I know that it has been quite a long time since my last post, but I have been very busy! I finally finished a book I have been working on but it was a spur of the moment purchase from a grocery store. I was buying contact solution in the pharmacy isle and while I was walking to the checkout counter I passed by a copy of a book I have heard lots of great things about. The Help is a book about racial tensions in the south. Set in the 60’s detailing the relationships between the southern house wives and the black help that raise their children. It is touching, beautiful, and sad.
Here is a plot summary:
The book is written in first person narrative from three different perspectives. The first is a black woman in her late 50’s named Aibileen, who is a maid in a middle class house in Jackson, Mississippi. The second is Minny, also a maid, who has a large family and is in her mid-30s. Last is Eugenia (Skeeter) who is the daughter of a wealthy plantation farmer, and has been to college and received her bachelor’s degree.
The book starts with Aibileen telling about her life and her job. She works for the Leefolt’s who neglect their daughter. They treat her with disrespect, but that isn’t anything new, and they are not cruel to her like some families are with their maids. However, when Mrs. Leefolt’s friend Hilly suggests that they build a separate bathroom so they don’t have to use the same one as Aibileen, he employer jumps on the idea. Aibileen has had too many jobs to fight back, but you feel her anger and disappointment at the stupidity of people. Aibileen is the quiet wise presence in the book. She tells how her only son Treelore dies and how it has eaten at her, and of her love for the Leefolt’s little girl, Mae Mobley.
The next perspective comes from Minny, who is Aibileen’s sassy, irreverent friend. She starts her story right after she has been let go from her previous position as a maid to Hilly’s mother Miss Walters. It tells of how she goes everywhere and cannot find anyone who is interested in hiring her. She soon finds out that Hilly has been spreading lies about her being a thief so no one else will hire her. On the day that her position is ending Hilly tells Minny that she will hire her as her maid, but Minny states that she would never take away the job of Hilly’s current maid who is her friend. She tells Hilly to “Eat her shit.” She then goes home and bakes a very special pie for Hilly. The next day she comes back to the house and says she is there to apologize. That she baked a chocolate custard pie especially for Hilly. The horrible woman eats two whole pieces before Minny tells her that she has baked her own excrement into it. Minny finds a job in a kind newcomer to the town, Celia Foote. No one in town will associate with her because she is “tacky”, and “white trash”. Minny goes to work for her but Celia makes Minny promise not to tell her husband Johnny that she is working there. Minny talks about her abusive husband and her children. She is feisty and full of life, the way she describes her life is the same.
Skeeter talks about her love for her previous maid Constantine, the woman who raised her. When Skeeter get home from college Constantine has mysteriously disappeared, and her mother will not tell her anything about why she left or where she has gone. Skeeter tells us about how her mother is always telling her she is too tall and how her hair is too frizzy. Through the whole thing it states that the love she feels for Constantine is very similar if not the same kind of love she feels for her mother. She talks of how she feels she will never be married or have the kind of life her mother wants for her. She longs for a writing career. In a hopeful but futile attempt at securing a job, she contacts Harper and Row publishing and the senior editor writes her to let her know that she admires her spunk and gives her career advice. Skeeter gets an idea to write a book detailing what it is like to work as a black maid for white families. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny all get together to write the book. It is anonymous, and the names are have been changed. Aibileen and Minny recruit several of their other maid friends and the book comes together and is published. They don’t cover their tracks quite well enough and people find out who wrote the book, but because of the anonymous nature of the book, no one wants to fire their maids from fear of other people knowing they are chapter 8. The book ends on a hopeful note and leaves the reader feeling like things are on their way to getting better.
I must say that I am very surprised by how much I liked this book. It is heartfelt and sweet. You grow to love the characters, and feel for all of them. The villain is well thought out and multi faceted and the heroines are brave and wise. It is a feel good hit, and there is no question in my mind about why it was number one on the bestseller’s list for so long. I’m aware that this book has been around for a quite awhile but I am so glad that I finally decided to read it. It was touching and uplifting. I can’t wait to see other things from this author. Her understanding of how women speak to each other and interact is spot on and her writing style is touching and believable. I give this book 5 out of 5. I enjoyed it immensely.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
A book list for you!
I’m sure that at some point someone will ask me for a list of recommendations or a reading list. I recently made one for my friend Lexi at work, and feel like all of the books listed are fantastic. I would recommend these to any of my friends. So, here we go!
1. Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
This is the story of a woman who is very unhappy with her life, and loses herself in her art career. There is a surprise twist at the end! It’s very good.
2. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Ok, ok, I say that I don’t like teen fiction, but this one is actually beautifully written. I started out skeptical and ended up reading the whole series.
3. WWZ: The Oral History of the Zombie Wars by Max Brooks
Who doesn’t love a good zombie book? This is one of the best ones I’ve come across. Affecting to say the very least.
4. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Ok, I admit it. I have an addiction, but seriously, this book is phenomenal.
5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Neffinger
This book may not be the most wonderfully written piece of literature you’ll ever read, but it is a good story. Great for a quick summer read.
6. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This book, like all Ms. Jones’ books, is interesting, and involved. It’s mildly confusing until everything is explained, but a wonderful adventure.
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This is such a fantastic book! Set during WW2 and narrated by Death himself, it is a story of a young girl who is trying to understand life, and literature.
8. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
This is for all the fans of The Hunger Games. This book was published years and years ago, is written better, and has a better ending. You’re welcome!
9. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
This book is an undertaking, but it is SO cool. I’m putting it on this list because it’s an amazing book, but it may take a while to get through. Don’t worry. This one took me almost 3 months to finish.
10. Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis
This book is a gritty and intense look at L.A. in the 80’s. This book is extreme and affecting. It made me sad, angry, happy, validated, and inadequate.
11. Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
This is such a rad book! Well, it’s actually five books in one volume. It is also set in L.A. in the 80’s but unlike Less Than Zero it is told like a fairy tale. Time is not mentioned, nor is aging. It’s a really light fun read.
12. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
I recently reviewed this book, and would recommend it to anyone.
13. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
This book is a thrilling romp through London Underground, a mystical hidden world just below the modern streets of London.
14. Stories edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantinio
I loved every story in this book, and immediately loaned it to one of my friends. I haven’t seen it since. Let that be a testament for how amazing this book is.
15. Abarat by Clive Barker
Barker is usually a horror author, but this book is his foray into children’s stories. He doesn’t quite succeed, it’s still very scary. I loved it though! Definitely worthy of this list.
16. The Road by Cormac Mcarthy
If you haven’t read this by now, read it. You’re slacking. It’s amazingly written and sad, but wonderful.
17. Wastelands edited by John Joseph Adams
This is an anthology of short stories from all different authors about the end of the world. It is interesting, and compelling.
18. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
This one is about a unique serial killer who is trying to preserve the scent of a human being. He probably wouldn’t kill his victims if one could survive being dipped in animal fat for a night.
19. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
I’m sure you have heard of these, but they are really amazing books. They are worth your time, I swear.
20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
There is a movie coming out of this soon that I am convinced will be awful. Hopefully, I’m wrong, because the book is amazing.
That’s it my dears! All of these books are at least 4 out of 5 button eyes. Choose any one of them and you should be happy with your choice.
P.S.
I’ve bought a new copy of Battle Royale, and I have started reading it again. A review will soon follow. Also, I bought The End of Mr. Y, which I am very excited to start. Does anyone have a favorite book you’d like to see reviewed? Let me know! :)
1. Diary by Chuck Palahniuk
This is the story of a woman who is very unhappy with her life, and loses herself in her art career. There is a surprise twist at the end! It’s very good.
2. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Ok, ok, I say that I don’t like teen fiction, but this one is actually beautifully written. I started out skeptical and ended up reading the whole series.
