Jan Priddy > Recent Status Updates

If you loved Hunger Games you might love this too, if you are not bothered by the use of female sexual enslavement and threat of rape. I'm glad I chose to read this first before gifting it to my granddaughter (12) next month. I'd much rather she read Hunger Games than this.

My affection for SF/F focused locating an egalitarian path, not a worse care scenarios. All this sex and rape? Not in a YA novel.

Michael, in his heart of hearts, feels tremendous guilt about his ability to charm, his insincerity and undeserved popularity. I am not sure I believe charming people ever have such self-awareness. In my experience, they rarely grow out of swaying and manipulating others, but express disdain for those they fool. In fact, they don't even believe they are fooling. They just think they are smarter and "better" people.

The rotation through three limited third person narrators is working for me, though it is unique in my reading experience.

A unique narrative structure... so far.

What is most astonishing is how thoroughly and convincingly Zamyatin tells this story through the wold view of a completely brainwashed but otherwise intelligent person/Number.

His is a sexual awakening? [Can I say here that while I certainly know that sex is important, but it is not everything.]

So far... introductions and first two "Records" and interesting. Certainly more engaging (at this very early stage of page 9) than 1984, which annoys me immediately. There are women present here.

I have read at least two bios of Potter + the films. I only recall one talking about this long story (novella?) written for her beloved American readers, and that was not complementary at all.

I like this. It is stories within a greater story of the Fairy Caravan—not the fairies we would think of, or I would anyway. This is a traveling troop of animals, made invisible to the Big Folk. A glossary for the folk-words.

Stories within the story, but there is an overall arc.

Her authorized biographer nearly hated this book—written specifically for her fond American audience. So far, it's not bad, though I wish I had the older cover and that each new speaker in dialogue had a paragraph break. No confusion about who is speaking, I just don't like the way it looks.

now the paranoia seeps in

Yes, I think some people tried to invest in Toby without recognizing he is not at all a heroic character. French does this, have they not noticed? On the other hand, I am still waiting for the [second] ax to fall. Pretty close now.

I was surprised to note a number of poor reviews. Now I wonder if that is because Toby is an entitled white guy with no ability to empathize—he's lucky, an attractive, affluent single child who takes all that for granted. He's not precisely unkind or selfish, but he also utterly fails to appreciate the circumstances and pain of others. Will he become a better person as a result of his trauma? I suspect he won't.

The reviews don't look promising, but here I go anyway.

A discussion of [untrue] accusation of molestation. And while it is rare, I know someone who was unjustly accused... It should be noted that untrue accusations of sexual violation are no more common than other kinds of untrue accusations, but accusations are more likely to be disbelieved (not less) when sexual.

Shouldn't be Rite Aid. Pay 'n Save.

I am reminded why my first impulse while I was reading Lincoln in the Bardo was to urge people to read this novel instead. Read this novel instead.

If anything, better!

I loved this book the first time I read it, but I failed to write a review. So it's time for a reread!

Aren't I done with this yet? Several good stories in the second half of the collection.

It's not and easy-quick read, but the bigger challenge is that I keep this book in another place and I always bring another novel along when I go there.