a promising, haunting atmosphere with an intriguing undercurrent of magic; it was also Elliott's first book, and her inexperience showed in a hesitant text that never quite managed to embrace its themes or sweep the reader away with its language. So, despite my dislike for sequels, I had high hopes for Ambergate, thinking that the experience of her first book would help Elliott improve in her second, and that this book might be a bit bolder, more decisive, and more artistic. Unfortunately, my hopes were not fulfilled. Ambergate is none of these things, and it is actually worse than its predecessor.
There are all number of issues that bothered me. First, Murkmere's strength was its ghostly magic, always sitting in the background of the story, enticing the reader. I had hoped that this book would embrace that aspect, but instead it pushes magic even further into the background: the protagonist is blind to all signs of it, and it never takes a bold role in the book. Second, Elliott spends a fair amount of time trying to explain why nameless orphan Scruff is important enough to be the book's protagonist, but (without giving away the plot) what makes Scruff important is nothing special, just an exaggerated crime and a personal association that she isn't even aware of. Nor does Scruff do much in the book: she is lead around and pushed through encounters, and the book's climax comes when Scruff learns she does not need to do the important act that she was charged with. Superstitious and timid, without an active role or purpose, Scruff is a difficult character to identify with and root for. Third, Elliott changes point of view often, and these changes are disorientating and messy. Scruff narrates most of the book in first person, but constant interruptions jump into the heads of half a dozen other characters, all narrated in third person. These jumps come without warning, suddenly dumping the reader in a new narrative voice and a new character, and they are hard to follow—probably even more so for the intended young adult audience. This writing style, which was not present in Murkmere, is messy and seems like the mark of an unpracticed writer—not of a second novel.
Ambergate boasts no real strengths to counteract these flaws. The plot is more solid than the book's prequel, and has a better defined conclusion. The characters are simplistic, but the settings have depth and personality. But the book does not stand out, and the various flaws drag it down. While Murkmere was a decent text that looked like it would lead to an even better sequel, Ambergate is actually quite disappointing. It lacks strength and character, the protagonist is nothing special, and the writing is messy. I do not recommend this book, and since Murkmere's abrupt end depends so heavily on this sequel, I don't recommend the series as a whole....less
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April 29
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Juushika
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to:
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel (Hardcover)
by Diane Setterfield
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read in April, 2008
Juushika said:
"Vita Winter is the most famous English author of her time, but despite of the dozens of stories she has published, she has never told the single true story of her own life. Now, old and dying, she commissions amateur biographer Margaret Lea to record...more
Vita Winter is the most famous English author of her time, but despite of the dozens of stories she has published, she has never told the single true story of her own life. Now, old and dying, she commissions amateur biographer Margaret Lea to record her story, and begins to tell of her past: the story of a gothic mansion, a pair of feral twins, a ghost, and a fire. Winter's tale is couched within Margret's own, and both stories are deep with secrets, unfolding like a traditional gothic novel. However, Setterfield's writing does not quite rise to meet her premise, and her ghost story is readable and intriguing but never quite engrossing—in the end, it falls a bit flat. Characterization is too simple, the trope of twins is stretched too thin, and Setterfield cannot convincingly write about "the best writer in the English language" when her own skills as a writer fall so far short of that ideal. The reading is enjoyable and the concept is quite clever, but on the whole the book is only somewhere just above average: capable, interesting, but never amazing. I recommend it only moderately.
For me, this novel's potential and weakness is typified (and without spoilers!) by Vita Winter: Setterfield intends her to be the best, the most famous English author of her time, but in Winter's storytelling and book excerpts she is a mimicry of true talent, passable or else exaggerated but never truly great. The Thirteenth Tale has an intriguing premise: the secret past of a brilliant author, the secret past of our recalcitrant narrator, a crumbling gothic mansion, crazed women, wild twins, a ghost, a governess, a garden, a secret language, endless libraries... There is certainly enough there to make a dark and mysterious gothic novel to rival Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, or Rebecca, and that seems to be the author's intent. This concept and the plot are also enough to keep the reader attentive and interested through the length of the book, full of pleasant twists and turns, hints and secrets.
