AO: And... done! How about the ending? (Possible spoilers ahead.)

[Carl]

Nathan wrote: "On that we can agree. On the books she talked about, though It remeided me of how certian books can geally stick with you, or blow your mind, or change the way you look at things."

On one hand it may be valid to accuse Jo Walton of name-dropping some of the sff titles in the book, but I would point out that is a story told in diary format by a teenager who is also a passionate reader. Readers keep lists and I think it is only natural in looking at the way the character acts in regards to books that she would not wax eloquent on every book she read *but* would find it very much second nature to list the many books she read in her diary.

[Andrew]

Katie wrote: "Andrew wrote: "Katie wrote: "Andrew wrote: "1) I feel the author did a poor job getting that point across because 2) the whole story is several lies upon lies and is influenced by the Unrealiable N..."

Except she projects what she expects from the fiction on to them/her real life.

She names places where she and her sister played after locations from LOTR, she names fairies from LOTR.

At one point she even says she shouldn't do this anymore, but just KEEPS on doing it.

Then when it comes to her real life she freaks out about the earings, which means growing up, based on what Lewis said of Susan. She could no longer go to Narnia because she grew up.

Mor realizes on some level she will have to stop playing make believe with her imaginary friends but she is using them as a way to cope with her sister who died while they were playing and wither her mother who was abusive.


The other problem I have with believing anything she says is she is so screwed up with how her life is she is lying about her own identity.

[Nathan]

@Andrew The psychological aspect of Mori is perhaps the area that opens up the most room for interpretation.

To quote myself:

Mori experienced multiple, deep psychological traumas in short succession, substantial abuse, losing a loved one, potentially witnessing murder (I believe she mentioned she saw her mother pull the plug on her sister), being taken from her home and what loving family she had, moving, Meeting family she never met, almost being raped by her drunken father (which she seems almost numb to, probably a reaction to the successive traumas), and starting a new school.

Not being an expert, it seems she has the psychological equitant of a gunshot wound and multiple broken bones.

The way that influences her and changes her actions and perceptions is not really dealt with in the book in any substantial way.

She has no therapist, so the diary seems to be her therapy as it were.

To use the ancient Greek way of looking at things the book is either a drama that documents her healing or a tragedy that describes her collapse into absolute madness. Either way it is a remarkably compelling story, IMHO.

[Katie]

Andrew wrote: "Except she projects what she expects from the fiction on to them/her real life.

She names places where she and her sister played after locations from LOTR, she names fairies from LOTR.

At one point she even says she shouldn't do this anymore, but just KEEPS on doing it."

I just think that with how many fairies she and her sister interact with they have to call them something besides "it" if only to keep them straight in conversation. She keeps saying Glorfindel because it's like a nickname that's stuck...he has no name to give her to substitute and anything else she came up with would be just as invented. She does try to remind herself not to attach the personality of the character he was named after to him. A lot of the names came from LotR because it was a familiar favorite but I didn't interpret that as her thinking she was really living in Middle Earth or anything.

As for her name and her sister's, she's grieving. They were young twins and her sister was very much a part of who she was. In their eyes both their names belonged to both of them I think, especially with both being shortened to Mor. It's only as she grows and works through her grief that she begins to understand how she has diverged, how she's her own person and not a half, how this would have happened if her sister had lived as they both got older anyway. I thought it was a compelling view of grief and loss and coming into her own.

[Adam]

I felt the book was a list of "required" reading and did a good job at focusing her as a character through what had to have been the toughest time of her life. As for it's attachment to the story, like all hooks at time I found it distracting and at others it was a lightbulb into her emotions at the time.

[Rick]

This was a good book pick.

I ended up liking this story a lot. I have to admit that after the Morwenna- Morganna name switch on Dec 16th, I spent a bit of time looking for some kind of dramatic shift in the narrative which never came. Was it going to turn out that her twin was a figment of her imagination this whole time? Did she have some personality disorder? Had she killed her sister? I completely over-thought that.

