Miévillians discussion
This topic is about
Deathless
Catherynne M. Valente
>
Deathless : clock in and preparation
date
newest »
newest »
Ooh!!! Nataliya! It will be soo wonderful if you'll be joining us! Yaye!
I think I'll try both!!
Joseph, I know you're a multi-reader who tends to juggle more than one book at a time, so hopefully the two of them being roughly 2 weeks apart won't be too much of a problem, especially if we start reading the book that weekend before the 4th, and then starting the actual discussion on the 4th.
I usually consistently read 4-6 (I'm incredibly [clinically-diagnosed*] ADD), so I'm excited for both of them! I've even figured out a strategy: I'll read Snow Crash (hard copy) during the day, and Deathless (eBook) at night. I don't like book lights and an eReader is more maneuverable while trying to get comfy in bed. I've clearly thought this through lol!
Got them on the Kindle today, think I'll try both, too!
Phew! the library doesn't see to have this one :) I think I'll be busy enough with the end of NaNo, Foucault's Pendulum, and Snow Crash. (what I am I thinking?!)
Oh, goodie goodie! About Allen but sad about Ruth. :(Actually, given Nataliya's Russian background and her already having read this, I was hoping she could lead the discussion for us. She did such a wonderful job with Embassytown.
I think she might be too busy, though, so we'll be happy with however much she can contribute.
But it's so good to see a lot of the old crowd assembling.
So good to see Allen hopping on board as well. I hope you're less busy over December, Allen, because you always add such interesting contributions to our discussions. :)
Ruth wrote: "Phew! the library doesn't see to have this one :) I think I'll be busy enough with the end of NaNo, Foucault's Pendulum, and Snow Crash. (what I am I thinking?!)"Yes, I think I had forgotten you'll be doing NaNo and Foucault's Pendulum, Ruth. Silly old NaNo always takes up so much of my friends' time at a time of year that I tend to have more time to read.
...but this book isn't all that long if you'd thought of changing your mind, Ru. I'm personally suspecting this one might be more enjoyable than Snow Crash. (and shorter!)
But we'll have to see.
Traveller wrote: "Oh, goodie goodie! About Allen but sad about Ruth. :(Actually, given Nataliya's Russian background and her already having read this, I was hoping she could lead the discussion for us. She did su..."
Aww thanks. Winter is comparatively easy - no road construction projects to write about. Only busy when it snows now! (Was on camera last night, in fact, discussing the finer points of salting roads and operating snow plows.)
Glad to have you on board, and looking forward to your further thoughts re IC, Allen. And please don't take my dislike of certain of the characters too seriously. Our discussions became quite lively at a point!
I have Deathless on hold from the library, but it'll probably be here next week so I'll be ahead of the curve.
I've not yet read any Catherynne M. Valente (although she keeps coming across my book-radar) - is Deathless a good one to start with..?
Sarah wrote: "I've not yet read any Catherynne M. Valente (although she keeps coming across my book-radar) - is Deathless a good one to start with..?"Sarah, I was in exactly the same boat as yourself. In fact, I'd originally bought a lovely tree-book copy of In the Night Garden, and was also interested in reading her Palimpsest, but when I tested out Valente amongst my friends, they seemed to find Deathless the best one to start with.
Derek (Guilty of thoughtcrime) wrote: "I have Deathless on hold from the library, but it'll probably be here next week so I'll be ahead of the curve."So tell us what happened to your Kobo--did it just stop working and no recourse for you? No replacement or guarantee for the thing?
I'm thinking about starting to buy books from Kobo and reading them on the Kobo iPad app since the latest iBooks update seems to lock even your non-DRM protected books up in a vault somewhere on your hard drive...
Traveller wrote: "So tell us what happened to your Kobo--did it just stop working and no recourse for you? No replacement or guarantee for the thing? "One day I attached it to my computer and it refused to connect, and when I detached it it was completely frozen. I suspect the battery charge function is dead—either the charger or the battery itself. Kobo support is non-existent. It amounts to "do a factory reset; if that doesn't work send it to us if it's still under warranty" (which it wasn't).
Joseph wrote: "I'm thinking about starting to buy books from Kobo and reading them on the Kobo iPad app since the latest iBooks update seems to lock even your non-DRM protected books up in a vault somewhere on yo..."
I still mostly buy from Kobo, because for birthdays & Christmas my mother pretty much just gives me gift cards that I can use at Kobo. But I also use Amazon. Then I download everything to my computer, and if it's DRM'd I strip the DRM so that I can use it anywhere. That's legal practically everywhere except the US. Then I use calibre to send it to my reader.
Traveller wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I've not yet read any Catherynne M. Valente (although she keeps coming across my book-radar) - is Deathless a good one to start with..?"Sarah, I was in exactly the same boat as your..."
That's good enough for me - thank you - I'm in..!
I'll try and read both of them. Got Deathless on my kindle. I only read the first one in that fairytale before and a brilliant short storySilently and Very Fast
Looking forward too seeing you all, and welcome to Sarah for her first discussion with us.The Valente is about half the size of Snow Crash, so I anticipate the Valente will be in its final throws of discussion when we start Snow Crash, the latter which should carry over to January.
