Mark Reece's Blog, page 17

publication

Kitchen Sink Gothic 2, featuring one of my stories, is out now:

https://paralleluniversepublications....

Review- RT, Margaret, and the rats of NIMH

RT, Margaret And The Rats Of Nimh by Jane Leslie Conly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The third and concluding book in the rats of NIMH trilogy tells the story of Arthur (RT), and Margaret, a brother and sister who become lost in a valley, and are helped to survive by the colony of intelligent rats that were the subject of the first two books in the series. Margaret is an unpopular, overweight child, who finds purpose in the Tolstoyan colony, where hard work and plain food are favoured. RT is a boy who has some kind of learning difficulty, possibly autism, that makes speech difficult. Although initially afraid, they soon make friends with the rats, and each benefits from the experience in different ways.

The book has the same flaws as the first sequel, in that the rats are effectively magical creatures, able to overcome all difficulties at will. It is also glaringly illogical in places- one can only presume that a loaf of bread baked by a rat would fit on a human palm, and would not be big enough for any meal. For these reasons, it is perhaps for the best that most of the story is told through the children, who are sympathetically portrayed. There are many instances of casual petty cruelty, such as when Margaret's mother tells her that other children wouldn't pick on her as much if she lost weight. There is a stark realism about such episodes that provides an effective contrast with how the rats behave, and also helps to focus the plot around a child's eye view.

The book has an end of series feel to it, with one of the central characters facing death, and decisive changes at the end for both rats and children. Although not as good as the first book in the series, both adults and children could enjoy the conclusion to the story.



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Website redesign

My website has recently been redesigned. It contains news about my latest publications and gives samples of previously published stories. Check it out: www.markreece.co.uk

Review- Racso and the rats of NIMH

Racso and the Rats of NIMH by Jane Leslie Conly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It would be easy to be harsh on this book because of its obvious inferiority to the original (written by the author's father). All told, it's a well written, fun children's book that lacks the depth and sophistication of Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH.

The Racso of the title is a city rat who makes his way to join the intelligent rat colony established at the end of the first book, to learn how to read. He meets Timothy, the mouse from the first story, and they have a series of adventures before joining up with the others. Later on, the colony is threatened by the development of a dam, which will flood the valley where the rats live.

The rats are anthropomorphized to such an extent that they are practically little humans, and their abilities are magical (including, amongst other things, communicating with all other animals and learning computer programming in a few weeks from photocopied manuals). Racso is an annoying hero, essentially, a teen 'rebel' from any generic American school drama. There are plenty of cheap plot twists too, such as the explanation for the two dead rats at the end of the first book, which makes no sense.

Despite all of those things, however, I did enjoy the book. It's very easy to read and short enough not to overstay its welcome. Enough of the first book remains in the sequel for it to be worth going back to.



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Story publication

A story of mine- Pain- is to be included in the anthology Kitchen Sink Gothic 2, published by Parallel Universe Publications (https://paralleluniversepublications....).

The royalties are to be donated to homeless charities. Good writing for a good cause- worth checking out.

Review- Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Revisiting something that one enjoyed as a child is, of course, filled with risk. I remember reading this book when I was around ten years old and and finding it extraordinarily exciting and vivid. It seemed very long those days too, such that I thought that I might never finish it. The book seems much shorter now- I read it in two days, in fact, but no less skillful written.

Mrs Frisby and the rats of Nimh tells the story of the eponymous field mouse, who tries to save her son, Timothy, who has pneumonia, and therefore cannot move to their summer home without risking aggravating his illness. However, if the mice do not move, their winter home, which rests in a farmer's field, will be broken up by the plough and they will all be killed. To find help, Mrs Frisby first turns to a wise owl, then to a group of super intelligent rats, who might be connected to her in another way.

The device of intelligent animals trying to understand human motivations and not quite succeeding, is a tried and tested one, and is put to good effect here, both to explain something about human civilization, and as satire. At one point, one of the rats expresses surprise when discovering that rats are despised because they spread disease. After all, he reasons, they don't spread as many as human do themselves. The rats are depicted sympathetically, observing the mistakes humans have made, and trying to avoid them when creating their own civilization.

The point in which the rats describe how they came to be intelligent is thrillingly told, as evocative now as when I first read the book all those years ago. There's real skill in creating characters and settings that are so well told, using simple language that both children and adults can appreciate. The author uses the descriptions of the senses beautifully to describe the many locations in which the book takes place, from stinking sewers to bright, ascetic laboratories.

One thing does occur when re-reading the book, is that the rats seem too anthropomorphized. It always seems a missed opportunity when authors make a fantasy civilization too similar to the human one. For example, it doesn't seem likely that there would be marriage in a society of mice and rats, given their sexual habits. Also, a much smaller animal would probably categorize nature in a different way. Equating civilization with human traits may demonstrate a lack of imagination.

However, putting that criticism aside, this is a book that should be read by readers of all ages, truly, a book that would be mis-labelled if described as a 'children's book'.



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Review- The character of physical law

The Character of Physical Law by Richard P. Feynman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I very much enjoyed this book, although I'll confess to not understanding large parts of it. As such, I won't try to explain the physics. Feynman has a boyish wit, exemplified in the first chapter, where he explains that when playing the bongo drums in front of an audience, no one ever sees fit to announce that he is a theoretical physicist. That makes the book enjoyable even where the science is very complex (Feynman makes fewer concessions to the lay reader, to my mind, than do other popularizing scientists such as Hawkins). The author is passionate in his view that the beauty of nature can be more fully understood if one understands the mathematical basis of the physical laws, and his joy shines through on each page.

