Books for March, 2005

[pegkerr]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Re-read.

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux. First time read. jonquil recently mentioned reading and liking this. I did not like it. I wondered whether it was simply that I was dissatisfied with elements of it that were expected in novels of that time. Well, I didn't think so--it's not as if I'm incapable of reading and enjoying novels written before 1960. Or was the problem the translation? Whatever the translation, Christine and Raoul would still be very cardboard characters, I'm afraid. It shows evidence of being written in haste. Characters and plotlines are introduced only to be abandoned. Not impressed. Sorry, Phantom fans.

Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else by David Cay Johnston. First time read. This was a loan from minnehaha B, and he was right to warn me that it would be depressing. In fact, this book made me madder than just about any book I've read in the last two or three years. Well written, and the information therein is infuriating.

Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm. FIrst time read. Mixed reaction, but mostly envious awe. Brave about writing about sex, and added to my internal wrestling over that subject on the book I'm writing. A keenly observant eye. I thought a lot about how this book, and Wizard of the Pigeons and one of my favorite short stories, ever, "The Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man" all have the same plot: They're all about a person who lives on the margin, who has a sort of magic (not of any use, really, to them) who feels as though he/she doesn't fit in. And this protagonist meets a mysterious other who is even more magical. And the protagonist has a sexual relationship/encounter that makes the hard-won balance fall apart (in WOTP, it's with a third, different character; in CH and SL&FM it's with the mysterious other). The story ends with the protagonist rediscovering and believing again in his/her inner magic and re-integrating.

A Galaxy in a Jar by Laurel Winter. I've read some of these poems before, but this is the time I've read the collection. Note to self: read more poetry. Of course, reading poetry is easy when it's Laurie (the delightful selections here include "Egg Horror Poem" and "Why Goldfish Shouldn't Use Power Tools.") If you've ever had the opportunity to hear her read with the other Lady Poetesses From Hell at various conventions, you understand. If you haven't, you are in for a treat.

Am presently reading Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots, so that'll be first on next month's list.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_lindsay_/]

If you get the chance you should read some Barbara Hamby. I think I commented her "Jane Austen Jambalaya" to you once, but all of her poems are great and hilarious and witty, etc. :)

[kiwiria.livejournal.com]

Or was the problem the translation? Whatever the translation, Christine and Raoul would still be very cardboard characters, I'm afraid. It shows evidence of being written in haste. Characters and plotlines are introduced only to be abandoned. Not impressed. Sorry, Phantom fans.

This is my problem with the musical too. I've never been a huge fan of it. Sure, the music is good, but it's not nearly as catchy as musical music 'ought' to be, and the story and the characters left me cold. I'm VERY much in the minority here though, as most people who've seen it are absolutely in awe by the musical... oh well... I'm used to having different opinions than most people.

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

ooh The Well of Lost Plots!!:) God, that was a fun read.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I started Cloven Hooves soon after it came out, got half way through and handed it to carandol and said "Could you check ahead for me and let me know if the kid dies?" He did and he did, and I took the book back to the library without finishing it because I just wasn't up for that. So I don't know what happens after that, and that isn't because it isn't good, it's because I was in a post-partum hormonal state and it was too good.

Should I try it again now I'm older and wiser?

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that part of Phantom's appeal is how much it leaves not so much unsaid as just not there; I think that works for people who read it at fourteen and backfill plot and characterisation that isn't actually there and fall in love with it, and it seems to make it a very appealing text for some kinds of writer to rework and re-adapt and add bits to to make it make sense. [ Guilty as charged, but only as a subplot, honest. ]

Myself, I think the most interesting thing about it is how clearly Leroux has completely missed the fact that Raoul's the villain.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I can't make that decision for you. Totally up to you, I'm afraid. I enjoyed it very much. I would classify the ending as "bittersweet."