But for all of this potential, the novel does not quite rise to meet it. The Thirteenth Tale is nothing like Jane Eyre. There are little details, such as repetition in the storytelling or abrupt and unnecessary changes in tense, and there are bigger problems: Setterfield stretches her concepts too thin, in particular the bond between twins, until these once interesting ideas begin to feel overweighted and exaggerated. Margaret's narration also lacks a certain spark since the reader has problems identifying with her back story and her internal commentary tends towards childish or melodramatic. Setterfield's storytelling lacks real mystery and tension and at the end, after all of the secrets have been revealed, they seem in retrospect to be a little contrived and not quite worth the effort it took to get to them.
Make no mistake: The Thirteenth Tale is by no means bad. The premise is wonderful, the plot twists pleasantly and contains ever more secrets to reveal, and the storytelling, although not great, is good enough. The book kept me interested and involved, and so I feel comfortable recommending it. However, I only recommend it moderately, because the novel is little more than a polite homage to the sort of gothic novel that it aims to be. I appreciate the literary references and the author's, and charaters's, love of books, but in the end I would much rather go to and recommend the source. This book is a love story to books such as Jane Eyre, but Jane Eyre (and soforth) is the thing itself, with the same haunted atmosphere and secretive plot, but with skillful storytelling as well. This book isn't bad, but I would much rather recommend those ones....less
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April 25
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Juushika
gave
to:
Colman (Mass Market Paperback)
by Monica Furlong
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read in September, 2007
Juushika said:
"The sequel to Wise Child and Juniper, Colman follows the lives of these three characters as they flee from Wise Child’s childhood home to Juniper’s childhood home of Cornwall, only to find Juniper’s aunt has murdered her pa...more
The sequel to Wise Child and Juniper, Colman follows the lives of these three characters as they flee from Wise Child’s childhood home to Juniper’s childhood home of Cornwall, only to find Juniper’s aunt has murdered her parents, the king and queen, and taken her brother, the prince, as a prisoner. Wise Child and Colman, with the help of the leper Cormac, must infiltrate the enemy stronghold, discover the prince’s affiliation, and find a way to rescue the prince and the kingdom by defeating Meroot and the Gray Knight once and for all. As a sequel, Colman draws together and completes the overarching plot set up in the first two books, but it focuses on action and lacks the sense of magic and the strong female protagonist that makes the other two books so memorable. As this book does draw the story arc to a close, I recommend this book to fans of the series, but it is not a strong or outstanding book in it’s own right.
Colman is a decided change of pace in this series of books: the male protagonist and the action-centered plot move it away from the wise woman stories of the other two books. Colman is a young boy but, concurrent with the strong woman theme in the other books, he uses the strength of his gender to protect the female Wise Child and to further her in her goals. Magic likewise still plays a role, fulfilling essential plot points, but it is not directly connected to character growth: in fact, Colman does not want to use magic, but he is willing to use it for Wise Child and Juniper’s sakes. As such, this book exists within the wise woman philosophy of the others in the series, but with a male narrator it is less character-driven and lacks the fundamental draw and mystique of the previous books.
This final text was also a posthumous release, and the lack of editing shows: the text feels longer and has a slower, somewhat chunkier pace than the other novels. It is not, however, poorly written. It may not be as good as the other books, but it is surprisingly complete and well-edited for a posthumous work. While not outstanding, it is still an accessible, readable book that builds up to a fine conclusion.