The use of analogies when discussing topics at a high level of abstraction are vital, and the ones chosen by Feynman are memorable. His description of trying to dry oneself with wet towels as a means to explain the conservation of energy, both illuminates the topic and is impishly amusing.

I wasn't wholly convinced by Feynman's philosophy of science. At one point, he says that when a thing cannot be defined so precisely, then one cannot claim to know anything about it. I wonder whether this is exaggeration for comic effect when he is (rightly) mocking Freud, as the 'anything' is doing too much labour. The final pages of the book were also curious, as Feynman states that humans will eventually reach a point where either all the physical laws are known, or so many layers of reality will be discovered that they will become prohibitively difficult to investigate. Either way, boredom will result. Perhaps this passage should be read ironically, as the intellectual pessimism there is at odds with the tone of the rest of the book.

In any case, we're not there yet.



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Review- The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book by Sei Shōnagon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The Pillow Book is a series of vignettes by Sei Shonagon, who served as a court noblewoman in tenth century Japan. It is comprised of a mix of stories, reminiscences, etiquette guides, and lists of notable places/people. As such, it doesn't feel like a 'book' in the traditional sense, in that it probably wasn't meant to be read through like a novel, but is rather a collection of interesting anecdotes.

The different sections are very loosely connected by theme, or in some cases by authorial whim, and the tone is strongly aristocratic. Most of the stories turn on a character being acutely aware, or else unaware, of a small point of etiquette, the context of which is no longer apparent. This edition contains many helpful notes that help make sense of the cultural references. On the basis of this book, court life seems to have been tightly organized around this principles, with courtiers able to lose face by wearing inappropriately coloured clothes, or not understanding a poetic reference. Poetry features heavily in many of the vignettes, as it seems to have been a way both to communicate in an elegant, coded manner, and to test the learning of one's friends and rivals.

The morality on display is that of compliance with established codes of behaviour and hierarchy. Shonagon served the empresses, who is always described in the most honorific and elevated terms. This phrasing is plainly natural to the author, however, a linguistic tic, rather than outright toadying. The other test for desirability in this world is the ability to amuse or delight. Synonyms of 'charming' and 'delightful' feature in almost every paragraph. There is an almost pathological desire to avoid things that the author considers ugly or everyday.

The other side of this, of course, is thoroughgoing snobbery. One of the stories concerns a series of court nobles laughing at a common man whose house has burnt down. The world described is a very small and proscribed, although one that the nobles seem content with.

Some of the writing is beautifully elegant, and other passages are very funny, in a way that may or may not be meant ironically. For example, in one passage, the writer expresses wonder at things that cry out in the night 'excepting, of course, babies'. However, it must be said that narrowness of the author's vision makes many of the passages tedious to read, despite their historical value. The need to be always elegant is incompatible with being consistently interesting.



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Review- The red and the black

The Red and the Black by Stendhal

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The red and the black has all the characteristics of a classic nineteenth century novel. The protagonist- Julien Sorel- is an ambitious but low born man seeking his fortune. He is self-consciously hypocritical, hiding his admiration of Napoleon because he knows that it would bring disapproval from the social superiors he must impress to advance his cause. At first, he decides on a career in the church, purely because that is the best way to become accepted in high society. Being trained in theology merely teaches Julien to be a better hypocrite, and he takes opportunities to become the servant of powerful men, firstly, in the middle class Renal family, and, later on, amongst the aristocratic De Mole household.

Julien carries out love affairs with the mistresses of both households, and although the conjoined romantic sub-plots form a large part of the book, there is little 'romantic' about them in the traditional sense. Oftentimes, Julien's actions seem driven by ennui, and his need to play an accepted part. His love of Napoleon finds expression in acting like a rakish cavalry officer.

Despite affecting to despise the aristocracy, Julien is brought into monarchist plotting when he becomes a courier for a conspiracy involving senior members of the military and aristocracy. These passages highlight the deep ambiguity in Julien's ambition, as to whether he wants to subvert the social order in the way of the revolutionaries, or merely ingratiate himself into the aristocracy deeply enough that he is accepted into it.

The red and the black is distinguished from other nineteenth century novels by its directness and cynicism, in addition to the wide canvas on which the story is drawn. It is a vast and epic story that shows up the sordid greed operating within restoration France. The satire on display is also very funny on occasion, particularly the descriptions of the politically astute clergy. Such a vivid book, painted with such bright colours both exemplifies and transcends its setting.



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Review- Seamus Heaney's Beowulf

Beowulf by Unknown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Seamus Heaney translation of Beowolf is by far my favourite version of the poem. It is lyrical rather than academic, and all the better for it. Told in an epic, Homeric style, the poem tells the story of the eponymous hero, who is a champion of the Geat people. He travels across the sea to aid the king of a rival tribe, who is being beset by Grendel, a hideous monster. Beowolf battles Grendel and undertakes various other great feats, before becoming king of his people.

The story is told in a grand, aristocratic style, in which the characters praise each other extravagantly, and grant their friends lavish gifts. It's a beautifully told fantasy with a curiously melancholic air in places; the end of the poem hints of the ephemeral nature of the search for glory.

The poem can be read is one sitting and is greatly enjoyable.



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