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alobearIt turns out I really don't like actually having to work for a living.
The reviews and RSS feeds are stacking up, my ponies are feeling neglected, and don't even get me started on having to do OU work at the weekend!
So, in an attempt to catch up a bit:
Maus by Art Spiegelman
This was a surprising read. I'd heard a lot about it before I started it, but my response to it was unexpected. I liked the structure of the framing narrative, depicting the author visiting his father over a long period of time to record his reminiscences of WWII as material for the book. It was appealingly meta, and I found the author's portrayal of himself (often not in a very flattering light) really interesting.
In fact, the surprising thing about the book was that I found the modern-day framing narrative much more affecting than the flashbacks to the holocaust, perhaps because it was more immediate and easier for me to relate to. Whilst the character of the father comes across as impatient, unreasonable and often quite irrational, I could help but feel sorry for him, and found his and his son's complete inability to communicate with one another effectively or see each other's point of view very sad.
In contrast, the WWII sections seemed quite remote and very impersonal, with Vladek's bald narrative almost matter-of-fact. I suppose it would have been difficult for the author to relate to his father's story, as well, and the scenes of him actually recording the story would obviously have been much more personal to him.
The whole thing is very skilfully done, and I think it's a tremendous achievement - not exactly enjoyable, but highly recommended.
The Dark Tower Volume One - The Gunslinger by Stephen King
I've never read any Stephen King before, but the attempt to resist continuing with Song of Fire and Ice prompted me to look for another meaty fantasy series to get my teeth into, and I decided to embark on The Dark Tower. I was very surprised when the first volume arrived from BookMooch and was only 250 pages long!
It's an odd little book, with nameless characters and a drifting, mysterious plot, containing many unanswered questions and an over-riding sense of suspension, as if it's all some kind of weird dream. The structure of the first section is unusual - the first seven chapters go steadily backwards in time, as a series of characters relate their part of the tale to others coming along later. Then, thirteen more chapters track forwards again to the novel's starting point, after which the main plotline of the gunslinger's pursuit of the man in black across the desert is interspersed with fascinating flashbacks to his childhood.
I find it particularly interesting that the two main characters (hunter and hunted) are the ones who are not named - the gunslinger's name is revealed as Roland on page 95 and is used during the flashbacks, but his 'gunslinger' identifier continues to be much stronger.
What is revealed about the world of the book is quite mystifying - the character populating it know things like Beatles songs, and the boy Jake has clearly been transported there from 20th century New York, but the actual setting is more like the Wild West than anything else.
The world has moved on. Something is awry with time. Answers can perhaps be found at the Tower.
I don't know if my interpretation of the book would be helped by a greater knowledge of Browning's Childe Roland poem, but I'm certain I missed many nuances and layers of significance. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to carry on with the series (the next three books each get longer by at least 200 pages), but this made for an intriguing opening.
Heaven's Net Is Wide by Lian Hearn
This was my latest audiobook, set in a world similar to feudal Japan and dealing with questions of honour and loyalty amidst warring families. It followed Otori Shigeru, heir to one of the country's most influential families, who is forced to give up the way of the sword when defeated in battle, and spends years plotting his revenge while presenting himself as a downtrodden farmer without even enough honour to kill himself.
It's an intricate tale of betrayal, secrets, complex relationships and political manoeuvring, portraying a richly detailed and fascinating society.
Heaven's Net is actually a prequel, written after the Otori trilogy, but set before it, so it seemed like a good place to start - and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the story, as the most interesting character (the protagonist of the trilogy) has only just appeared and there's a lot more to tell.
Poles Apart
On Wednesday, I went to see Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for a fourth time. It still hasn't topped the first one I saw, but Wednesday's tale of an ex-policeman eradicating crime in Brooklyn via the medium of poledancing was suitably ridiculous and as impressive as ever.
Top moments - Martha's two-minute monologue about how life is like a straw ("there's always a little puddle of something you've missed") and the classic song, "Statistically". Genius.