3. WWZ: The Oral History of the Zombie Wars by Max Brooks
Who doesn’t love a good zombie book? This is one of the best ones I’ve come across. Affecting to say the very least.
4. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
Ok, I admit it. I have an addiction, but seriously, this book is phenomenal.
5. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Neffinger
This book may not be the most wonderfully written piece of literature you’ll ever read, but it is a good story. Great for a quick summer read.
6. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This book, like all Ms. Jones’ books, is interesting, and involved. It’s mildly confusing until everything is explained, but a wonderful adventure.
7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This is such a fantastic book! Set during WW2 and narrated by Death himself, it is a story of a young girl who is trying to understand life, and literature.
8. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
This is for all the fans of The Hunger Games. This book was published years and years ago, is written better, and has a better ending. You’re welcome!
9. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
This book is an undertaking, but it is SO cool. I’m putting it on this list because it’s an amazing book, but it may take a while to get through. Don’t worry. This one took me almost 3 months to finish.
10. Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis
This book is a gritty and intense look at L.A. in the 80’s. This book is extreme and affecting. It made me sad, angry, happy, validated, and inadequate.
11. Dangerous Angels by Francesca Lia Block
This is such a rad book! Well, it’s actually five books in one volume. It is also set in L.A. in the 80’s but unlike Less Than Zero it is told like a fairy tale. Time is not mentioned, nor is aging. It’s a really light fun read.
12. The Prestige by Christopher Priest
I recently reviewed this book, and would recommend it to anyone.
13. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
This book is a thrilling romp through London Underground, a mystical hidden world just below the modern streets of London.
14. Stories edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantinio
I loved every story in this book, and immediately loaned it to one of my friends. I haven’t seen it since. Let that be a testament for how amazing this book is.
15. Abarat by Clive Barker
Barker is usually a horror author, but this book is his foray into children’s stories. He doesn’t quite succeed, it’s still very scary. I loved it though! Definitely worthy of this list.
16. The Road by Cormac Mcarthy
If you haven’t read this by now, read it. You’re slacking. It’s amazingly written and sad, but wonderful.
17. Wastelands edited by John Joseph Adams
This is an anthology of short stories from all different authors about the end of the world. It is interesting, and compelling.
18. Perfume by Patrick Suskind
This one is about a unique serial killer who is trying to preserve the scent of a human being. He probably wouldn’t kill his victims if one could survive being dipped in animal fat for a night.
19. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
I’m sure you have heard of these, but they are really amazing books. They are worth your time, I swear.
20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
There is a movie coming out of this soon that I am convinced will be awful. Hopefully, I’m wrong, because the book is amazing.
That’s it my dears! All of these books are at least 4 out of 5 button eyes. Choose any one of them and you should be happy with your choice.
P.S.
I’ve bought a new copy of Battle Royale, and I have started reading it again. A review will soon follow. Also, I bought The End of Mr. Y, which I am very excited to start. Does anyone have a favorite book you’d like to see reviewed? Let me know! :)
Monday, April 18, 2011
On the awesomeness of Neil Gaiman
I would just like to take a time out for a moment and focus on one of my most favorite authors. I know I usually only post when I’ve finished reading a book, but if any of you were wondering about what my favorite books are this is for you.
A couple of summers ago I was working in a professional theater called Tuacahn Amphitheatre as a spot light operator. We had to be there two hours before the show every day to make sure everything was working properly. If there were problems then we would need the whole time to fix them, but if nothing was wrong we were left with two hours of down time. It was in this summer that I discovered the wonderful writing of Neil Gaiman. My roommate at the time had a copy of “Neverwhere” just chilling in her room and I was lacking new reading material. I wandered her way and asked if she had anything good to read, and (it was destiny, I swear) she handed me her copy of my first Gaiman book. From the very first chapter I was completely hooked. I finished the book in two days and instantly started wanting more.
Over the rest of the summer I worked my way through his novels, and in so doing, found everything I had ever wanted in a book. The stories were deep and exciting. They were both dark and light hearted. At the time, they were exactly what I needed. My summer felt magical, and while I tribute that partially to my wonderful theater job, I feel like the majority of that feeling I owe to Gaiman. Who doesn’t need more magic in their lives? I couldn’t get enough. I tore through his books one by one. It was during this time that I realized how much I enjoy short stories. After reading “American Gods” I thought for sure I had found my favorite book in the whole world. However, every book by this man I read after that gave me the same feeling. It wasn’t until I had finally read every single one of Gaiman’s novels for adults that I settled on a favorite, and even now it changes with every book I reread that has his name attached.
The first time I read “Fragile Things” was in Oct. of 2007. It has been at the top of my favorites list ever since. Maybe it was just the fact that the stories in “Fragile Things” seem Halloween themed, and I was reading it at the exactly right time, but I really don’t think so. It is a superb collection of short stories and after finishing it I literally sat for five minutes wish there was more to read.
I would recommend Gaiman’s books to anyone, because I can’t imagine anyone who couldn’t relate, or wouldn’t enjoy the story. He writes fantasy stories for beginner, intermediate, and expert readers. The stories are not “teen fiction”, they are intellectual and stimulating. Some are frightening, and some are wondrous.
I regret to say that I haven’t read any of Gaiman’s graphic novels. These are the things he is most famous for, and so I feel that I am seriously slacking. That being said, graphic novels are not really my thing. There is not enough book and too many pictures. I would rather read actual novels and get my money’s worth in story content.
If you are curious about Neil Gaiman at all, he posts regularly on his blog! He recently married Amanda Palmer and lives most of the time in the UK. He posts about his dogs, cats, children, friends, and all of the things he is working on. I wish I could be friends with this man. He is insightful, and a phenomenal writer even in his blog posts. You can find all that and more goodies here on his website! Here -----> journal.neilgaiman.com
I have known for awhile that my next tattoo will be some quote of his, which one I haven’t decided yet. I am moderately obsessed. Here are some quotes that I love from Neil:
"People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes."
“I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing.”
"In a perfect world, you could fuck people without giving them a piece of your heart. And every glittering kiss and every touch of flesh is another shard of heart you’ll never see again."
Everyone should run out and get copies of “Fragile Things”, “Coraline”, “American Gods”, “The Graveyard Book”, “Neverwhere”, “Anansi Boys”, and “Smoke and Mirrors”. All of them are wonderful, and will not disappoint. Also, if you like short stories pick up “Stories” edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. It is an excellent anthology filled with fantastic stories by very talented authors.
Hey Neil! Write more novels! Please?
Love, Haelee
P.S.
Someone suggested 5 out of 5 quills to me for a scoring system the other day and I quite like that. Also, my lovely roommate suggested 5 out of 5 R2 Units, but I may go with something Gaiman themed. As I compare all books I read to his stuff anyway, I feel that would be appropriate. Maybe 5 out of 5 button eyes? I kinda like that. Hum, I’ll continue working on it.
A couple of summers ago I was working in a professional theater called Tuacahn Amphitheatre as a spot light operator. We had to be there two hours before the show every day to make sure everything was working properly. If there were problems then we would need the whole time to fix them, but if nothing was wrong we were left with two hours of down time. It was in this summer that I discovered the wonderful writing of Neil Gaiman. My roommate at the time had a copy of “Neverwhere” just chilling in her room and I was lacking new reading material. I wandered her way and asked if she had anything good to read, and (it was destiny, I swear) she handed me her copy of my first Gaiman book. From the very first chapter I was completely hooked. I finished the book in two days and instantly started wanting more.
