tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68135639847762635932024-02-18T20:39:00.747-05:00Rawr ReaderNicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-88959773925337448762023-02-19T00:28:00.002-05:002023-02-19T00:28:27.918-05:00Our Wives Under the Sea Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Six books in seven weeks. I don't care, I'm so proud of myself. My Reading Goals for this year? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">ON. A. ROLL.<br />Can I just say I wasn't expecting to write another review so soon. I was very comfortable with the idea of waiting till March to write the next one, but this book blew me away and I felt like I had to share this beauty with any and everyone, even if it was only in passing or by chance.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i>Our Wives Under the Sea </i>by Julia Armfield is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58659343-our-wives-under-the-sea">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><br /><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: georgia;"><br /><i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9i7PIpeCkXHBe9h8IDHOCEiOuF6QgSoxmGSqNuiVGeh2bLpRdL6HqaD2xW_I2VcS0jfrNP_wtD23LHtNB-QuPANbzTtAesvQQBORxMyxkSjM1tR4WMqQX16n8PfCK4SXllHl5yDtzMIfIMnREccuty-srdOrF4PZNFQ_eqYrz9qM_zHhupWJeignc/s3921/DSC05506c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3921" data-original-width="2673" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9i7PIpeCkXHBe9h8IDHOCEiOuF6QgSoxmGSqNuiVGeh2bLpRdL6HqaD2xW_I2VcS0jfrNP_wtD23LHtNB-QuPANbzTtAesvQQBORxMyxkSjM1tR4WMqQX16n8PfCK4SXllHl5yDtzMIfIMnREccuty-srdOrF4PZNFQ_eqYrz9qM_zHhupWJeignc/s320/DSC05506c.jpg" width="218" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhALYHBI373I73eT9z5yW1wSyRdoqoJLlUFWoSvoylvNVe584dx9XwPkd-PXUL3-XdodA2nTyk2Wrk5PydY3uPSzzhAc02vk-j0Tuj9LOIKWFg8vtN41WeEkSn9U-LTv7FRwIh1VYkIjU82_tgyGaAWVN-1hDaZ57MiSr1WJQDKD_3JQNFxpor3e2Ec/s4672/DSC05509b2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><i>Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep-sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah is not the same. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has brought part of it back with her, onto dry land and into their home.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Moving through something that only resembles normal life, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had before might be gone. Though Leah is still there, Miri can feel the woman she loves slipping from her grasp.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Our Wives Under The Sea is the debut novel from Julia Armfield, the critically acclaimed author of salt slow. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep deep sea.</i></div></i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This is one of four books I borrowed from the library and I can tell you I was pretty certain I would like this the least out of the four. I've yet to read two of them, but simply based off synopsis alone, I had it in mind I would read this for an easy quick read to add to my reading goal of the year </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">since it's only 200-something pages</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Suffice it to say, I am disappointed in myself. Don't judge a book off its cover and don't judge a book until you've finished it. (Putting aside books you can't get into after 50 pages, a chapter, or even the first page. Hey, if you don't like a book, you DON'T like it, and <u>THAT'S FINE</u><i style="text-decoration-line: underline;">.</i>) I liked the beginning of <i>Our Wives Under the Sea</i>, thought the author's writing was lovely, but in these truncated glimpses into our protagonists lives I found myself spellbound. The language between the two wives is used with such delicacy that you know beyond all that exists and moves in this chaotic and uncontrollable world, there is love. It can be rooted and anchored into us. It can also be what helps us stay afloat amongst the confusion, the noise of the world, the silence, and the worst of it all: the emptiness.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Leah's return from her research trip shatters Miri's newfound routine of life without her wife. It wasn't merely Leah's absence from her life that required her to reconfigure. Leah's return had been months after her initial return date. What should be a miracle shows itself to be something more than Miri could have ever expected. Miri has to adapt to this new Leah all the while still remain faithful and in love with this woman who's returned. Clinging on to this love</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">which seems to be drifting away after it had purportedly drifted months before</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is not Miri's challenge, it's her life purpose.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It makes the novel seem to float. In essence, this isn't a jam-packed action horror flick. I went into reading being forewarned by tags (and misconceptions) that this would incorporate more horror. (I didn't check out other people's reviews until I read it so that's partially on me.) It's definitely more character study on loss and love than Boo-From-Behind-the-Curtain scary. More magical realism, bending reality and the unknown. So if literary is less your thing, you'll definitely think this book is slow. Not bad, just slow</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—even with its vignette chapters.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> For most of the novel I enjoyed Leah's chapters more. Not only did they deal with the "intrigue" of the research trip and insight into why Leah returns to Miri the way she does, but there was suspense which compensated for the lack of horror I'd been expecting. However the consistency of Miri's devotion made me fall in love with her character and appreciate her much more than in the beginning. The condition in which Leah returns is unexplainable, yet I think that's what all married and committed people would want from their partner: steady reliable love that will be there to lead us home when we've become a bit lost. Miri's chapters grew on me by the end and together, it made their love story one for the ages. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Armfield credits Rachel Carson's <i>The Sea Around Us</i> at the end and I will say I felt that appreciation of power, mystery, diversity, and scope of the ocean Carson describes in lyrical detail also reflected in Armfield's prose.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">~ ~ I finished reading listening to "So Small" by Thomas Bergersen and I did everything I could to not be a vessel of tears ~ ~</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>I used to imagine the sea as something that seethed and then quieted, a froth of activity tapering down into the dark and still. I know now that this isn't how it goes, that things beneath the surface are what have to move and change to cause the chain reaction higher up.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>*</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>I remember thinking that the first things had come from the water, which didn't account for the things that had chosen to stay behind.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: left;">—Julia Armfield, <i>Our Wives Under the Sea</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">TBD</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would love to further explore who this Centre is. It didn't really occur to me to suspect their involvement until near the end even though Armfield left clues in both character's chapters throughout. When sketchier and sketchier things kept happening I wanted to smack my forehead. Who are these people? What had they discovered before? How did they snatch up Leah and Matteo who we know had worked together before</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—who I feel like were both intuitive enough to research who these people were before going in a vehicle that is only one of its kind into one of the most remote areas on earth. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Once Miri discovered Leah's skin condition I knew she would need to go back. I love how Miri exhausted her alternatives. She tried everything she could to help her wife and when she realized Leah needed peace, not a fix to what was happening, she gave that to her. She tried making Leah comfortable every step of the way. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">And in a way Leah was holding on too.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> She wanted Miri to have the closure she needed to losing her wife. She endured therapy and walking and dry land and all of it so Miri could come to terms. And I love how that is mirrored in Leah's chapters in that even tens of thousands of feet below the sea, she was anchored by her love for Miri.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Ahh, true love. I'm a sucker for it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Speaking of Leah, when she was in the submarine with Matteo and Jelka and they kept hearing-but-not-hearing sounds, I got total Doctor Who "Midnight" (episode 4x10) vibes, which mirrors stranded people hearing ominous sounds outside of their transport vehicle and people beginning to turn on each other/lose their minds. One of my favorite Doctor Who episodes. If you enjoyed this book and you want a bit more horror</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—check it out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would have liked a more substantial answer to what the burning smell was. I don't know if it has to do with marine geology or a metaphor for something like their descent into madness, but considering something does come out by the end it seems too easy to associate it with that. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Confession: part of me believed for a little while Leah's POV chapters might have been the residuals of them if the submarine had exploded when it reached the bottom. Leah, Matteo, and Jelka were somehow ghosts?? and in some form of purgatory where they reached the sea floor and survived in the submarine. (But that seems way too supernatural/outlandish for this short novel and in a way, out of genre, even though it has a bit of magical realism.) Oh, and when the submarine began its slow, soft descent</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">which was what the vehicle had been programmed to do when all system functions operated normally, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I attributed it to the sea creature being the cause. (Obviously in reality it was the Centre's doing, some form of </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Cabin in the Woods</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> surveillance intervention, but the whole it's completely black outside the vessel and there's burning smells and random sounds made it seem like there <i>had</i> to be a sea creature involved.) In my mind the sea creature was just a continuation of this purgatory. Why Jelka got out first? I want to attribute that to her faith. It was more fervent than Leah's faith. So she "escaped" the submarine first? And Leah loved Miri more than she had faith in her religion which is why she was able to return to land to bring peace to her loved ones.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What's wonderful about this novel is I can be completely out of left field, but because this novel was structured the way it is, it leaves readers to make their own assumptions. It's dangerous, but could this all be in Miri's mind as her own defense mechanism to accept Leah's absence? I don't think it's that trope (this novel is just too beautiful to all be a trope) however there are enough holes I <i>could</i> make that theory. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I borrowed this from my library but I'm going to have to buy this so I can reread this over and over and decide on an answer. I'll mark up and note different parts of the book and connect clues and make my book the novel interpretation of that conspiracy theory guy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. Sorry for all the ocean puns. They just fit so well~</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-22025273719211097652023-02-12T23:48:00.003-05:002023-02-17T18:28:27.407-05:00Night Film Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Well I'm a little behind. I finished this days ago.<br />I'm determined to actually hit my reading goal this year and while I'm not leading the packs in books read so far (how have people already like 10, 15, 20 books only seven weeks into the new year??) this is my third book and I'm so proud. Especially since they've all been pretty lengthy reads. I've owned this book for two years but it's been on my To Read pile for eight . . .<br /><i>Sooo </i>unlike me.<br />>__><br />I went to my local library last weekend and picked up 4 books, then a few days later I got an ebook I've had on hold for five months also from the library, so I was extra motivated to finish this one quickly. This 600 page tome offers a lot, so let's get into it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>Night Film</i> by Marisha Pessl is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10112885-night-film">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-TMvCN2h3OnK9sJoUCckue_gnYdgbUYozQPnHTAR0zzO5XfXFULx8pdmL_lDw90F467DbtCT2ZB9LQAwWqTX4UVsqIy25-_aRdXlbYI20RLqDloSUYxOuQ19j6JNlVJyZHbnOpfL_L415lucsIjVRn8PLknQ4EY9LNJ35zWVjN-uSXdV8Bi6Er4q0/s5922/DSC05218c1.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><span style="color: #e06666;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IwMd-z02Aviypx67OI2S8mXWSLGu5wtCNaAsnXpGY-xzCOzzSExuWj33fbCBwOcM5jiq2lcyXPhW0ldbdIys9VPsA5l4pDYSF_iXBw0xSPoHv5Ygl1UvnRL7CWLzhzNe29_FU56hjzDKHueJW3KAVT7HoeoEQTlnKUkpNlksvted6GhgBZbl7rvv/s5922/DSC05218c1c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IwMd-z02Aviypx67OI2S8mXWSLGu5wtCNaAsnXpGY-xzCOzzSExuWj33fbCBwOcM5jiq2lcyXPhW0ldbdIys9VPsA5l4pDYSF_iXBw0xSPoHv5Ygl1UvnRL7CWLzhzNe29_FU56hjzDKHueJW3KAVT7HoeoEQTlnKUkpNlksvted6GhgBZbl7rvv/s5922/DSC05218c1c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5922" data-original-width="3949" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_IwMd-z02Aviypx67OI2S8mXWSLGu5wtCNaAsnXpGY-xzCOzzSExuWj33fbCBwOcM5jiq2lcyXPhW0ldbdIys9VPsA5l4pDYSF_iXBw0xSPoHv5Ygl1UvnRL7CWLzhzNe29_FU56hjzDKHueJW3KAVT7HoeoEQTlnKUkpNlksvted6GhgBZbl7rvv/s320/DSC05218c1c.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><i><br /></i></span></div>On a damp October night, 24-year-old Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. Though her death is ruled a suicide, veteran investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. As he probes the strange circumstances surrounding Ashley's life and death, McGrath comes face-to-face with the legacy of her father: the legendary, reclusive cult-horror film director Stanislaus Cordova</i></span><i style="color: #e06666;"><span>—</span></i><span style="color: #e06666;">a man who hasn't been seen in public for more than thirty years.</span></div></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova's dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e06666;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;">Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova's eerie, hypnotic world. The </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;"> last </span></i><i><span style="color: #e06666;">time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;"> lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #e06666;"> even more.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></i><div style="text-align: center;">Review:</div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'm going to lead with the biggest takeaway: try to go into <i>Night Film </i>as blind as possible. <br /> And I'm going to restrain myself from comparing this to <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House </span>of Leaves </i>by Mark Z. Danielewski as much as I can because 1) that is one of my favorite novels of all time and 2) there are a few similarities that I couldn't help making.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'd like to say <i>Night Film</i> reminds me a bit of Citizen Kane, Agatha Christie, Hitchcock, and Shutter Island, and any great psychological thriller. You're always expecting another twist to be thrown into the hay ride. The novel is long so there will be a lot of questions and misdirections but there is such reward in it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The prologue immediately pulls you in, from the writing to the suspense to the [dark under]world[-building]. I marked quotes I knew I wanted to use for this review and man, I couldn't narrow it down so check out more of my favorite quotes below the spoilers at the bottom.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Ashley Cordova's death is the Third-Act-That's-Really-The-First-Act explosion (our catalyst), but it's her father Stanislas Cordova who's the trail of gasoline that drives the plot to the explosion. It's less getting to the end but peeling off the layers and uncovering the bodies buried in the closet. Our protagonist Scott McGrath was once a renowned journalist who's life went spinning after "discovering a story" on the enigmatic filmmaker several years prior. Right off the bat, we want to know <i>why</i> Ashley is dead. Was it really suicide, which was what the coroner rules her death as, or was it something more menacing? McGrath believes there are more nefarious powers at work and he is aided by two others who may or may not have their own agendas and their own ties to the mysterious solitary beauty.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One quick note I <i>have</i> to mention related to <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i> that makes <i>Night Film </i>more compelling is that Pessl incorporates a myriad of other mediums to unravel the mystery, from: newspaper clippings, online forum posts, photographs, website articles, and more. It makes the investigation more immersive placing you right there with McGrath and his two acquaintances as they ruffle through data and try to find interlinking clues. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The search for answers is a treasure hunt. A treasure hunt except there isn't a gleaming chest of treasure at the end, but darker, more sinister questions and answers waiting for you that might put our freelance detectives in danger. And reveal truths that might have better been left unknown. All the while, we want to know more, we <i>need</i> to know more about Stanislas Cordova. The further you go, the further into the rabbit hole you fall.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> His oeuvre of films is mentioned often and revisited as clues appear and conspiracies become coincidences . . . or intentional red herrings?? (Are you intrigued yet? hehe) Seriously one of the strengths of the novel is the strong incorporation of film and how alluring and powerful art can be to people. It's an outlet, but it's also expression</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">for some people how they cope with and understand the world</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">and if done well can forge a bond between creator and audience that spans time and space and culture. The people who enjoy and cherish, idolize and adulate Cordova's works are known as Cordovites, and the way Pessl writes them make them as real and fleshed out as the individual characters. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Down Alice's rabbit hole one feels like it never ends which</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—in terms of suspense</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—is fantastic, however in <i>Night Film</i> it was my only complaint (which is hard to find because this novel is seriously worth the hefty tome.) It's 600 pages and it maybe could have been shortened 100 pages. Again, a personal complaint, however a small one. One I had to <i>look</i> for and one you only feel closer to the end. The first half to first three-quarters is solid What-Is-Happening, Holy-Crap-This-Family-Is-Insane, What's-Gonna-Happen-Next-I-Can-Definitely-Read-For-Another-Hour-Who-Needs-Sleep suspense.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I've been dipping my toes more into horror and suspense (and recently falling in love with nonfiction) in terms of movies and books and the more I explore and discover the more I begin to really love these genres. I've *mostly* been a fantasy/historical fiction reader but it goes to show there is so much fantastic content out there if you're willing to give it a chance.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>Night Film</i> would make such a great movie but I could understand budget-wise why that would be difficult (even covering a handful of all of Cordova's films on top of all the settings McGrath visits would likely make this movie flop if the direction, writing, and acting weren't on point). A psychological thriller covering art and film in a more-or-less contemporary New York with a large array of strange characters, c'mon that sounds like a total blockbuster right? (Side note: my wish is ironic since Cordova stands for the literal opposite.) </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> An added bonus is the author has "interactive elements" in the back where you can discover Easter Eggs through the illustrations including images and audio. I haven't checked it out yet, but isn't it lovely when authors and publishers go above and beyond for their readers. :)<br />This reminds of Carlos Ruiz Zaf</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">ón ((RIP)) who created music to go along with his Cemetery of Forgotten Books series.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The end though. Man, oh man, the end. It leaves you with chills. <i>Night Film</i> is joining the shelf of books I'll never be able to stop thinking about.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> All I can say is I wish I could watch a Cordova film. Haunt me, oh mighty ghost!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quotes:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">This is a summons to those watching to break out of your locked room, real or imagined."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">I love to put my characters in the dark. It's only then that I can see exactly who they are.</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">I will show you fear in a handful of dust</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">—</span><i style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">Night Film</i><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">, Marisha Pessl</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(for more goosebumps quotes, check below the spoilers~)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Our Wives Under the Sea</i> by Julia Armfield</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I definitely looked for Cordova everywhere. For most of the novel, I thought Scott's friend Beckman was Cordova. I mean, he had the knowledge. Yeahh I guess that wasn't much to go on. I love throwing wild theories out there. I'm always wrong. But time and time again, I waited for the man himself to pop up. Oh what foolish thoughts. The novel is stronger for it not being that way.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A mystery that wasn't quite solved but I guess technically was was the true identity of the caller (John) that notified McGrath in the beginning. Inez said it was someone, likely Cordova, who made the call, but I feel like I need to know who it was exactly. Cut and dry. A part of me wants to believe it was Ashley, although it being Cordova makes so much sense. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Oh another issue I had while reading was how every person was so open to share with McGrath and crew. Like everyone they met was almost more than eager to share. Pessl explained it somewhere near the end but I can't remember where, all I remember thinking was, "oh you know? so it's okay now?" Inez eventually admitted to paying everyone off which makes them disappear</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'd like to know Genevieve Wilson's connection to Ashley. She pops in and out of the story I would have forgotten about her if I hadn't made a list of names as I read. Had she tried to bribe her? Did Genevieve know Devold might fall for Ashley? My best guess is Pessl needed to connect Devold to Briarwood but it felt the most contrived out of every (convenient) revelation shared with McGrath.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Why did Olivia reach out to McGrath all of a sudden? Again another ambiguous tie that seemed manufactured. It felt more plot hole than plot bridge. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What was in the pool at The Peak? There had to have been some poisonous plants growing there right?? The entire part at the Peak I felt could have been condensed. It was one of the parts of the story that felt like it'd never end. It was great at first, but then it felt like it needed to be long because it was <i><u>The Peak</u></i>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Speaking of, the missing persons by The Peak?? I mean not to fall for the duck test rhetoric and reasoning but if it looks like a duck and acts like a duck . . . </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Another mystery (but man do I not mind it remaining a mystery): Rachel Dempsey, the actress who went missing in Nepal who had a phone that turned on in Chile, what was her connection to the Cordovas? Or should I say which connection did she have? Was she in Chile for Stan or Theo? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'd like to know why Inez stayed in New York? Why Ashley was put in the Briarwood Institution considering the truth. I don't know if I read over the explanation or it just takes another reread to pick up the little clues because I felt this book jumped around <i>a lot</i> in terms of timing and mental state of characters. And why did Astrid Goncourt, Stan's third wife dip so quickly after Ashley's death? Actually you know what, backtrack, where was Ashley and Astrid staying if not The Peak? And Stan, how long had he been gone? The end took so long to get to but Inez deux ex machina of plot tie-ups felt rushed and not explained enough for missing timelines and sensible character whereabouts.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The truth about Ashley feels obvious. The allure of Stan disillusions you as the reader, you <i>want</i> the macabre, you <i>want</i> the supernatural to be the reason, however at the same time, it also felt like a cop out considering all of the strange things that happen. If that was Pessl's aim, then I guess she achieved that. Like a good psychological movie, I think I'll need to reread this to understand and pick up on the clues throughout.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Oh, reading that is mind-boggling but fun. Books are the best aren't they? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>I am half agony, half </i>enamored<i>.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Extra</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quotes Continued:</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(all quotes below are from <i>Night Film </i>by Marisha Pessl)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>Everyone has a Cordova story, whether they like it or not.</i>"</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>He's underground, looming unseen in the corners of the dark. He's down under the railway bridge in the river with all the missing evidence, and the answers that will never see the light of day."</i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>It was always surprising to me how ferociously the public mourned a beautiful stranger</i></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>—</i></span><i style="font-family: georgia;">specially one from a famous family. Into that empty form they could unload the grief and regret of their own lives, be rid of it, feel lucky and light for a few days, comforted by the thoughts, </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">At least that wasn't me."</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-"<i>What about occult worship in the city? How prevalent is it?</i>"</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-"<i>Does worshipping money count as occult?</i>"</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>It was all human in his eyes and thus worthy of inquiry, of examining from all sides.</i>"</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">***</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>Time to let the vines take over</i>."</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">***</div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>. . . I couldn't help but wonder if someday someone might track them down and show them my photo as I'd showed Ashley's</i>."</span></div></span></div></span></div><br /><div><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-14849648160687866742023-01-18T13:20:00.003-05:002023-02-12T17:39:29.126-05:00Sharks in the Time of Saviors Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I think I blinked. Where did 2022 go? I hope it had fared well with you. I want to get back on my review game because I did *checks notes</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">eek!* 3 reviews last year. Hehehe, suffice it to say my reading goal total for 2022 also underperformed. New Year, New Me, right?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>Sharks in the Time of Saviors</i> by Kawai Strong Washburn is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45892255-sharks-in-the-time-of-saviors">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">In 1995 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, on a rare family vacation, seven-year-old Nainoa Flores falls overboard a cruise ship into the Pacific Ocean. When a shiver of sharks appears in the water, everyone fears for the worst. But instead, Noa is gingerly delivered to his mother in the jaws of a shark, marking his story as the stuff of legends.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1qP-2RwZIEiH-jrR8sRvqirD39cM1ohaySaa1huDDUxRjJCgw5hjjVBJrgEi8tgSPl23EhK7Rofa12BlrASqpRuVY3EKW2ycobicVtjd0Dbcb7wavITQrwwtlJNwHHCcljNvs0B1F1e9YkNjFK_8a3xmfWtRL8kNVxA38qtRnU2pXbUrkLfrubUS/s7008/DSC04862b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7008" data-original-width="4672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1qP-2RwZIEiH-jrR8sRvqirD39cM1ohaySaa1huDDUxRjJCgw5hjjVBJrgEi8tgSPl23EhK7Rofa12BlrASqpRuVY3EKW2ycobicVtjd0Dbcb7wavITQrwwtlJNwHHCcljNvs0B1F1e9YkNjFK_8a3xmfWtRL8kNVxA38qtRnU2pXbUrkLfrubUS/s320/DSC04862b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">Nainoa's family, struggling amidst the collapse of the sugarcane industry, hails his rescue as a sign of favor from ancient Hawaiian gods - a belief that appears validated after he exhibits puzzling new abilities. But as time passes, this supposed divine favor begins to drive the family apart: Nainoa, working now as a paramedic on the streets of Portland, struggles to fathom the full measure of his expanding abilities; further north in Washington, his older brother Dean hurtles into the world of elite college athletics, obsessed with wealth and fame; while in California, risk-obsessed younger sister Kaui navigates an unforgiving academic workload in an attempt to forge her independence from the family's legacy.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">When supernatural events revisit the Flores family in Hawaii - with tragic consequences - they are all forced to reckon with the bonds of family, the meaning of heritage, and the cost of survival.</span></i></div></span><br /></i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Firstly, can we take a moment to gush over this title? Author, editor, whoever came up with this</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—thank you. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it was the author, every page in this novel is pure art. Washburn is the sort of writer that by the time you finish reading the first sentence you know you're going to be in good hands.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Since we're in the area, I'd like to start off with the writing. I mentioned the first sentence because I think for myself, and for a number of avid readers, a first sentence if not a first page gives incredible insight into what the rest of the book will be like. Beginnings are hard. Many writers know this. Which makes it even more satisfying when the pages that follow continue to blow you away. I called the words art, and Washburn is a true artist. What's promising is this is his first novel. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for him. (Check out two of my favorite passages below in the Quote section.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> His writing pulls an even further punch by the care he takes when writing in multiple voices, switching from one POV to the next like skipping a stream. Dean, Kaui, Nainoa, Malia (the mothers), and Augie (the father) all form thoughts and speech different from one another, and because of their unique voice when jumping between Hawaii to Washington to Oregon, etc, I immediately placed myself with the character. There is also another voice. I won't dive into who or what it is, but it's something Washburn created to transcend one place and one person. This addition made the story richer and more riveting and I want to leave you with as little as possible so you can discover it for yourself.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">In technical aspects, this novel is almost perfect. Why then, might you ask, did I give this such a low rating? Well, it comes down to my personal preference and particular interest. The writing it beautiful, the characters are beautiful, but the pacing of the plot itself would drag in parts, and there were a few days I had absolutely no interest in picking it up. I was tempted to drop it altogether and it got me into a short-lived reading slump. Books that do that to me are not likely to be rated high. (To be fair, books that I have rated 4 stars on this blog or in my Goodreads I look back fondly and regard as favorites and would highly recommend them.) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> At its core, </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">SitToS </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">is about a family who struggle to find their own ways to survive from the struggles of the outside world and from the dynamics of their household.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Every character was treated with respect and given the virtues and vices normally only one or two characters would be given in a novel</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—implementing First Person POV being the most beneficial</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">. You see the relationships between the parents and the kids, between the siblings themselves, and the kids and friends, and all of these relationships felt derivative of a real person. All of the characters wanted something to prove yet wanted to be enough. It's heartbreaking when people who are loved can feel unloved, undervalued. It made each of the kids' journeys feel something anyone would want to root for.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> There are themes Washburn explores: identity, poverty, survival, and others. They are the feathers that allow this bird to fly. This is a coming-of-age story, but on another level, coming-to-acceptance story. All of our characters grapple with how they can move on from the shark rescue, remain true to their Hawaiian culture, while also survive in a twentieth century and twenty-first century Hawaii (and America).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now not to discourage you, but I would have to say the beginning, the catalyst of the novel, is my favorite part of the entire book. Arguably, that scene might be in my top favorite literary scenes of all time. There was something profound in the images you picture when reading Nainoa's unbelievable shark rescue. I had chills. This moment and many moments following alluded to magical realism, drawing from Hawaiian mythology, yet it never scared away from placing these characters with real-world, everyday, relatable human problems. Nainoa's rescue wouldn't have happened in real life. It's a spectacle, but more than anything, it's nothing short of a miracle. However this living miracle and the events that follow are studied and inspected for the rest of the novel by the multiple points of view, with the multiple understandings that each member of the family walk away with.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What is a miracle in one person's eyes can be a bane to another. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Move aside Jaws, <i>Sharks in the Time of Saviors</i> trumps you in best fictional shark encounter.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 3.5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(Ratings aside, I would highly recommend this. Down the road I would definitely be open to rereading.)