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Thursday, November 01, 2007
Books for October
- The Hero and the Crown -- Robin McKinley -- 4
- Maybe this shouldn't be in bold, because I have read it before, but it was back in the dark ages of antiquity when I was in elementary school; except for a few moments here and there, the story was entirely new to me. I bought it early this month because I'm making an effort to collect Newbery winners, and because I remembered liking this one all those years ago. I still liked it, and furthermore, I can see why it appealed to the awkward misfit I was in the mid-80's. (Go ahead, say it.) The protagonist of this fantasy novel, Aerin, is a little clumsy and a lot unsure of herself. She was born into the royal family of her country, but her mother was an outlander, feared by the people, and since she's a child of a second family and female, she's not likely ever to rule. Instead, her cousin and dearest friend Tor is "first sola" -- inheriting prince, basically. Aerin feels the eyes of her people on her wherever she goes, and she knows they disapprove. Her cousins are all more graceful and beautiful than she is, and one girl in particular loves to play unkind, even dangerous tricks on her. Then, almost by accident, Aerin discovers her niche: She is an absolutely expert and unbeatable dragon-slayer -- not exactly a feminine-wiles kind of occupation, but there it is. Up until this point, I loved loved loved this book, as you can imagine. I have never read a book that does a better job -- without a single overtly feminist overtone -- at expressing to young girls that it's OK if you're not like everyone else; it's even OK if everyone thinks you are weird; it's even OK if everyone thinks that the thing you are really good at and to which you want to devote your life is weird; just be yourself and that's how you'll be happiest. Even Anne of Green Gables didn't ring quite true to me, much as I love it, because in L.M. Montgomery's imaginary world, Anne goes to school and all the kids love her not in spite of her brains and oddities but because of them. I would love to have gone to school with those kids. Aerin, who accidently becomes immortal in a place populated by dragons where even the grass is purple, faces what I found to be more realistic suspicion and dislike from the populace at large even after she finds herself. (Plus she gets to have a beautiful friendship with a gorgeous horse. My inner ten-year-old is alive and well when it comes to horse stories.)
But there was that "up until this point" up there. For the last third of the book, McKinley got into the fantasy stuff a little more than I like. But then, this is a fantasy novel, so the complaint is obviously not with the author, but with the genre and probably even with me. I still recommend this book wholeheartedly, especially to awkward misfit young girls of about ten to thirteen years of age. Or to the women they grew up to become.
- Maybe this shouldn't be in bold, because I have read it before, but it was back in the dark ages of antiquity when I was in elementary school; except for a few moments here and there, the story was entirely new to me. I bought it early this month because I'm making an effort to collect Newbery winners, and because I remembered liking this one all those years ago. I still liked it, and furthermore, I can see why it appealed to the awkward misfit I was in the mid-80's. (Go ahead, say it.) The protagonist of this fantasy novel, Aerin, is a little clumsy and a lot unsure of herself. She was born into the royal family of her country, but her mother was an outlander, feared by the people, and since she's a child of a second family and female, she's not likely ever to rule. Instead, her cousin and dearest friend Tor is "first sola" -- inheriting prince, basically. Aerin feels the eyes of her people on her wherever she goes, and she knows they disapprove. Her cousins are all more graceful and beautiful than she is, and one girl in particular loves to play unkind, even dangerous tricks on her. Then, almost by accident, Aerin discovers her niche: She is an absolutely expert and unbeatable dragon-slayer -- not exactly a feminine-wiles kind of occupation, but there it is. Up until this point, I loved loved loved this book, as you can imagine. I have never read a book that does a better job -- without a single overtly feminist overtone -- at expressing to young girls that it's OK if you're not like everyone else; it's even OK if everyone thinks you are weird; it's even OK if everyone thinks that the thing you are really good at and to which you want to devote your life is weird; just be yourself and that's how you'll be happiest. Even Anne of Green Gables didn't ring quite true to me, much as I love it, because in L.M. Montgomery's imaginary world, Anne goes to school and all the kids love her not in spite of her brains and oddities but because of them. I would love to have gone to school with those kids. Aerin, who accidently becomes immortal in a place populated by dragons where even the grass is purple, faces what I found to be more realistic suspicion and dislike from the populace at large even after she finds herself. (Plus she gets to have a beautiful friendship with a gorgeous horse. My inner ten-year-old is alive and well when it comes to horse stories.)