Over the rest of the summer I worked my way through his novels, and in so doing, found everything I had ever wanted in a book. The stories were deep and exciting. They were both dark and light hearted. At the time, they were exactly what I needed. My summer felt magical, and while I tribute that partially to my wonderful theater job, I feel like the majority of that feeling I owe to Gaiman. Who doesn’t need more magic in their lives? I couldn’t get enough. I tore through his books one by one. It was during this time that I realized how much I enjoy short stories. After reading “American Gods” I thought for sure I had found my favorite book in the whole world. However, every book by this man I read after that gave me the same feeling. It wasn’t until I had finally read every single one of Gaiman’s novels for adults that I settled on a favorite, and even now it changes with every book I reread that has his name attached.
The first time I read “Fragile Things” was in Oct. of 2007. It has been at the top of my favorites list ever since. Maybe it was just the fact that the stories in “Fragile Things” seem Halloween themed, and I was reading it at the exactly right time, but I really don’t think so. It is a superb collection of short stories and after finishing it I literally sat for five minutes wish there was more to read.
I would recommend Gaiman’s books to anyone, because I can’t imagine anyone who couldn’t relate, or wouldn’t enjoy the story. He writes fantasy stories for beginner, intermediate, and expert readers. The stories are not “teen fiction”, they are intellectual and stimulating. Some are frightening, and some are wondrous.
I regret to say that I haven’t read any of Gaiman’s graphic novels. These are the things he is most famous for, and so I feel that I am seriously slacking. That being said, graphic novels are not really my thing. There is not enough book and too many pictures. I would rather read actual novels and get my money’s worth in story content.
If you are curious about Neil Gaiman at all, he posts regularly on his blog! He recently married Amanda Palmer and lives most of the time in the UK. He posts about his dogs, cats, children, friends, and all of the things he is working on. I wish I could be friends with this man. He is insightful, and a phenomenal writer even in his blog posts. You can find all that and more goodies here on his website! Here -----> journal.neilgaiman.com
I have known for awhile that my next tattoo will be some quote of his, which one I haven’t decided yet. I am moderately obsessed. Here are some quotes that I love from Neil:
"People think dreams aren't real just because they aren't made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes."
“I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing.”
"In a perfect world, you could fuck people without giving them a piece of your heart. And every glittering kiss and every touch of flesh is another shard of heart you’ll never see again."
Everyone should run out and get copies of “Fragile Things”, “Coraline”, “American Gods”, “The Graveyard Book”, “Neverwhere”, “Anansi Boys”, and “Smoke and Mirrors”. All of them are wonderful, and will not disappoint. Also, if you like short stories pick up “Stories” edited by Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio. It is an excellent anthology filled with fantastic stories by very talented authors.
Hey Neil! Write more novels! Please?
Love, Haelee
P.S.
Someone suggested 5 out of 5 quills to me for a scoring system the other day and I quite like that. Also, my lovely roommate suggested 5 out of 5 R2 Units, but I may go with something Gaiman themed. As I compare all books I read to his stuff anyway, I feel that would be appropriate. Maybe 5 out of 5 button eyes? I kinda like that. Hum, I’ll continue working on it.
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Hangman's Daughter
Today, I finally finished reading “The Hangman’s Daughter” by Oliver Potzsch. I have been trying to finish this book for quite awhile now. It’s quite good, and the fact that it’s a translated book doesn’t show at all. The genre of this book is not immediately noticeable. It’s a murder mystery novel, with a romantic side story. I must admit, I was not at all impressed by the ending. It seemed rushed, and didn’t wrap up the side story in the least. The mystery is thoroughly explained but I had some serious problems with the story line.
Here is a plot summary: We open the story with our hangman, Jakob Kusil, apprenticing his first beheading with his father. The story is set in Bavaria in the 1600s. It gives us inside look at the kind of man Jakob will be. His father has been drunk for several days in a row in anticipation of the beheading. Everything goes wrong because Jakob cannot steady the woman who is about to die, and it is messy and painful for everyone involved. From that moment on Kusil swears that he will not be a hangman.
The next scene opens 35 years later, and Jakob has become the hangman for the town of Schongau. He has a beautiful family, and he loves his with. He has very clever children; the oldest and cleverest is Magdalena. In these old times, the people of town would shun the hangman because of his ominous job. However, the catch 22 of the story is that the duty of hangman is passed down from father to son. So, as we saw in chapter one, Jakob had no choice about his line of work. That being said he is a good hangman. He knows herbal compounds to ease or intensify the pain of his victim, and he is a better physician then the town doctor. This was often the case in executioners, and if people could not afford a doctor they would go to the hangman for their ailments.
The son of the town doctor is Simon Fronwieser, and he is Kusil’s unlikely sidekick. He is in love with Kusil’s daughter Magdalena, but due to tradition the hangman’s daughters always marry other hangmen, because no respectable family will take them. At the beginning of the story neither character knows the other is in love. Simon’s father is furious about his feelings for the hangman’s daughter, while Kusil finds it merely amusing.
Simon is there to witness when they pull the body of the first murdered child out of the river. The little boy is bloodied and dying, but still alive. His injuries are too severe and he dies just before his father gets there. They find a strange symbol on his shoulder and the town cries witchcraft.
They immediately arrest the town midwife and throw her in prison. She has regularly entertained the small boy and several other children. All of the children are orphans except for the first, who is an only son who’s mother died in childbirth.
It is Kusil’s duty to torture as well as execute people, but he knows that the midwife is not a witch and owes her a debt for the safe delivery of his children. He sets about finding who actually murdered the young boy.
Two more young boys die and we find that our culprits are four hired soldiers. The main villain is a man that the author mysteriously calls “The Devil”. The inhabitants of the town get more and more anxious to have the midwife disposed of as two more bodies are added to the list. Kusil finds that he is forced to torture the poor woman, but before he does he gives her an herbal concoction that puts her out of her mind so she won’t feel the pain. There are two more instances where he is forced to hurt the midwife until he decides to make a potion that will make her sleep for 3 days.
They find that the killer is just a mad dog, and has been paid for the murders from one of the rich merchants of the town. The last two little girls go into hiding in an underground well that the main characters spend the whole time looking for, and in the end finally find. The soldiers kidnap Magdalena, and the Devil makes a deal with Kusil. If he can lead the Devil to the children, the Devil will release his daughter, untouched. Kusil, with help from Simon, find the well and the children. The Devil follows them down and he and Kusil fight in the tunnels. Everything is wrapped up and the midwife is sent home.
Ok, so here are the main problems I had with this book. The author has no reason to keep us in the dark about who the Devil really is, because he is not a known character. The first boy to die is not an orphan, and that was what the author was using to link all the children together. The ending was rushed and not wrapped up completely. There is no reason for this book to be called “The Hangman’s Daughter”, she is a major character, but she isn’t the main character, her father is.
All in all, I rather liked this book. The storyline was interesting, and it at least kept me reading. Sure, the plot was convoluted but it was a fun read anyway. However, there are some serious issues in the story and that makes me feel like authors are getting lazy. Maybe I should chalk it up to the book being a translation, but SERIOUSLY?
In the post script the author states that the Kusils are real people that he is directly descended from and the main characters in the book are not fictional, but actual people from his family tree. The fact that he has taken his direct genealogy and turned it into a story is great. I really love books that have a sense of ethos, but that should make the story better right? In conclusion, I was greatly disappointed by the ending of this book. It is worth the read, but I highly doubt anyone will remember it in 50 years.
P.S.
I get paid on Wednesday next week. I think it’s time for some NEW BOOOOOKS!!! YAAAAAAAYYYY!! Yes, I’m a huge book nerd. I’m thinking about creating a scoring system for these books that I review. I know that I’ll be giving them up to 5, but I want something bookish like…..5 out of 5 bookworms? I dunno. I’ll work on it. :) ‘Til next time!
Here is a plot summary: We open the story with our hangman, Jakob Kusil, apprenticing his first beheading with his father. The story is set in Bavaria in the 1600s. It gives us inside look at the kind of man Jakob will be. His father has been drunk for several days in a row in anticipation of the beheading. Everything goes wrong because Jakob cannot steady the woman who is about to die, and it is messy and painful for everyone involved. From that moment on Kusil swears that he will not be a hangman.