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>Like he was back out in the ocean among the sharks, bobbing alone. I could see him there, the waves and tides and gods dragging him around. But I'm in the water, too, I wanted to say. And there are plenty eyes on you. No one's watching to see if I stay afloat.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>When our language, '</i></span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: start;"><i>Ōlelo Hawai'i, was outlawed, so our gods went, so prayers went, so ideas went, so the island went.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: start;">—Kawai Strong Washburn, <i>Sharks in the Time of Saviors</i></span></div><div style="text-align: start;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Night Film</i> by Marisha Pessl</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I don't know if it's just me, but I was on the verge of tearing when Dean pushed Kaui out of the car so the cops would pull him and him alone over. Big brother love. I don't have a brother, but man if I did I would only hope they would do that for me. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would really like to discuss the climax of the book: Noa's death. In part, I shouldn't have been surprised it was going to happen. A man with miracle hands living to a ripe old age in literature seems as unlikely as a boy being saved by a shark. Better for this novel to be classified as fantasy. However I think the most grabbing quality of his death was for the fact that it seemed undramatic. I have no doubt it likely was done with that exact intention. His survival was miraculous, yet his death was far from it. It was done alone, in pain/not in pain(?), unknown for weeks, and the act was something that could happen to anyone. I think it will take a reread, but I would really like to grab the consistency of his powers? Why did it work at times and other times it didn't? It wasn't linked to affection or desire, yet it wasn't entirely to luck/chance and it wasn't exclusive to humans/animals. Was it like God, meant to service life, give and take life as a whole fairly with no bias? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And there was no bias in Noa's eyes. We see it in the pregnant woman's death as it unraveled Noa. It was the reason he returned home. Sought sanctuary, enlightenment, freedom from responsibility or possibly even caring? I can't imagine what someone who believed himself to possess godlike powers yet the compassion a god doesn't possess for humankind, and failing when he felt that with strong conviction, with adamant resolve that he could not. All the more tragic that he would slip back into folds of the ocean without a whimper, without a person to comfort him or even be thinking of him when he was his most lonely. People dying alone and without the comfort of anyone knowing where you are is high up on saddest deaths in fiction. Washburn treated the Flores siblings so beautifully . . . man why didn't give this book 4 stars?!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-78801864173547840332022-11-22T23:57:00.005-05:002023-01-15T22:06:28.595-05:00Fire and Blood Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Woah, where has the time gone? It's been five months! Hi! Hello! It is me. I am back.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have had a very love-hate relationship with this book. I was interested in reading this a couple years ago</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">not long after it was released, but dropped it because I found it boring. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">BUT THEN they decided to make a prequel on HBO and while I have a very strong opinion of how Game of Thrones (the TV series) ended</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">because who didn't</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I gave it a chance despite my better judgment and man oh man, I missed Westeros (GRRM Westeros, not so much Benioff and Weiss Westeros).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I decided to give </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Fire and Blood</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> another shot and long story short (impossible with GRRM... ((~but we love it~)) ), WHAT. A. TREAT.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Due to the surfeit of names and convenience of a quick search in an ebook, I read this both both in physical form and through Kindle, which is a first time for me but something I felt was necessary and I would recommend to others. (Along with reading with a map of Westeros open. It really helps you ground yourself as the characters travel.)</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. Please don't ask me how many times I borrowed the ebook from the library.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">>__></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Without further ado, let's jump in!<br /><br />The synopsis of<i> Fire and Blood</i> is provided by trusty <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60353773-fire-blood">Goodreads</a> (by the way, anyone else not totally loving this partially renovated Goodreads?):</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen--the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria--took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire & </span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"> Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the </span></span></i><i><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoMxXXli4MutCZSezOABi9ykZ4fgBKEypdKBFRemXjQdWBUgz9FdyFvINrON0zltgsOolgbC5TJPMroGfU52GZsD9zTjmmaZD0iOwUVX8n2U_CvsCW_y3UzHVdta-yVI0g9c5vzee4h_Iyub5SN4OQKJPl61xmnRgdoWNo7kJVqFNRUTTMj2IGTnp/s6155/095%20-%20Fire%20and%20Blood%20-%20George%20RR%20Martin%20-%20DSC04623c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="6155" data-original-width="4103" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoMxXXli4MutCZSezOABi9ykZ4fgBKEypdKBFRemXjQdWBUgz9FdyFvINrON0zltgsOolgbC5TJPMroGfU52GZsD9zTjmmaZD0iOwUVX8n2U_CvsCW_y3UzHVdta-yVI0g9c5vzee4h_Iyub5SN4OQKJPl61xmnRgdoWNo7kJVqFNRUTTMj2IGTnp/s320/095%20-%20Fire%20and%20Blood%20-%20George%20RR%20Martin%20-%20DSC04623c.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart.</span></span></i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why was it so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What were Maegor the Cruel's worst crimes? What was it like in Westeros when dragons ruled the skies? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty-five black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley--including five illustrations exclusive to the trade paperback edition. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed.</span></span></i></div><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire & Blood is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.</span></span></i></div></span></span></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Publishers announced we would be receiving another George R.R. Martin masterpiece. <br /> Could it be?... Book Six in the coveted and acclaimed <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> series?!?!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> No. Hahahaaa we got you!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It will instead take place nearly 300 years before the events of <i>A Game of Thrones. </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i> </i>Yes, I was as beguiled then dismayed as the rest of the world. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And it's insane when I realize, I haven't done a review about Westeros since <i><a href="https://rawrreader.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-storm-of-swords-book-review.html">A Storm of Swords</a></i> back in 2013, nearly TEN years ago. Time is a-flying~~</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>Fire and Blood</i> stretches back 300 years before <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> begins so it's safe to say there will be a lot of ground to cover, beginning with six generations <i>before</i> Aegon the Conqueror. While not an extensive history, Martin offers readers the Targaryen genealogy as far back as twelve years before the mystical migration from Valyria to Dragonstone (roughly 130 BC</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—Before the Conquest</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This is only a warm-up to the events that follow. <i>Fire and Blood</i> documents the Targaryens as they fight to establish and secure their rule over the "Seven" Kingdoms of Westeros. They often clash with the great and smaller Houses of Westeros as they are tested time and time again to their right to rule. Not only for politics, they also fight religious sects and foreign threats and epidemics. Over the generations we'll meet Houses from as far north as the Wall to down near the Arbor in the southwest corner. Those familiar with Westeros will revisit or learn about how the Kingsroad was formed, how certain castles on the Wall were given their names and had been constructed, and of course, the creation of the Dragonpit and the capital city: King's Landing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now this is a major factor which I have seen be its greatest strength or its greatest weakness. This novel reads as a history text, with wars and battles and celebrations and births and deaths galore. And plenty . . . <i>plenty </i>of characters to make this world feel larger than the book. I've seen many reviews where this is a deal breaker or where the heart of the story is completely sapped out because of the fact. But don't be dismayed, in true Martin fashion, there are still scandals, assassinations, kidnappings, murders, and tragedies that strike out the very names we become attached to. While I wrote down the names as I was introduced to a new character, Martin often explains who is who and how they're related to someone else in the text. Additionally, the format of the novel doesn't detract from the humor and wit of our scribes, who detail and source their accounts from others who directly or indirectly witnessed the events. But what is history but the stories that have been approved by the ruling country and its governments? Here we are met with unreliable sources and even with accounts being openly ambiguous and met with much debate. One of my favorite aspects of this tale was the fact that there were times people disappeared and there was never an answer given as to why, or deaths occurred and it was unclear if it had been one factor or another.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> All of this done with the magic of Martin's mastery of storytelling. In 700 pages, I rarely found myself unable to stay hooked to the saga, which stops about 150 years after Aegon's Conquest (shortly after the infamous Dance of Dragons</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a pivotal point in Westerosi history for the Targaryen House and name). </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Fire and Blood</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is only the first part to their story in Westeros, with the second unpublished part I believe meant to fill in the gaps between the Dance of Dragons up until Robert's Rebellion, roughly another 150 years later. (I would love to read more about Aemon Targaryen, the last known Targaryen in Westeros at the start of <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i>).</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> If you can commit to reading a gripping story, then the pages will fly. It took me over a month, a bit longer than normal to read a GRRM novel, since I enjoyed making a Targaryen family tree along with the list of names, but you could easily read this in a few days or a few weeks, depending on your reading speed rate and free time. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Upon completing <i>Fire and Blood</i> (the first season of HBO'S <i>House of the Dragon</i> has already been finished for about a month), and I can tell you episodes 1-10</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">the amount of pages in the book that that time period covers</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is about 10-20 pages. When I caught up with where the season ended, I laughed. It's insane, although entirely necessary, for the showrunners to have filled in much of the plotlines</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—with even the major time jumps between episodes not making much of a dent in the book. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's a given there will be differences from the book to the show, with certain people and events occurring differently than in the text, but something I really appreciated from the show was its illumination of ambiguities in the text, ambiguities due to complete mystery or different accounts contradicting the same event. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm not sure where the show will decide to end</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—strictly following the Dance of the Dragons or going all the way to Robert's Rebellion (unlikely but I'd still watch it), however regardless, the show has <i>plenty</i> to work off of.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now this is Westeros so there are dragons. And dragons in their peak in Westerosi history. We meet Balerion and Vhagar and Vermithor and Caraxes, along with many minor dragons I'm sure we'll meet soon in the show: Sheepstealer, Stormcloud, Silverwing and more. Dragons are what made the Targaryens the rulers of Westeros. They are as colorful and charismatic and temperamental as their riders. They also serve as red herrings and surprises as their human counterparts. But, I warn you now, don't get too attached. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I won't reveal any spoilers, but because one of the things I love about Martin are the people he gives life to, I will list a few of my favorite characters to look out for, for good or for bad:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Elissa Farman</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Aegon I Targaryen, Aegon the Conqueror</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Corlys Velaryon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Racallio Ryndoon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Aerea Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Benjicot Blackwood</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Alyn Velaryon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This list could have another twenty names. These are just <i>some</i> of my favorites. There are plenty others I enjoyed reading about and following on their adventures. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Safe to say, I have little to nothing to complain about of <i>Fire and Blood. </i>Only that I now need to wait for <i>another</i> GRRM series to be completed.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;">"The world is like that— incomprehensible and full of surprises."</div><div style="text-align: center;">—Jorge Amado</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636?ref=nav_profile_l</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read: </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Sharks in the Time of Saviors</i> by Kawai Strong Washburn</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Can I start off by saying I wrote down <i>another</i> list while reading, the list of unanswered mysteries of Westeros, and I ended with about 22 questions GRRM didn't or couldn't answer. Some of my top questions: What was in the letter that the Dornish Prince Nymor sent to Aegon I? Where did Aerea Targaryen go with Balerion for a year? Who killed the Rogares brothers a day apart from one another, across the sea from one another? <i>Was that </i>Elissa Farman's ship Corlys Velaryon saw in Asshai?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I think that last one is one I feel if given the chance, I'd ask GRRM to answer for me. I feel the showrunners of Game of Thrones read about Elissa's character and tried to make Arya into that. I love Arya, but Elissa is a force to be reckoned with. Arya can be anyone she wants, let Elissa be the fearless sea adventurer.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> You know what, scratch that. My question to GRRM would be: are the three eggs Elissa stole from Dragonstone the same three dragon eggs Daenerys's receives three hundred years later? I mean, it can't be coincidence right??</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Also (I forget the page), but the scribes make a point to note how Viserys' rule was one of the best reigns in Westerosi history, but personally I found Aegon the Conqueror and Jaehaerys Targaryen's rules <i>much</i> more interesting and beneficial to the kingdom than Viserys' rule. I felt all he did was have children and sow the seeds for future war by his inaction. Honestly I was okay with and it made sense that there was such little time spent in the novel devoted to his rule. As for his television counterpart, Paddy Considine did a <i>phenomenal</i> interpretation. I hope he wins awards for his role. All the awards. Every single one he's nominated for. In fact, the book counterpart deeply disappointed me (since at this time I had nearly finished the show when I reached Viserys in the book, so TV Viserys was my standard). Along with Rhaenyra. Book wise, disappointingly. Ironically, I felt the Dance of Dragons would better suit Princess Rhaena or Princess Rhaenys</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—both much stronger characters than Rhaenyra.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Another few people I think the show added depth and better illumination to was Daemon and Aemond (who someone online rightly noted the anagram of the names and now I can't unsee it</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—now neither can you, you're welcome~~</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">). Matt Smith did a phenomenal job as Daemon. It wasn't only how he was written. Smith knows how to play and exceed at playing a gray character and use charms and vices to their advantage to the benefit of the audience. However it was in part to the writing that Aemond is a much more complex character in the show than in the novel. In fact, Aemond was one of my favorite characters of the show. Honestly, I think he gets way too much hate. There were moments he tried to bond with his family and they teased, bullied, or ostracized him. Aemond lacked proper emotional support and add the stress of being in the royal household</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—with his unstable mother and power-hungry grandfather</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—they </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">turned him into a villain. That being said, the showdown between uncle and nephew will be one of the ages. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Honorable shout out to Corlys Velaryon though. He survived everything and was still a man of integrity and character. I didn't expect to love him as much as I did.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I am super happy they made a show though because like I mentioned earlier, I tried reading this twice before and gave up both times. But this has been one of my favorite reads of the year. I only wish Martin would release the next book in <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i>. I read somewhere once that a reader felt Martin's writing wasn't that remarkable, but I never felt that way. There was actually a bit of humor in the accounts that I don't quite remember from <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Dragons were to be expected in <i>Fire and Blood</i> and I loved every appearance they made. Their downfall, due to the ambitions of man, was hard to swallow. Almost more than some of the people. I attribute that to the fact that I know their end. By Daenerys's time, they are extinct, and it's heartbreaking to know such powerful, beautiful creatures will crumble much like the Targaryen name.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>The Winds of Winter</i> and <i>Blood and Fire</i></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—or whatever name is given to part 2, cannot come soon enough.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. More favorite characters: <br />Jaehaerys Targaryen, "The Old King," "The Conciliator"<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Alysanne Targaryen, "Good Queen Alysanne"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Queen Rhaenys Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Visenya Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Aemon Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Baelon Targaryen, "Baelon the Brave," "The Spring Prince," "The Silver Fool"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Daemon Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Princess Rhaenys Velaryon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Baela Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rhaena Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Princess Meria Martell of Dorne, "The Yellow Toad of Dorne"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Torrhen Stark, "The King Who Knelt"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rogar Baratheon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Septon Barth, Hand to Jaehaerys</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Cregan Stark</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Black Aly</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lord Marq Farman</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nettles</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Maester Norren</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Addam Velaryon</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Samantha Hightower, "Lady Sam"</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Grand Maester Orwyle</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Thaddeus Rowan</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Viserys II Targaryen</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Pate the Woodstock</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Lord of Barrowton</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Prince Nymor of Dorne</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.P.S. If only the men at the Great Council of 101 AC declared Rhaenys Queen . . . </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-12411459537235153182022-06-14T20:05:00.001-04:002022-11-23T00:27:04.088-05:00The Marrow Thieves Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Where has the year gone! I haven't written to you my dear reader in a while. I hope your reading voyages have fared well. Before completing this book I was as many books behind schedule for my 2022 reading goal of 30 as I've read so far this year (7!!). I hoped this would help me catch up and although it hasn't propelled me forward, it has been an excellent story to get me cracking open a book again.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I've been wanting to read a novel by a Native American (Is Native American still correct if they're Canadian?</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">—if not I sincerely apologize. Reach out and I'll amend this review) with a fantasy twist in it. This story had a premise right up my alley.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>The Marrow Thieves </i>by Cherie Dimaline is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34649348-the-marrow-thieves">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JQqK5ipzdCvHyUJ47Qo5f5sGpIfJYNhfmi1fAgKZ3rpClNihswzNCfVPQdBLd28Yprl11vP0gQUILZmAvopy20KtkNw8X1v_q3RYaqKo6izObwvu72sG2bQ3AU65UXQYp-yapcKgVPheP2WzQVsj8PynYPQwUPij_qUzXvHdLScOr5tv840zSYvi/s7008/DSC02158b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="7008" data-original-width="4672" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JQqK5ipzdCvHyUJ47Qo5f5sGpIfJYNhfmi1fAgKZ3rpClNihswzNCfVPQdBLd28Yprl11vP0gQUILZmAvopy20KtkNw8X1v_q3RYaqKo6izObwvu72sG2bQ3AU65UXQYp-yapcKgVPheP2WzQVsj8PynYPQwUPij_qUzXvHdLScOr5tv840zSYvi/s320/DSC02158b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></div><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #fff2cc;">In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America's Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the "recruiters" who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing "factories."</span></i></div></i></div><i><span style="color: #fff2cc;"></span></i></div></span></i><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm starting to lose sight of this section because as I add books to my To-Read list, I never remember where I learned of them. Safe bet: Goodreads. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The lands have changed.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Set in the near future, the world is not what it was. Climate change has reforged the communities that have survived the drastic shift since our present, resource-devouring, world economy. One consequence of this shattered world is the people's inability to dream. At least, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">for the majority of the population. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The narrative follows one individual spared from this haunting nightmare. In fact, only those of Indigenous bloodlines still possess the ability to dream. <i>The Marrow Thieves </i>follows one such individual, Francis aka "Frenchie," who now spends his life on the run from Recruiters: people who have lost the ability to dream and who believe the cure can be found in the Indigenous people's bones.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> From Frenchie we meet other survivors, and across the desolate landscape they hope and dream and always, always stay on the move. Because they have survived. They must continue to survive.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One thing I'd like to note is that the speculative elements aren't as prominent as I thought they'd be. It definitely leans more toward dystopia than fantasy. The wilderness has deserted buildings, remnants of the past we in the present day don't think twice about, scarce resources, and leaves the possibility of surviving until the next day as tentative as flipping a coin. We find this a buddying tone from page to page. Not to say it's gloomy clouds, tears shed every day the sun rises, only that you never forget the stakes. Getting caught means your life is over.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And what's second best to having to endure this cruel world if it can't be with your family? Surviving with a found family. I am a huge sucker for this trope and Dimaline's found family in <i>The Marrow Thieves</i> doesn't disappoint. We have our two elders, our four young adults, and four younglings. All strangers, all coming at different points in time. Across the landscape of Canada they try to salvage the cultural nutrients from their toxic plight.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One struggle for me</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—which was far and few between</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> was regarding Frenchie's chronological journey. There are time jumps that are apparent only nearing the end of the novel when stated explicitly and often times I had to reread a paragraph to ground myself and discern the accurate passage of time. At the beginning Frenchie is around 16, and even though weeks, months, years pass, he never quite outgrows his youthful mindset. And I don't mean that in a critical way toward the author or judgmental way toward the character, only a reflective one. Frenchie makes big decisions and his internal fears and longing for his family intertwines so well into the narrative, what at once I thought was jarring</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—a grown man having immature thoughts and behaving like a child</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">plays well into the trauma he's witnessed. He is in the older bracket of the group, however his old-fashioned concerns and traits mixed with this insecure</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">at times misguided</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">bravado, really shapes Frenchie and sets him apart from other young adult protagonists I've read. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Frenchie is a remarkably written character and the spotlight is on him most of the novel, however none of the other characters should be swept aside as being merely secondary. We have our twins: Tree and Zheegwon, who endearlingly share a hat at times in ticks of nervousness; our spark of light Riri, whose position as the youngest of the group doesn't displace her drive and commitment to being considered a responsible, capable member of the tight-knit community; Slopper, whose surface level laziness, fears, and selfish attitudes in truth parallel to present day immaturity in children, a lovely connection that kids are kids no matter the circumstances; Rose, our multi-racial member, whose headstrong nature isn't outweighed by her vulnerable concerns toward her new found family; Chi-Boy, the reticent eldest of the young adult subgroup, whose protective nature is a comforting blanket amongst the dystopian storm; Wab, our brooding member who has suffered unshakeable crimes and yet still shows the capacity to love and nurture and keep moving forward; Minerva, our female eldest whose grandmotherly nature is encapsulated in her wisdom and knowledge; and Miigwans, our male eldest and leader, whose experience and survival skills have enabled the found family to live to another day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> All of them are more than my simple descriptions. They flesh out to such remarkable characters, I wanted to give you a peek into their personalities instead of simply listing them off. One of my favorite parts in the book (around pg. 79) is when Frenchie mentions he and the others asked Miigwans about the "Coming-to" story of one particular member, and Miigwans responded that everyone has to tell their own creation story at their own time. It isn't something to push. It's about respect.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Respect. Duty. Responsibility. Miigwans teaches and instills these moral compasses into the group members during their travels. Even despite the circumstances. Even despite the lack of community; the lack of society. They are more than what is said of them. Their culture, their language, their ancestors. They <i>themselves</i> can survive. They must have the will to survive the harrowing world and all its failures.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>The Marrow Thieves</i> is far more character-driven than plot-driven. A does plot exist, and while it accumulates to a climax</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—or several climaxes which may or may not dip its toes into magical realism, at its heart this is a story of survival. The twist is surviving more than the environment, more than outrunning the Recruiters; it's surviving to maintain your humanity, surviving to keep your heritage alive when the world wants to erase it, surviving to be who you are versus what this broken world wants to mold you to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Which comes to my final note. Dream stealing isn't as literal as it sounds. Which both does and does not play into magical realism which I'll expand on further in the spoilers below. Are dreams simply internal and personal? Can dreams be something to be understood and shared with those in your close circle? Or are dreams simply stories? Should we address how different people define dreams? Dimaline does a fantastic job of presenting these questions and interweaving it into the narrative.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> These characters aren't perfect. They are tragically beautiful, flawlessly flawed, and a window into ourselves all through an exquisitely-depicted, marginalized lens. None of it would be impressible without the author, whose skill in her prose shines like a light in the dark. In my eyes, I think the story could only be improved by another 50 pages to better expand on certain topics. I'll mention a few in the spoilers below.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I wish there were more Indigenous stories mainstreamed and female-written Indigenous stories circulating bookshelves and reader's hands. I'm only happy I stumbled across this and fell in love with the title. I can't wait to read more from this author.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give his book 4.5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"I was angry with my friend;</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;">I told my wrath, my wrath did end.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;">I was angry with my foe:</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;">I told it not, my wrath did grow."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">William Blake, "A Poison Tree"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(I finished watching the Peaky Blinder's final season and this William Blake quote from the first episode gave me <i>chills.</i>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Fire and Blood</i> by George R.R. Martin</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I do want to address that if Dimaline wanted dream-stealing to be literally about dreams, dreams themselves rarely take a role in the narrative. I was expecting more of them to unfold as they journeyed, more dreams of Frenchie's experiences or others' premonitions of the Recruiters/the future. But aside from the beginning, namely the first half of the novel . . . nada. Did you?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Also I thought we'd see more scenes of Recruiters performing dream-stealing experimentation, like a subject being captured and us being given insight into the procedures and tortures of "dream stealing." This is the technical, scientific side. But what of the fantastical? We were given a taste of it when the Council's inside man in Espanola described Minerva's destructive episode, but it only ever remained a taste. Miigwans in the school, then escaping, then returning to the school to look for Isaac is the only other example we readers get into what the Recruiters are doing once caught</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">it's all snippets. I know keeping to the borders makes the schools seem more frightening from the group's point-of-view because they don't know what happens in detail, but me the reader wanted more. This reminded me a bit of my previous review of <i>The Memory Police </i>in which (*spoiler*) (*spoiler*) (*spoiler*) we don't get a definitive insight into how the Memory Police operates and who runs it and how they "erase"</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—which of course ties into its themes on dementia. (*end spoiler*) </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">(*end spoiler*) </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">(*end spoiler*)</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> My interpretation of dream-stealing means more about holding onto our humanity, holding onto Indigenous cultures and what makes their languages and customs special and worth protecting and preserving. Dreams can be preserving history and heritage. Frenchie's eagerness to hold onto his dreams after all he's lost by pursuing to learn more words from his elders about their ancestral language is heart-warming. He wants more than himself. He wants his culture to survive.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I will address the big plot hole though. If they spent so much time together, why didn't Frenchie learn more words? How come none of the other members tried to learn more? Rose learned a little from Minerva but it was from small talk. Why didn't the elders push to teach their language as equally as they did about surviving? Is it a Native American custom to not be as open about teaching about history? Or is it merely reflective of the dire circumstances of this dystopian world? The only one who pushed to learn more aside from Frenchie was Riri, his adorable, trusty sidekick, and I <i>really</i> think 50 more pages would have been able to answer that appropriately.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> (I really just want more out of their story~) ;)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A qualm I had, maybe even another plot hole, was concerning the sense of direction the group made during the narrative. My first issue with it was when the group kept saying they were going north and yet after *years* they never reached the North Pole or the Arctic Ocean. Is "travelling north" more like a True North situation? They go whichever direction they need to survive? The book never details them going south so I assumed they were literally always travelling north? