Reading Wednesday, 12/06
Jun. 12th, 2019 10:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livSo I've just been travelling across half of Europe by train, which gave me lots of opportunity for reading. Thus:
Recently readrysmiel, and as ever I'm really glad to have been introduced to it.
It's sort of about a quest to save a secondary fantasy world from a villain, but it's very unlike most other books in that sort of general genre. Partly because the protagonist is a middle-aged woman, and partly because the secondary world feels very pre-modern, much more like the traditional idea of Faery than most of twentieth century fantasy novels. I'm not saying Moonwise is unique in that, but it goes further than most other stuff I've read in creating a world that runs by folklore rules, and makes very few concessions to the reader's familiarity with real-world logic.
Like, it never exactly explains that the hero and her friend cross over into the imaginary world they made up when they were younger, based on tarot, you have to infer that from subtle clues. I felt I was almost as much in the dark as the characters would be, as twentieth century Americans suddenly finding themselves in a fantasy world. Though Ariane and Sylvie are definitely genre aware, they understand that they're in a place that operates by magic rather than logic, and they make decisions based on the shape of traditional stories, though without having perfect knowledge of the specifics. I think Gilman must have a similar folk music tradition to me; the human characters often quote or sing song lyrics, and it's often exactly the versions I'm familiar with.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the language is also strange, with many of the characters speaking in a dialect which sounds authentic but I'm not quite sure where to locate it, and even the narrative voice is full of archaic or dialect words. I started out finding it hard work, but once I got used to it I bounced between being completely immersed in the story and not paying attention to the language at all, and wanting to read every other sentence out loud because the language is so gorgeous. There are also a lot of characters who are more archetypes than people, and yet the two human characters seem really plausible.
As well as being set somewhere so fairy it's almost alien, the story manages to be really exciting. The rigours of going on a long journey with inadequate clothes and equipment seem very vivid, and I was genuinely afraid that they'd fail in their quest and the world would succumb to the evil witch (who isn't a human-like villain but rather the personification of some hard to describe combination of greed and stagnation). And Ariane's attempts to form relationships with people who are more primaeval archetypes than actual people seem really human.
Conversations with friends is a very good example of a genre I don't usually like.angelofthenorth lent me this, and I've seen quite a lot of buzz about Rooney lately.
In some ways, CwF is exactly the worst kind of litfic: it's about a bunch of somewhat unpleasant people having affairs and treating each other badly. But it's really really well written, and when I got to the end I found myself wanting to spend more time with the characters even though they are all people I would dislike if I knew them IRL. It's sort of kind of a poly book, in that the resolution involves people in relationships with multiple partners who are all aware of and somewhat accepting of the situation. But it came across as more like complaisance than actual poly, and although the happy ending involves most of the characters being paired off in overlapping dyads, there was no point where I felt satisfied with a happily-ever-after style payoff.
There's also an interesting arc about the protagonist being diagnosed with endometriosis, and coming to terms with having a chronic illness and the likely effects on her fertility. And there's a sort of background story about her troubled relationship with her somewhat dysfunctional parents. Also some interesting explorations of social class, very firmly located in the book's Irish setting.
I think I mostly wanted more of the cheated on wife's POV. Because she's seen through the eyes of the protagonist and one of her love interests, she's mostly portrayed as an obstacle to Frances' relationship with her husband. And yes, some of her behaviour towards her husband isn't entirely admirable. But I couldn't help imagining her letter to Captain Awkward, describing the husband who blames his (genuine) mental illness for his inability to engage fully in their relationship or even to stay faithful.
And, well, I didn't entirely believe in any of the romances. There are some perfectly competent sex scenes, some descriptions of falling desperately in love in bad circumstances, some exploration of returning to a first love and rekindling the relationship with more maturity, but none of it quite worked for me. CwF didn't have too bad a case of, everything would be much easier if only the characters would actually communicate, but it somewhat heads in that direction. Also it has a trope I hate of, unprotected sex is sooooo much more romantic than actually caring about your partner's health, even more so if you totally intend to use barriers but get carried away.
Out of the Blue is a really cool YA book that explores both an interesting concept and human relationships. I read it becauseghoti_mhic_uait is really excited about it, and I can quite see why.