The next scene opens 35 years later, and Jakob has become the hangman for the town of Schongau. He has a beautiful family, and he loves his with. He has very clever children; the oldest and cleverest is Magdalena. In these old times, the people of town would shun the hangman because of his ominous job. However, the catch 22 of the story is that the duty of hangman is passed down from father to son. So, as we saw in chapter one, Jakob had no choice about his line of work. That being said he is a good hangman. He knows herbal compounds to ease or intensify the pain of his victim, and he is a better physician then the town doctor. This was often the case in executioners, and if people could not afford a doctor they would go to the hangman for their ailments.
The son of the town doctor is Simon Fronwieser, and he is Kusil’s unlikely sidekick. He is in love with Kusil’s daughter Magdalena, but due to tradition the hangman’s daughters always marry other hangmen, because no respectable family will take them. At the beginning of the story neither character knows the other is in love. Simon’s father is furious about his feelings for the hangman’s daughter, while Kusil finds it merely amusing.
Simon is there to witness when they pull the body of the first murdered child out of the river. The little boy is bloodied and dying, but still alive. His injuries are too severe and he dies just before his father gets there. They find a strange symbol on his shoulder and the town cries witchcraft.
They immediately arrest the town midwife and throw her in prison. She has regularly entertained the small boy and several other children. All of the children are orphans except for the first, who is an only son who’s mother died in childbirth.
It is Kusil’s duty to torture as well as execute people, but he knows that the midwife is not a witch and owes her a debt for the safe delivery of his children. He sets about finding who actually murdered the young boy.
Two more young boys die and we find that our culprits are four hired soldiers. The main villain is a man that the author mysteriously calls “The Devil”. The inhabitants of the town get more and more anxious to have the midwife disposed of as two more bodies are added to the list. Kusil finds that he is forced to torture the poor woman, but before he does he gives her an herbal concoction that puts her out of her mind so she won’t feel the pain. There are two more instances where he is forced to hurt the midwife until he decides to make a potion that will make her sleep for 3 days.
They find that the killer is just a mad dog, and has been paid for the murders from one of the rich merchants of the town. The last two little girls go into hiding in an underground well that the main characters spend the whole time looking for, and in the end finally find. The soldiers kidnap Magdalena, and the Devil makes a deal with Kusil. If he can lead the Devil to the children, the Devil will release his daughter, untouched. Kusil, with help from Simon, find the well and the children. The Devil follows them down and he and Kusil fight in the tunnels. Everything is wrapped up and the midwife is sent home.
Ok, so here are the main problems I had with this book. The author has no reason to keep us in the dark about who the Devil really is, because he is not a known character. The first boy to die is not an orphan, and that was what the author was using to link all the children together. The ending was rushed and not wrapped up completely. There is no reason for this book to be called “The Hangman’s Daughter”, she is a major character, but she isn’t the main character, her father is.
All in all, I rather liked this book. The storyline was interesting, and it at least kept me reading. Sure, the plot was convoluted but it was a fun read anyway. However, there are some serious issues in the story and that makes me feel like authors are getting lazy. Maybe I should chalk it up to the book being a translation, but SERIOUSLY?
In the post script the author states that the Kusils are real people that he is directly descended from and the main characters in the book are not fictional, but actual people from his family tree. The fact that he has taken his direct genealogy and turned it into a story is great. I really love books that have a sense of ethos, but that should make the story better right? In conclusion, I was greatly disappointed by the ending of this book. It is worth the read, but I highly doubt anyone will remember it in 50 years.
P.S.
I get paid on Wednesday next week. I think it’s time for some NEW BOOOOOKS!!! YAAAAAAAYYYY!! Yes, I’m a huge book nerd. I’m thinking about creating a scoring system for these books that I review. I know that I’ll be giving them up to 5, but I want something bookish like…..5 out of 5 bookworms? I dunno. I’ll work on it. :) ‘Til next time!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Hexwood
Yesterday, I finished reading “Hexwood” by Diana Wynne Jones 16 (August 1934-26 March 2011 (aged 76)). I have owned this book for awhile, but due to the confusing nature of the story, I had only started it and not finished it. When the author passed away of lung cancer in March, I decided that I would finish this book. It may seem to you a small tribute, and it is, but it was all I could think to do. That being said, once I got into this book it was really really good! The plot was twisty and there was romance, but nothing graphic. It was a little violent, but not in a gruesome way.
Here is a plot summary: The Sector Controller, who is responsible for overseeing Earth, among other worlds, receives a message that tells him that a machine called the Bannus has been activated (against orders) at Hexwood Farm near London by the man who was responsible for maintaining the facility. Somehow, the Bannus has trapped both that man and an entire maintenance team inside the Estate. Following instructions in case of such an accident, the Sector Controller sends a message to the Reigners, the five people who rule the galaxy.
In a wood, an amnesiac boy meets a robot. This robot, who is called Yam, tells him that his name is Hume, because he is a human.
In a village near London, a teenage girl, Ann Stavely, recovers from a serious fever. While ill, she talks with the four voices in her head: The King, The Prisoner, The Boy, and The Slave. Through her window, she witnesses some mysterious comings and goings at nearby Hexwood Farm; a van, with a symbol like a pair of unbalanced scales on the side, pulls up and people go in, but they don't come out again. After many different people go in, but none come out, Ann becomes curious, and is determined to find out more.
The next day, greatly recovered, she explores the tiny woods beside Hexwood Farm. When she enters it, she finds that the woods have expanded, and she encounters a futuristic chamber with a famished, exceptionally tall and skeletal man - Mordion Agenos - inside. He claims he has been asleep for centuries, but Ann knows she saw him enter Hexwood Farm just a few days ago.
Mordion creates a boy from a pool of his and Ann's mingled blood, and sends him off on his own into the woods. The boy appears to be Hume, who we have already met in Chapter 1. Ann is horrified by Mordion's callous attitude and tells him that he must look after Hume - after all, he created him.
Ann visits Mordion and Hume several times in the woods over the next few days. While she is in her own town, she and her brother see more and more people appearing to enter Hexwood Farm Estate and still none ever emerge. During one of her visits to Mordion and Hume, she helps Hume recover Yam from what looks like a future, ruined Hexwood Farm, where they encounter and escape from armored men armed with crossbows. Yam then tells Mordion, Ann, and Hume that they are all in the field of the Bannus, which warps time and space in order to run scenarios for some mysterious purpose. This is why things seem to be happening out of order.
Later, we meet the five Reigners, tyrants who have ruled the galaxy for over a thousand years. They are very concerned about the Bannus, which, before they seized power, was used to pick new Reigners. Reigner Two and the Reigner's Servant (Mordion) have disappeared while trying to deactivate the Bannus. The remaining Reigners go to Earth (Reigners Four and Five alone, but then Three and One go together) to turn off the Bannus, but they too get caught in the Bannus' field of influence, forget who they are, and find themselves in the huge forest, which is somehow the little wood beside Hexwood Farm.
When Reigner One and Reigner Three come to Earth, they take a girl from one of the major guild houses (who works in their basement, managing costuming for when the Reigners or their servants need to travel to a distant world) as a luggage-carrying assistant. This assistant, Vierran of House Guaranty, is a young woman in her twenties who, after various encounters and costume choosing, has fallen in love with the Reigner's Servant, Mordion Agenos.
The Bannus, a cyborg designed to pick new Reigners, who the current Reigners cheated and locked away, is playing with the minds of all the characters and running scenarios in order to determine who the next five Reigners should be, while getting his revenge on the current Reigners. The Bannus has confused several of the characters so they no longer remember who they are, and many of the characters turn out to be different people. Many of them are big names, such as Merlin. However, the end of the story is very rushed and mildly confusing. That being said, everything is wrapped up neatly in the end, complete with happy ending.
