Lindsay
Verdict: Not the classic Wonderland, but not the best re-imagining of it, either.
Rationale: I didn't enjoy the writing as much as the concept of this book. It gets a bit annoying when the author has a tendency to connect phrases with a comma, instead of using a proper conjunction.
By far, the most intriguing character is Hatter Madigan of the Millinery. I'd read more about him, as I found him more interesting and believable than Alyss, herself. SpoilerBeddor makes some pointed remarks in the beginning of the book about Alyss's Black Imagination tendencies, but these observations don't yield anything (unless this evolves later in the series). I actually question how Alyss became so pure of heart – perhaps due to her upbringing in the Reverend's family? - when she shows some signs of rebellion in her youth.
Final Thoughts: Beddor drops a few interesting hints as to where the story might go; I wish I had enjoyed his style of writing more, but at the moment I am not sure I will continue to the end of the series.
I am the Messenger is the epitome of metafiction – a story that recognizes itself as a story – and yet it fails spectacularly to make the kind of impact that good metafiction is apt to make. Zusak takes the premise of metafiction to a literal level. Instead of striving to immerse his readers in the world he has created, his big reveal is Spoilerto tell his audience in no uncertain terms that they are reading a book he has written – one that has been premeditated, planned, plotted, and carried out as he (the author) deemed fit.
Everything that occurs happens because Zusak wants or needs it to happen for the story to unfold in a particular way. For example, Marv's behaviour in the bank at the beginning of the novel makes little sense once we know Marv's secret: Spoilerwould he really risk his life by irritating a robber (albeit, a hapless one), when his son or daughter is the whole reason for his existence? I realize that the car becomes a major plot point for Marv, but it is irksome that Zusak uses the bank robbery as a means to introduce the vehicle and then uses the vehicle as a plot device.
In all fairness, it's Zusak's prerogative to make the characters and the plot do as he wishes – it just bothers me to see events unfold that don't necessarily make sense to the overall arc of the story, and then have Zusak give himself an “out” because he is the author, as he so kindly reminds us. I actually did like some of the messages and some of the secondary characters; but the implied inevitability of each of the events that took place made the meanings of these messages less significant. The entire book seems contrived, which may or may not be the point, but it also just makes this reader wonder what the purpose of reading the book is. If Zusak means to inspire his readers by reminding them that they are not characters, but real live people with free will, he only makes them regret their reading choices.
Points to Zusak for his creativity; demerits for falling short. Go read The Book Thief instead; there, Zusak's narrative and creative risks pay off in a big way.
It is now clear to me that I prefer fiction over friction.
The premise of f(r)iction is intriguing, but I found the actual thematic content to be dry. My favourite essays were “Trickle-Down Timeline,” by Cris Mazza, “Beyond the Border of Love,” by Maryanne O'Hara, and “Interrupted Reading,” by Lance Olsen.
Like the title suggests, this is a simple book. It is refreshing in the sense that instead of telling the reader what to do, the author instead tells her own story of transitioning to a minimalist lifestyle. In fact, the book doesn't really have a strict focus, as the author talks about parenting, self-employment, hobbies, religion... Oh, the religion! It isn't stated outright in the early portions of the book, but the author is quite religious. This becomes blatantly obvious in the later chapters when there are pages upon pages about God and living to serve God. I started skimming the book at these points. Aside from that, a quick (The print is huge! 151 pages could easily have been less than 100 if it had been published in a “regular” sized font), easy read.
“CRUD: Completely Ridiculous Useless Debris” aka this book.
These two ladies try to be funny, but are not. Remotely.
An example of their “humour”: “Thank Walt Disney for your life-long attachment to plush toys. Start new addictions more appropriate to your age and station in life. Consider cosmetic surgery and anti-depressants as substitutes.” (p. 76)
An example of their pointless advice: “If you are a purse-aholic, thinning your considerable collection will be difficult. Start with the more expendable wallets and change purses.” (p. 58)
[Yes, that is the entire section on how to purge your purse collection.]
The worst, most counter-intuitive suggestion in the whole book: they advocate throwing away your 3-hole punch!
Skip this book. Your time is better spent doing almost anything else.
I was disappointed by this book, and didn't find the revamped fairy tales very enjoyable. The tales that followed closely their better known counterparts were acceptable, but brought nothing new to the table.
Spoiler
Worth Reading:
“Instructions” by Neil Gaiman - Props to Gaiman for this creative poem. It was a light-hearted read.
“The Seven Stage a Comeback” by Gregory Maguire - Perhaps the most ambitious of them all. Another poetic endeavour that is worth a look.
“Cinder Elephant” by Jane Yolen - “Moral: If you love a waist, you waste a love”
“The Kingdom of Melting Glances” by Katherine Vaz - This came from a story I hadn't heard before; I enjoyed it.
“Hansel's Eyes” by Garth Nix - Nix doesn't disappoint.
These Were Okay...
“Falada: The Goose Girl's Horse” by Nancy Farmer
“A Wolf at the Door” by Tanith Lee - A lion in wolf's clothing. The story was alright, but not terribly memorable.
There's Nothing New Here...
“The Months of Manhattan” by Delia Sherman
“Swans” by Kelly Link - A retread.
“The Twelve Dancing Princesses” by Patricia A. McKillip
Don't Bother
“Mrs Big: ‘Jack and the Beanstalk' Retold” by Michael Cadnum
“Ali Baba and the Forty Aliens” by Janeen Webb
“Becoming Charise” by Kathe Koja - This “Ugly Duckling” tale felt incomplete. Good moral, but I completely missed the fairy tale aspect.