I've just had some good/bad news. Nataliya will be working hard/nighshift when we read Deathless, so she's too nervous, bc of that, to take full responsibility for leading the Deathless discussion, so I'll be doing the basic footwork, but she's going to pop in as much as she can and send me some pointers, etc.I really want her in with this read because of her unique perspectives with her Russian background. :)
Our first proper spoiler thread, dealing with the Prologue and Part I (chapters 1-6) https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
If you've already started reading the book and want to give some general non-spoilerific impressions, you can give them here in the clock-in thread, but spoilers should please be contained to the spoiler threads, and only for the sections they discuss. Thanks!
I am going to say something on this thread now already. I admit that I've already started this book. Sorry, I just wanted to check it out for planning the threads... and now it's pulling me in.I want to put out a warning to all of you who'll be reading it for this discussion: don't look at any reviews yet! There are wonderful threads of foreboding which starts to build in the first few chapters, which has been building delicious dread and tension for me. I'm turning those pages because I want to see what happens!
If you know too much about the background to the novel too soon, it might destroy a lot of that tension for you, so I recommend that we rather look the background up as we go along.
Also, I'd love to hear what your impressions are as you read this, while you read this--because this is not a conventional novel by any means!
It was waiting at the library for me tonight, but I do have four books I'm currently reading…
It's a short quick read. It seems pretty strange at first; sort of folk-lore mixed in with reality, but just push on past the first 4 or 5 chapters, and you'll start seeing how it fits in with reality.It's making me want to brush up on my Russian folk-lore, though, I must say.
One of the things that might be useful to know before reading the book, is a bit more about household dieties , and especially the domovoi .
The domovoi seems to be the Slavic/Russian equivalent of the English Brownie or Hob.
A domovoi or domovoy is a house spirit in Slavic folklore.
Domovye are masculine, typically small, bearded, and sometimes covered in hair all over. According to some traditions, domovye take on the appearance of current or former owners of the house and have a grey beard, sometimes with tails or little horns.
There are tales of neighbours seeing the master of the house out in the yard while in fact the real master is asleep in bed.
The actions performed by a domovoi vaguely resemble (but are not limited to) those of poltergeists and are not necessarily harmful.
It is said the favorite place for these spirits to live is either the threshold under the door or under the stove. The center of the house is also said to be their domain.
The Domovoi maintains peace and order, and rewards a well-maintained household. Some peasants feed him nightly in return for protection of their house.
The domovoi was also an oracle, as his behavior could foretell or forewarn about the future. He would pull hair to warn a woman of danger from an abusive man. He would moan and howl to warn of coming trouble.
If he showed himself, it forewarned of death, and if he was weeping it was said to be a death in the family. If he was laughing, good times could be expected, and if he strummed a comb there would be a wedding in the future.
From the encyclopedia of slavic myth and legend, some clarification on titles:tsar or czar —Russian emperor. The title was first used c.1482 by Ivan Vasilevich, Grand Duke of Muscovy—better known as Ivan Groznyi, or Ivan the Terrible. Thereafter, it was used by the emperors of Russia until the 1917 Revolution. The word tsar is derived from the Latin cæsar.
tsarevich or czarevich —The son of a tsar. Historically the tsarevich was the eldest son, but the word applies to any son, not just the heir.
tsarevna or czarevna —The daughter of a tsar. Like the tsarevich, the tsarevna was usually the eldest daughter of the tsar;but the word may be correctly applied to any daughter.
tsarina or czarina —The wife of a tsar; an empress,but not necessarily a ruler in her own right.(Unlike a tsaritsa, she is empress merely by virtue of her marriage.)
tsaritsa or czaritsa —A woman who is empress and rules in her own right, regardless of whether she is married to a tsar.
Likho: Likho is an embodiment of evil fate and misfortune in Slavic mythology, a creature with one eye, often depicted as an old, skinny woman in black. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Likho
In Slavic folklore, Koschei is an archetypal male antagonist, described mainly as abducting the hero's wife. None of the existing tales actually describes his appearance, though in book illustrations, cartoons and cinema he has been most frequently represented as a very old and ugly-looking man. Koschei is also known as Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless .Koschei cannot be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul (or death) is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest (sometimes the chest is crystal and/or gold), which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away; if it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off.
Anyone possessing the egg has Koschei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick, and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the egg or needle is broken, Koschei will die.
Koshei is the ugly old creature on the right, obviously.
Credit for the illustration above to Soulskinner.
Thanks to a particular computer game (I'll let you guess which one) I was already familiar with domovoi, but Koschei is new to me. It's funny how some bits of folk stories across many countries, while some others things, which might even be related to universal things in your country, are unknown elsewhere.I did quickly peek at the book, and I think the mix of fact and fiction will appeal to me. Despite being whimsical it seems very matter-of-fact. Should be fun!
Good! Well, since the discussion starts December 4, I hope you'll be able to start reading soon!While I'm at it, here are some colorful depictions of Buyan, Koshei's island, that I had found:
Oh boo, so after all that trouble and build-up, am I the only person who turned up for the party? :(https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Miévillians
Books mentioned in this topic
Silently and Very Fast (other topics)Deathless (other topics)
In the Night Garden (other topics)
Palimpsest (other topics)
Deathless (other topics)
More...
I hope this suits everyone. If not, please comment on the thread below. :)