I really liked this book. It was confusing at parts, but you grow to care about the characters, which is always the way with Jones’ books. I loved the exchanges between Mordion and Vierran. Hume is a sweet addition to the story and he ties everything together.
Part of the reason I wanted to read this story at all is because it is dedicated to my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. After reading his blog about his sad goodbye to Ms. Jones in her home just before she passed away, I was reminded of the friends and loved ones I’ve lost and felt that I needed to pay tribute to her. Even if all I can do is read one of her fantastic books, I am making sure that her story is preserved. That is (according to me) one of the greatest things you can do for someone who has passed. So, I hope that from this post, someone else will read a book by Ms. Jones, because memories are important, and so often important things are forgotten.
Here is a plot summary: The Sector Controller, who is responsible for overseeing Earth, among other worlds, receives a message that tells him that a machine called the Bannus has been activated (against orders) at Hexwood Farm near London by the man who was responsible for maintaining the facility. Somehow, the Bannus has trapped both that man and an entire maintenance team inside the Estate. Following instructions in case of such an accident, the Sector Controller sends a message to the Reigners, the five people who rule the galaxy.
In a wood, an amnesiac boy meets a robot. This robot, who is called Yam, tells him that his name is Hume, because he is a human.
In a village near London, a teenage girl, Ann Stavely, recovers from a serious fever. While ill, she talks with the four voices in her head: The King, The Prisoner, The Boy, and The Slave. Through her window, she witnesses some mysterious comings and goings at nearby Hexwood Farm; a van, with a symbol like a pair of unbalanced scales on the side, pulls up and people go in, but they don't come out again. After many different people go in, but none come out, Ann becomes curious, and is determined to find out more.
The next day, greatly recovered, she explores the tiny woods beside Hexwood Farm. When she enters it, she finds that the woods have expanded, and she encounters a futuristic chamber with a famished, exceptionally tall and skeletal man - Mordion Agenos - inside. He claims he has been asleep for centuries, but Ann knows she saw him enter Hexwood Farm just a few days ago.
Mordion creates a boy from a pool of his and Ann's mingled blood, and sends him off on his own into the woods. The boy appears to be Hume, who we have already met in Chapter 1. Ann is horrified by Mordion's callous attitude and tells him that he must look after Hume - after all, he created him.
Ann visits Mordion and Hume several times in the woods over the next few days. While she is in her own town, she and her brother see more and more people appearing to enter Hexwood Farm Estate and still none ever emerge. During one of her visits to Mordion and Hume, she helps Hume recover Yam from what looks like a future, ruined Hexwood Farm, where they encounter and escape from armored men armed with crossbows. Yam then tells Mordion, Ann, and Hume that they are all in the field of the Bannus, which warps time and space in order to run scenarios for some mysterious purpose. This is why things seem to be happening out of order.
Later, we meet the five Reigners, tyrants who have ruled the galaxy for over a thousand years. They are very concerned about the Bannus, which, before they seized power, was used to pick new Reigners. Reigner Two and the Reigner's Servant (Mordion) have disappeared while trying to deactivate the Bannus. The remaining Reigners go to Earth (Reigners Four and Five alone, but then Three and One go together) to turn off the Bannus, but they too get caught in the Bannus' field of influence, forget who they are, and find themselves in the huge forest, which is somehow the little wood beside Hexwood Farm.
When Reigner One and Reigner Three come to Earth, they take a girl from one of the major guild houses (who works in their basement, managing costuming for when the Reigners or their servants need to travel to a distant world) as a luggage-carrying assistant. This assistant, Vierran of House Guaranty, is a young woman in her twenties who, after various encounters and costume choosing, has fallen in love with the Reigner's Servant, Mordion Agenos.
The Bannus, a cyborg designed to pick new Reigners, who the current Reigners cheated and locked away, is playing with the minds of all the characters and running scenarios in order to determine who the next five Reigners should be, while getting his revenge on the current Reigners. The Bannus has confused several of the characters so they no longer remember who they are, and many of the characters turn out to be different people. Many of them are big names, such as Merlin. However, the end of the story is very rushed and mildly confusing. That being said, everything is wrapped up neatly in the end, complete with happy ending.
I really liked this book. It was confusing at parts, but you grow to care about the characters, which is always the way with Jones’ books. I loved the exchanges between Mordion and Vierran. Hume is a sweet addition to the story and he ties everything together.
Part of the reason I wanted to read this story at all is because it is dedicated to my favorite author, Neil Gaiman. After reading his blog about his sad goodbye to Ms. Jones in her home just before she passed away, I was reminded of the friends and loved ones I’ve lost and felt that I needed to pay tribute to her. Even if all I can do is read one of her fantastic books, I am making sure that her story is preserved. That is (according to me) one of the greatest things you can do for someone who has passed. So, I hope that from this post, someone else will read a book by Ms. Jones, because memories are important, and so often important things are forgotten.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
"Brave New Worlds"
I’ve been getting a lot of reading done lately. This is great for me because I’m reading 7 or 8 different books right now. I’m very pleased to announce that I have finished Brave New Worlds.
This anthology is huge and daunting when it comes to number of stories, and length. However, the subject matter is very interesting and most of the stories in the volume aren’t too long, so it transitions smoothly from story to story. This was an anthology so all of the stories were written by different authors. In the style of Orwell, or Huxley we are given brief glances into crumbling dystopias. I enjoy reading this type of book as a check for myself. I’m not very political but I understand the importance behind having a stance or even being militant if the occasion calls for it. The difficult part is gauging when the time is right, or noticing just how wrong things are going.
Here is a summary of the stories:
We start off with The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It is a strong beginning to the book. I remember when I read this story I guessed at the plot twist before it had been given away, simply because of how light things were in the beginning of the story. Something ominous is surely on the horizon when that happens. I don’t want to give anything away but I’ll just say this, I certainly wouldn’t want to win this lottery.
Red Card by S. L. Gilbow was probably my favorite story in this book, which is saying a lot because the majority of them are excellent. In this story the government anonymously sends out “red cards” to random citizens. If you receive a red card then you have a free pass to kill one person in your life with no consequences. It can be anyone you would like, maybe someone who cut you off in the street, but more probably someone a little closer to home.
Ten With A Flag by Joseph Paul Haines puts us in a society where people are ranked by their jobs and incomes, and the higher your number, the more you contribute to society. There is a system in place that ranks you shortly after you have been conceived, and depending on your rank and usefulness your parents have the option to terminate the pregnancy. However, when a young couple receives the highest rank along with a warning flag, they are confronted with a very difficult decision.
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin didn’t affect me the way the first three stories did. It merely presents the question; if you could have a perfect life in a perfect town, but one person had to suffer forever so you can be happy, would you stay?
Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment, One Daughter’s Personal Account by M. Rickert is a moving story set in a harsh future where every woman who has had an abortion is publicly put to death in a football stadium for the entire community to see. The voice of this story is an adolescent girl who doesn’t know what has happened to her mother. She disappeared one day and didn’t come back. The father and daughter assume she has been executed, but still they wait to see her face on the public execution screen. They both know that having a mother that has been executed is far more acceptable then having a mother that has fled for her life.
The Funeral by Kate Wilhelm is the story of an oppressed set of young girls who are being forced into become the oppressors of the new generation, and one girl’s struggle to help those smaller and weaker than her.
O Happy Day by Geoff Ryman was eye opening and frightening. It reads like a death camp survival story, with a new twist. The future is controlled by a regime of women who are under the assumption that men are the only ones capable of violence, and because of this they need to be exterminated. The homosexual men are put at stations where they sort the dead bodies from the death trains and are closely monitored by the women. However, they soon find out that no one is immune to the threat of violence and that human beings are nothing but animals.