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Another direction hiccup that I couldn't wrap my head around that I don't know is a story error or grammar error or just my personal misreading error, but halfway through the novel in the chapter "The Potential of Change" (around pg. 115) when the group comes across the strangers Travis and Lincoln it's stated they are camped WEST of their own camp. When discussing the options to confront them or avoid them, Miigwans first says they will continue travelling EAST to avoid the strangers, however after three days they make progress and eventually catch up to them. So what happened, did they end up going WEST? Or were the strangers always EAST and it was a typo? It's unclear.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I would be remiss to never discuss the climax no one was present for (around pg. 172). (What a triumphant scene after a stone-skipping, domino fall of captured characters. My heart broke with Riri's death and with both the youngest and eldest's sudden departures from the family, this book was getting uncomfortably dark. But victory! Victory even if no one got to see it!) Minerva's song. <i>Her</i> song, <i>her</i> ancestors, that brought down the Recruiters institutions. I found it very powerful, exponentially so after the sacrifice she'd made to help the others escape. Our elders teach and guide, but they are as pivotal as leaders, as warriors, as healers, and as children. It's the one we overlook who may play the most important role. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">What a beautiful message along a beautiful story. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-62729354687864904962022-01-21T20:36:00.005-05:002022-06-14T20:08:21.343-04:00The Memory Police Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While I failed my reading goal last year, I'm glad that I am having such a good start to 2022. Two books in just over two weeks? When in all honesty I really feel like I haven't spent any time reading? I'm feeling good about this year ya'll. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The synopsis for <i>The Memory Police</i> by </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">Yōko Ogawa </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37004370-the-memory-police">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="color: #f9cb9c; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLtozxkY5pSECnGDDHN_hqFoJCXUPk9mF3_MrjRKSpePHL6FW_Wy172CMfUpWffqFVaZi5BHSkRpAabEUOCTQstpFCN-A5FoZpEayPRnIORRCx_IdeHVAJZnZeh4jYgjxz0PBZ18o4Wn3qaMeDPOfdeUwfRrLGt7qR7PsKW8HYC4qHoGCsIjD1JPW9=s5997" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5997" data-original-width="3998" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLtozxkY5pSECnGDDHN_hqFoJCXUPk9mF3_MrjRKSpePHL6FW_Wy172CMfUpWffqFVaZi5BHSkRpAabEUOCTQstpFCN-A5FoZpEayPRnIORRCx_IdeHVAJZnZeh4jYgjxz0PBZ18o4Wn3qaMeDPOfdeUwfRrLGt7qR7PsKW8HYC4qHoGCsIjD1JPW9=s320" width="213" /></a></div><i>On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island's inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. </i></div></i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.</i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning </i></div></i></span></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: georgia;"> <span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span>new work from one of the most exciting contemporary </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: georgia;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span></span></i><i style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: georgia;">authors writing in any language.</i></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A <i>little</i></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">okay maybe a lot ironic, but I don't remember where I first saw this. All I know is I added this to read on Goodreads in March 2020, around the time I really feel like time stopped for the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Something I want to commit myself to doing more this year is reading non-American authors. Reading authors from other countries not only introduces you to obvious cultural differences in conversation and plots but also the contrasts and uniqueness of tones and structures. It's very refreshing. While stories that have been translated may lose some of its meaning, Ogawa and her translator Stephen Snyder handled a melancholy subject with grace and gentleness. Memories in this world are treasured by few and hunted by a faceless government whose greatest weapon seems to be of having no apparent goal. When we meet our unnamed narrator, there are no immediate national pressures for war, there are no internal politics, there are simply phenomena running parallel to magical realism in the sense things disappear from people's memories and the easy acceptance that follows in those losses in day-to-day life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One thing that pulled me into the story that I loved was its simplicity. Reminiscent of a children's story in worldbuilding and character casting, yet still heavy with the weight of its themes. Never once did I find the narrative an imposition. It's handled with the respect and carefulness it deserves. There are few named characters, no geographical markers in the formal sense of city or country names, so apart from few expository things being mentioned like <i>kimonos </i>and <i>ramune</i>, you could place this regimented, borderline fascist society anywhere in the world, anytime in the future. This is dystopian, without the sensation I normally characterize dystopian novels with. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Not to say this is about a writer simply </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">rolling with the punches, she takes action and sets out to save her editor with a cape of heroism not seen in others in her community. The most heart-warming twist is that the man she saves in turn sets out to save her. They work on her novel together as they endeavor to survive this troubling time and the increasing loss of items and her memories attached to those items. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The novel the writer and her editor work on dances with the main narrative. While I won't go in depth about the details, I love how Ogawa has the unnamed writer explore the writing process, the theme of forgetting and powerlessness against it, and the struggle to want to remember when others seem to almost own the memories more than you who lived them. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Nearing the end you begin to see how things disappearing can worsen. In fact it's hard to believe what those extremes are, but stepping back, looking at what Ogawa is examining, the subject matter and its relation to the people in our lives, it seems natural that it would come to that conclusion. The ending is as gentle as the pacing of the storyline, like a leaf falling from its stem. Without rush. Without purpose. Life is lived in the fall and for me that's the beauty of <i>The Memory Police.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"I thought I could hear the sound of my memory burning that night."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"When the surface of your soul begins to stir, I imagine you want to capture the sensation in writing."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/42775.Y_ko_Ogawa">Yōko Ogawa</a>, <i>The Memory Police</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Marrow Thieves</i> by Cherie Dimaline</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It was near the end but I was ruined by Squid Games (spoiler ahead for the show!!!) (seriously don't read on if you haven't seen the show and plan to) (LAST last chance friends, okay continue at your own risk) but I believed that the old man was going to have something to do with the Memory Police. Or that there would be a man behind the curtain of it all. But this assessment is heavily influenced by Western storytelling and the need for action and death and an evil genius with an enviable laugh and a tangible reason behind the destruction and withering elements of a plot. Which I'm glad there wasn't since the story is literally about something you can't hold and see disappearing from your eyes but not necessarily from all others.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The ending is rough for me. I needed to ruminate on it because of my conditioning to needing that man behind the curtain, but upon reading others' reviews and reflecting on the passing of time in the story, I am satisfied with this ending. It's not as open as I was led to believe nearing its final pages, but there is a delicate silence left remaining. The hidden man R finding the courage to leave his hidden space (although it was less courage than more means to survive as his source of food and other necessities had "disappeared") could be interpreted as either a physical release of colorful memories into the world that had become gray and lifeless, and also the spirit of the unnamed writer, whose main character had lost her voice had found freedom and escape. Did the unnamed writer find the escape her voiceless typist character couldn't? The unnamed writer's memories lived on in R and while her body may not continue on in life, his memories of her did. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One of my favorite moments, the most visually appealing, which was also one of the saddest moments in my eyes was the disappearance and "funeral" of roses. I could picture the town watching as the river of shades of red flowed into the ocean for days until the last of the petals were gone. Such a beautiful scene, and an omen for what would come.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A heartwarming series of events was the realization that the unnamed writer wasn't the only one hiding someone who retained their memories. Who knows how many more people did it in fear of others finding out the truth. It's likely that there were more people hiding and sheltering these memory retainers than not. Which brings me to the real shining message (of people not necessarily about memories and <i>TMP</i>), that more people are decent in the face of injustice and confusion and will risk themselves to help someone else than not. We see it over and over again with the unnamed writer and the old man. We see it in unnamed townsfolk. It's sad that our protagonists both fade and pass on without us ever getting to know their names. But maybe that's what Ogawa wants. Us to remember their spirits more than their names. It's about how we feel about the memories, about how we feel about the people we made memories with, not specifics, not names. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Man what a story. I'm going to need to reread this soon.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-70812493725952717242021-12-21T20:35:00.003-05:002022-01-19T13:14:03.478-05:00The Sea Around Us Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">October was a taxing month. With work and trying to read a book a week, November became my wind down month reading wise, but still super stressful work wise so at the end of the day I only finished one book. I exhausted myself of fiction and wanted to take a break. I loved <i>Silent Spring</i> earlier this year and wanted to check out another one of Carson's works. Let's see how it fared.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i>The Sea Around Us</i> by Rachel Carson is provided by the 2018 edition published from the Oxford University Press:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWJ4f2NwoGanP_HOsfx11KHZz7ipewIImt6yPwGKDMu3SEscEXYyh8bnrqpd8nqQZasKJ8rwo-DX6O4FWvL7x97TxCxV1q2XdKP7af4Mc4aKjKERUIa4txn9EmnIeU54AWV1U4nq_J6RwYjbmsPfXHLx1cEjBLRzxqwnNe0FzJTLe6WraS0ZcOdbTh=s4032" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWJ4f2NwoGanP_HOsfx11KHZz7ipewIImt6yPwGKDMu3SEscEXYyh8bnrqpd8nqQZasKJ8rwo-DX6O4FWvL7x97TxCxV1q2XdKP7af4Mc4aKjKERUIa4txn9EmnIeU54AWV1U4nq_J6RwYjbmsPfXHLx1cEjBLRzxqwnNe0FzJTLe6WraS0ZcOdbTh=s320" width="240" /></a></div><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: georgia;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Originally published in 1951, </i>The Sea Around Us<i> remains one of the most enduringly influential and beloved books ever written about the natural world. It has inspired generations of readers---future scientist among them---with its combination of insight and poetry. One of them was Sylvia Earle, a pioneer of deep-sea exploration and research, who introduces this new edition. For Earle and countless other readers, Carson's power lies in giving her readers the sense that "she was the living ocean, flowing in a continuously changing dance through time with islands and continents, the sea floor below, the skies above."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I read <i>Silent Spring</i> and this was listed first among her other works.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What I love most about Carson's writing is that she interweaves history with science with literature and paints a mural that showcases the different studies and yet still cohesively creates a single image. Her storytelling is enlightening, enriching, and reflective. Carson doesn't shy away from showing how powerful and destructive the ocean is and has been for millions of years. At the same time she describes how sensitive the ocean and its inhabitants are against the whims of man. How seemingly predictable and immutable and endless it is but also how it has evolved over time. She discusses ocean currents, the tides, the winds, plankton, the ocean floor and the remnants of every creature that ultimately found its way onto its stygian depths, along with many other tiers of nature.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What I take away most is while we have studied the ocean for sixty more years since <i>The Sea Around Us</i> was published, we're no less in the dark about what is found there and how animals survive and why animals rise from the depths to come to the surface but only at certain times. Our interest, our money, and our time is spent on beyond our atmosphere. Being that <i>TSAU </i>was written and published before the Space Race gained traction, Carson doesn't highlight the emphasis the world has had since the late 50s/early 60s looking beyond and not valuing what remains here. Even it had been post-Space Race kickoff, I don't think she would have. She doesn't need to. Carson focuses on what's here, what we have to marvel at. The ocean isn't just a tool for us, it isn't just a beauty to behold, it's a home and a filtration system and a power for us to respect as much as utilize.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The ocean is a mystery, but it connects continents, allows trade, feeds communities, maintains economies</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">all man-focused benefits, not including what the ocean does for the planet itself like stabilizing the atmosphere, balancing world temperatures, even play a part in the rotation of the earth (with the trusted help of the moon). It's not only a vast expanse, it's the home to billions upon billions of creatures who rely on it to survive. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The details become minute, which is all the more impressive reminding oneself that this was pre-Internet and research was through books and networking and long stretches of patient study, because Rachel Carson was a brilliant mind and it displays in her language and how she portrays her deep love of the oceans. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"And then, as never on land, he knows the truth that his world is a water world, a planet dominated by its covering mantle of ocean, in which the continents are but transient intrusions of land above the surface of the all-encircling sea."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: left;">—Rachel Carson, <i>The Sea Around Us</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Memory Police</i> by </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yōko Ogawa</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While there isn't really much to spoil with my complete lack of expertise on marine biology and oceanography and related fields, <i>and</i> adding to the fact this was published over seventy years ago, it's safe to say there have been advancements in science that would make any "spoiler" something we might have already learned in high school or college.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would like to point out that Carson has a moving rhetoric of galvanizing her readers. Not in a dramatic sense, spewing propaganda like an election TV ad, however her rhetoric's calm and patient like the timeline of the oceans over time. Mankind is very much the guest. We have made our impact on earth in our short time here and as destructive as we can be, we cannot defeat the planet. It will always win against us. It will survive and recover, even if it takes thousands or millions of years after humans are gone. The planet will take care of us. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> So long as we take care of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-1694460324028808752021-11-30T23:01:00.003-05:002022-01-21T21:09:11.791-05:00Infinite Country Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's only when you stop looking that you find what you were looking for. Most people imply love, I imply book slumps. >_></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>Infinite Country </i>by Patricia Engel is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55919704-infinite-country">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">At the dawn of the new millennium, Colombia is a country devastated by half a century of violence. Elena and Mauro are teenagers when they meet, their blooming love an antidote to the mounting brutality of life in Bogotá. Once their first daughter is born, and facing grim economic prospects, they set their sights on the United States.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2K5KKJyq2WJ6qGjqPKOxO-ybAHyo7i3FTvmKvj1wEn-RbaPaSAKN8E01UYJQ4vfEL5mMQfmY1oDaVOerEbAasug6bTO93C76jHnsfTmuMGa4rSZ-zeXZH9WkgM3-gHapUkyWoIcwAWs/s2048/IMG_8045b2c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2K5KKJyq2WJ6qGjqPKOxO-ybAHyo7i3FTvmKvj1wEn-RbaPaSAKN8E01UYJQ4vfEL5mMQfmY1oDaVOerEbAasug6bTO93C76jHnsfTmuMGa4rSZ-zeXZH9WkgM3-gHapUkyWoIcwAWs/s320/IMG_8045b2c.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div></span></i></div><span style="color: #b6d7a8; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">They travel to Houston and send wages back to Elena’s mother, all the while weighing whether to risk overstaying their tourist visas or to return to Bogotá. As their family expands, and they move again and again, their decision to ignore their exit dates plunges the young family into the precariousness of undocumented status, the threat of discovery menacing a life already strained. When Mauro is deported, Elena, now tasked with caring for their three small children, makes a difficult choice that will ease her burdens but splinter the family even further.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">Award-winning, internationally acclaimed author Patricia Engel, herself the daughter of Colombian immigrants and a dual citizen, gives voice to Mauro and Elena, as well as their children, Karina, Nando, and Talia—each one navigating a divided existence, weighing their allegiance to the past, the future, to one another, and to themselves. Rich with Bogotá urban life, steeped in Andean myth, and tense with the daily reality for the undocumented in America, Infinite Country is the story of two countries and one mixed-status family—for whom every triumph is stitched with regret and every dream pursued bears the weight of a dream deferred.</span></i></div></span></i><div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Bookseller newsletters.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I think there should be a petition to make this book mandatory to be read in high school. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Not only is this a beautiful, tragic story, it's woven and stitched with so much heart and perseverance and empathy and spirit. We explore the two generations, from the parents' youth to the end of their three children's adolescence, straddling two eras that shaped one generation for a life they could never prepare for in another foreign land. And Engel knows how to write. I borrowed this as a digital copy from my library</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—but I highlighted <i>so</i> many lines.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While it's been some time since I read it, <i>Infinite Country</i> reminded me a lot of <i>Moloka'i </i>by Alan Brennert. They both follow young children having to face the mercilessness of the real world at an early age, and while they both face tribulations, they endure because they believe what life could be is worth enduring through the ruthlessness of the present. Both stories follow hard times for these families, as books tend to do I know, but you just can't get them out of your head. Life is so beautiful because they're able to endure and remain hopeful.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What was a pleasant surprise from the narrative was the inclusion of South American mythology incorporated in Talia's chapters. The stories her father as child told her were more than childhood comforts, they connected her to her distant family and guided her on her way back to them. This dive into Colombian folklore felt so rich and magical and inserted in the story to exist as Talia's lifeline when circumstances turned for the worst. And maybe for us as readers too.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Engel also brilliantly folded the children's nationalities overtop one another. The oldest Karina is born in Colombia, raised in the States. Nando is born and raised in the States. Then Talia is born in the States, raised in Colombia. While I won't get into how and why this was done, I really loved how beautifully simple and complex Engel wrote their lives.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> All the praise to the author because something else she brilliantly showcases throughout her story is the penetrating fear of deportation. Every decision Elena and Mauro make is for their family, and they make difficult choices to avoid the dreaded circumstance of being taken away, or worse, separated. They want a safer, happier life than the violent and poor life they left behind in Colombia, however over the months and years they understand the States may not be the fantasy told to them. But it's very much a real fear because Americans with citizens as their protective shield commit all sorts of crimes and immoral acts to manipulate, take advantage of, and humiliate foreigners who only want a good, peaceful life. While I'm not Colombian, I am Hispanic, and felt it very easy to resonate with the struggles this family went through. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Set upon a contemporary backdrop, this narrative jumps to the present, because this isn't about a third world nation centuries, even decades ago. The people living like this are a short flight away in the very same world as untouchable to us as we are to them. Immigrants are not a burden on society. They are not criminals. They are just people who don't have the United States of America as their country of origin on their passports. We can't stereotype. The government and society need to do better in protecting immigrants and children of immigrants because if we look deeper, we'll become more compassionate and more worldly to the circumstances in other countries. Because logically, why would people who have good lives uproot and abandon everything they know just to ruin someone's ordinarily boring life? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> At the root of <i>Infinite Country</i>, much like <i>Encanto</i> which I watched last week in the theater, is family. It's tenacity. It's love. It's life and moving forward, not just moving on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And any book that can make me get teary-eyed, which to this day is only four books (<i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i>, <i>Noughts & Crosses</i>, this one, and honestly another book although I forgot which one so okay I guess it doesn't count so just three books . . . ) deserves all the stars. I can't wait to read another one of Engel's books.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(soooo many good ones but I'm gonna go with my top three): </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span><i style="font-family: georgia;">I hate the term </i><span style="font-family: georgia;">undocumented.</span><i style="font-family: georgia;"> It implies people like my mother and me don't exist without a paper trail.</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>I remember wondering what it must feel like to belong to American whiteness and to know you can do whatever you want because nobody you love is deportable.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>I told her I understood what it was to want to create justice to fix an injustice even if my justice could be considered a crime.</i>" </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-<i>Infinite Country</i>, Patricia Engel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Sea Around Us</i> by Rachel Carson</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Chapter Nineteen for me is when it really started to get good. I really appreciated Engel brought the other two siblings forward and gave them their own voice. While not formatted as a letter, I felt the voices of the two American-raised kids, particularly Karina who I had highlighted a bunch of lines from her chapters, sounded very authentic. Karina is a highly intelligent woman who unfortunately cannot show her true potential because she would risk her anonymity. Nando is a middle child who wants to do more but can't, and is probably forgotten about more than the eldest or the missing youngest. I'm not a middle child but I felt for him.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While Talia might get most of the trophies for being strong and independent, I have to acknowledge and nominate Elena because she is exactly the sort of female character I love to read about. The power of a mother. Mothers are the strongest creatures on Earth and Engel kindly showed us and not told. But Mauro has a place in my heart because <i>yes</i>, Latin men can be sensitive and faithful and family-oriented while still have their downfalls and flaws.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Immigration policies in America are and will be a political debate for a long time. I know one book can't suddenly change the mind of someone who believes immigrants should be sent back no questions asked, however I do think this one book can definitely make the subject open for discussion and even lead the way to understanding. I haven't read a book about immigration that's hit so hard before and it's probably because there isn't a lot of positive, commercialized narratives on Hispanic people persevering and living, but I definitely think this deserves a place on my bookshelf.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-54506066948098262142021-10-31T16:54:00.005-04:002021-11-30T21:24:32.326-05:00My Heart is a Chainsaw Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And so ends this delectably wonderful month of horror! I had to rush my previous review and this one in time for my Halloween photoshoot today, but I feel productive when I have too many things to juggle.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>My Heart is a Chainsaw </i>is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55711617-my-heart-is-a-chainsaw">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;"><b>In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for</b></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1zwnz8ugAY5j4N-5YooNK-_f9Q8mR5aZbXjaTEvCQdFj10Un_j9Jf2KselVjftLrJri8FEN6KmDT0zhemclgHmtuDY4qJoEAgW4fzps-ac-k5AaSasPXV_t0cYiRSv9Y5A0qNjGQoz0/s2048/IMG_7797d8b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT1zwnz8ugAY5j4N-5YooNK-_f9Q8mR5aZbXjaTEvCQdFj10Un_j9Jf2KselVjftLrJri8FEN6KmDT0zhemclgHmtuDY4qJoEAgW4fzps-ac-k5AaSasPXV_t0cYiRSv9Y5A0qNjGQoz0/s320/IMG_7797d8b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges… a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.</span></i></div></i></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Booksellers e-newsletters began promoting this several months ago and after <u>loving</u> <i>The Only Good Indians</i> I was ready to be first in line to get his new book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Horror, you have overall been very good to me this year. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What happened? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Like I mentioned I was quick to get Jones' next novel as soon as it hit shelves. Even though I'm not a diehard slasher or horror fan (although he was making me one from <i>TOGI</i>), even though I could care less about the 80s (this isn't set in that decade but there's a plethora of references), I wanted to see how the author would spin a 80s inspired horror show. How did it end up this way then, that I feel like this was the wrong book for me? (<i>AHS: 1984</i> is one of my favorite seasons so I was really hoping by the end of the book it would go down this route . . . but continue below.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'd like to address early on it kind of breaks my heart I couldn't get into this. Reading the Acknowledgments at the end Jones mentions how he had started this book long ago and had to put it in a For Later drawer because it just wasn't working at the time. I love hearing about books from authors that couldn't find life at first but then the author tried again and made a space for them on store shelves years later. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I think my clashes with <i>MHIAC</i> came down to Jade, our protagonist. Her dark, snarky, flippant humor was non-stop for 400 pages and it made 400 pages 800. There is an explanation for it, however does it balance out the belly of this novel by the end and put it to justice? In my eyes? No. I think I would've appreciated Jade as a side character. I've mentioned before in another review but as much as I adore Edna Mode, I can only appreciate her for a 5 minute scene. I would get annoyed after a while if there was a whole feature film devoted to her. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Then there's the root of this book, which is Jade's obsession: slasher films. Again, we get an explanation where the obsession starts and why</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—however then there is 400 pages of non-stop slasher films and characters being thrown at me (which to be fair went over my head since I haven't seen any of the OG slasher/horror films. Like even <i>Jaws.</i> I've never seen it so I sort of read Jade's secondhand account of the events as if I were reading the morning paper.) Jade's loner, outcast reputation keeps her ramblings and obsessions about slashers ongoing without much interactions, arguments, or conversations with the other characters. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It took me until the last 125 pages to get properly invested, which is the why to my low review. The first 275 pages should've been slashed by at least 75 pages. And it's a shame because Jones knows how to write these hauntingly vivid images that makes skin crawl and spines turn to jelly. Especially in the climax. It was one thing after another and I kept constantly yelling (no not literally) at the book: "This, Jones, <i>this</i> is why I love your books!" Showing the full rainbow; pulling together at the end all that came before it. He's such a fantastic plotter. I wasn't a fan of Jade but I still loved the action (<i>when </i>any of the action happened</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">there's a lot of walking around Proofrock that made living in a small town seem as boring as it sounds.) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I never heard of the Final Girl until <i>AHS: 1984 </i>and if you never heard of it either it's a trope in horror where there's, you guessed it, a final girl who survives the terrors of the killer by the end. Jade clings onto this trope with all she has, but not for herself, which is interesting, but for a new student in town: a Letha Mondragon, daughter to an uber rich media mongul, a founder for the new development across the town from Proofrock called Terra Nova. Jade is so certain Letha is this final girl, undertoned or maybe not so subtly permeated by her attraction towards her, and does her damnedest to prepare Letha for the Big Night which is not Halloween but July Fourth. (A nice twist. At least for me, I always picture horror taking place in fall.)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Jones does a fantastic job of bringing the less discussed atrocities of Native American communities and tying it into the horror even if there are supernatural elements present. While not as prevalent and at the forefront as <i>TOGI</i>, Jones in <i>MHIAC</i> writes the atrocities done to voiceless members of the community with an evocative</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">not flair but</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">aptitude. This is only my second novel by Jones but I can imagine he addresses indigenous life in modern times with the same respect the people in these communities deserve and spotlighting the attention they should receive throughout his other novels. And I honestly can't wait to check them out. While </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">MHIAC</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> in particular didn't work out for me, I don't doubt there are other books by him that will.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 2.5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"Out in the open, good, good. . . You don't know if you can trust me yet. You've got to be careful, I might be the one doing all this. Shit, I should have thought of that."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>". . . the slasher is a bloody coin flipping through the air, showing a smile for a flash, then a frown, and then another smile."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Stephen Graham Jones, <i>My Heart is a Chainsaw</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next to Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Infinite Country</i> by Patricia Engel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Hand to the good book, I missed over half of the deaths that happened. Or the shaded deaths I prefer to say. Jones paints horror like a Caravaggio but the rest of the slower-paced narrative felt more Abstract Expressionism, at times ambiguous, at times unimpressive. Like the pacing I had a load of start-stop halts when reading this. And sometimes the deaths melted in between the lines and I missed them entirely. It didn't help there were a lot of names (in-world characters not just from films), of which we don't get a real sense of personality or characterization than simplified first encounter descriptions like on graduation day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I liked how the elk corpses and the creepy lake girl Stacey Graves mystery tied together and got an explanation, however her appearance was so sudden at the end that it felt flat for me. Even her 20 page killer rampage felt wasted. (Spoiler for <i>The Only Good Indians </i>ahead ye be warned! : We have the Elk Head Woman in <i>TOGI</i> who is constantly there or frequently visited, so her finale is justified.) But Stacey Graves is a shadow at the best of times, so to have a theater-sized full picture of her thrown at me wasn't as effective as it could've been. And I couldn't tell, <i>could</i> she possess people? Jones hinted at, or at least phrased it regarding Theo, but I couldn't be sure to take that literally or metaphorically. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And regarding the biggest<i> are they dead? are they alive?</i>: Mr. Holmes for most of the novel and Letha at the end are the biggest holes. At the end of the day I know yes for the former, maybe not? for the latter, but their sudden disappearances from the novel left me confused and less satisfied.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Finally, how <i>did</i> Letha get free??</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. I hope you enjoyed all the puns as much as I hated omitting "pun intended" every time I made one. ;)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-37212881492361421622021-10-30T22:49:00.000-04:002021-10-30T22:49:01.852-04:00In the Hall with the Knife Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's difficult for me to resist a book series that is based off of one my favorite movies of all time. Let's see how Peterfreund handled the classic. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>In the Hall with the Knife </i>by Diana Peterfreund is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43908878-in-the-hall-with-the-knife">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTXmKZHlBshZ34IaBFtfQnKgBjEJykH3TPbLSVToo5S6wfhniQGtnQwa9MfTBwlX4gNxLc89eQKbt9PWNMrF2Y6lqWNAuK0N1xdMEl10DNL2cpCgWsqLnwSNXMIq_uiTcmmuYCEDllH0/s2048/IMG_7843b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTXmKZHlBshZ34IaBFtfQnKgBjEJykH3TPbLSVToo5S6wfhniQGtnQwa9MfTBwlX4gNxLc89eQKbt9PWNMrF2Y6lqWNAuK0N1xdMEl10DNL2cpCgWsqLnwSNXMIq_uiTcmmuYCEDllH0/s320/IMG_7843b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><b><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><b><br /></b></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><b>A murderer could be around every corner in this thrilling YA trilogy based on the board game CLUE!