The set-up for OotB is that angels suddenly start falling out of the sky all over the world, but concentrated in Edinburgh. The book never really explains what's going on with the angels, but rather explores how society and certain individuals react to this situation. The protag finds the one angel who survives the fall, and has to deal with a person who is probably sapient but can't communicate with her, and protect her angel from people who want to use it for science or to make money or to achieve prestige in religious cults.
Which is cool and makes for an exciting adventure, but what makes this book stand out is that it also explores Jaya coming to terms with the recent death of her mother, and rebuilding her relationship with her surviving father and sister. And there's a (disabled, female) love interest who is also a really great character. It's very much my favourite genre in kids' books: completely realistic, believable people in outlandish situations having magical adventures.
The comfortable courtesan is a great fun erotic novel which also presents some delightful characters and a believable historic setting.
I thoroughly enjoyed tCC. It's a really interesting combination of being written for a modern audience with modern ideas about sex, and being at least somewhat historically realistic, the author being a professional historian. It's not particularly explicit, if it were a film it'd be PG or 12, it's mostly allusions to sex rather than detailed descriptions. It's sort of a hopepunk counterpart to The crimson petal and the white, (though it's set a bit older, Regency rather than Victorian), with a successful sex worker who is able to make enough money to be independent and exist on the periphery of society. I love Madame C's character, her good-natured but definitely bossy tendency to try to arrange everybody else's lives.
I have some hesitation about an outsider book about a sex worker. It didn't feel exploitative to me, it's clearly light-hearted fiction that doesn't seem to be coming from a place of disrespect. But it is still writing about a courtesan in a somewhat titillating way.
That said, I'm really looking forward to reading more of the series, just because the style and characterization are so delightful.
Currently reading / up next I haven't actually picked out what I'm going to read next. I'm hoping to borrow a cool YA book Judith read recently, The storm-keeper's island by Catherine Doyle.
Recently read
- Moonwise by Greer Ilene Gilman, (c) 1991 Greer Ilene Gilman; Pub Roc 1991; ISBN 0-451-45094-9
- Conversations with friends by Sally Rooney, (c)2017 Sally Rooney; Pub Faber & Faber 2017; ISBN 978-0-571-33313-4
- Out of the blue by Sophie Cameron, (c) 2018 Sophie Cameron; Pub Macmillan Children's Books 2018; ISBN 978-1-5098-5317-5
- The comfortable courtesan: Volume 1 by LA Hall (the_comfortable_courtesan), (c)2017 LA Hall; Pub Sleepy Wombatt Press 2017; ISBN 978-1-912481-00-2
rysmiel, and as ever I'm really glad to have been introduced to it.It's sort of about a quest to save a secondary fantasy world from a villain, but it's very unlike most other books in that sort of general genre. Partly because the protagonist is a middle-aged woman, and partly because the secondary world feels very pre-modern, much more like the traditional idea of Faery than most of twentieth century fantasy novels. I'm not saying Moonwise is unique in that, but it goes further than most other stuff I've read in creating a world that runs by folklore rules, and makes very few concessions to the reader's familiarity with real-world logic.
Like, it never exactly explains that the hero and her friend cross over into the imaginary world they made up when they were younger, based on tarot, you have to infer that from subtle clues. I felt I was almost as much in the dark as the characters would be, as twentieth century Americans suddenly finding themselves in a fantasy world. Though Ariane and Sylvie are definitely genre aware, they understand that they're in a place that operates by magic rather than logic, and they make decisions based on the shape of traditional stories, though without having perfect knowledge of the specifics. I think Gilman must have a similar folk music tradition to me; the human characters often quote or sing song lyrics, and it's often exactly the versions I'm familiar with.
As I mentioned in a previous post, the language is also strange, with many of the characters speaking in a dialect which sounds authentic but I'm not quite sure where to locate it, and even the narrative voice is full of archaic or dialect words. I started out finding it hard work, but once I got used to it I bounced between being completely immersed in the story and not paying attention to the language at all, and wanting to read every other sentence out loud because the language is so gorgeous. There are also a lot of characters who are more archetypes than people, and yet the two human characters seem really plausible.