- Salem Falls -- Jodi Picoult -- 4
- A young, handsome male teacher serves jail time for sexually assaulting a female student, and then when he gets out he does it again -- or does he? This is no Nineteen Minutes -- have you read it yet? -- but still a good Jodi Picoult book, rich with her usual attention to detail and carefully-constructed relationships. The parallels to The Crucible and the Salem witch trials in general add interest. And of course there's a twist at the end; I cheated and read this one in advance and I can tell you that if you look carefully for nuances as you read, it won't surprise you. I got a little tired of the characters, especially the teenage girls and their exploration of Wicca, but YMMV.
- House of Sand and Fog -- André Dubus III -- 4
- This Greek-tragic novel, in which a woman's house is repossessed due to what turns out to have been a bureaucratic error and the man who purchases it understandably doesn't want to let it go, is a lushly composed story about the tragedy that can be triggered, domino-style, by circumstances beyond our control. (Well, not entirely beyond our control. If this story has a moral, it's "Dude, woman, don't let your distress over your divorce lead you to stop opening your mail.") I felt for all the characters, except perhaps for that one untrustworthy cop, and even he had his moments. The story kept me turning the pages right up until the end, which completely took me off-guard (not in a contrived Jodi P. way, though) and which actually made me whisper, "no, NO!" and cry a little.
- This Greek-tragic novel, in which a woman's house is repossessed due to what turns out to have been a bureaucratic error and the man who purchases it understandably doesn't want to let it go, is a lushly composed story about the tragedy that can be triggered, domino-style, by circumstances beyond our control. (Well, not entirely beyond our control. If this story has a moral, it's "Dude, woman, don't let your distress over your divorce lead you to stop opening your mail.") I felt for all the characters, except perhaps for that one untrustworthy cop, and even he had his moments. The story kept me turning the pages right up until the end, which completely took me off-guard (not in a contrived Jodi P. way, though) and which actually made me whisper, "no, NO!" and cry a little.
I know I've read some other stuff, besides the Mitford comfort-rereading I've been mainlining doing and the incessant reading of annoying texts for my English class, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. I am in the middle of a new Annie Dillard book, The Maytrees, and I can't wait until December first to tell you to READ THIS NOW THIS MEANS YOU. I LOVE Annie Dillard. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
Comments
Shall I run to the library now? hee hee
Posted by: debi at November 1, 2007 02:51 PM
Okay, I'll give the Dillard a try. :) The McKinley and Dubus have both been on my to-read lists for a while, as well. I thought the twist in Salem Falls was less annoying than some of Picoult's twists, at least...
Posted by: Kat with a K at November 1, 2007 04:00 PM
I have the Hero and the Crown on a pile in our "library" to be read someday. I will move it up the pile after your review. :-)
Posted by: mary at November 1, 2007 05:57 PM
Yay! I am so glad you're liking Maytrees....I checked it out from the library, but have been inexplicably hestitant to start reading it. I'm less worried now, and I'll start it as soon as I finish Letters of a Woman Homesteader, which I'm enjoying.
Posted by: Denise at November 2, 2007 04:38 PM
hestitant? Guh. I meant HESITANT. Wait, now that looks wrong, too...
Posted by: Denise at November 2, 2007 04:40 PM
I never read the book, but the movie, House of Sand and Fog was as boring as it was depressing.
Posted by: Jenn at November 3, 2007 02:29 AM
