Author: Terry Pratchett
Genre: fiction, fantasy
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2004
Pages: 278
Eat your heart out, J. K. Rowling. This is fantasy I can really enjoy. I'm not saying this book is perfect—there are a few aspects I really don't like—but, unlike my experience with the Harry Potter books, I was not utterly relieved when it was over. Terry Pratchett is a talented and enjoyable writer, plain and simple.
I read this book on recommendation from my mom, whose opinion I usually trust. The novel is actually the second in a series, sequel to The Wee Free Men, which I'd never read nor heard of before this. That may be part of the reason behind what I didn't like about the book. Pratchett makes many jumps in logic and imagination and seems to expect the reader to fill in the gaps. I was unable to do so a lot of the time, and I think the reason is that I haven't read the first book. I hope that's the reason.
A Hat Full of Sky continues the story of a young witch named Tiffany Aching, who is going to be an apprentice to a witch named Miss Level. (Forget all you've learned about witches from Harry Potter.) Tiffany has already shown a lot of promise as a witch—so much, in fact, that she has caught the attention of a formless, dangerous being called a hiver. And when the hiver strikes, there is little Tiffany can do to save herself.
To her aid come the Nac Mac Feegle, or the Wee Free Men who appear to be the subject of the previous book. They are the best part of the story. Six-inch-tall, blue-skinned fairies who love to drink and fight, who speak in thick Scottish accents and have names like Daft Wullie and Awf'ly Wee Billy Bigchin—you can't get much better than that. Although their part in the book is big, I wish it could have been bigger. They don't figure in so much at the end, but their hijinks in the rest of the story had me laughing out loud quite often.
The only other thing I didn't like about the novel is that at times, especially at the end, it tries too hard to be deeply philosophical. The thoughts about life and death and fear and all that are interesting, but I'm more interested in the story itself. But the philosophy doesn't take up too much of the story, so I don't mind it all that much.
After reading this, I'm excited to read The Wee Free Men one of these days. Maybe I'm just bitter with Rowling, but given a choice between the two of them, I'd go with Pratchett any day.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Crime and Punishment
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Translators: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Genre: fiction
Publication info: Everyman's Libary, 1993 (originally published in1866)
Pages: 564 (including notes)
It's more than a little daunting to write a review of a classic like this. I'm just happy that I've finally read it. I actually started it last year during the summer, but then school started, and I was forced to stop so I could keep up with an extraordinary amount of reading for school. One year and one change of major later, I was able to come back to this book and read it beginning to end.
And wow.
Now I can see why it's so famous. I find it interesting that it seems to break a lot of the "rules" modern fiction writers talk about. For example, I've heard that it's bad form to use more than one or two exclamation points in a story, but this novel has several on almost every page. It also uses ellipses (. . .) frequently. All this takes some getting used to, but if I've learned one thing about writing, it's that there are no absolute rules. All that matters is what works for the particular story. And these techniques work for this one.
Crime and Punishment is about, well, crime and punishment. It's the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, who, for reasons that are hard to figure out, plans and carries out a rather atrocious murder. This occurs very close to the beginning, so I don't feel bad about revealing it to you. The book concerns the punishment more than the crime. Raskolnikov's crime begins a tangle of plots involving many characters (the large amount of characters is one aspect that makes this book a little difficult). These plots expose many cruelties of life. Innocent people suffer, ill-meaning people succeed, and people in general struggle to get through life.
As with The Castle, I'm not going to attempt any deep, interpretive criticism here. Countless books have been done by people much smarter than I for the same purpose. I will say this, though: this book had a profound impact on me. There are many things I don't understand in it, but reading this book was a deep experience for me.
There are parts that seemed to make me stop breathing. Other parts made me want to cheer out loud. Still others made me want to cry. According to the introduction to the edition I read, Dostoevsky received a lot of criticism for being too melodramatic. I can see where the critics are coming from, but I really don't mind the melodrama. I think it works for the story.
This treasure of a novel is not easy to read. It did take me two tries to finish it. But the experience it gives you is definitely worth the trouble.
Translators: Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Genre: fiction
Publication info: Everyman's Libary, 1993 (originally published in1866)
Pages: 564 (including notes)
It's more than a little daunting to write a review of a classic like this. I'm just happy that I've finally read it. I actually started it last year during the summer, but then school started, and I was forced to stop so I could keep up with an extraordinary amount of reading for school. One year and one change of major later, I was able to come back to this book and read it beginning to end.
And wow.
Now I can see why it's so famous. I find it interesting that it seems to break a lot of the "rules" modern fiction writers talk about. For example, I've heard that it's bad form to use more than one or two exclamation points in a story, but this novel has several on almost every page. It also uses ellipses (. . .) frequently. All this takes some getting used to, but if I've learned one thing about writing, it's that there are no absolute rules. All that matters is what works for the particular story. And these techniques work for this one.