I recommend this book to fans of the series that have read and loved Wise Child and Juniper. Although not as satisfying and in many ways very different, this final text draws together the plot line into a solid conclusion, bringing a sense of satisfied finality to the text. I doubt that the book will be so fulfilling to those that have no read the other books, and I recommend that they pick up Wise Child and Juniper (in that order) first....less
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Juushika
gave
to:
Juniper (Mass Market Paperback)
by Monica Furlong
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read in August, 2006
Juushika said:
"The prequel to Wise Child, Juniper is the story of Ninnoc, know as Juniper, a medieval princess sent to apprentice under her godmother. Juniper leaves her friends, family, and the comforts of her father's small palace to live with Euny,...more
The prequel to Wise Child, Juniper is the story of Ninnoc, know as Juniper, a medieval princess sent to apprentice under her godmother. Juniper leaves her friends, family, and the comforts of her father's small palace to live with Euny, her grandmother, in a small cold shack on the edge of the kingdom. Under Euny's care she toils throughout the day, eats little, and sleeps poorly, all with the promise that, in time, Euny will teach her the knowledge and ways of a doran, the women of the world who live alongside the rhythms of nature and use their skills and magic to help others. While Juniper spends a year and a day at Euny's shack, her father's castle comes under attack by her aunt, and evil sorceress who wants the kingdom for herself. Juniper's first task as a doran will be to use her powers and what Euny has taught her to defeat her aunt and save her father's kingdom. While I prefer Wise Child, Juniper is also an engrossing, worthwhile read. Many of the same themes are present, especially the concept that nothing worthwhile comes without a price. Juniper's story is darker than Wise Child's: Euny is a tough task master and Juniper's aunt is a more immediate and threatening foe. In exchange, the elements of magic are larger and more visible. While perhaps not as enjoyable or as skillfully crafted as Wise Child, Juniper provides interesting backstory and continues to examine the path of a doran—how they learn, what their purpose is, and what trails they must face. I recommend this text, especially as a sequel.
Despite the similar storyline, Juniper is very different from its sequel, Wise Child. Both stories are about young women who live with a doran, working hard and suffering in order to learn from her and train to be dorans themselves. However, Juniper deviates from Wise Child's focus on the nature of love and family: unlike Wise Child, Juniper comes from a stable and loving home. Rather, Juniper's story is about assessing one's own skills and finding one's own path, even if that path takes you far away from the comfort and desires of your youth. This theme of self-discovery is worthwhile and interesting to readers of all age groups: it's instructive and comforting to the young, and reminds older readers that the sacrifice and reward of self-discovery is never really over.
Perhaps the biggest difference between Wise Child and Juniper is the role of magic in the books. In Juniper, magic plays a much more visible role and doesn't fit into the world as we know it quite as well as it does in Wise Child. Talking animals, transforming sorcerers, and magical items all transform the visibility and role of magic. While not as extreme as it could be (there are no dragons here), magic is more obvious and harder to explain in this book. As a result, the story is a little more distant and harder to identify with than Wise Child, making for a less sucessful book. Juniper's story is more exciting, with a more physical and exciting climax, but on the whole it isn't as successful or as enjoyable as Wise Child.
Nonetheless, Furlong writes in a clear, readable style, her characters are realistic and easy to identify with, an the lessons contained within the book are worthwhile and personal. It is a fitting companion to Wise Child and contains many of the concepts and themes that make that book so wonderful. As a prequel, this book successfully provides backstory and characterization that should interest anyone that has read Wise Child. I do recommend this text, primarily but not only as a sequel, and I like to come back to it every couple of years....less
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Juushika
gave
to:
Wise Child (Mass Market Paperback)
by Monica Furlong
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read in August, 2006
Juushika said:
"One of my favorite books from my childhood and still a joy to reread, Wise Child is the story of one magical child's coming of age. Spoiled but abandoned at a young age, Wise Child is taken in my a woman named Juniper. Juniper lives apart from...more
One of my favorite books from my childhood and still a joy to reread, Wise Child is the story of one magical child's coming of age. Spoiled but abandoned at a young age, Wise Child is taken in my a woman named Juniper. Juniper lives apart from the small, poor Christian village that Wise Child comes from, and she is a fair but tough mentor, making Wise Child work hard and learn much. In her house on a hill, Juniper teaches Wise Child languages, math, and astronomy, how to grow, harvest, and use herbs, and how to heal the sick in the village below. Slowly, Juniper begins to initiate Wise Child into the way of a doran, a class of magical women who live in the rhythm of nature and use their magic to help those around them. Wise Child's powers blossom, but dark shadows hang over her peaceful life with Juniper: her beautiful, powerful, dangerous mother calls to her from afar, and the close-minded town threatens their safety up on the hill. The book is a magical story of the hard work of coming of age and the love and power than can result from it. Wise Child must find confidence in herself, faith in her future and her powers, and love for her others in order to grow, creating a life-affirming, strong, true message. Furlong's writing style is smooth, her characters are easy to identity with and to love, and the magic in her story is both realistic and exciting. I highly recommend this book to readers of all age groups, and I love coming back to it myself.
