The Coyote Road: Trickster Tales (The Mythic Fiction Series, #3) - Discussion

[Briana]

Hey ladies and gents,

Anyone have any favorite trickster characters in the stories thus far?

Bri

[Reem]

So far? I think Kitsune. She is the only trickster thus far who tried to help the main character of her story "Realer Than You."

I have to admit, when I first started reading this anthology, I was expecting all tricksters to be villains who try to manipulate people, toy with them as well as their emotions, and change their paths in life, as well as their view of life, for the worst.

After reading a couple of the stories, like "Realer Than You" and "The Listeners," I realize this not to be the case. What is interesting to me is that even the good tricksters will sometimes use methods that are not entirely "good" to help the protagonist.

I am really enjoying the book so far and will be sure to post my all-time favorite trickster once I have finished the book.

[Reem]

Oh, I know that Hermes in "The Listeners" also helps the protagonist, but he hinders her as well, in a way. So I am not sure in what category I would place him in. The bad-ish good guy :P?

[Emilie]

who are your favorite Trickster characters, bri?

[Emilie]

one of my favorites is the kitsune in Christopher Barzak's story, Realer than You, too.
but i love her because the story is my favorite, it had the most emotional resonance for me. and because i loved that her tricks involved changing the way that the protagonist viewed reality, and his place in it.

reem, did you read the introduction? i thought that it was really interesting, and it helped me understand the archetype much better. i am not sure that i'd call a Trickster good or bad. i thought that part of what made a Trickster was containing elements of both or neither. i find that a compelling character. that they are complex like that.

i agree though, that some of the Tricksters in these stories seem more interested in being helpful, such as the ones you mentioned.

i thought that the Trickster in Kelly Link's story was really intriguing too. i liked the idea of a Trickster who forgets her own identity as a trickster. and though i didn't /like/ her, i liked reading about her. i thought it was funny that some of her tricks and schemes became fashions.

what do you think of that story? ( the constable of something is the title)

[Reem]

Emilie wrote: "one of my favorites is the kitsune in Christopher Barzak's story, Realer than You, too.
but i love her because the story is my favorite, it had the most emotional resonance for me...."

I will be frank, I haven't got that far yet. A lot has bee going on. my cousin got married, lots of errands to run, etc. Plus I have ADD and OCD, which can makes it very difficult to concetrate, so I am a little slow reading the stories. When I finish it, I will be sure to let you know what i think of it:).

[Emilie]

take your time, reem. it'll be fun to talk about whenever you finish.

[Reem]

I am getting fairly close to wrapping this book up, and am going to London shortly, so I should be able to purchase some good mythic fiction books. I will be a bit busy from mid July until the end of that month, but I should be able to fit in some reading. So far, there have been stories I absolutely adored, while some I was not too fond of.Very good read all in all, though. I personlaay enjoy short story collections and anthologies. My favorites so far are "The Listeners," "Stories for Short Days," and "Crow Roads." I am on the "Chamber Music of Animals" and have a feeling it will become my favorite as well. As far as the poems go, I have to admit I have had a difficult time understanding them. Anyone want to discuss the poems and stories so far in the book? perhaps we each have a different understanding and interpritation of them?

[Emilie]

reem, i'd like to discuss the stories and poems with you, though i no longer have my copy of the book and am away from my notes for the next few weeks. if you can say a little bit about the story or poem, i think i'll remember the rest of what i thought and felt.
is the listeners the one with the hermes statue? i really liked that one too. (if that's the one)

i'm not recognising the other titles by themselves.

[Reem]

Certainly. Thank you very much. I look forward to our discussions, miss Emilie. Yes, "The Listeners" is the one about the Hermes statue and it takes place in ancient Greece. "Crow Roads" is the one written by Charles De Lint and takes place in the 1960s about a young girl and this strange boy that comes out of nowhere into Tartown. You want to start with those?

[Emilie]

thanks reem, me too. *smiles*
yes, let's start with those. and thanks for helping me remember the stories.
i really liked both of these too.

"crow roads" i thought was interesting because i thought de lint cast the Trickster as a strange and mysterious rebel or a play on the sensitive bad boy character. he was very much the outsider. this made the trickster seem much more human to me, and that made him unique. in a funny way, he was less mysterious to me, as a character, in terms of understanding his behavior/motivations.

i thought it was interesting the way the trickster acted as a kind of mirror, in that the trickster responded to people in kind. i thought this was a different way of casting the motivations of the trickster.
i liked the sense that the trickster gave the protagonist a glimpse into the world outside of Tartown-the feeling i had that because of their encounter her perception of her own possibilities changed-that she would get out of this place that offered her such limited and constricted life.
i liked that it has a more urban setting too, as that was unusual in this collection.
what did you think of "crow roads"? did you like him (forgetting his name, did he have one, was it Crow?)

"the listeners" was one that really stood out to me too. it was done so well. i liked the way it spoke of women's issues- and what the young girl was willing to risk for freedom. i liked how the statue transforms to a true god, and how her faith and hope in herself is part of what transforms her-that she really takes her life into her own hands, when she is told that she has no power, no control, no choice.
i liked the ritual aspect of it too. and the way that faith in hermes was related to faith in herself,as i understood it.

though, when hermes asks her if she willing to accept anything, so long as it is different than her current fate, i got really nervous. i worried that he was tricking her with his wording. i was relieved that it turned out to be more a test of her faith (i think) and proof of how terrible her life would be, and i think an encouragement to us all, to take that risk into the unknown as a better choice that the terrible that is known? it felt like it was saying that part of the price of freedom from patriarchal oppression for women was a willingness to stand up against the horrors of male privilege such as this form of legal rape, and to risk the complete unknown.
did you read it that way too?
what do you think of "the listeners"?