The ending seemed a little abrupt, but she did tie things up pretty well.

Just as Ready Player One depended on readers being fans of 80s video games, this book depends on readers being fans of classic science fiction and fantasy. I fit that description just fine. :-)

[Rochelle]

I never had a problem believing the magic in the story was real. I think Mor explaining that it can be subtle and work through ordinary means made perfect sense for this world. I would have believed the magic less had it been more flashy and fantasy-based. So I can see why Walton is unequivocal about it.

I agree with others that my least favorite parts were the descriptions of all the books Mor was reading. While I have read most of them, I thought it took away from the rest of the story and made the book potentially alienating for anyone who hasn't read all those stories. I could definitely relate to someone being a bookworm, and would have preferred something more like Matilda.

But I found Walton's prose very easy to read and really looked forward to finding out what would happen next.

[Meghan]

Overall, I liked it but I found it a slow read, but that wasn't a bad thing. I think it made me consider a lot of offhand statements in more detail. Obviously, there are all the references to SF (which I have read barely any of, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment). But there are less obvious references to so many other things, alcoholism (Daniel), mental illness (Liz), abuse, depression, ostracization and bullying, class divisions, and more.

I think that whether or not you believe magic is real in this world, it is real to Mor. And regardless it is helping her cope with an amazingly traumatic experience. I can't imagine losing my sister at such a young age (and I think being twins would compound that loss more so). The book is about growth. I love the passage where she sees her sisters ghost and recognizes that they would never be the same person and would have grown up to be different people with different interests and tastes. "Living for someone else isn't possible."

The book also has an environmental aspect to it. Mor's love of the mountains and the valley landscape, the reclamation of ruins by nature, and even the references to being cut off from food by not preparing it (or even seeing it be prepared). Granted these were all related to the way Mor sees magic as working in the world, but that doesn't lessen the impact of the imagery or environmental sentiments.

I found myself wanting to believe the magic is real, but also considering that it isn't and it is just a way for Mor to retreat into her mind away from the difficult situations she is dealing with in life (in some aspects it reminded me of Sucker Punch, if you view it as magic not being real).

One last thought, Mor can't forgive C.S. Lewis for his allegory, but do you feel some of this book is allegory?


"If you love books enough, books will love you back."

[Tina]

Louise wrote: "Shaina wrote: "Everyone in her book club seemed to read more than I found believable, every week they were discussing many different books, and everyone had always read at least a couple by each au..."

I grew up without much TV and read avidly, and I have a hard time believing Mor had read all those books by the time she was 15 (including LOTR twice). I suppose it's possible, but it didn't seem realistic to me.

[Andy]

When I finished the book I thought I was done, After listening to the recent podcast and reading these threads, I had to re-read everything again (taking a good deal more time). In the end, I think there are two stories here (maybe not intentional by the author). If you believe in the magic, then this is a story or healing and defeating evil etc. If you don't believe in the magic then the story becomes something else all together something sad and lonely maybe.

I chose to believe in the magic of the story and enjoyed the reading at that level. But there is so much more to consider....

[AndrewP]

Tina wrote: "I grew up without much TV and read avidly, and I have a hard time believing Mor had read all those books by the time she was 15 (including LOTR twice). I suppose it's possible, but it didn't seem realistic to me. ."

I had a hard time with that too. In a small country town, a group of 5 or 6 people who had all read the same thing like that seems totally improbably.

[Heather]

I just finished the book and really enjoyed it. Early in the book, I decided to assume that the magic was real until proven otherwise, which helped a lot in how I mentally approached the story. I thought that the story was predominately about a girl trying to find a reason to live in a world that had always been cruel to her. She found hope and beauty in SF and Fantasy. It wasn't until the book club, and ultimately Wim, that she found a connection to the real world again. I think that final scene really shows that she had moved on from the trauma of her sister's death and that she wanted to live. It was a little strange, but I thought it came together well. A really fun read overall!!