The best thing that a coming of age story can do is show us not only the trails and tribulations of adolescence but also the good things about it and the wonders that we reap from it. This book does exactly that. In Juniper's house, Wise Child works hard, learns to do things she doesn't necessarily want to do, and is tested, but her abilities and successes are also celebrated. Juniper is perhaps the idea parent-figure: she coaches, supports, loves, but also forces Wise Child to be strong and stand on her own two feet. As such, Wise Child's story is easy to identify with but also uplifting and promising—the reader comes away knowing that they are not alone in their difficulties, but also that there is something to be gained from it all. The balance between sacrifice and gain is perfect, making this a wonderful read for adolescents and the still-maturing of all age.
Not only is the basis of the story a strong one, the actual aspects of it, including characterization, writing style, and details such as the role of magic are all incredibly well done. Juniper is a mysterious, open-hearted, independent woman, a real role model and inspiring character. Wise Child is realistically selfish and doubtful, but also shows realistic growth and strength that the reader can imitate. Wise Child's POV is in character without being limited, aggravating, or immature, and the overall writing style is smooth, clean, and incredibly fluid and easy to read. The role of magic in the story is well thought out: Furlong makes it quite clear, through Juniper, that there are different realms of what it means to be "real," and her conception of magic manages to make sense in the visible world while still containing enough fantasy and originality to sweep the reader away. Truly this is a skillful book, perhaps the most skillful that Furlong as written. In holds up well when reread and works well for any audience.
I highly recommend Wise Child. To the adolescent, it is a story they can identify with and be inspired by; to those chronically out of adolescence, it is a way to look back and reassess our own journeys, and also a reminder than learning, maturity, and increasing strength is a never ending, never easy, entirely worthwhile journey. The book is a quick read, engrossing, and enjoyable. I'm happy to own it and return to reread it every year or two....less
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Juushika
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Sharp Teeth (Hardcover)
by Toby Barlow
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read in April, 2008
Juushika said:
"Unknown to the rest of us, L.A. is populated by packs of werewolves, humans that change into dog-like beasts at will. In Sharp Teeth, three packs fight for power and vengeance, a dog catcher falls in love with a female werewolf, and a detective inves...more
Unknown to the rest of us, L.A. is populated by packs of werewolves, humans that change into dog-like beasts at will. In Sharp Teeth, three packs fight for power and vengeance, a dog catcher falls in love with a female werewolf, and a detective investigates a string of dog-related murders. The plot is tight and closely interweaving, the content is brutally violent, and the text is written in blank verse; somehow this unusual novel works, moving at a swift pace through a large cast and complex plot while still creating a poetic atmosphere which is unexpectedly moving. This novel's content and form caught me by pleasant surprise--it's a wonderful book unlike any other, and I highly recommend it.
When I first heard of this book through a friend's review, I was thrown by the combination of werewolves and verse, but sufficiency impressed by her love for the book to put it on reserve. I hope that readers come away from my review with the same impression, because I was surprised and pleased by this book and I urge others to read it. Yes, the combination of werewolves and verse is unusual, but at Barlow's hand it is successful. After the first page, I was no longer consciously aware of reading verse, but the effect of the style is aways there: the line breaks create a style that is quick and tight, capturing the reader as it moves swiftly through the plot. At the same time, the style is poetic, engaging a number of beastial metaphors to describe the violence of this interaction, the wild nature of this character, the primal love of this relationship.
The book's werewolves are very literal, real creatures, but they are also an analogy for the dog-on-dog nature and violence of the world that they inhabit. As such, the book places an expansive plot of dog packs, gang wars, and meth labs against the experiences and emotions of the characters, and entertains the unforgiving violence of a werewolf alongside a wide emotional register that moves from dry wit to surprising poignancy. To say that this book is ultimately "human" is to miss the point: it is neither wolf nor human, but (like the style) a hybrid of both, combining simple animal drives with human complexity, exaggerating human nature until it has become, although similar, something entirely new.