</b></span></i></div></b><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #b4a7d6;">When a storm strikes at Blackbrook Academy, an elite prep school nestled in the woods of Maine, a motley crew of students—including Beth “Peacock” Picach, Orchid McKee, Vaughn Green, Sam “Mustard” Maestor, Finn Plum, and Scarlet Mistry—are left stranded on campus with their headmaster. Hours later, his body is found in the conservatory and it’s very clear his death was no accident. With this group of students who are all hiding something, nothing is as it seems, and everyone has a motive for murder. Fans of the CLUE board game and cult classic film will delight in Diana Peterfreund’s modern reimagining of the brand, its characters, and the dark, magnificent old mansion with secrets hidden within its walls.</span></i></div></span></i></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Probably scrolling through Goodreads. I honestly can't remember. But I read two books from this author before and loved them so I figured I'd enjoy this too.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Like <i>Friends</i>, I can't pick a favorite Clue character from the film. They're all so unique. It's what I was hoping for in this fun retelling. So discovering that this story follows Orchid's POV for the majority of the time, who I parallel with Mrs. White</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">who had some of the </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">best</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> lines in the movie</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I was ecstatic. Overall, the female characters stand out like stars, however apart from Mustard, most of the male characters, including Green and Plum, sort of blend into the same person at times.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Oh the thrills of a murder mystery during a nightly thunderstorm (from an audience standpoint of course). Nothing like being out of reach of civilization and falling upon a dead body and not only having to share the same roof with them but then investigate the cause of death and if there's a murderer about. We follow the six stars and a few others not mentioned in the synopsis, so this isn't entirely a whodunnit between six suspects.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I don't read YA too often but in <i>ITHWTK </i>I didn't feel like I was reading one. Which is a relief, because it would've put a mark against this author (who I've read from before and liked) when messing with a classic. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The twists and turns weren't as heart racing as a typical thriller but I think as you read on and as the relationships unfold and the motives behind the characters are revealed, you'll be satisfied and inclined to read on. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The book was a much-needed break after the behemoth I read previously and if you're in the lookout for a fun book, this will set you straight.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Well, it's a matter of life after death. Now that he's dead, I have a life."</i></div></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Mrs. White, <i>Clue</i> (1985)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>My Heart is a Chainsaw </i>by Stephen Graham Jones</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I didn't know this was gonna be a series until near the end when there was still unanswered questions about the pasts regarding Orchid and Mustard and future of Oliver. I ordered the rest of the trilogy the day I finished and while I might not review them, you can definitely see how they fared against the first of the series on my Goodreads.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-16196776489202501672021-10-17T13:05:00.002-04:002021-10-31T17:00:42.057-04:00House of Leaves Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Oof, this is a hard one. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i> by Mark Z. Danielewski is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24800.House_of_Leaves?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=N0aJ2cM0WJ&rank=1">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i style="font-family: courier;"> Years ago, when </i><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: courier;">House</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> of Leaves</span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkCDV_dj00TEfla-pCH53k8BuJw-D2ca9ThtgdOoCXFm5fG7ZoG_BvWmvHOSeB3jOh8RN4z8w2O9cWgkV-7b1djv0UqQW9cDDfXX7zEAxRW1BfVlncVQn8t6qR9GzCXtNYKOVmw6dHoM/s2048/IMG_7695e3b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkCDV_dj00TEfla-pCH53k8BuJw-D2ca9ThtgdOoCXFm5fG7ZoG_BvWmvHOSeB3jOh8RN4z8w2O9cWgkV-7b1djv0UqQW9cDDfXX7zEAxRW1BfVlncVQn8t6qR9GzCXtNYKOVmw6dHoM/s2048/IMG_7695e3b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkCDV_dj00TEfla-pCH53k8BuJw-D2ca9ThtgdOoCXFm5fG7ZoG_BvWmvHOSeB3jOh8RN4z8w2O9cWgkV-7b1djv0UqQW9cDDfXX7zEAxRW1BfVlncVQn8t6qR9GzCXtNYKOVmw6dHoM/s2048/IMG_7695e3b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>was first being passed around, it was nothing </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts</i><i> of which would occasionally surface on the </i><i>Internet. No one could have anticipated the </i><i>small but devoted following this terrifying </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>story would soon command. Starting with an </i><i>odd assortment of marginalized youth—musicians, tattoo artists, programmers, strippers, environmentalists, and adrenaline junkies—the book eventually made its way into the hands of older generations, who not only found themselves in those strangely </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>arranged pages but also discovered a way </i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>back into the </i><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkCDV_dj00TEfla-pCH53k8BuJw-D2ca9ThtgdOoCXFm5fG7ZoG_BvWmvHOSeB3jOh8RN4z8w2O9cWgkV-7b1djv0UqQW9cDDfXX7zEAxRW1BfVlncVQn8t6qR9GzCXtNYKOVmw6dHoM/s2048/IMG_7695e3b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"> <img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkCDV_dj00TEfla-pCH53k8BuJw-D2ca9ThtgdOoCXFm5fG7ZoG_BvWmvHOSeB3jOh8RN4z8w2O9cWgkV-7b1djv0UqQW9cDDfXX7zEAxRW1BfVlncVQn8t6qR9GzCXtNYKOVmw6dHoM/s320/IMG_7695e3b.jpg" width="213" /></a>lives of their estranged children.</i></div></i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i> Now, for the first time, this astonishing novel is made available in book form, complete with the original colored words, vertical footnotes, and newly added second and third appendices.</i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i> The story remains unchanged, focusing on a young family that moves into a small home on </i><i>Ash Tree Lane where they discover something </i><i>is terribly wrong: their <span style="color: #9fc5e8;">house</span> is bigger on </i><i>the inside than it is on the outside.</i></div></i><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Of course, neither Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Will Navidson nor his companion Karen Green was prepared to face the consequences of that impossibility, until the day their two little children wandered off and their voices eerily began to return another story—of creature darkness, of an ever-growing abyss behind a closet door, and of that unholy growl which soon enough would tear through their walls and consume all their dreams.</i></div></i><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">A booktuber/bookstagrammer I've followed since roughly 2013 named Katie, who also goes by the username <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8106992-katie">ChapterStackss</a>, has mentioned this book several times in her videos over the years. It took me until earlier this year when it popped up again somewhere, probably a bookstore e-newsletter under the Horror category, to consider giving it a read.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The first thing that comes mind upon finishing this is <i><u>what</u> <u>a</u> <u>mind</u></i>. Seriously, how intricate, how exploratory, how vivid, how encroaching. No one can approach <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i> with pre-conceived conventions. Horror is on every single page. Bumps in the night or in the shadows of memories. I want to heartily thank Mr. Danielewski for sitting down with his publisher and saying, "Just trust me on this."*</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The novel follows two separate storylines, with multiple branches stemming from the main ones of Will Navidson, the filmmaker behind the documentary: <i>The Navidson Record, </i>and Johnny Truant who organized and added notes from a man named </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Zampanò who before him, obsessed to provide a cohesive and coherent understanding of the documentary. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It reminded me of Mary Shelley's <i>Frankenstein</i>, part epistolary, part story within story, but then Danielewski got experimental because furthermore it's: part poetry, part documentary, part essay, part novel, part art, part obsession, part meta, wholly avant-garde. I carried this book, and spun it around, held it up and flipped back and forth because of the innumerable ways to read this. One of my favorite parts was when Danielewski would briefly hint at something mysterious going on from the perspective of one character, and then later on show the other side of the mystery from a different perspective so that we come full circle to a complete understanding of what the first character saw or said. I would be remiss to omit how <i>down the rabbit hole</i> you go with this. Almost never-ending, but in a way, do we want to find the end? Love me some Alice in Wonderland shenanigans. I did a quick check for an audiobook version (haha there is none) mostly just to see if it was possible to have this read in that format. I apologize for anyone that is legally blind. Secretly, a small part of me is glad that it can't be stolen by another medium. It's a book, and a book that cannot be bought. Try as it might, I don't think Hollywood would be able to bring this story justice.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Perhaps the most daunting thing aside from the length is the vocabulary. Which slowed my reading pace, however nourished my mind. (For any Outlander readers, let me know if it reminded you of Gabaldon.) Ah, to whet the mind, in the age of bustle and time is money, to sit and read a book, really <i>read</i>. Soak in the essence of a story, the voice of an author or the characters, be immersed in a world that makes me glad I live in this one.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I, for one, am not a horror fan. I don't voluntarily go to Halloween Horror Nights or be the first in line to the theater with popcorn and soda for the next horror blockbuster. It's a genre I treat myself to on occasion. And yet funnily enough, two of my top five reads this year have been in horror. Whodofthunk! As you've probably surmised by now throughout my reviews, I like to jump around genres; not committing this blog to any particular one. I have a gravity toward being an eclectic reader and it's something I try hard not to shy away from. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The nature of this novel after some time becomes very cultish. Not just within the novel. While I had a personal goal of finishing this in a week, requiring me to spend copious amounts of my free time focusing on reading this, I still found myself unable to put this book down. I had obligations elsewhere and I said no, and returned to the <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span></i>. That's the pull this book has on you. Intertwining you the way Johnny becomes consumed by Zampanò's legacy of scribbles and notes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Part of this appeal was the fact, like I mentioned earlier, this was so many stories in one. Not short stories, but stories within stories, within stories, within stories . . . Very Inceptionesque. A case of Storyception? Okay, I'll leave the humor to Johnny. The point is the structure was fascinating to me. If I had to ask one question to the author it might be how long it took him to try and structure this because it took forever reading, imagine having to figure the order out.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now, as much as I extol, it would be untrue for me to say it's</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">from page 1 to the last</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—non-stop</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> engrossing. I'll admit the times I put it down were in certain segments where the book became a little too experimental. (Mostly in Johnny's parts. Sorry Johnny.) In the rather droning, pedantic, edging toward pretentious scholarly structure of myths and philosophies dictations. But even these parts that dulled me were still a contribution to the tone of the story that, maybe, I couldn't appreciate the first read around. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> is about obsession. It's about facing the truth you've refused to confront. Monsters and terror and gritty disappointments in life. One hat cerebral, one hat heartbreaking. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I rave about books because they offer something I've never seen before, something that enthralls me, and what I believe will capture you too. A challenge then, to find another novel that comes close to this. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Can there be another?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>We all create stories to protect ourselves.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>This is not for you.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: start;">—Mark Z. Danielewski, <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>In the Hall with the Knife</i> by Diana Peterfreund</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I apologize. I honestly believe it's a disservice to spoil <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i>. There are a myriad of reviews, discussions, and spoilers on the interwebs that may explain any thoughts I might have better anyhoo. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Forgive me.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I will however add a fun fact and a question:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <u>Fun fact</u>: It didn't take me until pg 535/662 to realize there were actual real texts being cited. Not all granted, a lot of them are fake, but there <i>were</i> some real ones and when I realized that so close to the end I was embarrassed. But not enough to not share with you. :0)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <u>Question</u>: What was the third dream in chapter 17? Did I read that chapter too fast? Was it the Navidson Record itself??</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. I like to listen to instrumental/film scores and here are a couple I recommend pairing while reading <i><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span> of Leaves</i>:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i style="font-family: georgia;">Scenes from a Marriage</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Soundtrack by Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine</span></li><li><i>The Revenant</i> Soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto, alva noto, and Bryce Dessner</li><li><i>The Haunting of Hill <span style="color: #9fc5e8;">House</span></i> Soundtrack by The Newton Brothers</li><li><i>The Haunting of Bly Manor</i> Soundtrack by The Newton Brothers</li><li><i>Tales from the Loop</i> Soundtrack by Philip Glass and Paul Leonard-Morgan</li></ul></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.P.S. Take notes reading this.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">*not literally. (unless this really did happen . . . then baller) </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-15562218336261449932021-10-09T15:38:00.000-04:002021-10-09T15:38:41.467-04:00Mexican Gothic Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Happy Spooktober! It's the beginning of the bumper-to-bumper seasons extravaganza with the months flowing into the other like leaves on a breeze. October begins my annual challenge of reading four horror reads during the month, and a little over a week in, I've completed my first book. So far not bad.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i>Mexican Gothic</i> by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53152636-mexican-gothic?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=YPCYt9gs3Q&rank=1">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i> After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i> begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom,</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i> Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i> Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i> cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffe599;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i> and Noemí knows little about the region.</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecnMxc0qutz2-9ZXn2pMF0gfBLWLQDqwrBLJ1JJlsWdwZhW73lLSCzjAkjAGBIxANSnsdgB2xP7p_V7mW9lRIJXI-OxHiAb0vysqP9Wjacf6TPqe9lUb1Dk55QEqwxSIeW-aPMmAggHA/s2048/IMG_7655c2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiecnMxc0qutz2-9ZXn2pMF0gfBLWLQDqwrBLJ1JJlsWdwZhW73lLSCzjAkjAGBIxANSnsdgB2xP7p_V7mW9lRIJXI-OxHiAb0vysqP9Wjacf6TPqe9lUb1Dk55QEqwxSIeW-aPMmAggHA/s320/IMG_7655c2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div></i></span></div><i><span style="color: #ffe599;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded </i><i>mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> Noemí </i><i>digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> madness.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i> leave </i><i>this enigmatic house behind.</i></div></span></i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">This book was a big commercial release of 2020 and I had to wait a few months for my library to have the loan available earlier this year, but I returned it not long after starting. I've decided to give this book another try, which I will elaborate further below.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>Mexican Gothic</i> falls under the type of novel that gets a lot of hype and try as it might, doesn't deliver. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Cosmetically, the inciting incident, the climax, the resolution . . . there were only faint traces of demanding stakes from start to finish. But those are just the poles to the tent, what about the canvas of characters? While the colors described in <i>Mexican Gothic</i> were bold (intentional), the characters were not. In part it was the small cast of characters, in part the characters feeling flat through their dialogue, in part the focus on romance which could have been sidelined so there was more focus on the protagonist's ambitions to help her cousin and with her interactions with the townspeople of El Triunfo. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> Being that <i>Mexican Gothic</i> follows one key figure, I'll focus on </span>Noemí. The downfalls of writing in a later era than what the novel is based on is that contemporary ideas tend to seep in, and while attempting to make the novel and its characters "progressive," it does the opposite. Her headstrong independent mind erodes into a submissive handcuffed one the longer she spends at High Palace, the Doyle family home and setting of the novel. The threats that transformed her weren't strong enough for me to believe her character or her personality to shift so dramatically. There's an eager trend in novels of the past decade to have a "strong" female protagonist. One that "don't need no man." That doesn't care about others opinions on her. In that respect, Noemí hits the mark, she's a spoiled, detached young woman who wants to pursue becoming an academic by earning her university fees by accomplishing this one family matter to protect the family reputation. However, there are many female protagonists in literature that are like that and when reading through their perspective feel like they have muscles, bones, and nerves under the skin. Noemí felt more of a caricature than a leading role character. Silly. And while living a "wild" life, on the cusp of uninteresting, And considering I'm <u>always</u> excited to read about a Latina protagonist in mainstream literature (especially when it involves a little bit of magic or magical realism), it's a greater disappointment when the characterization doesn't pan out in a satisfactory manner.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> In general, the main characters weren't standout or multi-faceted despite the bright colored clothes and descriptions of the gloomy mansion. If anyone stood out it was the house High Palace: over </span><span>Noemí, over Catalina</span>—Noemí's cousin, and Virgil—Catalina's husband. There were a few select scenes that started to dive into the horror of this gothic tale, but then it was cut off and reduced to a trope. Suddenly the mysticism of the novel was sapped. It didn't help that the writing of the narrative didn't blow me away. My interest was most piqued when Moreno-Garcia showcased Noemí's knowledge on chemicals; for me</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">the smartest part of the novel, if it wasn't going to be written like a craft. Ironic, </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Beauty was </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">a major theme.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I'm not an expert or extensive reader of gothic tales but I know Beauty was an integral placeholder in society and common theme in novels during the height of the Gothic era. People were given opportunities and set up in love matches based off of the superficial characteristics of a desired party (which of course isn't so much different from nowadays but let's set that aside, and I'm ignoring classism because emphasis in this novel was on the superficial), so it makes sense for Beauty to make an appearance in <i>Mexican Gothic</i>. Not just once or twice, beauty is mentioned to an exhaustive, annoying degree. I won't be remiss to admit this ties in with the patriarch Howard Doyle's beliefs, but after a point the incessant mention of beauty and people's looks became gaudy, almost cheap. What irked me was that Noemí wasn't just beautiful, she was an <i>exotic</i> beauty with her darkness and unorthodox behavior amidst the pale European members of High Palace. More of a spectacle like a circus act than a person who happened to have different physical features. Which leads me to one of my biggest problems with the novel.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While being set in Mexico and having a young woman who has the characteristics of many Latinos, this is very much a Eurocentric novel. Nearly every cast member has pale features, has a white name, or speaks only in English. In fact it's stated early in the second chapter that only English is allowed in High Palace. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Even a Latina can't be a worthy enough protagonist in a "Latin-set" novel. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Noemí's the promiscuous, rebellious, rich young lady with dark features that is the poor influence on the sanctimonious, sterile, pale Doyles. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Noemí is Othered in appearances in the household. She is disruptive of the household customs with her talking and smoking. Her one redeemable, likeable trait is having concern for her cousin, but then that is overshadowed by the desire (not love) triangle between </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Noemí, Virgil, and Francis</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—Virgil's cousin. Not to mention</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> she is ultimately doing this so her father will pay for her university fees</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—so if there were no stipulations would </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Noemí be as willing to travel to this place? I think not</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Also the author mentions American scientists left and right, which reflects research from a modern author on a past time than a 1950s woman who, if is actually pursuing to be taken seriously as an academic, would know of any or at least a few prominent scientists in her native country during her time. I'm sure there were at least a couple, c'mon. So yes, technically it's set in Mexico, and there is Spanish thrown in there once or twice, but push those details aside (which the novel does) you would assume this was taking place in England or even New England.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Hands down the American First Edition cover is gorgeous. I'll be bold to say one of my favorite book covers of all time, however that's where the promise and spellbinding efforts of the novel comes to a halt. The twists and horrors of the novel were predictable and reminiscent of other stories that accomplished similar tropes and narratives more successfully. I mentioned in the Reference that I tried reading this earlier this year and gave it up quickly and decided to give it another try for October for several reasons. One, I heard this was being made into a Tv show and am one of those esoteric readers who prefers to read the book before watching the film/Tv show. (At least <i>try </i>to, if it's for a new novel with an adaptation that hasn't been released yet or for an older film/tv show that I didn't know was adapted from a novel beforehand.) Two, sometimes I just start books at the wrong time and it skews my experience of reading and ruins a perfectly enjoyable story, so second chances are well earned. Three, a friend recommended this to me <i>Hey Kelly!</i> :) and if someone recommends a book, especially when it's one I've heard a lot about in reading circles, I consider picking it up more.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While the novel had other issues that made me clash with the basest of bases of reading a book</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">simply enjoying it</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—I'll wrap it up here. This is my second novel by Moreno-Garcia, previously having read <i>Gods of Jade and Shadow </i>and enjoying that one more only by a sliver, and this will most likely be my last of this author's novels. Two is usually my limit for an author. If they can't draw me back in by the second book, I won't consider them again. Great marketing, first-rate book designers, alluring titles names, however at the end of the day the story needs to be the real beauty.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I give this book 2/5 stars.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">—Oscar Wilde</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>House of Leaves</i> by Mark Z. Danielewski</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">A lot, and I mean a lot of people who talk about <i>Mexican Gothic</i> and want to compare it to other Gothic/Dark Fantasy entertainment out in the world almost always compare it to Guillermo del Toro's <i>Crimson Peak</i>. Which is a disservice because the legend gave us <i>Crimson Peak,</i> <i>Pan's Labyrinth</i>, <i>The Shape of Water, </i>and shoot even <i>Hellboy.</i> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i> </i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-18589885495836741172021-09-30T21:01:00.002-04:002021-10-09T09:36:50.695-04:00Beloved Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'm rather curious fellow readers. What kind of music do you listen to? I like a bit of everything, which I know everyone says until you spit every genre of music but the only one they actually listen to, but I consider myself an honorary member of the eclectic music listener club. Latin music? Yeah! Show tunes? Cue <i>De-FYing Gravity</i>! Opera and Kpop? Sure! Rock, country, R&B? I love playlists that mix them altogether like Trail Mix. Scores? <u>All</u>. <u>Day</u>. <u>Every</u>. <u>Day</u>. I will say there are a few genres that don't quite fit anywhere in my library: Death Metal and Screamo. This all has nothing to do with the book review but we can depart and if anything, you'd have likely skipped this paragraph by now.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I didn't plan this but we're reaching the end of National Book Banning Week on October 2, so I'm glad I got to share one of the works of an author prominently and frequently on that list. How books can be banned I'll never understand. Books set us free. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So even if we don't read the same books, I say enjoy my friends. Read anything and everything.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>Beloved </i>by Toni Morrison is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6149.Beloved?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Cs3KePwpXD&rank=1">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><div><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i>Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i>spellbinding and dazzlingly innovative portrait of a woman </i></span></div><div><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i>haunted by the past.</i></span></div><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZue0kKsFG7V-GOj_zDaJ-VQL03nhKL7h6DPXUUyzV023pHUNWJcAt0c7PYWkThyH4MQMJTVqyhlQVJRFsLLtR8JjCuz67N9uoNIVU9Zz5Bxq_iMzFHHXQwx3MrYsYnvF7rqL_-AknDw/s2048/IMG_7586b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilZue0kKsFG7V-GOj_zDaJ-VQL03nhKL7h6DPXUUyzV023pHUNWJcAt0c7PYWkThyH4MQMJTVqyhlQVJRFsLLtR8JjCuz67N9uoNIVU9Zz5Bxq_iMzFHHXQwx3MrYsYnvF7rqL_-AknDw/s320/IMG_7586b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad, yet she is still held captive by memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. Meanwhile Sethe’s house has long been troubled by the angry, destructive ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved.<br /><br />Sethe works at beating back the past, but it makes itself heard and felt incessantly in her memory and in the lives of those around her. When a mysterious teenage girl arrives, calling herself Beloved, Sethe’s terrible secret explodes into the present.<br /><br />Combining the visionary power of legend with the </i></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i>unassailable truth of history, Morrison’s unforgettable novel</i></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8;"><i>is one of the great and enduring works of American literature. </i></span></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I read her first novel <i>The Bluest Eye </i>with my sister early last year and wasn't as drawn into the story so much as drawn by her writing. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">However I loved her voice so much I wanted to give another one of her books a chance. (</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">It tickles me to remember how I used to think a book without plot, even if it has nice writing, wasn't worth reading. Oh how times have changed!) </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What drew me to reading <i>Beloved </i>now and not adding it to my growing TBR pile with some books remaining untouched for over ten years (eek!) was watching her documentary: <i>Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am </i>(2019) currently available on Hulu. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I humbly ask, please, even if you aren't interested in reading this book, at least give the documentary a watch. It's two hours long but by the end I think you won't be able to resist picking up one of her books.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Two years since she's passed but it's an honor having lived when she lived. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">R.I.P. Ms. Morrison. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Wow.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It isn't frequent a book takes root in my head. There are layers and layers of depth and patience the author conveys through her characters: Sethe and Paul D and Denver. Firstly I think what struck me most and what hooked me to the story from the first chapter was the fact this novel had magical realism. I didn't expect anything beyond the cadences of mainstream literature and, being set shortly after the Civil War, explicitly social issues. To that I say shame on me because this is one of the few literary award winners that I've read that I actually agree deserved to win. Our Toni Morrison wouldn't make a story <i>that </i>easy to read. She would've wanted us to ache and grieve and hope and forgive and live.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now as a fantasy fan I'd like to remark that the magical realism isn't superficial. It's simply another character, one that plays a pivotal role in the novel. Magical realism was the second element that drew and hooked me in after her writing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The novel is set in a small town in Ohio, where not only did slaves seek freedom in, but the author herself lived in her youth. She remarks in her documentary, which I mentioned in the Reference section above, that she lived in a town in her youth with as much diversity as the American Melting Pot metaphor implies. Diversity in ethnicity, but with all the complexities seen in novels normally depicted as white people. Morrison had been interviewed and critically reviewed being asked why she focused so much of her narratives through the lens of black people. She phrased it along the lines of being that most narratives in fiction that people read or that people are taught are through the white gaze. She wrote her narratives like many white writers did. Because she wrote the stories she wanted to tell. Because it shouldn't warrant explaining. Her stories revolve around black people; they don't explain them or make them idealized. Her characters feel real because of the attention and devotion Morrison felt toward these people who deserve to have their stories told. A recurring theme: understanding that just because you didn't live it, doesn't mean you can't feel for them and learn to understand their thoughts and emotions. Which are valid. Beautifully. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>Beloved</i> follows Sethe, a single mother who exists day by day, not living a life worthy of an escaped slave because of the traumas of her past. The owners of Sweet Home, the estate she escaped from, find her and push her to act in one of the most vicious acts committed on earth. Eighteen years after committing the act the past still lingers. In the walls of 124, where Sethe and Denver live alone but not alone. A ghost, manifested. Their isolated life is disrupted when Sweet Home comes calling again, but this time it isn't a slaveowner but a former slave. Paul D, a friend of Sethe from Sweet Home, brings the world back into their lives, beginning a chain of events that will lead them to confront what they've refused to confront. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Sethe's fear consumes her and Morrison intricately weaves that fear through the past and present, allowing triumph in despair and redemption in despondency. Sethe's fear transferred to her daughter Denver, who never leaves 124 and is in fact afraid to leave 124 on her own. Denver's </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">reliance on Sethe and dissatisfaction with the arrival of Paul D is an element of dependency Sethe was unconsciously instilling in her daughter. Sethe wanted freedom for her daughter but didn't encourage social interactions or world trekking. She wanted freedom for her daughter but never explained the life altering events eighteen years prior to the beginning of the novel. Denver only had rumors, whispers, and ghosts.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A mother's love can't be defined. A mother's love is more than what nature instills in human beings. What it dictates should be right and wrong. The violence and extremes a mother takes is something that not every mother can commit, but maybe something every mother can understand because they know what it means to bring a life into this world and be responsible for it, in the baby's life or not. As for the rest of us, what enigmas mothers are. How powerful and intuitive and caring and loving. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Word choice should always be deliberate and none more so than when naming characters. At first reading the novel I thought Morrison chose such interesting names, but when I learned how they were given their names, I couldn't believe there was a way of loving Morrison even more. Names are possessions and I never framed it that way before reading this.