Pervert by Charles Coleman Finlay is set in a strange world where the only two sexualities are homosexuals and hydrosexuals. It is a society where the coupling of men and women is uncommon, and unacceptable. The main character in our story falls in love with one of the women he works with, and is soon in a lot of trouble.
From Homogenous To Honey by Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot is told via graphic novel and a masked host leads you through the streets of a world that has been uninfluenced by homosexuals in anyway. There is no art, plays, books, or cultural references to anything gay, lesbian, or transsexual. For the masked narrator this is a perfect world. However, we know from the images around him that that is not the case, and something much darker is lurking just behind the mask.
Amaryllis by Carrie Vaughn puts us in a world that is tame compared to most totalitarian societies. No one is under scrutiny, and no one is executed. The only difference is the government controls when and with who you can reproduce. There are implants in place to make sure that accidents do not happen, but some women in a desperate attempt to make their own choices tear out their implants and put their entire households in jeopardy.
In Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi the world is trying to bring itself back from the devastating effects of global warming, in an urban New York that is being eaten slowly by dense jungle. There has been an amazing break through! We have discovered an elixir of life that prevents you from dying and keeps you young forever. However, because no one can ever die, no one can ever have a baby again. There are police to enforce the issue, and our main character is one of them. He is dispatched to find and kill any children that he finds and jail the mothers. In the depths of his happy life with his beautiful young girlfriend he can’t help but wonder, what makes these women throw everything away for a child that will likely be eliminated in its first few years of life?
As someone who never wants children, I was deeply disturbed by Auspicious Eggs by James Morrow. In this society infants are tested for their birthing capabilities right when they are born. If you cannot reproduce then you are dispatched of, because if you can’t reproduce then you have no value to society.
Peter Skilling by Alex Irvine is the story of a man who dies in a glacier in 2008 and is brought back to life by science in a very different society. In his old society his crimes are merely infractions and small to say the least, but in this new world things are treated very differently.
The Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away by Cory Doctorow is a story about how a group of people have decided to watch everyone, all day, every day. Because they watch everyone at every moment of their lives, they always find something wrong. We are all criminals in small ways whether we know it or not. I personally felt that this story fell flat of its mark. I walked away, unimpressed.
The Pearl Diver by Caitlin R. Kiernan is set in a society where your life isn’t private, and the government is telling your boss everything you do in your spare time. Our main character is terminated from her job for opening an email in the safety of own apartment.
In Dead Space For The Unexpected by Geoff Ryman people are graded on their performance and put in jobs that best suit them. It is the story of a manager who must fire one of his employees, but something goes terribly wrong! (Just kidding, it only went moderately wrong. I’m just getting bored of doing this.)
In “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison time is money, but not just money, also life. If you are late for anything anytime in your life the Ticktockman shuts you off like a machine. The Harlequin is a light hearted man who is just trying to make everyone realize how silly it is to be afraid of being late. He encourages the people of this sad land to live their lives and don’t fear the reaper. (LOL, hellz yeah.)
Is This Your Day To Join The Revolution? By Genevieve Valentine is the story about a society riddled with a new disease that is causing a lot of propaganda, but when a new message is deployed by a terrorist that the disease is all a lie to get people to conform a young couple gets thrown into the middle of a sticky situation.
Independence Day by Sarah Langan is a coming of age tale about a society that offers morphine as a way of forgetting your terrible memories and unhappiness. Sure, you’re being oppressed but you’re high, so who cares right?
The Lunatics by Kim Stanley Robinson is a story that identifies with the coal miners of the early 1900’s. In this story however, they are mining out the moon and they are criminals that have been sent to mine for the remainder of their lives. They have their brains burned so that they have no memories, and no idea why they are there.
Sacrament by Matt Williamson touches on the point that art and advertising are pretty much the same thing. In a new society where many beautiful and amazing things are made possible by modern technology many people feel that their religious beliefs are being stepped on when a new advertizing campaign is launched right above Mecca.
Just Do It by Heather Lindsley is about marketing products through biochemistry. They shoot you with a dart and you want French fries, or cake. The ultimate advertising tool is your own cravings.
Caught In the Organ Draft by Robert Silverberg argues the good and bad of using the organs from the young to keep the old politicians alive. It is not voluntary.
Geriatric Ward by Orson Scott Card tells us what would happen if our life expectancy rate were getting worse and worse. People are dying at younger and younger ages. By the time you’re in your early 20’s you’re on the verge of death.
Jordan’s Waterhammer by Joe Mastroianni is also a mining story, and is similar to The Lunatics but in a different way. In this story there are only men in the mine, they are born into the work, and their lives are worth nothing. They are killed at a moment’s notice and for the slightest infraction. Secretly they pass a religion from person to person, trying to understand concepts that they have never even thought of before, the concepts of self worth and love.
In Of A Sweet Slow Dance In The Wake Of Temporary Dogs by Adam-Troy Castro tourists come to a fantasy place, that is too good to be true. If they vacation to this beautiful place they are required to stay for ten days. The first nine days are pure heaven; they are beautiful and full of pleasure. The tenth day is a day of pure hell and pain.
Resistance by Tobias Buckwell is about a society that needs to vote so often and about so many things that they create machine that can accurately predict how they would vote to do it for them. The machine is elected to become their supreme ruler and the resistance will stop at nothing to end the dictatorship.
Civilization by Vylar Kaftan reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, and ends in the same way no matter what options you choose.
Ok, that was intense, now for the actual review of the book. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It’s affecting and sad, but I feel like some people need that. I have a hard time identifying with several of the stories in this book, and I feel like there isn’t any need for them to be there. On the other hand, there are many stories in this book that are intense and wonderful. They make you think, and make you root for the hero. However, in stories like these, it is more likely that the hero will die then succeed and that is just a hazard of dystopian books and stories.
I feel that I should try to identify a little more with the people who are tormented by the fact that they can’t have babies. Specifically in Pop Squad there is a trade off I would definitely make. You can live forever, but you can’t have babies. That appeals to me.
I think it’s really interesting to see the insides of people’s minds on this specific topic. It’s one that is constantly debated and argued about. The Utopia/Dystopia trade off is a matter of opinion. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell, and I’m sure that if someone other than me read this book they would have completely different opinions.
It is a super long book, but it’s definitely worth the read. It makes your heart ache for the struggling masses that cannot protect themselves from their own governments. It makes you wonder if really anyone can.
This anthology is huge and daunting when it comes to number of stories, and length. However, the subject matter is very interesting and most of the stories in the volume aren’t too long, so it transitions smoothly from story to story. This was an anthology so all of the stories were written by different authors. In the style of Orwell, or Huxley we are given brief glances into crumbling dystopias. I enjoy reading this type of book as a check for myself. I’m not very political but I understand the importance behind having a stance or even being militant if the occasion calls for it. The difficult part is gauging when the time is right, or noticing just how wrong things are going.
Here is a summary of the stories:
We start off with The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. It is a strong beginning to the book. I remember when I read this story I guessed at the plot twist before it had been given away, simply because of how light things were in the beginning of the story. Something ominous is surely on the horizon when that happens. I don’t want to give anything away but I’ll just say this, I certainly wouldn’t want to win this lottery.
Red Card by S. L. Gilbow was probably my favorite story in this book, which is saying a lot because the majority of them are excellent. In this story the government anonymously sends out “red cards” to random citizens. If you receive a red card then you have a free pass to kill one person in your life with no consequences. It can be anyone you would like, maybe someone who cut you off in the street, but more probably someone a little closer to home.
