Books for April, 2005

[pegkerr]

The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. First time read.

Something Rotten by Jasper Fforde. First time read. I will keep buying and reading whatever this guy has published.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susannah Clarke. First time read. This novel runs 782 pages, so I didn't knock it off in a day or two, as I usually do with books. It is a peculiar sensation to be engrossed in a book for a better part of a week, especially if you haven't read it before. Yes, it reminded me of Jane Austen. It reminded me, obviously, (on a much larger scale) of Pat Wrede's Mairelon the Magician series, and her Kate-and-Cecy collaborations with Caroline Stevermer (1crowdedhour) with its examination of an alternative history set in England during Napoleonic war, where magic really works. I wonder at Neil Gaimon's blurb: "Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written the last seventy years." Does that mean Neil puts it above Tolkien? Or is Tolkien sort of grandfathered in as the head of the field? (Time Magazine's blurb: "...combinea the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien." That seems to cover all the bases.)

Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi. First time read. This was a Newbury Award book.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares. First time read.

Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. First time read.

Girls in Pants: Third Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares. First time read. I swiped all of these from Fiona's library basket, and I really liked them all. She seemed to me to write about girls with sympathy and humor and compassion, and an eye for the absurd. I liked Carmen, how she always knew when she was about to do the wrong thing but still couldn't stop herself from doing it. I liked how she handled Bridget being an undiagnosed bipolar without ever quite coming out and saying it. She captured the awkwardnesses of their relationships with boys and with their parents, and how they change as the girls grow up. She also captured well the ambivalence the girls have about growing up and changing, both physically and emotionally.

Well, no repeats this month. Good show, Peg. Am now reading Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, so that will start next month's list. I seem to be going through a YA binge right now.

Comments

[g33kgrrl]

I actually remember Neil Gaiman explaining his blurb in his journal once; he said it was regarding books set in England, not written by English authors, so LOTR didn't factor in.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Ah. That explains it. Yeah, I somehow figured that he wasn't including LOTR in that category.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

How was Crispin?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Pretty good. I couldn't shake the thought, though, that it had a very modern sensibility. Crispin's developmental task in the book, so to speak, was to rethink and challenge everything he had been taught about his place in society. Well, he is forced to do so because the steward is trying to kill him: it's change or die. He runs away from his home and falls in with a minstrel/spy, who insists that Crispin start challenging his old patterns of thought (I must do this because my lord/the lord's steward/the Church tells me to). Mmm: what I mean is, the events of the book absolutely force Crispin to positions which we admire in the 20th century: I am responsible only to/for myself, I have freedom of movement, my money is my own, I have the right to assemble with whom I choose and the right to political freedom. I follow only my own conscience. The only way Avi could accomplish this, of course, was to set things up so that if Crispin clung to the medieval mindset, the mindset he'd lived under his whole life, he would be murdered without mercy.

[mayakda.livejournal.com]

Interesting observation. Bear does seem like someone before his time.

I like the way religion is so ingrained though -- both in Crispin and the steward, with swearing oaths and all that.

[priscellie.livejournal.com]

I utterly adore Jasper Fforde. Glad to see more people discovering (and falling in love with) his work!

[byrlakin.livejournal.com]

I too will be reading anything that Fforde chooses to write.

I was also happy to see something about Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I saw it offered in the book order and I was debating on whether or not to buy it. Glad to know I am not the only adult who enjoys YA literature.

[ivyblossom.livejournal.com]

Curious what you thought of Strange and Norrell. I really loved it. :)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did like it. Thought the ending was intriguing, an interesting refusal to wrap ends up neatly (is she setting stage for a sequel? Does anyone know if she's working on one?). I probably want to mull over it and maybe re-read it again before I can give a more intelligent reaction than that.

[kate_nepveu]

No direct sequel, per last month's _Locus_ interview, I believe.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Not surprising, really. After ten years writing about the characters, I imagine she's sick of them. I certainly would be!

[folk.livejournal.com]

I...didn't. Which is odd, because everyone I know who read it loved it. I actually gave up on it about two-thirds of the way through, and it sits there on my shelf. I don't know -- perhaps I am still too allergic to Dickensian style from my GCSEs at 15.

[mayakda.livejournal.com]

I love Inkheart. Let us know what you think.

I read Fforde's first book, The Eyre Affair, but I haven't sought out the sequels. It was fun but? I'm not sure waht my but is.

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

I love the pants books. One of my good friends and I recently got a shirt to travel between us for this summer...we're going to see the pants movie and then have a dedication ceremony.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

What a great idea! You might also introduce the idea of the friendship ball to her, if you haven't already.

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

Kudos for Jasper Fforde and for Traveling Pants. I was slightly disappointed in the everyone getting a happy ending in the third book, because one of the things I like about the series is the reality. But definitely well-loved books.

[desayunoencama.livejournal.com]

What did you think of CRISPIN? I have it (and Avi's MIDNIGHT MAGIC) on the to-be-read stacks.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

rachelmanija asked me the same thing, and this is how I responded.

[haniaw.livejournal.com]

I just finished reading The Well of Lost Plots and Something Rotten (thanks to a previous posting of yours which reminded me to get them). I love Jasper Fforde.

I also recently finished Jonathan Strange... which I found much less appealing. I did like it, but found that I had to convince myself to keep going since it was a bit slow.

[lcohen]

It reminded me, obviously, (on a much larger scale) of Pat Wrede's Mairelon the Magician series, and her Kate-and-Cecy collaborations with Caroline Stevermer (1crowdedhour) with its examination of an alternative history set in England during Napoleonic war, where magic really works.

well that's enough to send *me* looking for it!!