[kvon]

Regards reading that many books--that was before the internet, which has definitely sucked reading time away from me. And re @62, apparently there was a time when people could read all the sf that came out in a year, because there wasn't as much of it.

Comparing it with The Magicians, which I couldn't finish (^despite^ being an American), I think Mor is generally an optimistic person like me, while Quentin struck me as pessimistic. So I could relate to her better. Plus I've read most of those books, and Walton's book review column, so I align with her better.

My favorite part was when Mor ran into some other alumnae of her school and realized that not all the grads were stuck in the past as her witchy aunts, just that they were insane.

I'm not sure what the book is that other people wish she had written, one with more obvious magic? A wedding? The point of the book to me was growing up and learning how to fit in with society without giving up yourself.

[Roger]

Just joined Sword and Laser, and this is my first book.. I'm really glad I read it.

Since this thread is about the ending, I'll agree with the original poster that I enjoyed the journey, but not the ending.

Things I wish were wrapped up before the end:
- one more scene with the other people from the book club (Janine and Hugh). I think there needed to be more resolution to the Wim conflict.
- more school interaction after the hospital stay. It would have been nice to be shown how people were suddenly nice to her, instead being told it. I also wish she had earned the changed relationship somehow, instead of just getting sympathy.
- resolution to the Daniel/aunts conflict. What was going on with the earrings? I would have liked to see growth from Daniel, so that we could see a better relationship there.

Notice that most of the wants are about relationships, not about magic encounters. I viewed the book as being mostly about loneliness.. about what would happen if a bookworm were dropped into a classic English boarding house. I may have enjoyed it more since I'm familiar with books about boarding schools and I can relate to loving sci-fi and not having an outlet for it. Younger readers may not relate since it's so mainstream now.

re: needing to have read the books mentioned
I viewed the lists of books as fascinating detail that illustrate who Mori is, and what she cares about. I felt comfortable ignoring the details of who the writers actually were. I personally am familiar with many of the names, but haven't read most of them, and certainly don't love the ones I read as much as her. Among Others isn't really ABOUT the sci-fi books in the same way Ready Player One was ABOUT video games. It's about a girl who loves sci-fi coming of age.

p.s.
I find it interesting that Mori seems to have much more love for Sci-Fi, but she lives in a Fantasy world.

[Alison]

To me, the ending was about her letting go of her sister and moving on with her own life.

And, the confrontation with her mother... Honestly, right up until her mother appeared, I found myself wondering if her mother was actually insane, or if Mori was having some kind of generic adolescent 'my parent is crazy' rebellion. Even now, was that really her mother? Or just an illusion/fairy mother full of the fear Mori had toward her parent.

[Scott]

I finished the audiobook last night. I found it interesting how Walton was able to blend a coming of age story into a fantasy world. And, as was previously stated, it was a definite love letter to genre fiction. The thing I liked is it was more than mere name dropping, the books were an intrical part of Mori as a character- much of what we learning about her psyche we learn about her opinions about books. And, having read probably only a handful of the books she mentioned, I don't feel it detracted from my enjoyment of it, but reading more would definitely enhance my enjoyment.

I actually kind of had a feeling the ending would build up to a confrontation with her mother- it was definitely predictable in that aspect at least to me.

As to the magic, I definitely read it as real. It was definitely real to Mori, and the fact that Wim experienced it as well (not to mention her sister in the opening)led credence to it.

[Scott]

AndrewP wrote: I had a hard time with that too. In a small country town, a group of 5 or 6 people who had all read the same thing like that seems totally improbably.

Unless Mori is right and the Krevass magic created the group ;)

[Shaina]

I just realized that while I believe in the magic in the world (especially the fairies) I think that the magic isn't the reason she made her friends in the book club. I'm not actually sure any of the large events she attributed to magic were caused by the magic, but I believe that it exists and can do/help things.