This is what When She Hollers should/could have been. “Heavy” topics without the clunky dialogue.
This would be great for an English class to dissect in detail – how much can be said with so little.
Told mostly from the perspective of Jen/Jinx, but also giving glimpses into the lives of her friends and family, Jinx reads more like poetry, than prose. Well done, Margaret Wild!
The overall vibe of the book: Preachy.
SpoilerOther thoughts:
- This is a so-called “Mrs. Murphy” mystery, yet Mrs. Murphy did very little throughout the book, besides be the animals' voice of reason. Tucker the corgi was more interesting and more useful;
- talking animals are a bit corny, and pointless;
- said animals trek all over town, and examine crime scenes without anyone commenting;
- the back cover is misleading, as Harry is never really the intended target;
- too many characters;
- too many characters whose identities are still linked to high school reputations;
- the police in this book are completely unbelievable, and not in a good way;
- There is a large amount of focus put on who Charlie's illegitimate child is, but this proves to be completely irrelevant AND the answer is never revealed.
Zusak, 2005, 174-5:“A SMALL BUT NOTEWORTHY NOTEI've seen so many young menover the years who think they'rerunning at other young men.They are not.They're running at me.”
-Death
Zusak, 2005, 376:“The Germans in basements were pitiable, surely, but at least they had a chance. That basement was not a washroom. They were not sent there for a shower. For those people, life was still achievable.”
One remarkable thing that Zusak achieves, is the consistency of voice and character: Liesel, Rudy, Hans, Rosa, Max, Death.
Death was especially well done - an observer who remains removed from humanity and life, yet perhaps understands it better than most.
Godin oversimplifies the idea of when and why to quit. He tries to preach economics but fails to acknowledge the nuances and logistics of applying this mindset to everyday life decisions.
Thankfully, this book is concise; there are a few good ideas, and a couple of baffling concepts that Godin tries to sell us. I, for one, am not buying it.
Not enough of the key players. Not enough of the key players together.
If, in the first book, a band of misfits comes together by chance, then in this second book, our band of misfits disperse and travel (for the most part), parallel but separate paths.
Everyone is having an identity crisis while engulfed in war and chaos.
This is the book where the characters all grow up (we see a similar set-up in “Taran Wanderer” from The Prydain Chronicles).
I really liked how readers learned a little bit more about, for example, Florian, and that we got to follow Sparrow and Weasel; but, Las Bombas was under-used. Perhaps his folly was not appropriate in this book of bloodshed, but it was nonetheless missed.
Alexander uses The Kestrel as a medium to muse about politics and ideas of the monarchy; the solemn nature of government and “justice” is evident. Overall, the book was very serious in nature, not many laughs or outrageous escapades to be found here.
Kit Pearson tries to go meta with a dream that represents a book, within the book that we are reading... get it? No? Hmmm, maybe you have to read it to understand.
Awake and Dreaming is basically a story of a young girl, Theo, who imagines herself into her ideal family... with a little (unknowing) help from the neighbourhood ghost.
I always love reading tales about local geography (this book is set in the Vancouver/Victoria regions).
The idea is solid (this novel even won an award), but at the end, I was left feeling like it was wrapped up a little too neatly... not that Theo couldn't be happy with her family and friends, but were the people around her really prepared to change that quickly?
ALSO, Kit Pearson seems to have this obsession with moons. It's mentioned in A Handful of Time, The Daring Game, Awake and Dreaming, and of course, in the famed “Guests of War” trilogy, the second book is titled, Looking at the Moon. It becomes very noticeable if you read a number of Pearson's books one after another.
Rebecca Lickiss' Never After has such potential, but is bogged down by tedious characters and poor writing. The premise is promising: a hodge-podge of fairytales come together to create a fanciful, new story. Unfortunately, it never comes to fruition. The characters are unlikable and flat; the plot feels forced, and the entire tale is quite predictable, with no reward for the reader who sticks it out from “Once upon a time” to “happily ever after”.
The front cover proclaims: “Lickiss has a breezy, inventive style.” This is true if “breezy” is a synonym for “awkward”, and “inventive” is a euphemism for the atrocious sentence fragments that are cobbled together to make this book.
I can appreciate what Lickiss is trying to do, but the end result leaves a lot to be desired. There is little adventure, and no laughter. In a word: boring.
As a person who likes to analyze and dissect statistical patterns and anomalies, I found this book to be right up my alley. Don't be scared away, though, because Outliers is not a “numbers” book; rather, Gladwell points out some fascinating correlations and explanations that are worth your while to read and ponder.
“Everything we have learned in Outliers says that success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. [...] Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities - and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them. For hockey and soccer players born in January, it's a better shot at making the all-star team. For the Beatles, it was Hamburg. For Bill Gates, the lucky break was being born at the right time and getting the gift of a computer terminal in junior high.” (Gladwell, 2008, 267).
I particularly enjoyed the chapters that focused on hard work (10,000 hours is the magic number), Asian cultures that play a negative factor in a number of fatal airplane crashes while also excelling in mathematics, the idea of being “good” vs. “best”, and the ill-effects of summer vacation.
Less interesting to me were the chapters about the rise of Joe Flom and the people of Harlan, Kentucky - though Gladwell makes valid points, so these are not wasted pages or words.
Definitely one of the better non-fiction (non-biographical) books I have read.