Ten With A Flag by Joseph Paul Haines puts us in a society where people are ranked by their jobs and incomes, and the higher your number, the more you contribute to society. There is a system in place that ranks you shortly after you have been conceived, and depending on your rank and usefulness your parents have the option to terminate the pregnancy. However, when a young couple receives the highest rank along with a warning flag, they are confronted with a very difficult decision.
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin didn’t affect me the way the first three stories did. It merely presents the question; if you could have a perfect life in a perfect town, but one person had to suffer forever so you can be happy, would you stay?
Evidence of Love in a Case of Abandonment, One Daughter’s Personal Account by M. Rickert is a moving story set in a harsh future where every woman who has had an abortion is publicly put to death in a football stadium for the entire community to see. The voice of this story is an adolescent girl who doesn’t know what has happened to her mother. She disappeared one day and didn’t come back. The father and daughter assume she has been executed, but still they wait to see her face on the public execution screen. They both know that having a mother that has been executed is far more acceptable then having a mother that has fled for her life.
The Funeral by Kate Wilhelm is the story of an oppressed set of young girls who are being forced into become the oppressors of the new generation, and one girl’s struggle to help those smaller and weaker than her.
O Happy Day by Geoff Ryman was eye opening and frightening. It reads like a death camp survival story, with a new twist. The future is controlled by a regime of women who are under the assumption that men are the only ones capable of violence, and because of this they need to be exterminated. The homosexual men are put at stations where they sort the dead bodies from the death trains and are closely monitored by the women. However, they soon find out that no one is immune to the threat of violence and that human beings are nothing but animals.
Pervert by Charles Coleman Finlay is set in a strange world where the only two sexualities are homosexuals and hydrosexuals. It is a society where the coupling of men and women is uncommon, and unacceptable. The main character in our story falls in love with one of the women he works with, and is soon in a lot of trouble.
From Homogenous To Honey by Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot is told via graphic novel and a masked host leads you through the streets of a world that has been uninfluenced by homosexuals in anyway. There is no art, plays, books, or cultural references to anything gay, lesbian, or transsexual. For the masked narrator this is a perfect world. However, we know from the images around him that that is not the case, and something much darker is lurking just behind the mask.
Amaryllis by Carrie Vaughn puts us in a world that is tame compared to most totalitarian societies. No one is under scrutiny, and no one is executed. The only difference is the government controls when and with who you can reproduce. There are implants in place to make sure that accidents do not happen, but some women in a desperate attempt to make their own choices tear out their implants and put their entire households in jeopardy.
In Pop Squad by Paolo Bacigalupi the world is trying to bring itself back from the devastating effects of global warming, in an urban New York that is being eaten slowly by dense jungle. There has been an amazing break through! We have discovered an elixir of life that prevents you from dying and keeps you young forever. However, because no one can ever die, no one can ever have a baby again. There are police to enforce the issue, and our main character is one of them. He is dispatched to find and kill any children that he finds and jail the mothers. In the depths of his happy life with his beautiful young girlfriend he can’t help but wonder, what makes these women throw everything away for a child that will likely be eliminated in its first few years of life?
As someone who never wants children, I was deeply disturbed by Auspicious Eggs by James Morrow. In this society infants are tested for their birthing capabilities right when they are born. If you cannot reproduce then you are dispatched of, because if you can’t reproduce then you have no value to society.
Peter Skilling by Alex Irvine is the story of a man who dies in a glacier in 2008 and is brought back to life by science in a very different society. In his old society his crimes are merely infractions and small to say the least, but in this new world things are treated very differently.
The Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away by Cory Doctorow is a story about how a group of people have decided to watch everyone, all day, every day. Because they watch everyone at every moment of their lives, they always find something wrong. We are all criminals in small ways whether we know it or not. I personally felt that this story fell flat of its mark. I walked away, unimpressed.
The Pearl Diver by Caitlin R. Kiernan is set in a society where your life isn’t private, and the government is telling your boss everything you do in your spare time. Our main character is terminated from her job for opening an email in the safety of own apartment.
In Dead Space For The Unexpected by Geoff Ryman people are graded on their performance and put in jobs that best suit them. It is the story of a manager who must fire one of his employees, but something goes terribly wrong! (Just kidding, it only went moderately wrong. I’m just getting bored of doing this.)
In “Repent, Harlequin!” Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison time is money, but not just money, also life. If you are late for anything anytime in your life the Ticktockman shuts you off like a machine. The Harlequin is a light hearted man who is just trying to make everyone realize how silly it is to be afraid of being late. He encourages the people of this sad land to live their lives and don’t fear the reaper. (LOL, hellz yeah.)
Is This Your Day To Join The Revolution? By Genevieve Valentine is the story about a society riddled with a new disease that is causing a lot of propaganda, but when a new message is deployed by a terrorist that the disease is all a lie to get people to conform a young couple gets thrown into the middle of a sticky situation.
Independence Day by Sarah Langan is a coming of age tale about a society that offers morphine as a way of forgetting your terrible memories and unhappiness. Sure, you’re being oppressed but you’re high, so who cares right?
The Lunatics by Kim Stanley Robinson is a story that identifies with the coal miners of the early 1900’s. In this story however, they are mining out the moon and they are criminals that have been sent to mine for the remainder of their lives. They have their brains burned so that they have no memories, and no idea why they are there.
Sacrament by Matt Williamson touches on the point that art and advertising are pretty much the same thing. In a new society where many beautiful and amazing things are made possible by modern technology many people feel that their religious beliefs are being stepped on when a new advertizing campaign is launched right above Mecca.
Just Do It by Heather Lindsley is about marketing products through biochemistry. They shoot you with a dart and you want French fries, or cake. The ultimate advertising tool is your own cravings.
Caught In the Organ Draft by Robert Silverberg argues the good and bad of using the organs from the young to keep the old politicians alive. It is not voluntary.
Geriatric Ward by Orson Scott Card tells us what would happen if our life expectancy rate were getting worse and worse. People are dying at younger and younger ages. By the time you’re in your early 20’s you’re on the verge of death.
Jordan’s Waterhammer by Joe Mastroianni is also a mining story, and is similar to The Lunatics but in a different way. In this story there are only men in the mine, they are born into the work, and their lives are worth nothing. They are killed at a moment’s notice and for the slightest infraction. Secretly they pass a religion from person to person, trying to understand concepts that they have never even thought of before, the concepts of self worth and love.
In Of A Sweet Slow Dance In The Wake Of Temporary Dogs by Adam-Troy Castro tourists come to a fantasy place, that is too good to be true. If they vacation to this beautiful place they are required to stay for ten days. The first nine days are pure heaven; they are beautiful and full of pleasure. The tenth day is a day of pure hell and pain.
Resistance by Tobias Buckwell is about a society that needs to vote so often and about so many things that they create machine that can accurately predict how they would vote to do it for them. The machine is elected to become their supreme ruler and the resistance will stop at nothing to end the dictatorship.
Civilization by Vylar Kaftan reads like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, and ends in the same way no matter what options you choose.
Ok, that was intense, now for the actual review of the book. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It’s affecting and sad, but I feel like some people need that. I have a hard time identifying with several of the stories in this book, and I feel like there isn’t any need for them to be there. On the other hand, there are many stories in this book that are intense and wonderful. They make you think, and make you root for the hero. However, in stories like these, it is more likely that the hero will die then succeed and that is just a hazard of dystopian books and stories.
I feel that I should try to identify a little more with the people who are tormented by the fact that they can’t have babies. Specifically in Pop Squad there is a trade off I would definitely make. You can live forever, but you can’t have babies. That appeals to me.
I think it’s really interesting to see the insides of people’s minds on this specific topic. It’s one that is constantly debated and argued about. The Utopia/Dystopia trade off is a matter of opinion. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell, and I’m sure that if someone other than me read this book they would have completely different opinions.