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Amy is a character that for some reason reminds me of Tom Bombadil from Tolkien's <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>. She comes out of no where and is unexpectedly not what the reader imagines her to be and is extremely likable. She's the Edna to Sethe and Denver's Incredibles.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It's challenging describing this book. Is it sad? Yes. But there are so many small droplets of love constantly throughout that you don't realize the tragedies and cruelties of the world because you're in a rain storm of love. It reminds me of how I felt after finishing the novel <i>Moloka'i </i>by Alan Brennert. The beauty of living even when it seems like life is nothing but a never-ending tragedy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>Beloved </i>has heart and scars. It has soul and speaks loudly in the quietness. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> After writing my review I feel it unworthy of her novel. I just ask, please take the time to fall in love with <i>Beloved</i>. You'll see.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>Anything dead coming back to life hurts."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: left;">—</span>Toni Morrison, <i>Beloved</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Mexican Gothic</i> by Silvia Moreno-Garcia</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I will keep my spoilers short because <i>Beloved </i>isn't necessarily a novel focused on plot and action. There isn't an endgame that the characters have to reach. Not externally. <i>Beloved</i>'s about forgiveness. About acceptance. Opening up hurts so you can trust again. About loving. Yourself, others, the world.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> My biggest question I never found clarity in was how Sethe left prison after only a short time there. She murdered her daughter, even disregarding the added element of the daughter being considered property in the eyes of the schoolteacher and slave hunter, murder had to have given her more time in prison. Denver was with her mother out of prison going to a school when she was around eight so Sethe was in prison for less than a decade. And why did anyone or Baby Suggs let Sethe take Denver with her to prison in the first place considering she literally tried to kill all of her kids? It just doesn't sit right. Perhaps another reread!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Nearing the end of the book Morrison becomes experimental which I loved, loved, <u>loved</u>. We jump perspectives between characters almost like a parent winding down a young child at the end of the night with a bedtime story. We have a chapter of Beloved's insightfully unique perspective where one chapter is written without punctuation as if there is no beginning and end in Beloved's eyes. Another chapter where dialogue is written like free verse. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Morrison gives us vividly graphic images, two in particular, that gives me goosebumps every time I think about them. A baby breastfeeding with the blood of her murdered sister mixed with the milk. Amy describing the scars on Sethe's back as a chokecherry tree.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The end where Sethe tries to kill Mr. Bodwin is more of an ambiguous ending to me than Beloved disappearing. I liked that Morrison showed Beloved becoming less vocal, as if all the words were now out and she should return back to the realm she arrived from. Denver getting a job to take care of her mother, learning to grow up even after having little reason to motivate her, making friends with the townspeople, I was just overall very proud of her.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Excellence in women lifting other women up. I'm all for it.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-45953233797959795982021-09-21T21:41:00.005-04:002022-01-21T13:04:40.119-05:00The Fifth Season Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">For the first time in years I feel like we're having a normal Florida summer. Refreshing! Rainy afternoons becoming a daily expectancy makes cozying up in my favorite reading corner and diving head first into the pages of a book and not coming up for air until the last page has turned somewhat . . . achievable . . . <i>What??</i>?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Books that win awards for me are usually mine fields. A good portion of books that I pick up with a pretty sticker about winning such and such award usually are the books that I end up disliking. But there are the diamonds in the rough, which is why I still deign to pick them up.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i>The Fifth Season </i>is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19161852-the-fifth-season">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="color: #ea9999; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i> This is the way the world ends. Again.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcLYIV01Q6XynXv_23IGFAzW9KomDSoIlHOyRLDj6cVDAUogOkfI8Quu4rrI82UWkgsC34V9lm-75mfZiomij0bbx-QEp_Nr62lGwAphwlXorHTttqxeSiBJHO5Co6kbvrKN-ob5HYHA/s2048/IMG_7554c.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcLYIV01Q6XynXv_23IGFAzW9KomDSoIlHOyRLDj6cVDAUogOkfI8Quu4rrI82UWkgsC34V9lm-75mfZiomij0bbx-QEp_Nr62lGwAphwlXorHTttqxeSiBJHO5Co6kbvrKN-ob5HYHA/s2048/IMG_7554c.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBcLYIV01Q6XynXv_23IGFAzW9KomDSoIlHOyRLDj6cVDAUogOkfI8Quu4rrI82UWkgsC34V9lm-75mfZiomij0bbx-QEp_Nr62lGwAphwlXorHTttqxeSiBJHO5Co6kbvrKN-ob5HYHA/s320/IMG_7554c.jpg" width="213" /></a></div> Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.</i></div></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i>Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic </i><i>resources necessary to get through the long dark night. </i><i>Essun does not care if the world falls apart around </i></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i> her. </i><i>She'll </i><i>break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.</i></div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fun little story. I first learned about N.K. Jemisin in college about seven years ago. I was perusing my local Barnes and Noble's Fantasy section when I browsed over a title. After sliding it from the shelf I fell in love with the cover. Not an hour later I was bringing it home with me after being drawn into the synopsis. The title? <i>The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.</i> I can't say hand to Bible it was my first fantasy with a main character who wasn't white and wasn't male, but it was the first that made a lasting impression: recognizing how few POC leads we see in the genre. Thankfully in the past seven years that has changed and it's made goliaths like <i>The Fifth Season </i>get the recognition and acclaim it deserves. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">BUT I'm getting ahead of myself, let's review!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> N.K. Jemisin is a writer I wish more people outside of the book world knew about. She has this otherworldly talent of creating worlds dipped with so much culture and energy that matches the pace of <i>our</i> world, with all the buckets full of complexities called human emotions which is flooded in regular fiction but rarely given its due in fantasy. Reports say she is in the works of producing her trilogy to film/television and it's hard for me to resist imagining how amazing this tale will be in that format. To be fair, every time they announce a new fantasy show I go crazy for even a teaser trailer.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>The Fifth Season</i> follows three perspectives: Damaya, our youngest recruit into the Fulcrum's fold learning to become an orogene; Syenite, an established but not yet independent adult orogene; and Essun, a weathered orogene who has suffered the worst tragedies a mother could experience. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Over the course of the novel we learn about orogenes, people with the ability to feel and control seismic vibrations and earthly substances; and second-rate citizens in the nation called the Stillness. Their powers are leashed by overseers known as Guardians, who show very early on in a young orogene's education the lengths they will go to maintain control over them. They are not alone, this world has other creatures who are as mystifying and powerful as orogenes and Guardians with their own enigmatic culture.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It helps when I write down names for novels with large casts, and while this one has a lot, I felt like the players came and left reminiscent of actors on stage. In general, I particularly like when we meet new people late in the novel or when people who appear once in the beginning still have significance by the end even if they aren't mentioned for hundreds of pages. It's part plot structuring, part realism, part fluid storytelling. Jemisin isn't a newbie writer, her command of the skin and muscle of this world made stepping into it navigable. With the assistance of a glossary and appendix at the end, it reminded me of <i>The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms</i>, and like then was much appreciated because large casts are one thing to handle, new vocabulary and slang is another.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The three protagonists are burdened with more than their uneasy pasts, they represent generations stuck in a world where their very futures are set out to fail them. It's easy to slide into the shoes of Damaya, Syenite, and Essun as we navigate the Stillness through the eyes of those limited in their power because culturally and physically their hands are bound. Their anger, frustration, and feelings of injustice becomes ours. Because how can someone with so much power be put to heel? Usually it is the very display and demonstration of power that makes these sorts of people in fantasy rule over others. But in the Stillness, they are Othered, they are not respected. People fear what they do not understand and fear what they do not wish to understand. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Fantasy is our world through another lens.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Nearly every chapter ends with verses from an implied religious text, lyrics from songs, lines from poems, and excerpts from history textbooks. Remember the culture and energy I mentioned before? I adored these inclusions because it wasn't necessarily tied with anything specific in the narrative. Appearing over our heads maybe. It's just a part of this world like ours has its own written and oral compositions. The language felt organic and sacred.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Stories, and most all fantasy, focus on relationships. Relationships between characters, relationships between nature and characters, and in fantasy we usually find the plot is pulled forward by its supernatural elements. You can't just have magic happening without people or creatures to control said magic. I can't even think of a fantasy where that happens. But the magic within the Stillness, the orogeny possessed by a select, special, random few is as much a presence because of its mammoth potential. Controlling the elements as a superpower is a dime a dozen (not that that's bad</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—it's visually stunning and tangible, which translates easily either reading or watching on film), however it is how Jemisin handles this power of controlling the earth that is uniquely impressive. Not only is the militarily-enforced restraint of power an interesting dynamic to have within the confines of an unbalanced place, but on a grander scale the great power propels greater consequences: the fifth seasons. Lasting months to decades, the fifth seasons are extended winters due to the manipulation people have placed on the earth. The earth responds to what is done to it. <i>Fantasy is our world through another lens.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Of course I'm focusing on the themes which stood out the most to me, but maybe I've gone too below the surface. What about the skin, the perfumes, the dressing of this novel? Jemisin (*I'm hoping*) isn't trying to fool the reader but as you approach the end you realize what she has been doing structuring this novel the way she has. Spoilers of course, but the positioning of the story blocks and as you follow them one by one, you begin to put together that those blocks had in actuality been steps and those steps were leading you to the top of a view that leaves you breathless and prepared to dive into the next novel with a greater perspective of your surroundings. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>The Fifth Season </i>is a world with many creatures. I mention the orogenes but there are others that reveal themselves and maybe (hopefully) others that haven't been brought to light yet but that we'll meet in future books. The enigmatic nature and actions of one of these creatures is one of the brightest feathers on this parrot. As readers we want answers to many if not all our questions, however the fact that the peoples of the Stillness know so little about this certain race of creature (which I'll divulge has to do with stones) makes their presence and prevalence less of an accessory standing beside orogenes and more of a novelty. There is more to be learned and more to surprise us. Not all the mysteries of the world can be explained. And while I have my next few reads for Spooktober already chosen, I can't wait to return to the Stillness.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4.5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"Some say the Earth is angry<br />Because he wants no company;</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>I say the Earth is angry</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Because he lives alone.</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Ancient (pre-Imperial) folk song"</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-N.K. Jemisin, <i>The Fifth Season</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Beloved</i> by Toni Morrison</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Is it funny to anyone else how the premise of the book is sort of never actualized? Being that this is a trilogy I guess it goes without saying that one of the major plots would continue to be addressed in the following installments, however we spent more time with one of her deceased children than the one we're chasing after, not to mention the youngest, Uche, who was killed before the beginning of the book. I don't want to say this is misleading, but it's definitely one of the heaviest failures I found for the book, which by my review, doesn't have many at all.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Are there any Hoa fans out there? I tried to keep my raving of him in my review to a minimum but my goodness, learning Essun's chapters were actually from <i>his</i> perspective made my jaw drop. He is certainly more than he's made himself out to be, and I can't wait to see him and Essun team up with Alabaster in the next book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The open relationship between Syen, Alabaster, and Innon was beautifully choreographed. The insecurities and power-plays in an individual level were expanded on in a relationship platform that worked well because of who the players were. All three are orogenes, all three powerful and with something to offer each other. Physical or emotional support, I loved their dynamic and how they each respected one another. Alabaster being the most powerful of the three yet being the most vulnerable and insecure made him quirky and relatable despite his first impressions. But the exchanges between himself and Syen, how they maintained their friendship and respected one another was one of the greatest achievements on a character level. They were creatures assigned to one another to breed but they in their own way successfully came to an understanding. Surviving the lesser passionate elements of marriage, they came to rely and depend on one another in a way more admirable than other thrilling narratives of a traditional relationship.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would be remiss if I didn't share my thoughts on the whole three people are actually one twist. We learn who they are a little over 100 pages from the end and come on, it was unexpected (at least for me!) because it was revealed so fluidly. It totally gave me Netflix's <i>The Witcher </i>vibes. Or even 2016's <i>Arrival</i>. We think we're following a traditional narrative only to discover time is subjective and it takes going through the hurdles to find at the end we've come full circle. Beginnings, ends, the story can have more than one of each. It all depends on the perspective.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Fantasy is our world through another lens.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-32780324479843514922021-08-29T17:25:00.001-04:002021-09-19T00:22:50.021-04:00Lights on the Sea Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Fall is less than a month away and I think I'm the only one who doesn't want fall to start just yet. I still want bright summer colors and shorts. Not like Florida will be cooling down anytime before December. I wish summer was a few months longer this year. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> No? Only me? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> :)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I love finding indie authors or authors not really discussed on Booktube or Bookstagram or Booktwitter. Some of my favorite books were actually relatively unknown/undiscussed authors until they kept writing and the world discovered them. What is it about finding a fantastic author and keeping them to yourself as if you've discovered the next big thing? Of course I want success for my authors so I'm glad they found more readers. Let's see if this author will join their ranks!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The synopsis for </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">Lights on the Sea</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> by Miquel Reina is provided by </span><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40175491-lights-on-the-sea?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xMnxG6yMqx&rank=1" style="font-family: georgia;">Goodreads</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNZZsMiD-8IOQjDAv_dNaPtsCjL_ZUTh-H6TchcDBTD2SafTgKp2duddRf2Nmvdb8IdICJsWEO0T8PO2WSxCVlnvn4AWPgAjsVxawjuLbdCelYi0bMmq-bcNhdQKQOBABXHuSkkHZvYU/s2048/IMG_7536b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNZZsMiD-8IOQjDAv_dNaPtsCjL_ZUTh-H6TchcDBTD2SafTgKp2duddRf2Nmvdb8IdICJsWEO0T8PO2WSxCVlnvn4AWPgAjsVxawjuLbdCelYi0bMmq-bcNhdQKQOBABXHuSkkHZvYU/s2048/IMG_7536b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNZZsMiD-8IOQjDAv_dNaPtsCjL_ZUTh-H6TchcDBTD2SafTgKp2duddRf2Nmvdb8IdICJsWEO0T8PO2WSxCVlnvn4AWPgAjsVxawjuLbdCelYi0bMmq-bcNhdQKQOBABXHuSkkHZvYU/s320/IMG_7536b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><br /></span></i></div>On the highest point of an island, in a house clinging to the edge of a cliff, live Mary Rose and Harold Grapes, a retired couple still mourning the death of their son thirty-five years before. Weighed down by decades of grief and memories, the Grapes have never moved past the tragedy. Then, on the eve of eviction from the most beautiful and dangerously unstable perch in the area, they’re uprooted by a violent storm. The disbelieving Grapes and their home take a free-fall slide into the white-capped sea and float away.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #b6d7a8;"><br /></span></i></div></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">As the past that once moored them recedes and disappears, Mary Rose and Harold are delivered from decades of sorrow by the ebb and flow of the waves. Ahead of them, a light shimmers on the horizon, guiding them toward a revelatory and cathartic new engagement with life, and all its wonder.</span></i></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was a couple years ago but I'm pretty sure I saw the pretty cover in the recommendations list on Goodreads. Judge a book by its cover? Yes. Yes I do.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The most reminiscent thing about this story is the fact it's a maritime Up. We have an elderly couple (or in Up's case widower) thrown into an adventure they didn't sign up for embarking on said quest aboard their steedy house which holds all the memories the couple had made together since their early marriage days. While Up has a bit more fantasy than LotS, they both travel to far off distances and encounter many challenging and unexpected things. (Because if not, would this be a story many of us would want to hear?)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I will say I jumped into this novel expecting it to have more fantastical elements in it. So disclosure, this is very much a grounded (pun intended) survival story. They are castaways, unconventional in premise, but stranded helpless castaways all the same.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The cast of the story is not large with a good portion of the narrative pingponging between husband and wife. In my opinion, the first half of the book didn't do justice to Mr. and Mrs. Grapes. It was in the latter half that I felt their characters shined. While I understand it's due to the "character growth" they experience over the course of the novel, I think they could have been written better in the early pages. They're from a small island, rather reclusive due to the unfortunate tragedy thirty-five years earlier, however at the beginning the characters speak and are represented rather flatly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This is only in the beginning though, which I would say push through if you experience the same thoughts as me because the second half of the book is well worth reaching. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Stories on grief are hard to swallow, because even if the action for the reason of grieving is quick, the process following the action is not. Grief can rarely be put into something as simple as words because the feelings from the experiences you share with people who we've lost can never truly be represented <i>even</i> in words. People may do the best they can describing their pain, but rarely can words or physical comfort be a healer to the heart. Even time cannot be measured, as for example the Grapes still grieve thirty-five years later. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Add grief on top of the biggest challenge: an elderly couple having to survive in an environment they were not created for: the open sea. <i>On top</i> of the fact they've never actually left their home island, so surviving is going to be from things they've read/heard while living in the small beach town OR learning spur-of-the-moment. Things are going to go sideways even if this wasn't a novel. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Takeaways from <i>Lights on the Sea</i> isn't hard to gather. Value things that you have because we take for granted the little blessings in our lives. We can't forget to live, not just exist. Life is an adventure and nothing can really prepare us for what is thrown at us, it's how we accept those things if we choose to accept them at all. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The writing isn't anything remarkable. It's the heart of the story that stands out more. It isn't trying to be grandiose. This is a simple story with simple people with a message that should resonate with people who have lost someone and maybe even those who haven't. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Another novel I'd recommend that follows along the lines of struggling through life is a book I read recently <i>The Midnight Library </i>by Matt Haig, which handles dark subjects like depression, suicide, but similarly to <i>Lights on the Sea</i>: grief and despondency.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 3/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"I don't think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Anne Frank</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Fifth Season</i> by N.K. Jemisin</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I touched on this in my review but I was expecting there to be more fantasy in the adventure across the sea. The closest we see it is in the volcanic rock that supports the house. I'm not a geologist so I still don't know if the volcanic material is based off facts or Reina was bending the facts to suit the narrative. Either way, bending laws of physics for stories is a tricky business. I think because Reina kept it to just one aspect of the story (although the biggest turning point)—it worked.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> But the <i>actual</i> most unbelievable thing is when Mr. and Mrs. Grapes find a small village in the arctic tundra and they? speak? English? Now <i>that's</i> a stretch. Sure they have traded with travelers but I don't see why a) they would treat the Grapes' so coldly if they could communicate with them in English or b) how the villagers could be <u>so</u> fluent in English. If one day a random old couple were found on my land on the brink of death I wouldn't treat them with such ardent suspicion if my fellow villagers and I have had had contact with others who spoke the same language and therefore the capability to communicate with them. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-71802647377458101882021-07-30T21:37:00.003-04:002021-08-25T15:30:46.148-04:00The Only Good Indians Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some big milestones. First and foremost: the Olympics are here! Woohoo! I am a sucker for the Olympic Games and particularly love watching the swimming and gymnastics events. While I'm cheering on the U.S. I still become oddly proud when the smaller countries or countries that haven't won many medals win. Mostly I just love the good sportsmanship between the athletes. We all needed this after last year.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And I would be remiss to neglect mentioning the world reached Earth Overshoot Day yesterday, a day where people exceed the limit of natural resources from the Earth we would be able to regenerate in that year. For us Americans, we reached it March 14. Eek! I don't want to get preachy, but we need to do better. A book that discusses climate change that I recommend is <i>The Future We Choose</i>: <i>Surviving the Climate Crisis</i> by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, which discusses steps we have taken to get where we are and what we can do moving forward. I have a book review for it too!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But world events aside, are you ready for a horror ride? I'm not sure where my sudden fascination with horror has sprouted from especially when it isn't October yet. And in hindsight, I sort of wish I waited till then. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">But who makes these rules? </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let's jump right in!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>The Only Good Indians</i> by Stephen Graham Jones is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52180399-the-only-good-indians">Goodreads</a>. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I really appreciate when synopses are short and sweet</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWv6DH1bnPi-0MiuCf-ANzWn8FxxV5dSB1WI-QgU_Fg58WnbCi1YAf0NqX5ppgXQ6fDhLc1PFAVSPnSksb9AiYbdNm-C1gtHZ8fMATL_x1f2KHbRzMrlDwKVKgHTaDbXPBciknnM5Txtw/s2048/IMG_7512b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1366" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWv6DH1bnPi-0MiuCf-ANzWn8FxxV5dSB1WI-QgU_Fg58WnbCi1YAf0NqX5ppgXQ6fDhLc1PFAVSPnSksb9AiYbdNm-C1gtHZ8fMATL_x1f2KHbRzMrlDwKVKgHTaDbXPBciknnM5Txtw/s320/IMG_7512b.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.</span></i></div><i><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.</i></div></span></i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I first saw this through a Barnes and Noble newsletter. Now that's a rare bookstore before reader rec!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">I want to start off with what didn't work for me because there was far more for me that did and I would prefer ending on a great note. There were actually three things, two are spoilers which I will expand on in the following segment below. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> So what didn't work? Honestly, something that I ended up getting used to: the author's voice. It was heavier in the beginning, where I had to literally reread sentences multiple times because the rhythm of the story got disrupted. However once I got accustomed to it, it fell to the background and I actually came to enjoy his style of writing. A 180 but by the end I became familiar with it and will actually miss it when I read my next author. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now not really something that didn't work but something I want to disclose at the beginning of my review rather than later is the pacing which had its trouble moments. Overall the story is captivating, however there are times where the story does drag and you kind of have to push to get to the interesting</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—not necessarily action-packed</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—parts. Pacing is something I talk about in a lot of reviews and for me is a major component of how I rate or recommend a book. But push on my friends, because there is too much to love from this book to let pacing stop you.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Ohhh horror, how I have misjudged thee. Lately I've been finding horror or at least the horror of late to be far more than the blood and jump-scares I always pictured it to be. Jones spreads horror throughout the narrative not only through the supernatural but in the mundane. Putting a twist on the horror focusing on the narrative of Native Americans, placing their experiences in the forefront and acknowledging how the people are not like the caricatures and stereotypes our limited exposure to their cultures make them out to be. The horror within the "natural" world in each of the three parts is blood curdling, chilling, and nerve-wracking (for me in that order specifically). While the prologue isn't provided with a part name, it starts off the novel with a fantastic introduction into the horror play between the supernatural and the natural as well as the type of story we're about to enter in this power play. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And stories are represented in different mediums and in different ways throughout the novel. I found major significance in the author's choice of <i>how</i> stories are told and <i>what</i> the stories say about the characters. The novel starts with a newspaper article title. Then there are scenes in the middle which focus on the tradition of storytelling and what messages are being passed on, yet told in an unconventional way. The very end has a particular format of storytelling </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">which I won't divulge but was really great and unexpected and for me one of the best parts of the book. Most importantly though is</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> the story that connects these men, a memory that haunts Lewis and unfolds, eventually seeping into the lives of the other characters. I wasn't expecting a story to be heavily reliant on the past yet remain active and present. Jones is just a master at interweaving the past and the present. Days after I've finished the book and I'm still finding more to love about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> At first meeting the four men seem uninteresting and are described as characters not anyone would particularly root for. But in their situations of horror, be it supernatural or not, and their reactions to these forces of horror make us rethink our first impressions of them. While the four men each have their moments of calm and extreme, I think Lewis, who we meet second and is the most haunted of the four, might have the most character development that climaxes spectacularly. While the events in part two Sweat Lodge Massacre might certainly be more dramatic and probably the most "exciting" climax for the story overall, I think Lewis has the best individual climax. Honestly, what a star. His slipping grip on reality and his coming to terms with the events of his past just made him the most multi-faceted and all around the most enjoyable for me to read about. Horror beyond the slaughter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Which horror should be about I guess, however my mind can't help but be plagued with the commercialized and polished aesthetic of horror we typically see on TV. I know it's a different format, but for someone who doesn't dip into the horror genre often be it TV or books, my mind can't help but automatically see blood and jump scares and very <i>very</i> poor judgment choices. Horror is the actions and inactions we make toward one another, human being on human being. It's questioning our sanity. It's relatable and attainable and if told well, leaps and bounds more terrifying than the behemoths of war, natural disasters, famines, or plagues because those can be statistics, they can be distant. Horror individualizes. It sculpts experiences with colors and shades from daily life. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Jones handled horror so cleverly. At times below the surface, but always there. And when he brought out the big guns and depicted his moments of horror, he didn't hold back. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>The headline for Richard Boss Ribs would be </i>INDIAN MAN KILLED IN DISPUTE OUTSIDE BAR.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>That's one way to say it."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Stephen Graham Jones, <i>The Only Good Indians</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(this first line bears so much weight to the rest of the story I had to give it the credit it's due)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Lights on the Sea</i> by Miquel Reina</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I touched on what didn't work at the beginning of my review and I'll share what those two points now. In case you're trying to cheat and see, again, this is a spoiler so last chance. All right approaching the climax in the middle part we have a bunch of action. Death, death, death. One death that had me a little stumped was the death of Denorah at the hands of Cass. He was short of shooting Gabe and as a MAJOR consequence instead shoots Cass' daughter. Also earlier I briefly mentioned how Jones plays on the sanity of characters as the novel unfolded and with both Cass and Gabe believing(?) that Denorah was shot I wanted to believe that that was what happened and not just an illusion of the Elk Head Woman because she wanted to hurt the men and make them hurt each other. If not it was Jones pulling the rug out from under the reader's feet which I don't believe he'd do. So that scene, unless I read it wrong, was probably the weakest part of the book. It was a fake death but then not a death at all. I understand why it was included, I just wished there was a little more clarity afterwards.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The second series of scenes that somewhat disappointed me was the one-on-one basketball game between Denorah and Elk Head Woman who at the time wore the body of Shaney. For me reading about sports is pretty boring. I rarely watch sports as it is (Olympics excluded~) but there's something about reading it. Action sequences aren't really the same because there aren't usually any rules and a lot of the times it has high stakes or there's a deadline or it's about survival</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—which I guess you could argue is what happened in Denorah's case</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—but I don't know, it was one of the parts of the story that dragged and I had to force myself not to skim over it because the premise is interesting, a twelve/thirteen year old is fighting a Elk Head mythical being.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I did appreciate how the four parts each had their own climax. The most moving and important one being in the first part, The House that Ran Red. Of course without it the events in the next 200 pages wouldn't have had the same punch. Ironically the end with Denorah seemed to land the softest, as I wouldn't call it predictable just safe and expected. Denorah stops her stepdad from killing the Elk Head Woman even though she was feet away from killing her moments before as a sign of humanity's "growth" just fell a little flat for me. Also te last part only being 55 pages and Denorah plays basketball for 25 pages then runs in the snow for 25 pages got boring real quick even with the Elk Head Woman involved. I guess her strength was being in the sidelines or on the peripherals. She's sort of like Edna from <i>The Incredibles</i>, we can't have a whole movie with her but she can make guest appearances.