Crime and Punishment is about, well, crime and punishment. It's the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, who, for reasons that are hard to figure out, plans and carries out a rather atrocious murder. This occurs very close to the beginning, so I don't feel bad about revealing it to you. The book concerns the punishment more than the crime. Raskolnikov's crime begins a tangle of plots involving many characters (the large amount of characters is one aspect that makes this book a little difficult). These plots expose many cruelties of life. Innocent people suffer, ill-meaning people succeed, and people in general struggle to get through life.
As with The Castle, I'm not going to attempt any deep, interpretive criticism here. Countless books have been done by people much smarter than I for the same purpose. I will say this, though: this book had a profound impact on me. There are many things I don't understand in it, but reading this book was a deep experience for me.
There are parts that seemed to make me stop breathing. Other parts made me want to cheer out loud. Still others made me want to cry. According to the introduction to the edition I read, Dostoevsky received a lot of criticism for being too melodramatic. I can see where the critics are coming from, but I really don't mind the melodrama. I think it works for the story.
This treasure of a novel is not easy to read. It did take me two tries to finish it. But the experience it gives you is definitely worth the trouble.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
The Outlaws of Medieval Legend
Author: Maurice Keen
Genre: nonfiction, history
Publication info: Routledge, 2000 (originally published in 1961)
Pages: 235
I suppose this doesn't really count as pleasure reading because I read it for a class assignment. But I enjoyed it enough so that I feel like I ought to say something about it here. This book is fun and educational! There. Now this feels like a commercial.
Maurice Keen, a respected historian at Oxford, wrote this book in 1961, when he was fresh on the academic scene. Nearly forty years later, he came out with this edition, which is the same as the first but with a fair amount of introductory material. In one of the prefaces (I can't remember which), Keen states that much of what he said in 1961 about the historical significance of these outlaw stories was wrong. But because his historical interests have since gone in a different direction, he didn't feel like rewriting the book, so here it is, with all its errors.
So if you're looking to read something with accurate historical insights, this isn't the book for you. What I enjoyed about this book was the stories it told. The book summarizes medieval ballads that tell the tales of several English outlaws, many of whom I'd never heard of: Hereward the Wake, Eustace the Monk, Gamelyn, Fulk Fitzwarin. It also discusses the legends surrounding William Wallace. And, of course, what would a book about outlaws be without a discussion of Robin Hood? A fair amount of the book focuses on him.
The value of this book for me was the interesting stories about these characters, stories that proliferated during the Middle Ages. Many of these stories are strikingly similar. Many involve disguise. Many involve archery. Most have the outlaws living in the forest. Of course, these men who lived outside the law are portrayed as heroes, champions against injustice.
As a fiction writer, I found these stories very inspiring. I may one day take a couple of these stories and make something out of them. I'm sure it's been done before, especially with Robin Hood, but it would still be fun.
The point is that if you'd enjoy reading about some interesting medieval tales, I'd recommend this book.
Genre: nonfiction, history
Publication info: Routledge, 2000 (originally published in 1961)
Pages: 235
I suppose this doesn't really count as pleasure reading because I read it for a class assignment. But I enjoyed it enough so that I feel like I ought to say something about it here. This book is fun and educational! There. Now this feels like a commercial.
Maurice Keen, a respected historian at Oxford, wrote this book in 1961, when he was fresh on the academic scene. Nearly forty years later, he came out with this edition, which is the same as the first but with a fair amount of introductory material. In one of the prefaces (I can't remember which), Keen states that much of what he said in 1961 about the historical significance of these outlaw stories was wrong. But because his historical interests have since gone in a different direction, he didn't feel like rewriting the book, so here it is, with all its errors.
So if you're looking to read something with accurate historical insights, this isn't the book for you. What I enjoyed about this book was the stories it told. The book summarizes medieval ballads that tell the tales of several English outlaws, many of whom I'd never heard of: Hereward the Wake, Eustace the Monk, Gamelyn, Fulk Fitzwarin. It also discusses the legends surrounding William Wallace. And, of course, what would a book about outlaws be without a discussion of Robin Hood? A fair amount of the book focuses on him.
The value of this book for me was the interesting stories about these characters, stories that proliferated during the Middle Ages. Many of these stories are strikingly similar. Many involve disguise. Many involve archery. Most have the outlaws living in the forest. Of course, these men who lived outside the law are portrayed as heroes, champions against injustice.
As a fiction writer, I found these stories very inspiring. I may one day take a couple of these stories and make something out of them. I'm sure it's been done before, especially with Robin Hood, but it would still be fun.
The point is that if you'd enjoy reading about some interesting medieval tales, I'd recommend this book.
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