Barlow is unforgiving in both content and style, and while werewolves and verse may not seem to go together, here they do, and the result is remarkable. The text is engrossing and swiftly readable, the language brings both style and story to life, the plot is quite complex but never impossible to follow, the werewolves are strongly imagined, and through violence and love the book is potent and visceral. Books like this are rare, and not just because of the odd combination of the premise. Sharp Teeth is clever, engrossing, and truly satisfying both in plot and in meaning. I'm lucky to have heard about it, glad I had the chance to read it, and I highly recommend it....less
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April 23
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Juushika
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to:
Never Let Me Go (Paperback)
by Kazuo Ishiguro
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read in September, 2007
Juushika said:
"As a child, Kathy H. attended Hailsham, an elite boarding school where children were raised to be both healthy and artistic and taught to believe that both their health and creativity were essential to themselves and to the world they would one day e...more
As a child, Kathy H. attended Hailsham, an elite boarding school where children were raised to be both healthy and artistic and taught to believe that both their health and creativity were essential to themselves and to the world they would one day enter. Now an adult, Kathy reflects back on her life. She charts the very slow progression of her growth, her friendships with fellow students Tommy and Ruth, and her knowledge, as she herself gradually began to learn about her role in the outside world—and what this role dictates about her identity. A combination of heavy introspection and soft-scifi, Never Let Me Go has a thought-provoking premise and is brilliantly written, but fails to reach its potential, spending all its time in excruciatingly slow buildup and none of it in impact, theory, or debate. Enjoyable, but somewhat empty, and so moderately recommended.
This book's greatest strength is its writing style, but it is also one of the most irritating aspects. Kathy, the narrator, is intensely thoughtful and analytical, breaking down her personal history into eras, important moments, and developing themes. She walks the reader through the story of her life much in the way she lived it, slowly, very slowly, bringing to light her final realizations. In other words, there is a lot hidden in this book, and it takes the book's entire length—literally until the last fifteen pages—to reveal it all. In between are circuitous examples, where Kathy starts to talk about one event, goes back a bit to explain why the event was relevant, explains the event itself, and then goes on without having drawn a major conclusion—instead, she's just mapped another point on her gradual arc or argument. The resulting pace is excruciating, both artful, brilliantly thought-out and executed, and simply painful as the reader is lead along, disappointed, and lead along again. The book's pace bring the characters to life (although both Ruth and Tommy lack some dimension) and, with it, the life that they lived, through Hailsham and beyond. As such, it is the highlight of the book, worked like an artform, but it is also intensely irritating and makes the book (which actually reads quite quickly) seem longer than it is.
There are a near-infinite number of issues, from the ethical to philosophical, that could be brought to question and debate in this book. The very premise almost begs them—both the science of the base culture and the purpose of Hailsham itself. Unfortunately, however, none of these topics are brought to issue in the text. Instead, the book is consumed by the very slow progression of the story, the creep towards the "twist" revelations of who the children are and what purpose they serve. When finally revealed, these revelations are not all that big—not because they lack the potential to be, but because they pale in comparison to the immense buildup that leads to them. The characters just barely exceed the gradual revelation of the book's premise and are largely just passive carriers of the story, and so the other various issues, the possible debates, never enter into the text. So when other reviewers talk about the questions this book raises, what they're really talking about is the potential for questions—and that is not the same thing. The burden of meaning for this book, everything that the reader could take away and continue to think about, rests entirely on the reader, who must pull out the themes and ask the questions himself, carry on the debates himself. The author shirks his responsibility, and the book suffers for it, failing to live up to its potential.