The reviews and RSS feeds are stacking up, my ponies are feeling neglected, and don't even get me started on having to do OU work at the weekend!
So, in an attempt to catch up a bit:
Maus by Art Spiegelman
This was a surprising read. I'd heard a lot about it before I started it, but my response to it was unexpected. I liked the structure of the framing narrative, depicting the author visiting his father over a long period of time to record his reminiscences of WWII as material for the book. It was appealingly meta, and I found the author's portrayal of himself (often not in a very flattering light) really interesting.
In fact, the surprising thing about the book was that I found the modern-day framing narrative much more affecting than the flashbacks to the holocaust, perhaps because it was more immediate and easier for me to relate to. Whilst the character of the father comes across as impatient, unreasonable and often quite irrational, I could help but feel sorry for him, and found his and his son's complete inability to communicate with one another effectively or see each other's point of view very sad.
In contrast, the WWII sections seemed quite remote and very impersonal, with Vladek's bald narrative almost matter-of-fact. I suppose it would have been difficult for the author to relate to his father's story, as well, and the scenes of him actually recording the story would obviously have been much more personal to him.
The whole thing is very skilfully done, and I think it's a tremendous achievement - not exactly enjoyable, but highly recommended.
The Dark Tower Volume One - The Gunslinger by Stephen King
I've never read any Stephen King before, but the attempt to resist continuing with Song of Fire and Ice prompted me to look for another meaty fantasy series to get my teeth into, and I decided to embark on The Dark Tower. I was very surprised when the first volume arrived from BookMooch and was only 250 pages long!
It's an odd little book, with nameless characters and a drifting, mysterious plot, containing many unanswered questions and an over-riding sense of suspension, as if it's all some kind of weird dream. The structure of the first section is unusual - the first seven chapters go steadily backwards in time, as a series of characters relate their part of the tale to others coming along later. Then, thirteen more chapters track forwards again to the novel's starting point, after which the main plotline of the gunslinger's pursuit of the man in black across the desert is interspersed with fascinating flashbacks to his childhood.
I find it particularly interesting that the two main characters (hunter and hunted) are the ones who are not named - the gunslinger's name is revealed as Roland on page 95 and is used during the flashbacks, but his 'gunslinger' identifier continues to be much stronger.
What is revealed about the world of the book is quite mystifying - the character populating it know things like Beatles songs, and the boy Jake has clearly been transported there from 20th century New York, but the actual setting is more like the Wild West than anything else.
The world has moved on. Something is awry with time. Answers can perhaps be found at the Tower.
I don't know if my interpretation of the book would be helped by a greater knowledge of Browning's Childe Roland poem, but I'm certain I missed many nuances and layers of significance. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to carry on with the series (the next three books each get longer by at least 200 pages), but this made for an intriguing opening.
Heaven's Net Is Wide by Lian Hearn
This was my latest audiobook, set in a world similar to feudal Japan and dealing with questions of honour and loyalty amidst warring families. It followed Otori Shigeru, heir to one of the country's most influential families, who is forced to give up the way of the sword when defeated in battle, and spends years plotting his revenge while presenting himself as a downtrodden farmer without even enough honour to kill himself.
It's an intricate tale of betrayal, secrets, complex relationships and political manoeuvring, portraying a richly detailed and fascinating society.
Heaven's Net is actually a prequel, written after the Otori trilogy, but set before it, so it seemed like a good place to start - and I'll definitely be reading the rest of the story, as the most interesting character (the protagonist of the trilogy) has only just appeared and there's a lot more to tell.
Poles Apart
On Wednesday, I went to see Showstopper! The Improvised Musical for a fourth time. It still hasn't topped the first one I saw, but Wednesday's tale of an ex-policeman eradicating crime in Brooklyn via the medium of poledancing was suitably ridiculous and as impressive as ever.
Top moments - Martha's two-minute monologue about how life is like a straw ("there's always a little puddle of something you've missed") and the classic song, "Statistically". Genius.