It is a super long book, but it’s definitely worth the read. It makes your heart ache for the struggling masses that cannot protect themselves from their own governments. It makes you wonder if really anyone can.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Review of the Kindle 3 and books to come
Ever since the eBook reader has become more popular I’ve heard lots of shouts from an unbelieving populous of people. They all say “I will never give up the feel of paper in my hand!” I partly agree with these people because no one loves the feel of a book in the hand like I do. However, I also disagree because I have an eBook reader and am enjoying the best of both worlds.
I have owned two different versions of the Kindle from Amazon.com. I won’t pretend to know about the other forms of eBook reader because I have never owned one.
I got both of my Kindles for Christmas. The first Christmas was in 2008 or 2009. My memory isn’t clear about the exact year but I knew that when my mother suggested that she get one for me, I had never heard of an eBook reader before. The idea immediately struck me as brilliant. Another way I could read books? Pay less money for the stories I so dearly love? Yes, please. They were really in season then, and outrageously expensive. I’m not sure of the exact price my sweet parents paid to get one for me but I know the sum was close to $450. Out of my price range, for sure, and also out of many of my friend’s price ranges. I am still the only one out of my group of friends with a Kindle or any eBook reader for that matter. Luckily, for all of us, the Kindle 3 is (at its lowest price) $139 for one with Whispernet, and $189 for one with Whispernet , and 4G speed.
The first Kindle I owned was glitch and slow, but I was delighted with it just the same. It had a very slow internet feature, and no text to speech. The pages turned slowly, but I was astonished at how fun it was to use. The eInk screen doesn’t hurt your eyes when reading for long periods of time, and you can carry hundreds of books with you without breaking your back, or the bank. I found that new bestsellers were only $9.99, which is a full $5-$10 less than they are in a bookstore. I read on it exclusively for 3 or 4 months. After awhile my first generation Kindle’s glitches and problems got the better of me and I put it down. Soon after I stopped using my Kindle, Amazon came out with two new models of Kindle, and I went totally back to reading paper books.
In 2010 I got the Kindle 3 for Christmas. I could not be more pleased! It is lighter and faster than the older version. The battery life is longer and everything about it is more efficient. The memory can hold 1000+ books and the battery life lasts for several days without needing to be charged. I am a raving fan.
So, if you have been resisting the eBook readers, don’t be so afraid! Regular books are not going anywhere, and eBooks are the future of convenient reading!
Also, on another note, I’ll probably finish Brave New Worlds, and Hexwood soon. I’ve been putting more time into Brave New Worlds, but I feel that I should try to be more invested in Hexwood in memory of Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011). Who knows which one I’ll finish first?
I have owned two different versions of the Kindle from Amazon.com. I won’t pretend to know about the other forms of eBook reader because I have never owned one.
I got both of my Kindles for Christmas. The first Christmas was in 2008 or 2009. My memory isn’t clear about the exact year but I knew that when my mother suggested that she get one for me, I had never heard of an eBook reader before. The idea immediately struck me as brilliant. Another way I could read books? Pay less money for the stories I so dearly love? Yes, please. They were really in season then, and outrageously expensive. I’m not sure of the exact price my sweet parents paid to get one for me but I know the sum was close to $450. Out of my price range, for sure, and also out of many of my friend’s price ranges. I am still the only one out of my group of friends with a Kindle or any eBook reader for that matter. Luckily, for all of us, the Kindle 3 is (at its lowest price) $139 for one with Whispernet, and $189 for one with Whispernet , and 4G speed.
The first Kindle I owned was glitch and slow, but I was delighted with it just the same. It had a very slow internet feature, and no text to speech. The pages turned slowly, but I was astonished at how fun it was to use. The eInk screen doesn’t hurt your eyes when reading for long periods of time, and you can carry hundreds of books with you without breaking your back, or the bank. I found that new bestsellers were only $9.99, which is a full $5-$10 less than they are in a bookstore. I read on it exclusively for 3 or 4 months. After awhile my first generation Kindle’s glitches and problems got the better of me and I put it down. Soon after I stopped using my Kindle, Amazon came out with two new models of Kindle, and I went totally back to reading paper books.
In 2010 I got the Kindle 3 for Christmas. I could not be more pleased! It is lighter and faster than the older version. The battery life is longer and everything about it is more efficient. The memory can hold 1000+ books and the battery life lasts for several days without needing to be charged. I am a raving fan.
So, if you have been resisting the eBook readers, don’t be so afraid! Regular books are not going anywhere, and eBooks are the future of convenient reading!
Also, on another note, I’ll probably finish Brave New Worlds, and Hexwood soon. I’ve been putting more time into Brave New Worlds, but I feel that I should try to be more invested in Hexwood in memory of Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011). Who knows which one I’ll finish first?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
"The Prestige" and a list of books to come
I have avoided creating a blog for years because I could never think of anything to say. I suppose that I am creating this blog so that I have some where for my geeky book comments to go. I can stop annoying my friends.
Last weekend I moved into a new apartment with very rad people and I also love my job. Now that my life is cohesive again I can jump right back into reading like I used to, and I have SO much new material to get through.
Here is a list of the books I'm working on:
Johannes Cabal, Necromancer
The Glass House
Brave New Worlds (anthology of short stories)
The Living Dead 2 (anthology of short stories)
Hexwood
999 (anthology of short stories)
The Hangman's Daughter
I'm very sure that there are others and I don't have my Kindle on me at the moment. I suppose I can do a review of the book I just finished.
I started reading The Prestige by Christopher Priest a few months back and due to my lack of reading time I put it down rather quickly in an uninterested manner. When I got a job with lots of down time I picked it back up and am now very pleased that I did. Though the book is very different from the movie (big surprise) it does have some key similarities. I find that the feud between them is less intense in the book because it seems like folly on the part of both magicians.
I have found in several books that have been adapted into films that it is very very helpful to have things explained more thoroughly then the movie could have, and that is the same thought that I had while reading this book. The main differences in the book and the movie are: the act that starts that feud, what Angier's trick In a Flash actually does, and the inclusion of the story of what happens to the family years later, and so with it what happens to Angier in the end. I was delighted to read conversations between Angier and Tesla, and also to be given a keener insight into what Angier's machine actually does. It cleared up a lot of questions I had after I saw the movie. I found the book to be smart and wonderful. I highly recommend it. Especially to those that saw the movie version and didn't really understand.
Til' next time! ^_^
Last weekend I moved into a new apartment with very rad people and I also love my job. Now that my life is cohesive again I can jump right back into reading like I used to, and I have SO much new material to get through.
Here is a list of the books I'm working on:
Johannes Cabal, Necromancer
The Glass House
Brave New Worlds (anthology of short stories)
The Living Dead 2 (anthology of short stories)
Hexwood
999 (anthology of short stories)
The Hangman's Daughter
I'm very sure that there are others and I don't have my Kindle on me at the moment. I suppose I can do a review of the book I just finished.
I started reading The Prestige by Christopher Priest a few months back and due to my lack of reading time I put it down rather quickly in an uninterested manner. When I got a job with lots of down time I picked it back up and am now very pleased that I did. Though the book is very different from the movie (big surprise) it does have some key similarities. I find that the feud between them is less intense in the book because it seems like folly on the part of both magicians.
I have found in several books that have been adapted into films that it is very very helpful to have things explained more thoroughly then the movie could have, and that is the same thought that I had while reading this book. The main differences in the book and the movie are: the act that starts that feud, what Angier's trick In a Flash actually does, and the inclusion of the story of what happens to the family years later, and so with it what happens to Angier in the end. I was delighted to read conversations between Angier and Tesla, and also to be given a keener insight into what Angier's machine actually does. It cleared up a lot of questions I had after I saw the movie. I found the book to be smart and wonderful. I highly recommend it. Especially to those that saw the movie version and didn't really understand.
Til' next time! ^_^
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