As well as being set somewhere so fairy it's almost alien, the story manages to be really exciting. The rigours of going on a long journey with inadequate clothes and equipment seem very vivid, and I was genuinely afraid that they'd fail in their quest and the world would succumb to the evil witch (who isn't a human-like villain but rather the personification of some hard to describe combination of greed and stagnation). And Ariane's attempts to form relationships with people who are more primaeval archetypes than actual people seem really human.
Conversations with friends is a very good example of a genre I don't usually like.
angelofthenorth lent me this, and I've seen quite a lot of buzz about Rooney lately.In some ways, CwF is exactly the worst kind of litfic: it's about a bunch of somewhat unpleasant people having affairs and treating each other badly. But it's really really well written, and when I got to the end I found myself wanting to spend more time with the characters even though they are all people I would dislike if I knew them IRL. It's sort of kind of a poly book, in that the resolution involves people in relationships with multiple partners who are all aware of and somewhat accepting of the situation. But it came across as more like complaisance than actual poly, and although the happy ending involves most of the characters being paired off in overlapping dyads, there was no point where I felt satisfied with a happily-ever-after style payoff.
There's also an interesting arc about the protagonist being diagnosed with endometriosis, and coming to terms with having a chronic illness and the likely effects on her fertility. And there's a sort of background story about her troubled relationship with her somewhat dysfunctional parents. Also some interesting explorations of social class, very firmly located in the book's Irish setting.
I think I mostly wanted more of the cheated on wife's POV. Because she's seen through the eyes of the protagonist and one of her love interests, she's mostly portrayed as an obstacle to Frances' relationship with her husband. And yes, some of her behaviour towards her husband isn't entirely admirable. But I couldn't help imagining her letter to Captain Awkward, describing the husband who blames his (genuine) mental illness for his inability to engage fully in their relationship or even to stay faithful.
And, well, I didn't entirely believe in any of the romances. There are some perfectly competent sex scenes, some descriptions of falling desperately in love in bad circumstances, some exploration of returning to a first love and rekindling the relationship with more maturity, but none of it quite worked for me. CwF didn't have too bad a case of, everything would be much easier if only the characters would actually communicate, but it somewhat heads in that direction. Also it has a trope I hate of, unprotected sex is sooooo much more romantic than actually caring about your partner's health, even more so if you totally intend to use barriers but get carried away.
Out of the Blue is a really cool YA book that explores both an interesting concept and human relationships. I read it because
ghoti_mhic_uait is really excited about it, and I can quite see why. The set-up for OotB is that angels suddenly start falling out of the sky all over the world, but concentrated in Edinburgh. The book never really explains what's going on with the angels, but rather explores how society and certain individuals react to this situation. The protag finds the one angel who survives the fall, and has to deal with a person who is probably sapient but can't communicate with her, and protect her angel from people who want to use it for science or to make money or to achieve prestige in religious cults.
Which is cool and makes for an exciting adventure, but what makes this book stand out is that it also explores Jaya coming to terms with the recent death of her mother, and rebuilding her relationship with her surviving father and sister. And there's a (disabled, female) love interest who is also a really great character. It's very much my favourite genre in kids' books: completely realistic, believable people in outlandish situations having magical adventures.
The comfortable courtesan is a great fun erotic novel which also presents some delightful characters and a believable historic setting.
I thoroughly enjoyed tCC. It's a really interesting combination of being written for a modern audience with modern ideas about sex, and being at least somewhat historically realistic, the author being a professional historian. It's not particularly explicit, if it were a film it'd be PG or 12, it's mostly allusions to sex rather than detailed descriptions. It's sort of a hopepunk counterpart to The crimson petal and the white, (though it's set a bit older, Regency rather than Victorian), with a successful sex worker who is able to make enough money to be independent and exist on the periphery of society. I love Madame C's character, her good-natured but definitely bossy tendency to try to arrange everybody else's lives.
I have some hesitation about an outsider book about a sex worker. It didn't feel exploitative to me, it's clearly light-hearted fiction that doesn't seem to be coming from a place of disrespect. But it is still writing about a courtesan in a somewhat titillating way.
That said, I'm really looking forward to reading more of the series, just because the style and characterization are so delightful.
Currently reading / up next I haven't actually picked out what I'm going to read next. I'm hoping to borrow a cool YA book Judith read recently, The storm-keeper's island by Catherine Doyle.