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> But the Elk Head Woman thrilling scenes were favorites. When Jones had her perspective suddenly included in the narrative showing her watching Gabe or Cass or Lewis without them knowing and she was just staring, no blinking . . . The goosebumps!! So simple yet with Jones' flair. Every time a scene like this happened I readjusted my reading position to make sure my back was against a wall.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-89643488051922708592021-06-30T21:07:00.002-04:002021-07-28T17:46:40.878-04:00The Telling Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Rawr Reader,</span></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Two books in one month? What! I know I'm proud of myself too. I actually finished this novel a couple days ago and am still ruminating. <i>Much</i> to delve into.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>The Telling </i>by Ursula K. Le Guin is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59921.The_Telling?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=6gdptaGFBt&rank=4">Goodreads</a>:<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupCsbWbxDSpqtRPE4NmyFQ9dgrXWMDW_zmpOf31JGk2fqL3hlAXd4GPCp7_ZwEe2L2o_XR3pJk8MC45NQ0-jdCqS-Hinoc5qiaCHymYzKZpE3YmpKSJyg10gDwgFyRlBgnwe0Xgx1494/s2010/IMG_3976b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2010" data-original-width="1508" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiupCsbWbxDSpqtRPE4NmyFQ9dgrXWMDW_zmpOf31JGk2fqL3hlAXd4GPCp7_ZwEe2L2o_XR3pJk8MC45NQ0-jdCqS-Hinoc5qiaCHymYzKZpE3YmpKSJyg10gDwgFyRlBgnwe0Xgx1494/s320/IMG_3976b.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. Records of the past have been destroyed, and citizens are strictly monitored. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion - the Telling.</i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Intrigued by their beliefs, Sutty joins them on a sacred pilgrimage into the mountains...and into the dangerous terrain of her own heart, mind, and soul.</i></div></i></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Instead of being rather general with a normal Instagram or Goodreads rec instead I'll share where I first heard of this prolific author, the movie: <i>The Jane Austen Book Club</i>. The adorable Grigg, played excellently by Hugh Dancy, is a nerd for anything sci-fi and tries to indoctrinate another less-genre-more-literary member of the eponymous group into trying out some Le Guin. Out of curiosity, I knew I had to give her a chance. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What's the best kind of read? Books about books. What's the next best thing? Stories about stories. Oral, written, melodic, instrumental—cast me away, spellbind me into waves of alliteration or the open winds of free verse. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One of my favorite things about Le Guin is her breadth of language. In my humble opinion, the structure of her stories aren't so much formed by technical frames. Her stories are as much a soul as one of her characters. You remember less about hair color or shape of nose but how they made you feel, what memories you created together. When I read a Le Guin, <i>The Telling</i> being my fourth, I am not only transported to another world. Her language evokes emotions as much as the actions of characters. Her world structures invite speculation and introspection. And probably one of the greatest gifts an author can leave: to have the reader discover something new with each reread.<br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A quote of hers that resonates with me is from the 65th National Book Awards in 2014, where Le Guin earned the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She says:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"Right now, I think we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art."</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /> There are people who have voices that are loud and make statements in their epochs, then there are people who speak gently and whose voices reverberate throughout history. As a writer myself, I take pride in being an artist. And hearing someone take up arms against the system no matter how small they may be or outnumbered, to use their platform to lift the message that writing isn't something to commercialize with disposable and expendable attention but to study, respect, and grow from through longevity. This work of art<i> </i>is a prime example.</span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Our protagonist Sutty is in search of truth. The people of the planet Aka are strictly monitored. The few she interacts with spew the same scripted responses. Perhaps they live freer lives</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—but she never witnesses it.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> In an unexpected turn of events, she's granted permission as an Observer from Terra to leave the major city Dovza City and travel to a smaller community to learn cultural languages and literature</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—which is the reason of her presence on Aka the first place</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Far from technology, far from modern civilization, the people of Okzat-Ozkat take in the alien from Earth with more nuanced curiosity and shy enthusiasm. Throughout her time in Okzat-Ozkat she begins to realize that the culture and society she was accustomed to in Dovza City was in fact not reflective of the cultures in less monitored cities. Within the last one hundred years (during Sutty's transit from Earth to Aka), the planet went through a major cultural wash. Many books were destroyed. Languages and customs forbidden. It is in Okzat-Ozkat where traces of the past linger and where Sutty makes her greatest discovery.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The Telling. A religion without a clear definition. A religion that is highly regarded even in guarded times. Its weight isn't measured by conventional means. Its significance is in a way heightened due to the illegality of it. Carriers of the Telling, the <i>maz</i>, itinerants and typically elders, spread the Telling through oral renditions. The stories they tell are endless and in a beautiful way, the interpretations are as well. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> What makes this religion very appealing you might ask? Aside from a spoiler (down below), it focuses on connection, community, and respect. It places worth on the mundane. It values a simple life and the experiences within one.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> There is an antagonist, a Monitor (whom Sutty prefers to label than name), who doesn't cater to the flashiness of a Terran in his presence. In the world of Aka, Terrans are known to possess knowledge and technology that is valuable which make the arrival of any Terran alien held in esteem. His significance goes beyond shallow motives like stopping Sutty from learning about secret societies as he harbors a secret that Sutty never would have imagined. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The story's strength comes from understanding the culture of this alien species and their customs. What is so rewarding about Le Guin's worldbuilding is that you can feel the history that's occurred by the language used (between characters this time</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—not Le Guin's writing)</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> and the events that take place which explain the present way of life. Her worldbuilding reminds me of George R.R. Martin's <i>A Song of Ice and Fire</i> series. He doesn't baby the reader. You land in the action and you have to learn to keep up. (Though Le Guin has a softer, more eloquent way of landing you in the action.) Because, you the reader is not just comparing one small community's way of life to you the reader's reality</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—you need to compare it to the present dominant way of life on Aka AND against Sutty's memories of ways of living back on Terra. A pinch political, but Sutty wants to prevent what happened, the irreversible destruction on Terra, from happening here. It's honestly amazing Le Guin managed so much in a novel under 250 pages*.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now I know science fiction can be a little challenging in regards to relating to characters. Sutty doesn't have as many layers to her as Jamie Lannister, Frankenstein's Monster, Mattie Ross, etc, but like I mentioned above, she is in search of a truth, in particular a truth she was unable to find back on her home world. And I think all of us can connect in even a small way with wanting to know a bigger truth about our existence and being alive. I was glad she was the eyes we saw this world through. She's a historian, striving to be unbiased, eager to learn, open to listening</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—as readers we want to discover a world with as little influence from our pasts and to discover a world like everyone else. Not through only good experiences and not through only bad. We want the full spectrum, humor and tragedy and triumphs and lessons galore.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I hate to be repetitive (again!) but this really is a landmark novel. It could take maybe even a couple reads to really appreciate the weight that this novel carries. Premise is one thing, delivery is another, but stamping an impression through your narrative that can transcend generations is an entire feat altogether. Ursula Le Guin, I only wish I could have met you</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">but thank you for your words. They will not be forgotten. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4.5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"She was living among people to whom the highest spiritual attainment was to speak the world truly, and who had been silenced."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>There's a Hainish parable of the Mirror. If the glass is whole, it reflects the whole world, but broken, it shows only fragments, and cuts the hand that holds it."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Ursula K. Le Guin, <i>The Telling</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Only Good Indians </i>by Stephen Graham Jones</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I want to mention the spoiler about the Telling religion which I didn't want to give away in my review. The Telling is a religion of stories, many stories that almost never match exactly than when another <i>maz</i> tells it, however what I loved most about it is the fact that it's a religion that isn't at its root based on morals. Religions tend to be that way. They tend to dictate to people to perform a certain way. To not perform a certain way. To believe only what was told by a certain person or text. However the Telling doesn't derive its power from that. It is a religion of stories about people. It's focus is on community. You can extract lessons from their telling or you cannot. The Telling is meant to be a present ghost of people who lived long ago. Wicked or good, brave and foolish and fundamentally human (okay this is a stretch since Akans are literally aliens but you get my point). The stories are sometimes simple and sometimes heroic. At its base, they are stories of experiences, each unique because we all have experience life unique from one another. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Another strength Sutty learns about this religion is that due to its stripping of moral juice the religion only asks for people to listen. "Not to question, only to listen" (page 153, <i>The Telling</i> by Ace publishers, 2001). Perhaps its running on the coattails of recent years, but its something we in our instant gratification and <b>social media</b> society can all learn to relearn. (This girl included!) We can all slow down, make an effort to listen to one another.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The Monitor was a character I couldn't quite put my finger on. I wanted more of his presence to be the textbook definition opposite force to my protagonist who causes turmoil and challenges</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—but Le Guin didn't want to tell the narrative you expect</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">nay want. In fact, the revelation that he actually grew up with the Telling and had been reformed into forgetting it and <i>wanting to eradicate it</i> was a very surprising and appropriate twist. It made his character more interesting by about 8 points and then made his suicide pages later more poetic, as it mirrors a story Sutty overheard a </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">maz</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> share not long before, (one that must've stayed with him after years). I would like to note how as Sutty begins to understand the Monitor, he becomes less a label and more of a person; lost as she was (mirrors everywhere! not just in stories ;) ), and eventually comes to regard him by his name (Le Guin let me tell you). </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I thought I wanted to write an essay in this section about how incredible Le Guin's worldbuilding was, but upon reflection, I'm afraid it'll sound more like proof I read the book. While I've covered a fair amount, there is still so much I hadn't covered</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—locals in Okzat-Ozkat, stories <i>maz</i> share, Sutty's past, the politics on Aka and how the system was formed, <i>what exists in the mountains. </i>Too much for me to say without sharing an essay longer than the novel itself.</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I stand by wanting to grow and allowing myself the pleasure and honor of discovering something new each time I read this. How many books can I say that for?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> If you've gotten this far without reading it . . . naughty . . . but I'm glad I put my foot down. Go read this, wonderful you. I don't think you'll regret it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">*My copy of <i>The Telling</i> is an Ace Trade paperback edition, published 2001</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-59375580428957893252021-06-17T15:00:00.003-04:002021-06-28T22:01:26.547-04:00Washington Black Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I am just shy of the first day of summer, but let me say welcome anyways because in Florida it definitely feels like summer started months ago. I've been on the hunt for a good "summer read" to kickoff the season and in my mind wouldn't settle for anything that didn't comprise of an adventure. And also, I love the cover. Hehe<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>Washington Black</i> by Esi Edugyan is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44101093-washington-black">Goodreads</a>: <br /></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><div><br /></div><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <i><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVkhZwyZyv1ft_0doCp9pHhc0aI00n2XnAWbINDXitSbszmyILfy62lnj4X3u8yBcM3p0hCMKwqGqA65d1LFS15btZsGCH33c2OHV_jHKCtRSaIQbcfXE4s3zEZ0eywWle9QpFvDT06g/s2048/IMG_7489c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlVkhZwyZyv1ft_0doCp9pHhc0aI00n2XnAWbINDXitSbszmyILfy62lnj4X3u8yBcM3p0hCMKwqGqA65d1LFS15btZsGCH33c2OHV_jHKCtRSaIQbcfXE4s3zEZ0eywWle9QpFvDT06g/w213-h320/IMG_7489c.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>A dazzling adventure story about a boy who rises from the ashes of slavery to become a free man of the world.</span></i></div><br />George Washington Black, or "Wash," an eleven-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is terrified to be chosen by his master's brother as his manservant. To his surprise, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist. Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning--and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human. But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash's head, Christopher and Wash must abandon everything.<br /><br />What follows is their flight along the eastern coast of America, and, finally, to a remote outpost in the Arctic. What brings Christopher and Wash together will tear them apart, propelling Wash even further across the globe in search of his true self.<br /><br />From the blistering cane fields of the Caribbean to the frozen Far North, from the earliest aquariums of London to the eerie deserts of Morocco, Washington Black tells a story of self-invention and betrayal, of love and redemption, of a world destroyed and made whole again, and asks the question, What is true freedom?</span></i><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I believe I was surfing Goodreads and I spotted this lovely cover under the Readers Also Enjoyed category.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It almost evokes nostlagia. Reading can take us to far off places that have never existed and also transport us to revisit places we've known from our past. While I've never visited Barbados, the premise reminded me a lot of two personal favorite film of mine: <i>The Mummy</i> and <i>The Mummy Returns. </i>Subject matter differ in almost all fronts, yet we have an adventure spun from a hot environment where the protagonists are swept off to travel across at least one continent to recover something that has been lost to them.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Firstly, Edugyan's writing is that melody of writing that makes the entire endeavor appear effortless. From the images of the plantation to the brutality of slaves, we're not only spectators of a past era but have become fully immersed in the scenes. We rage with soulless masters and tremble with helpless men. The cruelties inflicted are easy to envision yet hard to see, not the least cruelties inflicted between slaves themselves. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And our main set of eyes are through the eyes of young slave George Washington Black, a young boy who does his best to please both master and his personal protector, an older slave named Big Kit. Our endearing protagonist falls under the sight of the new master's brother, Christopher "Titch" Wilde, a scientist and rather alien specimen in Washington's eyes for the fact he doesn't act like most white men. In fact, he doesn't tolerate the institution of slavery at all. One way he wishes to combat his heartless brother is by enlisting Washington as an assistant in building an aerial machine, the Cloudcutter.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> From this point I couldn't stop reading. It's on the precipice of an illusion of fantasy even amongst the stains of human abuse and destruction. Washington will embark on a journey that will transform him not unlike many </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>bildungsroman</i> or coming-of-age<i> </i>tales. He will face cutthroat men, he will face kind men, he will face men who appear kind and are ruthless and likewise vicious-looking men who are in truth silent revolutionaries. A story on race cannot sidestep the presence of it and I felt throughout the story we feel that with Washington, not only as a black man, but as a disfigured man. He's at a disadvantage every step of the way and falls short in the eyes of the world even when he succeeds. Even being in accompaniment with a white man of privilege, his status is constantly at risk. His attachment to Titch grows and over time we begin to realize something. The attachment formed serves as much a hard blow to come as it does a comfort in the present.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Titch is remarkably open-minded. He takes a young boy with no future and offers him one, and in this kindness the universe reveals a hidden ability: Washington's talent toward drawing. On one side his drawing allows him to help Titch with his experiments and research, on the other his drawing reveals untapped potential and sparks a new passion he was never allowed to experience before: an appreciation for nature. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Through a series of unfortunate events, Washington and Titch launch off of the Caribbean island. As indicated in the synopsis, we travel to America then north to the Arctic. We travel east to Europe and then to Africa. All the while Titch and Washington find moments of grace and encounter souls whose motivations we can less easily understand.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The pair are likeable characters and I found the theme of inner growth profound. It isn't as clear at first what they are searching for, more in Titch's case than Washington as we are not in his mind, but over time as the quest continues and experiences are made, we begin to see how fragile and how strong the constitution of man is regardless of birth. Hurts range from white to black, from child to adult, from women to men, and that helping each other despite degree can be our greatest remedy and our greatest chance to enjoy and understand life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The ending brings readers back to the beginning, not literally of course, but in the mindset of our protagonist. Following the events Washington experiences throughout the novel, it sets him behind the lens and allows him to see the hurt Titch suffered not through the eyes of eleven-year-old Wash, but as a young adult Washington. The very last scene in particular I thought was very beautiful. I witnessed it more than felt the scene, and honestly I believe it made more of a lasting impression than had characters expressed themselves verbally or we readers were placed within the mind of the character. We were as vulnerable as the character. We were as exposed as the character. And we marched forward with the courage and uncertainty of the character. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">You were more concerned that slavery should be a moral stain upon white men than by the actual damage it wreaks on black men."</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Washington Black </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Esi Edugyan, <i>Washington Black</i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:<br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Telling</i> by Ursula K. Le Guin</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would like to say my greatest disappointment in this book was the fact that the book cover is very misleading. I signed up for an adventure aboard a flying ship, and we only got the first quarter of the book in it, and not even the entire first quarter, like one chapter. I understand the brevity, a metaphor of the way a young person views the world versus an adult—we can't see Washington growing up and viewing things of his past differently if he grew up living and being around the Cloudcutter. However what a device! I guess if it took up too much of the narrative the story would be drier and less comprised in realism. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would like to give an Underdog Award (and I'm honestly very tempted to give one for each book moving forward) to someone I came to appreciate and like more than I thought I would: Philip. I didn't understand him at first. Not quite Titch but not quite Erasmus. By the end, when Titch explains to Washington that he and Erasmus mostly bullied him as children, I came to understand how the three men grew from that experience in their own ways. Titch wished to amend for his youthful cruelties, Philip never really grew confidence and sympathized with the helplessness of slaves, and Erasmus cradled his power and privilege above others. The tragedy of his death and bringing Washington to witness it is one of the most horrifying scenes in the novel and it is surprising how stealthily it arrived and then was done. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Titch's father, James Wilde, I couldn't really wrap my finger around. There are moments of tenderness toward his kin and assistant, but for me it felt more out of character. Not that a hard man can't show tenderness, but more like I didn't know what to do with those moments. I didn't feel pity toward him, I didn't like him more for it. It felt sort of left wasted on me. Peter Haus, his mute assistant, I cared more for, and his presence and focus had been less directed than the former. I did enjoy seeing his life outside of the Arctic amongst his family in Amsterdam, and he would probably be the runner-up to the Underdog Award.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Not to say Washington and Titch weren't likeable and didn't have any layers of complexities to their characters. I loved the duo and only wished they spent the entire novel together instead of the first half. As with losing anyone important when you're young, I deeply felt Washington's loss</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">someone who has lost so much in life and lost what was not only a person who cared for him but someone who showed his potential and encouraged him. I was sad when Titch disappeared in the Arctic, I grieved for him even before Washington accepted it, which made the return of Titch even more moving by the end. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Now I won't deny the miraculous survival seemed a bit far-fetched—because really <i>how did</i> Titch survive the storm and know details about the days following his disappearance—however I love stories where people disappear and then return like the prodigal son. It's a win for Washington even if the reasons that he was abandoned for are unjustified. He found his dearest friend again, a man who might have saved him from an early death years ago.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The supporting cast of characters we meet along the way are just as colorful and driven. We can follow their paths into an entirely new story and not feel like we've simply opened a new storyline for zero purpose. Peter Haus, Tanna and Mr. Goff, Edgar Farrow, Captain Benedikt Kinast, some of the most peculiar cast of characters that made this adventure feel authentic.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> One of the main antagonists on the other hand, John Willard, was more of a plot device than a real character and was one of the weakest of the cast. I don't really have much to add on his part. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The end took me some time to mull over. Initial thoughts were along the lines of "that's it?" But then I seemed to be arriving back to the beginning of the circle and I found it left a stronger impression that I had thought. Washington's arrival and time in Morocco is short compared to other areas of the book, but I think that was part of the appeal. He steps into a storm in a desert much like his predecessor Titch who in a struggle of conscience abandoned his earthly ties because that decision in the Arctic was when adult Washington Black blossomed from young, naive Wash. Growing up and becoming an adult without Titch he'd been stumbling along, still attached and grieving over Titch's death. Having found him years later he was finally able to unleash his deepest, suppressed grievances and I hope become a more confident man. From this desert storm who knows what Washington will do. A shade of open-ended I thought was cleverly and visually evocative. I really really love that ending.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The enthusiasm for the Ocean House and showcasing unusual creatures out of their element was another metaphor I appreciated. While seemingly random and maybe even awkward in its presence, the interest in marine animals seemed to be a nod for his lost friend, a man of science who valued all living things and wanted to preserve and appreciate that which exists and that is different. Add to the list another reason what makes this story more unique, and strange, and delightful: Washington's interspecies friendship with an octopus. How many people can say that?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span></span></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-70911566927664416212021-05-30T21:18:00.001-04:002021-06-17T13:02:33.382-04:00The Midnight Library Book Review<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">Happy Memorial Day weekend for my American readers. I hope you are able to enjoy an extra day off. I have found myself unforeseeably blessed with a streak of enjoyable reads which I hope I'm not jinxing by observing. <br />My mom and sister have read this book and both recommended it to me so it was a promising start as neither of them incline toward reading fiction. So let's dive in!<br /><br />The synopsis of <i>The Midnight Library</i> by Matt Haig is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52578297-the-midnight-library?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=k3hLeRCiFA&rank=1">Goodreads</a>:<br /><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span>B</span><span>etween life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?”</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #b4a7d6;"><span><br /></span></span></i></div><span style="color: #b4a7d6; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgLhPBZmynfjWs4HvqzMJJNpsczpJI9p_XE8AawcIP-Op8nk0lFpB6hFAtU-yDPJlIpsod75v9uPtUsiriLBWbYHyjrm7K7e-DCoGMyjViKvDDz_hTycbkH1fTPnuotV3-rd7meLRPO8/s2048/IMG_7414c.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTgLhPBZmynfjWs4HvqzMJJNpsczpJI9p_XE8AawcIP-Op8nk0lFpB6hFAtU-yDPJlIpsod75v9uPtUsiriLBWbYHyjrm7K7e-DCoGMyjViKvDDz_hTycbkH1fTPnuotV3-rd7meLRPO8/s320/IMG_7414c.jpg" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-style: italic;">A dazzling novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived, from the internationally bestselling author of </i>Reasons to Stay Alive<i style="font-style: italic;"> and </i>How To Stop Time<i>.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?</i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-style: italic;">In </i>The Midnight Library<i style="font-style: italic;">, Matt Haig’s enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.</i></div></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Midnight Library</i> was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2020 for Fiction and interesting fact: won the award from second place by <b>5</b> votes! Safe to say I've seen it all over Bookstagram, Twitter, and on Recommended Shelves in bookstores.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"> Suicide is a tough conversation to broach. Every year that passes people, social media, and literature is becoming more vocalized about the social stigmas of suicidal thoughts, depression, loneliness, mental health, and <u>asking for help</u>. From disassociation to personal tragedies to natural disasters, this world can be an incredibly difficult place to cope in. Despondency of our lives combined with the loss of a willingness to continue is a growing issue. While I think ardent readers are more inclined to emotionally connect with the circumstances of others, even less frequent readers can find that capacity in Haig's novel.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> We meet Nora Seed, a young, down-on-her-luck woman who suffers one tragedy after another within the span of a day. The tipping point sets off our protagonist on a spiritual journey to a place many readers might connect with: the library. Only this library isn't like the one you might think of from school or that public building in your community. It's a library that you can quite literally get lost in with no end, no people, and have shelves of books with—instead of stories of new people and places within its book flaps—be comprised entirely of lives you could have lived had you made different decisions. An episode of Doctor Who I enjoy is in the fourth season with Donna called "Turn Left," which jumps off that concept and elaborates. What would Donna's life have been like if instead of turning right she turned left, because turning left meant meeting The Doctor and having a collection of adventures and one day even saving the planet!</div><div style="text-align: left;"> You know I can talk for hours on Doctor Who so I'll leave it there, but what if you could see the other lives you could have lived? Would you take it? Nora has that opportunity, seeing what her life would be like becoming a glaciologist, a rock star, an Olympic swimmer, and many more possible dreams. But over "time," as time does not actually exist in the Midnight Library, Nora begins to learn something about each of these lives. <br /> While there are no other people in the library, there is one "guide," an old librarian from Nora's youth called Mrs. Elm. Mrs. Elm is the omniscient and single constant in the Midnight Library. Explaining when things go wrong and steering Nora toward lives she should try out, we feel a sense of safety in her presence that honestly I can't disassociate from what a paradigm librarian might appear like: informative, attentive, and who is an esteemed custodian of a place that is more than the sum of its contents. </div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Magical realism is such a hard subgenre to describe but the world that Haig builds is unique. The facet of this jewel I can't describe in any other words is that it's somber yet heartening. I can't help but add his library to the collection of other libraries I've heard about like in Victoria Schwab's <i>The Archived, </i>Carlos Ruiz Zafón's Cemetery of Forgotten Books series, Erin Morgenstern's <i>The Starless Sea</i>, and I could never exclude the libraries in the 1994's film <i>The Pagemaster,</i> 1991's <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>, or Wan Shi Tong's Library in 2005's tv series <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender</i>.<br /> As characters come and go with a few recurrent and revisited faces like Joe, Nora's brother, and Ravi, her brother's friend, and Izzy, Nora's friend, I'd like to discuss Nora's character for a minute. One is I love how vastly interested she is in subjects ranging from science to music to sports to animals. Nora is on hobby overload which for that alone I can definitely see why it's overwhelming and intimidating to not only be interested in these things but be good at them and a dependable source on the activity/subject matter. She has to compete for her father's approval while also compete against her brother's favor. The pressure put on her at a young age made an impression that even if there is no one applying pressure on her she applies the pressure of success on herself and the guilt of not pursuing something <i>she could have succeeded at</i>. We all have regrets like that, which is one of the plot points of the story, and I enjoyed the interpretation of the theme of regret, major and minor ones, throughout Nora's journey.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Guilt is an invisible burden many people carry subconsciously or not and it can definitely trickle down so subtly into the fabric of our lives that people may not even be aware of its presence until they're in a state of helplessness. What if I stayed in a relationship I'd left? What if I studied this in school over this? What if I stayed in school for longer? What if I moved instead of staying where I was? The questions can go on forever and the answers exponentially so. And all the while, the unrealized and unachieved potential is growing and digging a person further into the ground until they can't crawl their way back out. Haig shows this beautifully as Nora experiences her "what-could-have-been" lives. It isn't just that she feels lost. Haig reciprocally shows how it isn't about losing or gaining relationships or opportunities, but simply another life she could have lived. <br /> And I don't mean that simply. Because it isn't something Nora realized after one incident. And it isn't something to be defined as easily as that. There's a little more to it, which of course you'll have to read to discover, but Nora's story through the heartbreak, loss, and tragedy is only one side of it . . . the side Nora exemplifies in her recitation of her favorite philosopher Henry David Thoreau: "<i>It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.</i>"</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Death is dark, but Haig spins what is a dark subject into a new opportunity. A beautiful adventure. A fresh start.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The National Suicide Prevention Hotline for the United States is:<br /> </span><b style="font-family: georgia;">1-800-273-8255</b></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br />or you can visit: <br /><a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/</a></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">"<i>Maybe that's what all lives were, though . . . Maybe that was the only meaning that mattered. To be the world, witnessing itself.