[Vincent]

For me, the ending didn't hold enough intensity to balance out what was very character driven book. Dunno, but I wanted to know if the magic was real and the ending never really gave us that. What happened could be explained away with the some kind of mental illness the mother and daughter shared. I guess the thing that disappointed me was the fact that this was meta book better classified under YA-Historical Fiction with a twist of magic than a true Sword or Laser. In fact, had I approached it with that in mind I probably would have enjoyed i more.

[Rob]

Like many, I found the end a bit rough when compared to the rest of the book. I liked this book very much, even the ending. But the ending did seem... out of place? However, I still found the ending quite satisfying.


However, I will say this: (view spoiler)[I loved how the pages of the book turned into trees and turned on her mother. Because, as she explained it, they knew Mor and were protecting her. Admittedly it's not very subtle, and I can see why some people might not like this scene much, but I just love the idea that the book she loved so much turned out to love her right back; the book knew her, and her mother could not use that book against her, because the book would defend her.

I think that's just brill.
(hide spoiler)]

[Christopher]

I really enjoyed the book, especially as a very interesting chance of pace for a fantasy story.
Regarding magic, I was unsure if the magic was real or just a coping mechanism for most of the book. Events towards the end, like Wim seeing the faeries too, convinced me it was real. That’s said I was very surprised to see Walton not only confirm the magic was real but said that it never crossed her mind that the reader might think otherwise.

For me the biggest let down of the book was that it raised but never really confronted a number of issues. I felt this was best personified in Daniel who abandons his daughters with a mentally unstable mother, eventually resulting in the death of one of them, is at least a borderline alcoholic, attempt s to rape his under-age daughter and never shows any real remorse or regret. Despite all this he is still portrayed as a “good guy” in the end. I would like to have seen some more redemption/struggle/explanation for him.

I also felt the supporting characters; particularly Wim and Sam lacked any depth. Basically most of the characters in the story can simply be divided up as book lovers or not.

That seems like a lot of complaints but I really did enjoy the story, the voice is excellent, as where the diversions into other books. I think in the end for me I was a little disappointed it didn’t take the step from being good to being great.

[Ken]

I think if I went out on a dark night to lay down on my front lawn and let my mind and breath go quiet and listen carefully, then maybe I could hear my grass grow. That would probably be more interesting than this book. I think this could probably just have been a short story and avoided a lot of the filler.

[Noomninam]

Who here actually has no trouble reading 5-10 books a week even now? "
I wouldn't really want to read that much. To me, it would mean that I'm skimming, or consistently choosing lightweight fluff. But to anybody who can and does, and impressed and glad that it works for you.

[Shaina]

Imagine trying to read all of Song of Ice and Fire in a week...

[William]

I don't know. I am 53% done according to my Kindle, and I think I might just Lem the rest. While the concepts of grief and adjustment are interesting (especially in the diary format, I'm just not finding it to be all that engaging for me.

Which stinks because I want to like this book. I really do. The concepts behind magic, and the fact that our main character just has no idea if she is even doing magic at all is really neat. And the tension with her mother is also a really nice twist in how it is executed.

But in the end, Mori could get run over by another car and I still wouldn't care.

[[deleted user]]

I spent a lot of my childhood reading. I loved it. I had no problem devouring books the way Mori did. I liked the referencing of the many books, some of which I had read, but most I had not. That being said, this book fell flat for me. I didn't enjoy it. It was essentially reading a young girl's diary. I didn't care for it. The magic was "meh" to me. It was part of the story, but not really essential. I mostly ignored it. I couldn't really find anything else about Mori to relate to, so this book was a struggle for me to finish.

The ending was rather rushed in my opinion. When everything else is related in a slow even progression, and then bam! you're at the end, it fell flat. It was weak and added to my overall distaste for this book.