My final complaint with this book is that the underlying concept seems, blandly, unrealistic. **SPOILERS** follow, so be warned: The fact that in the book's contemporary culture the clones are considered non-human despite looking, acting, and living like humans seems entirely impossible. Consider: Humans never viewed the first cloned animals as different than their original counterparts; indeed, we were amazed and drew attention to the fact that they were identical, that they were clones. So why would cloned humans be any different (especially that these clones pass in human society as normal and indistinguishable)? Outside of the huge wastefulness of cloning entire humans just to harvest their organs, the fact that the cloned humans were not considered humans seems unreal to me, no matter who the gene donors were, no matter what brief attempts Ishiguro (though Ms. Emily) makes to justify it. **END SPOILERS** This is the underlying basis of the book's conflict and plot, and so problems with this concept create problems throughout the book. They weaken the foundations, making it difficult to accept the book and, as a result, even more difficult to take on the work of finding and analyzing themes, which the author fails too do. In the end, Never Let Me Go has a thoughtful premise with heavy potential for thought, theory, and debate, and it is skillfully, even artfully written, but the book fails to live up to its potential: the author does not tackle his own themes, and no matter how interesting the premise, it is an unreasonable one. I wanted to enjoy this book, and I did, but I felt cheated at the end: the final product was surprisingly empty, with the burden of meaning placed entirely and unfairly upon the reader alone....less
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Juushika
gave
to:
The Remains of the Day (Paperback)
by Kazuo Ishiguro
bookshelves:
borrowed
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my rating:
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read in April, 2008
Juushika said:
"In 1956, an aged traditional English butler near the end of his career goes on a five day road trip at the suggestion of his new American employer. As Mr. Stevens drives across the country to visit an old female college, he reflects back on his thirt...more
In 1956, an aged traditional English butler near the end of his career goes on a five day road trip at the suggestion of his new American employer. As Mr. Stevens drives across the country to visit an old female college, he reflects back on his thirty years of service at Darlington Hall, taking comfort in the fact that he has conducted himself with dignity and served, in Lord Darlington, a great gentleman—but lurking within his reflections are growing doubts about Lord Darlington's true nature. The Remains of the Day lacks all sense of subtlety, and so its various aspects—the reflections on how Stevens has lived and should have lived his life, the nature of Lord Darlington—fall flat. However well intended, the protagonist is unlikable and the style is heavy handed, and so this book is disappointing and unsuccessful. I do not recommend it.
The character of Stevens is a relic from an older time, and his old fashion manners and beliefs are out of keeping with the current era. More than this, however, Stevens willfully blinds himself to anything outside of what he believes is proper to the role of a butler. He actively and intentionally limits himself to the confines of his social role until he becomes socially awkward, unable to express or even to feel emotion, unable to carry on personal relationships, unable to judge his previous employer, Lord Darlington. And though the character does, in the very last pages of the book, get an inkling clue about the harm caused by his life long self-fettering, this character growth is too little and too late. The book's protagonist and narrator is a character too unlikable for the reader to embrace. Granted, many of the book's more lively characters are pitiful or humorous, but Stevens is no better. He is awkward to read about, and left this reader feeling unpleasantly discomforted.
The various tropes by which Ishiguro reveals Stevens's intentional self-limitations and the true nature of Lord Darlington are intended to be skillful and sly, but are instead unrealistic. Stevens will start into a recollection to make one point, only to have the reader—through an access of dramatic irony—take away a completely different point; the coherent series of events emerges too easily from Stevens's supposedly unrelated recollections. Even the writing style, in the form of a diary written in the various cities were Stevens's stops on his driving tour, is contrived: the entries are overlong, the dialog is too precisely worded.
In a way, Ishiguro has noble goals: by creating a character that refuses to engage in independent personal thought and feeling, he in fact emphasizes the importance of each. But, despite all attempts, The Remains of the Day lacks subtlety, and so fails to impact the reader. Stevens's limitations are exaggerated, he is not a sympathetic character but rather an unlikable one, and the "revelations" of Stevens's personal life and Lord Darlington's nature are both heavy handed and predictable from a long ways off. I do not dislike this book as much as it may sound—I think the premise is promising and the message is true, and the very readable narrative voice has a convincing old world sound to it. However, I cannot recommend the novel. It does not live up to its potential, it is heavy-handed where it needs to be subtle, and ultimately reading it felt like a waste of time. Stevens remains too self-limited to see the error of these limitations, and the reader is provided with no other admirable characters. In the end, the novel offers nothing more than the exaggerated retrospective of one man's attempt—and failure—to live a life of dignity....less
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