</i></span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: left;">"<br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Matt Haig, <i>The Midnight Library</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /><br />My Goodreads:<br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:<br /><i>Washington Black</i> by Esi Edugyan</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:<br /><div style="text-align: left;"> While overall this story had momentum, then lost it, then gained it again, I am actually very moved and touched by the message it relays. We all have countless versions of ourselves in parallel universes (yes our dreams might have come true if we pursued them more ardently), but also maybe dreams we sculpt are merely creations we build for ourselves since we're discontent with our current lives. Maybe in these others lives we get what we wanted, but at the same time lose something we took for granted. <br /> Haig's message is simple. His delivery is simple. Yet over the course of the novel it's so complicated with Nora's multitude of lives and experiences that I reflect on the story as a whole and marvel. I grasp Thoreau's quote that Nora repeats incessantly with relentless fingers because I myself have grappled with depression, in a state of not wanting to go on, thinking myself worthless, thinking myself lost of any potential for anything. And it's <b><u>*so*</u> </b>tough to get out of it. I applaud the people who ask for help. I applaud the people who seek help. Who can talk about it. I applaud the people who admit there's a serious mental health issue today and doesn't shut it down, because once we close off the validity of someone's experiences or feelings, then we cut off a person's capacity to recover and heal.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> The parallel universes and the quantum mechanics/physics wasn't a particularly favorite part of the story for me—as it was leaning toward sci-fi and I was comfortable in the magical realistic plains of the story—but I appreciate why it was introduced and ended up appreciating it a lot more because it introduced us to someone else. Another "slider," Hugo, as he himself patented their existing states. He was actually one of my favorite characters. An existence uniquely unlike any other, his approach to life —> seemed, <— ironically, contradictory to Nora's defeated one and I wish we got to interact with him at least once more in another one of Nora's possible lives. If there was a book on him I'd actually be really interested to read it and see Nora's influence to his life through his eyes. What did he have regrets on? What was his life like? Did he share Nora's end? I need the answers Mr. Haig! Hehe.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> I'm only partially torn on the ending of her Midnight Library excursions in her final life, the one where she has a "perfect" life. The library sucks her out of that life. It wasn't a choice I wish she had made to leave knowing that while it was her, it wasn't really <i>her</i> life. It wasn't her experiences. She just enjoyed the circumstances of that perfect life orchestrated by another her. <br /> The ending mirroring the beginning was predictable though, but predictable in a comforting, nostalgic way. Mrs. Elm was there for Nora in one of her darkest and loneliest times when she was young and in turn she became that source of comfort for Mrs. Elm when she was on her own in a retirement center. There's something about coming full circle, literally and metaphorically and emotionally and spiritually that explains why <i>The Midnight Library</i> resonates with such a wide audience. In these dismal times, books about hope can never be in short supply.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">You are not alone.</div><div style="text-align: center;">Stay safe friends. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Until Next Time,<br />Nicole Ciel</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-19531165892000151882021-04-22T13:21:00.005-04:002021-09-21T20:00:46.165-04:00The Vanishing Half Book Review<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">It's both troubling and tragic when the only reason you finish a book is because it's a loan from the library and the due date is fast approaching. I am half-ashamed, half-grateful. How else am I going to be getting any reading done? As of late I've been watching Schitt's Creek, every day easily overlooking the books on my desk for the TV remote.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On a positive note: Happy <span style="color: #b6d7a8;">E</span><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">a</span><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">r</span><span style="color: #9fc5e8;">t</span><span style="color: #b6d7a8;">h</span> Day!</span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for <i>The Vanishing Half </i>by Brit Bennett is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52195151-the-vanishing-half">Goodreads</a>, my main so</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">urce for all things books and recommendations.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEY0iAu8C7hCBWLPKqkdFTF8ExPBBi1XzZcFZ6Xas38tiH_Pevu9lpJm2H5EggyNGXdrnk4TF9dUUDNpVUg6eGhjlhLIWGcnhzkFiwQV_gPMZoC14HF7tg7vMfh25ZgB4xddmjtPh4TI/s2048/IMG_7400b.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1338" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEY0iAu8C7hCBWLPKqkdFTF8ExPBBi1XzZcFZ6Xas38tiH_Pevu9lpJm2H5EggyNGXdrnk4TF9dUUDNpVUg6eGhjlhLIWGcnhzkFiwQV_gPMZoC14HF7tg7vMfh25ZgB4xddmjtPh4TI/s320/IMG_7400b.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;">Th</span></i></span><i><span><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="color: #ea9999;">e Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect?<br /><br /></span></span></span></i></div></span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><span style="color: #ea9999;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.</i></div></span></i></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">This was all over Instagram last year and not only was it nominated for the Goodreads 2020 Choice Awards under the Historical Fiction category</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">but won. Considering I'd started several other winners from the GR 2020 Awards, I should've had expectations on how this would pan out.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Passing is a facet of storytelling I rarely come across, so when I kept hearing raving reviews about this novel on Instagram and Goodreads I was eager to see how story of the Vignes twins would unfold. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> As a personal preference, multi-generational stories are not necessarily for me. Walking in a book store if I pick up a novel and it says a story spanning three generations, I almost immediately put the book back. I did read <i>Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China</i> by Jung Chang in college and really enjoyed it, however for some reason those stories don't pop in my to be read pile.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <i>The Vanishing Half</i> covers two generations and over the course of twenty to thirty years. Before I go onto the reasons why this didn't appeal to me, I will say that highlighting the years our Vignes twins leave home at sixteen to their middle-aged years</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">and the breadth of that time (twenties and thirties especially) which is still a time for reflecting and discovering who someone is</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is the heart of this novel. To be more specific, each twin discovering who they are and who they want to be, as women, as women of color</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">even passing, and as a twin but growing to live on their own.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> To be frank, Desiree's part of the novel didn't make me enthusiastic to continue reading. I had this book on loan from the library for three weeks and I was stuck in Desiree's chapter for a good two thirds of it. I found Desiree as a character had little ambition</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">which I understand due to certain circumstances that happen between leaving Mallard when she was sixteen and returning a decade later (spoiler 2), however as being the twin we first meet and who would set the stage for the novel, she seemed the least interesting of the four major characters.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> We follow her to Jude, more interesting and more driven than her mother, who takes us from a small southern town to Los Angeles at the age of eighteen. She meets Reese, a trans man, and they fall in love almost at first sight. The potential relationship/ friendship/ whatever-was-about-to-transpire had me until this ease, the lovey dovey eye fluttering reliance on one another. For a novel set in the seventies, I didn't believe that a relationship involving a black woman and a white trans man would play out so easily. Their story isn't the focus of the novel and they had bumps along the road, but any real challenges they faced were usually resolved over a matter of days and the challenges seemed less momentous and almost inconsequential, like they didn't need to be mentioned in the overarching story of how the black daughter of a passing woman lived her life.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A small tangent off of that, I know that for the amount of words or pages allowed to the author Reese's and Jude's story couldn't go longer than it did, I just felt there wasn't much more for the reader than to prove Jude's loyalty to her boyfriend in helping him transition. I think Jude should have had more of her chapters interacting with her cousin. Personally I felt introducing a trans person was more of an accessory than an independent contribution to the story.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Where did the book pick up? With our lost Vignes twin, the one for a good amount of time I wasn't so sure we would ever meet. (But meet we did! The synopsis would've been misleading if we hadn't.) An opposite personality from her sister, Stella's story is tragic. Being more of a reserved person myself, I empathized with Stella's reluctance to share with anyone hurts from her youth, even with someone as close as her sister. Hurts from her past transformed her when Desiree and Stella decided to run away from their hometown, and with the added shield of passing, she had the fortunate ability to become someone new.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It's with Stella that we see passing in action. It gets her a job. It finds her a beau then eventually a husband, who uproots them to an upscale life she never imagined for herself in her small hometown. However her husband doesn't know she's black, and this is a secret she carries for years. She shed her old life and the connections of her past for a life where she is both safe and yet constantly afraid the truth of her heritage will somehow find her.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The parallels can't be ignored. They are vivid yet subtle in their interweaving. Desiree the outgoing twin, Stella the quiet one. Desiree marries a black man, Stella a white man. Their children are images of their fathers, yet their characters reflect their aunts. Jude is confident and hardworking, yet reserved due to the nature of her childhood and growing up in a town of black people where her darker skin is undesirable. Then we have Kennedy who is white, privileged, and outspoken. I guess from there she becomes more like her mother, throwing away opportunities to manifest what her mother has designed through her upbringing, a person who will wear a mask and make their way through life being another person.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Desiree falls to the background, remaining in Louisiana's small town, however Stella is almost always present, due to Kennedy's direct connection to her or Jude's thoughts on learning anything on her estranged aunt. It was fine with me because Stella was the one who was taking on a role and living by that role like her life depended on it. Which it did. Constantly I waited for other shoe to drop. (Spoiler 1)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Of all the characters Stella was the most complex. However her capricious thoughts and actions, swaying one way to the other was infuriating. Characters need to be consistent, and I couldn't be sure at first if it was meant to show Stella as this erratic, paranoid character or if it was the author not delivering her onto the page as she should. I would come to find it was the latter, when the same thing would happen to other characters like throughout scenes from Jude's POV then to Kennedy's, all the scenes concerning the other and how the two women wanted to meet/speak with the other but then didn't. After a couple pages of this and the capriciousness expanding from one to three of the main characters, I cared less about Stella finding the courage to return to her hometown and reunite with her family and more about finishing the book.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> To be brief, I found the ending unsatisfactory and left me with more questions. (Spoiler 3). It isn't every day I find a novel where the beginning and end are less interesting and the middle would be what kept me going. Funny right?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Overall, what I felt wasn't working was time placement. Although stated at the beginning of sections what decade the following chapters would be taken place, I felt this was a more contemporary read then one set in the sixties/seventies/eighties. It fell under the umbrella of not enough conflict from outside sources, or having historical events described in greater details, but I didn't believe the story was set when it said it was. And considering the subject matter is of race, I would've thought the events unfolding between the characters would be more external and impactful. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 3.5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>As they grew, they no longer seemed like one body split in two, but two bodies poured into one, each pulling it her own way."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>"At night, Desiree held her daughter and told her stories about her own childhood. At first she said, I have a sister named Stella, then, you have an aunt, then once upon a time, a girl named Stella lived here."</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: georgia;">-The Vanishing Half</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">, Brit Bennett</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next To Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Midnight Library</i> by Matt Haig</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I wasn't reticent about finding the characters to be unreliable and inconsistent, most notably Stella, ironically my favorite character of the cast. I mention in my review that I wait for something to happen which never does, (Spoiler 1) that being that she never admits to and it's never revealed to her husband that she's black. In fact, her husband's main contribution was being white and having money. His presence</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">if it can even be described as such</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">is without much conflict, and if there is little conflict or tension between him and Stella, things resolve so easily and by the end of the scene/chapter it makes him uninteresting. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Stella avoids any and every aspect that connects her with her heritage, yet still sleeps with a bat behind her headboard the nights her husband isn't there. Considering she suffered grievously in her youth, first witnessing her father's torture and learning he's been murdered, then being molested multiple times by a white man, I understand why she becomes the person she does. While she causes pain to her sister when she abandons her, I still give her the excuse to make the choices she makes. She wants independence from a life that has only offered her sadness and tragedy. It's when she begins to both turn on black people and at the same time try to earn their favor after acquiring a higher social status that I began to respect her less and find her as annoying as a high schooler. Being a person who can't reveal who she really is to even the closest people in her life, I can see why she questions herself constantly and retreats to safety when confronted by neighbors or her family, however the execution of it, and the repetition scene to scene got old quickly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> It seemed the trait was hereditary as Kennedy begins to capriciously push then pull when Jude comes into her life and reveals a big secret about her. If I were Jude I wouldn't want to be affiliated with let alone be related to these people who clearly want to see themselves as apart. <i>But they're still family regardless right?</i> I don't know. I think if less had been about Reese and more of that time had been on Kennedy and Jude, I would have learned of more interactions between the unbalanced cousins and accepted their rocky relationship more.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> How about Desiree and her abusive husband? (Spoiler 2) He was another page of the past I thought would reemerge but never did. He seemed at least a little in part to care for his daughter, goes so much to hire a private detective, but never actually goes to his wife's hometown to see for himself his wife and daughter are there? He just gave up and moves on with a new wife and kids? (By the way she never got an outright divorce so I guess he was married to two women at once??) I just didn't believe it. It seemed as effective as a band-aid on a severed artery.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> And I was hours until my loan was to be returned, so I may have sped read the last couple of pages, but did anyone find the ending rather abrupt? (Spoiler 3). Or maybe the significance was spotlighted on the wrong people? We're taken to the day of the funeral where Jude and her boyfriend go swimming. Stella never returns. Kennedy never visits. Desiree relocates to some random city and doesn't even try to pick up fingerprint reading or management. And Early? We don't get a real goodbye? It's like the author was running out of pages allowed by the publisher and she needed to wrap everyone up quickly. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span> </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-48820083472388943222021-03-24T19:58:00.002-04:002021-04-18T21:15:22.842-04:00The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis Book Review<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Rawr Reader,</span></p><div><span style="font-family: georgia;">One of the wonderful things about books is it can bring people together over different periods of time. It can bring people together who share nothing in common. It invites discussions. Inspires movie adaptations. It can be for a book club</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">in which case the latter is the truth for me. This particular book club is small, just my sister and I. Naturally I gravitate toward fiction and my sister non-, so when she suggested <i>The Future We Choose </i>for our March pick, a book dealing on climate change—a subject of interest for both of us, I couldn't wait to dive in.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Up until this point I've only done reviews for fiction titles. I think this is a perfect bridge into the other side of the written word.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis of <i>The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis</i> by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac is provided by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52117860-the-future-we-choose?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ynPa2zcUxW&rank=1">Goodreads</a>, my trusty source on all things book:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><i><span style="font-family: georgia;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #0dbb98; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pOfnuC6g7TufOwrf2E9q7FDXeZc1vq-hWyEjf1NGLEXL4EjUAc9BzLK940v6ohu66FuJ3FGYkKYUg7ImKhNb12nDQbtGYsACrCiweHiTVThIFIWAgee0-oARYROeumHI8cUiv929_ok/s2048/IMG_7394b.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pOfnuC6g7TufOwrf2E9q7FDXeZc1vq-hWyEjf1NGLEXL4EjUAc9BzLK940v6ohu66FuJ3FGYkKYUg7ImKhNb12nDQbtGYsACrCiweHiTVThIFIWAgee0-oARYROeumHI8cUiv929_ok/s320/IMG_7394b.jpg" /></a></div><b><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #0ee7bc; font-family: georgia;"><b>Climate change: it is arguably the most urgent and consequential issue humankind has ever faced. How we address it in the next thirty years will determine the kind of world we will live in and will bequeath to our children and to theirs.</b></span></i></div></b><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0ee7bc;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #0ee7bc; font-family: georgia;">In The Future We Choose, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac--who led negotiations for the United Nations during the historic Paris Agreement of 2015</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0ee7bc;">—</span></span><i><span style="color: #0ee7bc; font-family: georgia;">have written a cautionary but optimistic book about the world's changing climate and the fate of humanity.</span></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #0ee7bc; font-family: georgia;">The authors outline two possible scenarios for our planet. In one, they describe what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris climate targets. In the other, they lay out what it will be like to live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world. They argue for confronting the climate crisis head-on, with determination and optimism. The Future We Choose presents our options and tells us what governments, corporations, and each of us can and must do to fend off disaster.</span></i></div></span></i><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:</span></div><span style="font-family: georgia;">I have been introduced to this book through environmental accounts I follow and my sister. I can't recall which came first.</span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Review:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;"><span>safe</span> </span>for those who haven't read this book)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Climate change is a global issue. One part of the world may not feel its impacts but even those in developed countries can't shut their ears off from the outcries of protesters. Climate change deniers may certainly ignore, change the channel, unfriend someone, hang up, but no one can stop hearing about it for long. Over the years the volume from the megaphone has only increased.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> So what does Figueres and Rivett-Carnac, key contributors to the Paris Agreement in 2015, do in <i>The Future We Choose</i> that works so well in addressing the climate change issue?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I think tackling such a large issue calls to reason we must analyze the worldwide and national data, but the way to make waves of change is to start small, which is exactly how the authors focused on addressing this issue. Let's not even get into the body of the book, look at the framework of the main title:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Future </i>- zoom out</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>We</i> - zoom in</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>Choose</i> - the step forward, to continue to recognize and address this as both something we must zoom out from and introspectively zoom in to constantly</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The structure of the book follows the pathway of its title. The first challenges you to imagine, zooming out of your own personal experience through life to see how the earth may become if there is inaction and the efforts toward curbing and outright stopping greenhouse emissions by 2050 (highlighting the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold we cannot pass). However there is another side. Zooming out to see how the earth might become if we look at the data and act, from small scale models within a household to large scale visions with government and national action. The diction used to convey the heat of the planet in the former with the cooling and regenerative planet with the latter was executed brilliantly. I thought I was reading non-fiction but those two chapters really felt apocalyptic and utopian in their narratives. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The <i>We</i> in the novel calls onto us to ask ourselves to toughen our mindsets, yet introspectively be open and flexible to change. How both? Well, the world right now is on a trajectory. That trajectory is leading us to an unfavorable end with the cost being many animal and plant species becoming extinct, entire ecosystems withering away, and the quality of human life on the precipice of destruction. What our authors want us to know is that while the missile has been shot and is indeed on a negative trajectory, human will and human efforts can become the wind that redirects that trajectory. We don't need to continue down a self-destructive path. In fact we are still within the window of meaningful change.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> With resolve people can take the mantle and steer the course. It starts small. It starts with the mind. The mind is our most powerful weapon. While it can deceptively make us believe we ourselves are powerless because we are only one person, we are out of reach, we don't have a voice—we most certainly <i>can</i> make a difference. In a nation with free speech, in a democratic nation with power to elect officials who reflect our ideals, in a nation where the words and thoughts of those half way around the world are reachable, the future we need is more accessible and changeable than ever before. It begins with the mind though. To teach ourselves that the negative reports and influx of studies propagating impending doom doesn't mean we're reached the point we are powerless to make a change. The authors present combating these forces with three mindsets to help in facing the titanic issue of climate change: Stubborn Optimism, Endless Abundance, and Radical Regeneration.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> While on the surface my mind preferred to read about the first and the latter, ironically one of my favorite parts was in the second mindset. It addressed directly and acknowledged contentiously how our cultural mindset of how we view and live in this world may in fact be a mirage. Much of the western world views the resources and opportunities of our world as expendable and infinite and through the lens of a zero-sum paradigm—a model showing there are two sides, of which you can only be a winner or a loser. It is so engrained and intertwined in our consumerist and capitalist societies that we need more and if we aren't obtaining more than we are losing to someone else who is gaining more, taking something from us.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Our authors challenge us to reevaluate this notion. Shift our perception about a scarcity of something when there is actually an abundance. We should celebrate collaboration over competition. We should care about communities and sacrifice others for the self. The common good over what one as a person can gain. It is possible that if give we also gain. A contradictory concept on its surface, but by measuring the worth of something or an experience beyond how it best serves the self and more how it serves our communities or nature, we can take small steps toward reaching a prosperity for all. I won't deny one example they elaborate on concerning communal sharing, like a future where certain aspects of society like private ownership of automobiles within urban cities become obsolete, seemed a bit far-fetched to me. But maybe this is with the perception that I don't live in an urban city. I have an attachment to owning my own car. This is a mindset of someone who doesn't know another way. In the upcoming decades this might change. Perceptions can be as fluid as we make them to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Neither the authors nor myself believe competition should be removed from the equation. Technology and safety measures against disasters has taken many leaps forward because competition pushed us toward improving and modernizing and making our societies better than they used to be. However what nature provides is perfect. It doesn't need an upgrade from us. It supplies, recycles, regenerates, and upgrades itself. It doesn't confirm to a manmade linear equation on a graph. It's a circle.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The authors have now shown us the world one of the two paths our world will take. They have shown us the attitude we should learn to develop and strengthen within ourselves so we can continuously fight for a positive change in our world. Now what is left is the final step. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Action.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Knowing the path we're on and having the mental determination toward making a change are only two ends of the triangle. The final corner is action, which is detailed by our authors in ten building blocks to show where we can grow from or begin from scratch. The steps derive from many places. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> How you approach climate change personally starting with a shift in mentality. One line I liked and will borrow from Action 2: "<i>You do not have to believe your vision is likely to be achieved, or that the struggle to achieve it is going well, to keep pursuing it.</i>" Because the world around us says one thing does not mean we must give up fighting. Work on having stubborn optimism (one of the three mindsets alluded to in the prior Three Mindsets section), where <i>is</i> achievable and <i>will be </i>achievable do not have a difference in meaning, because your action and determination toward both are equal. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> A subset of stubborn optimism that the authors and I wish to highlight is going one step further: "<i>infect[ing] others with the same conviction</i>." Once we've mastered the art for ourselves, it will be our responsibility to champion others to the cause. And don't let the word cause intimidate you. Don't think of it as a cause against someone, but <i>for</i> the planet we all live on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> How you can make small conscious acts in your daily habits. Action 4 calls on identifying ourselves as "citizen—not as a consumer." Focus on the things we really need and try to dial down on spending more than what is needed. Let's try to curb food waste. Use less water and unplug electricity when you're not actively attending to it. Strive to eating no meat a day less each week. Walk, cycle, use public transportation such as trains or buses instead of cars if it's practical. Small efforts to create a change. And share with others how you're trying to readjust your living. Communication with one another can further inspire the growing movement toward sustainability.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Making a decision to invest your money and time into companies that strive for a more inclusive and environmentally-conscious business model. Companies are feeling growing pressure by consumers and social media to be more transparent about how their investments are made and how their businesses are run and what their goals are toward clean energy. One of the beautiful perks of technology is that it more easily shows what a company's policies are and how they support or do not support a certain issue. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Some of the ten steps tie into one another, some of the steps are harder to act on than others, but the authors note that you don't need to take these steps and achieve them in any order. They are merely where you can start if you are unsure how you can start.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The Industrial Revolution launched modern society in a way that seems to only catapult farther and farther forward as each of the recent decades pass. It's overwhelming. It's daunting. We can feel helpless. We can become depressed. And it's all right to feel that way. However we must always remember to recognize the despondency and acknowledge what it can be, but always strive for and choose to prevail.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Deforestation, acidification, desertification, global warming, species extinction, ice sheets melting, disappearing coral reefs, plastic pollution, air pollution, flooding, droughts, famines, mass emigrations, more frequent natural disasters and other climate disasters are not endgame. We have our foot on the gas and we still have the power and the responsibility to take it off.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Climate change is the earth's response to mankind. I've thought it for several years and over time I can't help feeling the conviction in my bones. The world will still be here even if we destroy everything to the ground. However it won't be a world designed for sustainable life for humans. And it won't be a world we grew up in. That much is already evident to us. It's up to us to surrender to the world and try to find a new harmony with it. It has taken care of us for millenniums and from epoch to another. It's our turn to be the caretakers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This was published right before COVID-19 and I remember the authors noting how the world can't stop running. Funnily enough we did. Entire nations enforced lockdowns, some spanning weeks, others months. And what did the scientists find? The break from emissions made a noticeable difference. Earth's Overshoot Day even extended nearly a month later to August from 2019's dismal July date. It will take a massive effort, but human determination and innovation can achieve widespread change.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> This book wishes to rally people toward a unifying goal. Climate change isn't something we are defenseless against. It's certainly mammoth. Climate change doesn't choose who it affects, but it affects others—usually those with less means and less resources—more unilaterally and disproportionately than others. Let's start caring for each other more. Let's start making an effort for the common good.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> I would like to reiterate that I think this book is phenomenal and I wish I could go into detail about each of its chapters on subjects like rewilding or electric cars, but honestly the authors communicate their ideas better than my summaries and opinions ever could and you might pick up something I didn't. And their list of sources for more information at the end is a plethora of starting points for those wishing to learn more. Definitely recommend.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<i>Impossible is not a fact. It is an attitude.</i>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">-Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, <i>The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis</i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next to Read:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Vanishing Half</i> by Brit Bennett</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Some free promo for some accounts I follow on Instagram that focus or frequently discuss climate change, social justice, efforts to make a greener life, and similar affairs:<br />@worldeconomicforum</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@thezerowasteguide</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@earthrise.studio</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@extinctionrebellion</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@earthalliance</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@nrdc_org</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@tedcountdown</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@friends_earth</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">@100isnow</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">And a documentary I enjoyed recently:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Kiss the Ground (available on Netflix)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I'd love to hear about any documentaries or books you'd recommend related to climate change and the environment.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-23114024381342777262021-02-28T17:18:00.009-05:002021-03-24T17:52:27.099-04:00A Natural History of Dragons Book Review<p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Rawr Reader,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">What joy! I know said this last time I posted a review but it's been so long! I haven't shared my recent reads with you but I think everyone can agree 2020 was a funky year and most of us would find it the most unusual, unexpected, and darkest year we've ever faced. In that darkness I found a new love, yoga. I was blessed to have stayed employed when so many lost their jobs, however it was a desk job and my body was feeling the effects. Enter yoga, and I don't think I can go back without it in my life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">On the topic of books, unfortunately, I read a measly 14 books. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: center;"> *Queue sudden gasp*</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">I shudder to think back to the peak of my college years when I read nearly 5 times that many. And of the fourteen only two were quite memorable and what I would rank Five Star Reads. While I never did a review for them I would still like to share them:</span></div><p></p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><i>The Overstory</i> by Richard Powers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">and</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: georgia;">The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle</span></i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> by Stuart Turton</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Both are mammoth. Both successfully blew me away. The former for tackling a narrative that intertwined the environment and a wide cast of characters with a structure that mirrored a Frankenstein/Cloud Atlas tree ring. And the latter for being a contemporary Agatha Christie whodunnit I only wish I could reread for the first time again. I would gladly revisit both of these novels if I could read a new book at the same time. Alas, we are creatures with only a singular pair of eyes. I wish evolution considered humans desire to read into the equation so we could at least have the option to read two books at once. Or one pair of eyes sleep while the other reads through the night. Just me? I think the impossibility of nature stemmed from my recent dive into fantasy again. So let's jump in!<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">The synopsis for The Memoirs of Lady Trent series, <i>A Natural History of Dragons</i> is<i> </i>by Marie Brennan and borrowed from <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12974372-a-natural-history-of-dragons?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=qgKDN7P9hx&rank=1" target="_blank">Goodreads</a>:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidP-g0olEC3PsoQuEnPWcdwpcoEvW9daau0XCnmn07qRjj1QNKCtCNW5rnODvkUDNDGD31si3iySIXeJlyfH3g-Mr2FBmQTp3oJUJCd4-3BZCCSL-42MWN2s4dFRELx55Q_e97Myf03o/s2048/IMG_7388c.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidP-g0olEC3PsoQuEnPWcdwpcoEvW9daau0XCnmn07qRjj1QNKCtCNW5rnODvkUDNDGD31si3iySIXeJlyfH3g-Mr2FBmQTp3oJUJCd4-3BZCCSL-42MWN2s4dFRELx55Q_e97Myf03o/s320/IMG_7388c.JPG" /></a></div><span style="color: #df9c45; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon's presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one's life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .</i></div></span></div><span style="color: #df9c45; font-family: georgia;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;">All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world's preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.</div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><div style="text-align: center;">Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.</div></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Reference:<br /><div style="text-align: left;">Goodreads. Because Goodreads is a wonderful fountain of literature.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Review:</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">safe</span> for those who haven't read this book)</div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia;"> <span> </span>I can honestly say I can't think of the last time a fantasy author took my hand and led me into their story with grace, grit, and wit. Fantasy, as its nature, oftentimes has to deliver a multi-layered world to the reader and yet keep to the plot without drifting too much. Brennan is a phenomenal writer. Through her descriptions of settings and the manner and voice of our narrator Isabella Hendemore, our marvelous Lady Trent before she earned the appellation, Brennan reveals a deep look into this vibrant world that might take another author perhaps twice as long to execute effectively. Set in an alternate Victorian era world, places and names are colorful and familiar and thankfully names I only have to read in my head because if I tried saying them aloud I would likely butcher them. I would suggest that if it helps, it might be useful to write down names for people and places and vernacular until you become familiar with them since Brennan never defines new words, she simply implies meaning with context.<br /><span><span> </span><span> </span>Unlike many ladies in proper society, Isabella is spellbound by dragons, a species that is rare and mysterious and in a word</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">destiny</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">—</span><span style="font-family: georgia;">for our young narrator. Throughout the first and second books, she encounters dragons of different sizes and in different environments. She observes some, merely escapes with her life with others, and throughout it all will not think twice about risking her life to relive the experiences again. I admire a woman who is driven, even more so when the topic is as exciting as dragons. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The exotic and strenuous environments she is drawn to to study the dragons are as much an obstacle for Isabella and her companions which can make the study of the dragons that much more taxing. Yet she refuses to let a dangerous landscape or a foreign people deter her. I found her encounters and interactions with the mountainous peoples of Vystrana what made me love these books even more. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">Brennan doesn't make the entire world a single culture, there are other</span><span style="font-family: georgia;"> cultures and in <i>ANHoD</i> we live in it for a huge chunk of the book, which only adds to the list of difficulties Isabella and her companions have to learn to adapt to and not in any way easier to tackle because they are the same species. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Dragon hunting is <i>not</i> an easy hobby. I can't help but reminded of the Fairy Godmother in Shrek 2 as she angrily commends her son's accomplishments to the king, but Isabella's ambition through precarious terrains and with questionable foreigners really is a remarkable trait. Her goal isn't as simplistic as saving the princess in the locked tower, she has questions to the anatomy, the behaviors, the culture's accepting or antagonistic views toward dragons who more often than not only lead to more questions. <br /><span> </span><span> </span>Isabella isn't just an enthusiast for dragons, she becomes committed to learning the languages of the countries she travels to so that she can contribute and be the most effective in her studies. And Lady Trent notes more than once how language barriers and the limits that poor comprehension translates to transpired in her efforts to accomplish whatever task she was set on. I love reading about new cultures in fantasy, and added with a cast of languages <i>and</i> Brennan's alluring prose, I don't see how I could have walked away from this book disappointed.<br /><span> </span><span> Lady Trent also often references books within the world of the series we will never read but are described so vividly that readers might do a double take to remember those are works of fiction in a fiction. This reminds me of a similar inclusion in Amazon's Carnival Row, another colorful world of high fantasy, where the two protagonists become interested in a work of fiction and how it brings them together. She subtly references scientists and authors that we have never heard of and notes their significance alongside works Lady Trent has published. Little drops of detail like these make this memoir seem that much more realistic despite the topic of discussion. </span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> The eponymous <i>A Natural History of Dragons</i> is a scientific text Isabella reads early in her life that becomes a bible that will set her toward the events that unfolds in the series. Being that there are four more novels in this series, I'd like to think this text will reappear later as Isabella ages and learns more about dragons.<br /><span> </span><span> One of the last things I'd like to touch on is Isabella's connections and the relationships she makes throughout the two books. Being a woman of science more than society, social graces aren't what I'd label as Isabella's strong suits and yet she manages to form strong bonds with people native and foreign to her. The camaraderie that develops between certain characters like Tom Wilker and Dagmira were some of my favorites, despite being some of the most difficult for her. There are others who have flatter lasting impressions of friendship or detestation, but the fluidity of these relationships I found to be the most enjoyable to read through.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span>I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Quote:</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“But I know, at least, that you would keep a library on the subject, and I hoped that I might be allowed to read from it.”</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">He regarded me with a bemused expression. “You want me for my <i>library</i>.”</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">― Marie Brennan, <i>A Natural History of Dragons</i></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">~Because Isabella and Mr. Camherst have a relationship to rival many famous literary duos~</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">My Goodreads:<br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Next to Read:<br /><i>The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis </i>by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Spoilers:<br />(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">unsafe</span> for those who haven't read this book, so <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">don't read</span> this section)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Brennan must have known how perfect she was making Jacob Camherst when she was writing him. A man who not only shared Isabella's interests but included her when others in society would have shut the door on her. Time and time again we see how much he loved her. He almost always doing what she wanted, which sounds rather boring of him when I say it like that, but as I was reading it seemed very endearing. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Something I noticed throughout the book was how often things turned out "okay." There were struggles Isabella and the party faced when studying the dragons, but incidents and problems always righted itself by the end. Rather "easy" from an outsider's point-of-view. There were losses, of course with the obvious being Jacob, however even then it sort of had to happen because if she continued with him at her side, then society would focus more on his accomplishments over hers. I know Tom Wilker joins her in the next novel at least, and it could be said their accomplishments might bring him more into the spotlight than her, however one thing that she mentions on more than one occasion is the fact that he isn't of the same rank as her. Isabella and Tom are somewhat of the black sheep of scientists with being a woman and being of a lower station respectively, but being tied to Jacob and his family's status and reputation elevated her above him. If Jacob were there, he would be the focus. I enjoyed how Isabella and Tom found a common ground in that even though they butted heads in everything else.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> Dragons are one of the most majestic and thrilling creatures to read about in fantasy and I liked how Brennan gave her a little twist to them in her series: dragons leave no trace behind after death save teeth or claws, so studying dragons and their anatomy implies that anyone trying to study them has to work quickly after slaying. Isabella in Lady Trent flair reminds the reader that she has no qualms killing a dragon as long as its in the name of science, and we see her play a hand in the capture of them. Admirer of dragons as I am, I couldn't help shedding a tear every time a dragon was hunted down. I just had to remind myself—<i>it's for science</i>.<br /> Adventure tales have always appealed to me, but I think one reason why this one did especially was because it reminded me of <i>The Mummy </i>movie series. While set in a Victorian era, several decades before the <i>Mummy</i> movies which were set in the 20s/30s, they both were reliant on scholarship and our characters wished to join the acclaimed ranks of academia, there were limitations technology and transportation offered them, the lands they would explore were populated by cultures not all that friendly to them. The next book is set in the jungle and I can't wait to see how dragons fair in tropical climates and how Brennan unravels more of this fascinating mystery behind the dragon species.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Until Next Time,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Nicole Ciel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p></div></div>Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-14795020445531592142019-09-08T11:46:00.004-04:002023-01-18T15:08:22.358-05:00BIG NEWS + Recent Recommended ReadsRawr Reader,<br />
<br />
It's been a long time my friends! Three years have sure flown by. I hope during that time you've found some new favorites to add to your bookshelves. I'm currently twiddling my thumbs for <i>The Queen of Nothing</i> by Holly Black, the conclusion to The Folk of the Air series, and like most fans out there was *super stoked* to hear the release date was pushed nearly 2 months earlier from January 2020 to November 2019. Bless publishing houses. (And Robert Downey Jr. for starting the trend for up-and-coming releases to get earlier release dates.)<br />
<br />
My resurface to Rawr Reader though isn't just to mention some recent reads I loved and wanted to share, which I will down below. First, I have some big news I am super excited to share with you.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><b>I am self-publishing a book!</b> <b>:D</b></span></div>
<br />
It's been a piece of my heart since 2011 and while I may not have acquired an agent with this particular story, I wanted to share it with the world.<br />
<br />
It's called <i>Trium</i> and follows Jamie when she discovers the existence of living gargoyles atop her hometown cathedral. I'll be announcing the release date later this month. For a more in-depth synopsis, you can check out the book info on Goodreads:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47892350-trium?ac=1&from_search=true">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47892350-trium?ac=1&from_search=true</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trium-Nicole-Leon/dp/1733484418/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UH4QMFRDD1Q1&keywords=trium+nicole+de+leon&qid=1674072454&sprefix=trium+nicole+de+leon%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RvBgy6bkyrgaNj2dZejwbhyikwNdJCX5aepzaOkC6-y-eWq7XVajDTpgcTSp0AfNARP01RCtq3c5vTCxEm3-LgJO_0vfHfAE9P6yzggwlQnR4XVi1qrehhAxoE-fq0zqoTWAXJuc-Vs/s320/Trium+Twitter+smaller+pic+6c+2p4.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Trium-Nicole-Leon/dp/1733484418/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UH4QMFRDD1Q1&keywords=trium+nicole+de+leon&qid=1674072454&sprefix=trium+nicole+de+leon%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-1"><br /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since 2016 I've found some literary treasures I highly recommend.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/119526.Grey_Souls?ac=1&from_search=true">Grey Souls</a></i> by Philippe Claudel. A mystery set in France during WWI.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41021501-small-great-things?ac=1&from_search=true">Small Great Things</a></i> by Jodi Picoult. A black nurse performs CPR on the baby of a white supremacist couple and is therefore charged with a serious crime.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18464362-updraft?ac=1&from_search=true">Updraft</a></i> by Fran Wilde. A fantasy following a society who live among the clouds, their sole means of transportation: gliders!<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29396738-monstress-vol-1?ac=1&from_search=true">Monstress</a></i> by Marjorie M. Liu and Sana Takeda. My first graphic novel, an art deco, steampunk fantasy set in an alternate 1900's Asia where a girl embarks on a quest accompanied by a powerful monster.<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22928891-war-against-all-puerto-ricans?ac=1&from_search=true">War Against All Puerto Ricans: Revolution and Terror in America’s Colony</a></i> by Nelson A. Denis. A historic account of Puerto Rico during the 20th century exploring the rise and falls of leaders, the island's relationship with the US, and how life was changed for boricuas because of them.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16315.Crooked_House?ac=1&from_search=true">Crooked House</a> </i>by Agatha Christie. An old millionaire dies and the suspicion falls on his young widow, although the further the authorities go into the investigation, the more they believe to suspect the entire household.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16305.Evil_Under_the_Sun?ac=1&from_search=true">Evil Under the Sun</a></i> by Agatha Christie. A Poirot mystery, a woman is found dead on the beach of a luxury resort with possible murder suspects pooled from among the hotel guests.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36516585-this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war?ac=1&from_search=true">This is How You Lose the Time War</a></i> by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. A sci-fi romance between two time-travel agents working for two warring sides.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<i><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40792913-altered-carbon?ac=1&from_search=true">Altered Carbon</a></i> by Richard K. Morgan. A sci-fi murder mystery set centuries into our future where mankind has conquered death by allowing the human conscious to be transferrable between bodies. (Also highly recommend the Netflix show, it's phenomenal and one of my all-time favorites. <b><u><span style="color: #e06666;">Warning</span></u></b>: it's rated TV-MA and contains elements unsuitable and possibly triggering for certain audiences such as sex & nudity; violence; profanity; alcohol, drugs, and smoking; and disturbing images.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36379678-at-any-price"><i>At Any Price</i> </a>by <span itemprop="name">Brenna Aubrey. A New Adult romance where a gaming blogger sells her virginity in an auction as a political statement and for much-needed cash with the winner being a millionaire CEO of his own gaming company. A fun read with a lot of nerdy pop culture references I couldn't not appreciate.</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you would like to check out other books I've read, my Goodreads is:</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole"></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
My current read is <i>Gods of Jade and Shadow</i> by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I'm really enjoying it. Set in the 20's, it follows a mortal girl and a degraded, fallen god embarking through Latin America to reclaim his throne. What can I say, fantasy just keeps getting better and better over the years. </div>
<br />
If you have any recommendations, I'm always looking for new and underrated books to add to my ever-growing TBR list.<br />
<br />
<br />
Until Next Time,<br />
Nicole Ciel<br />
<br /></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-91513018280676421722016-06-12T00:52:00.003-04:002016-06-12T00:52:39.787-04:00Who Fears Death Book Review<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rawr Reader,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I'm a little late with this review since I finished this a couple of days ago, but I think I'm on a really good reading streak and I can only hope it keeps going. This is <i>Who Fears Death </i>by Nnedi Okorafor, the synopsis borrowed from the front flap of the American hardcover edition: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YX_2mW1wrjSnfjLSOAa5sYi0ayOl2zw0KW8hG7yHY-it11rP4pspNr7gwGJ4fu-nJC0KQFDqOPFHRY2U4q9XV65od9VzWhXP9T9HYhZOQfr4xYKzzT3FE5pgMwyljUWCwGrbR9MEBWo/s1600/IMG_3721b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YX_2mW1wrjSnfjLSOAa5sYi0ayOl2zw0KW8hG7yHY-it11rP4pspNr7gwGJ4fu-nJC0KQFDqOPFHRY2U4q9XV65od9VzWhXP9T9HYhZOQfr4xYKzzT3FE5pgMwyljUWCwGrbR9MEBWo/s320/IMG_3721b.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>In a post-apocalyptic Africa, the world has changed in many ways, yet in one region genocide between tribes still bloodies the land. After years of enslaving the Okeke people, the Nuru tribe has decided to follow the Great Book and exterminate the Okeke tribe for good. An Okeke woman who has survived the annihilation of her village and a terrible rape by an enemy general wanders into the desert hoping to die. Instead, she gives birth to an angry baby girl with hair and skin the color of sand. Gripped by the certainty that her daughter is different---special---she names her child Onyesonwu, which means "Who Fears Death?" in an ancient tongue.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>From a young age, stubborn, willful Onyesonwu is trouble. It doesn't take long for her to understand that she is physically and socially marked by the circumstances of her violent conception. She is </i>Ewu<i>---a child of rape who is expected to live a life of violence, a half-breed rejected by both tribes.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>But Onye is not the average </i>Ewu. <i>As a child, Onye's singing attracts owls. By the age of eleven, she can change into a vulture. But these amazing abilities are merely the first glimmers of a remarkable and unique magic. As Onye grows, so does her abilities---soon she can manipulate matter and flesh, or travel beyond into the spiritual world. During an inadvertent visit to this other realm she learns something terrifying: someone powerful is trying to kill her.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Desperate to elude her would-be murderer, and to understand her own nature, she seeks help from the magic practitioners of her village. But even among her mother's people, she meets with frustrating prejudice because she is </i>Ewu<i> and female. Yet Onyesonwu persists. </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Eventually her magic destiny and her rebellious nature will force her to leave home on a quest that will be perilous in ways that Onyesonwu can not possibly imagine. For this journey will cause her to grapple with nature, tradition, history,true love, and the spiritual mysteries of her culture, and ultimately to learn why she was given the name she bears: </i>Who Fears Death? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Reference:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I'm usually good with this section but I honestly can't remember. I'll have to credit Goodreads, because it has an eye-catching cover and there have been many a time I click on a book because of its cover.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Review:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">safe</span> for those who haven't read this book)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I have to get into the habit of intentionally picking up a book set in another country or continent because sometimes it's too easy to only gravitate toward the best-sellers or the ones with the pretty covers----all conveniently set in the US. Now I've found one that I know I'll never forget. Set in the distant future where cultures haven't lost their essence of family and religious diversity, the darker aspects of society like prejudice and corruption are just as omnipresent. The building blocks of society, interwoven so naturally and inerrant, Okorafor convinces the reader that her words aren't just pressed ink to a page--- they're life and memory and fantasy and truth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Onyesonwu is a character that we love to love and love to hate. While she isn't my favorite character of all time, I mean I wouldn't run to be her friend at first, but she's a character I admire and one that is written to be beautifully flawed. She's tempestuous and headstrong. A nature and disposition that comes to being <i>Ewu</i>---and that's only the beginning. Onyesonwu encounters friendly and hostile cultures and characters that react to those like her, broadening her view of the world and offering a better understanding of the world she's trying to save; all while trying to control the magic and powers that she's still trying to understand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Constantly while reading I kept thinking okay, when is this story going to stop tearing my soul apart. Not only does Onyesonwu see the ugly side of society because of her skin color, but she's had to be exposed to other gritty and unnatural violations of human nature. With all of this in mind, to every dark, there is light, and Onyesonwu is supported by friends and finds a love that matches her destiny as the Chosen One. But not the trope Chosen One, the trope we've all gotten our full of; I felt that Okorafor redefined how the Chosen One trope should be written. It wasn't thrown in your face all the time, but a subtle undertone. And this is reinforced by our unreliable narrator: our protagonist, Onyesonwu.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> At first it seems this story is told in the present---only to realize it's in retrospect. I won't get into details since it's part of the plot, but similar to Zusak's <i>The Book Thief, </i>the narrator will have grown on you by the end. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> What was probably the hardest element for me to get past was the writing. It flowed at parts, but then sometimes I felt the syntax became distractingly jarring. The story would unravel so naturally and then I'd stumble as the sentences became incongruent. Then there were multiple grammar errors which wasn't the author's fault---but then it is. And her editor's. And since the author is credited for having a PHD in English and teaches creative writing at a university---I'll have some standards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> All that, and I still was so absolutely in love with this story and these characters. I'm the type of reader who treasures a good story over good writing any day. You can be the best writer in the country but without a compelling story, it doesn't mean I'll ever recommend your book or read it again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> *One thing I really want to inform potential readers on is that this books deals heavily with sex and rape. If this is a trigger for you, I would recommend on passing this story, because as amazing as everything else is, it's too frequent to skip over and still keep the essence of the story. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give this book 5/5 stars.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Quote:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>“My library was -- all libraries are -- a place of ultimate refuge, a wild and sacred space where meanings are manageable precisely because they aren't binding; and where illusion is comfortingly real.” </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">― André Brink</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My Goodreads:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Next To Read:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">TBD</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">River Song's Spoilers:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">unsafe</span> for those who haven't read this book yet, so <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">don't read</span> this section)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I need to say how thankful I am that this became a group journey; I really only expected Onyesonwu to go on this journey on her own. Mwita wasn't just the love interest, he became a true companion and comrade in arms. He foiled Onyesonwu's character in almost every way without losing his sense of romantic connection. While I was surprised to be introduced to a love interest since Romance isn't a subgenre listed on Goodreads, I'm happy that Onyesonwu was surrounded by love, romantic and platonic. I especially loved Onyesonwu's and Luyu's relationship, how it developed and how it grew. I really admire authors when they put just as much focus and attention on friendships, particularly for secondary characters, as they do on romantic relationships since it's easy to write flat friends and not give them layers or even a real personality that makes readers just as emotionally unstable as main characters. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> And not only characters, but then Okorafor introduces contrasting cultures that each distinctly shape and transform Onyesonwu's understanding of the world she wants to save. Some are similar to her own and others are what she'd never imagined. Otherworldly. All with their own customs that baffle and perplex Onyesonwu, the woman who can transform into a bird and step into another world. I haven't read a book of this size, that isn't a series, that has such diverse societies. I think Okorafor managed it flawlessly and I can't wait to read another work of hers.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nicole Ciel</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6813563984776263593.post-74549540665468770182016-05-12T22:54:00.001-04:002016-06-12T00:54:33.820-04:00Vengeance Road Book Review<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rawr Reader,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I went to two libraries today, one to check out some travel books for my mom and the other because it's closer to my house and it had a book I wanted. But I ended up checking out nothing since I had this beautiful book waiting for me. Without further ado, let me present the synopsis for Erin Bowman's <i>Vengeance Road</i> provided by Goodreads:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXVeuRiXJT_Wn0JX9dnaIIpRV8kf0Ttc-8cfJt2cxxoh_rV0kEfPdOk0T42LXz7X-DFldQ4y4pS4qUGm68-dPunsxENQzTsJ1QJkCmF9YeEPEg0qeJu44-_UyiyJq7XMW05TPp7bomt4/s1600/IMG_3710b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXVeuRiXJT_Wn0JX9dnaIIpRV8kf0Ttc-8cfJt2cxxoh_rV0kEfPdOk0T42LXz7X-DFldQ4y4pS4qUGm68-dPunsxENQzTsJ1QJkCmF9YeEPEg0qeJu44-_UyiyJq7XMW05TPp7bomt4/s320/IMG_3710b.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Revenge is worth its weight in gold.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>When her father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Reference:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A friend of mine uploaded a picture on Instagram with this book and I was immediately drawn to the cover. I'm going t gush about it a little more in my review, so prepare yourself.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Review:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">safe </span>for those who haven't read this book)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Kate Thompson isn't like your everyday run of the mill young adult protagonist. She's on a mission and nothing's going to deter her from that path. What I have to say I admire about Kate the most was her voice. From the get go we're dropped in a 19th century world where order, law, and justice is what people make of it. They're a long way from civilization and deep in the Wild West, luck and fortune are given to those who are resilient and to be frank, tough. Life's tough on the American frontier and it forces Kate to make some tough decisions quick. We see it in the first chapter when she has to decide whether to follow her father's murderers before the trail goes cold or to put her father to rest. It's an easy decision for someone who's safe 150 years in the future, sitting comfortably in their favorite reading spot with their noses in a book, but for someone who knows little of the world other than what she's seen in the few miles from town to her homestead, those first pivotal moments are what establish the baseline of the novel. Which is a girl seeking a vengeance that no man, woman, or law can stop.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I want to be honest and say that I didn't think of Mattie Ross from <i>True Grit</i> a lot of the time, but <i>that</i> would be an obvious lie. I read <i>True Grit</i> a couple of years back for a college class and held it a pretty high pedestal; though that might have been because it was the only Western I've read and I was impressed with it. So coming into <i>Vengeance Road</i>, with a pretty similar plot, and I was really afraid I was going to end up closing the back cover and realizing the only thing I loved from this book after all was the cover. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Which reminds me...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> The cover attracted me. There I said it. If I were a fly I would be fried because oh my Lord when I saw the cover I needed it on my shelf. I'm pretty strict with myself when it comes to book</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">s--- I won't buy a book no matter how pretty it is if I'm not interested in the plot, especially when I know I won't like it. And this was a YA title. I figured I wasn't going to. I haven't had any luck reading YA lately and on the brink of tossing all YA titles from my to-be-read list because they all just became formulaic. However it was books like <i>Vengeance Road</i> that gives me hope there are still a couple YAs out there that won't make me roll my eyes every page. But I'm digressing from my digression... I can't wait to put this on my shelf and show off the cover. While not YA, I bought another book for it's cover (coincidentally another Western) called <i>The Sisters Brothers </i>by Patrick deWitt and ended up dropping it. I'm just glad it won't be facing the bookshelf heavens, but my smiling face.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Now something I found really engaging instead of irritating was the fact that the story's written in the present tense. I don't know if you're a nit picky reader like me, but I get incredibly distracted by narratives in the present tense. It was maybe 10 pages or so when I realized I was cruising smoothly through a point of view I would usually stumble over. Maybe it was because the style was meant to mimic the prose of 19th century Westerners... Maybe I was just excited for a thrilling read. I can't be sure, but in the end, who cares. If you're reading who cares if it's outside your comfort zone.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> This is an adventure story, appropriately assisted by a map, and if I had to give a grade for the quality of the adventure I think I'd give it a 80%. I have no idea what giving a grade means but I wanted to try something new and fresh from reading, I think the terrain, obstacles, coincidences, mapping, stranger encounters and plot equate to a B. I hope this doesn't make it seem like the story falls flat, since a B is still above average. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> A major difference between <i>True Grit </i>and <i>Vengeance Road</i> has to be the fact that there's romance intertwined into the plot. By no means it hovers over the vengeance theme, however as a YA, it's to be expected. The relationship between the Kate and the guy isn't staggering. No one will leave this and claim it's their favorite literary couple. However, I did find it one of the most real between YA couples. And it was one of the most authentic things I found about Kate. She wasn't just a girl seeking revenge for her father, she was still a girl who hadn't really encountered a first love or saw much of a future for herself. But with a guy, she started to really see what this quest would mean for herself---with a romantic partner or without them. I think out of millions of YA couples there are, I would rank Kate's and RL's (romantic lead) as top 10. Top 5 maybe if I try and remember if there are really that many YA couples that I actually like.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> In my last review I mentioned how I've been on a quest for reads that center on women or have a predominantly female-led cast; and it wasn't until finishing <i>Vengeance Road</i> I realized I'm also on a quest for casts that are more diverse. I'm satisfied to say that Bowman delivers. Contrary to the name, Kate Thompson is half-white, half-Mexican, and she acquires the aid of a Native Apache girl in her quest. While there aren't many scenes with first or second generation Mexicans, there are references to Latin people, and Bowman does mention Chinese characters. While it isn't a lot, it's a lot more than I see nowadays. It doesn't discount the presence of non-whites in the Old West who usually only fulfill the purpose of antagonist and mustache twisting villain. While I know depicting Native Americans is a bit sensitive when it comes from a writer who isn't Native themselves, I found that Bowman depicted them in a respective and commemorative way. I only wish there were a couple more scenes with them.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> By it's end I found that the fast-paced read to be a thrilling read. It's something you can read in a day and despite the high stakes, something you can relax with at the beach. For this, I found very little to complain about.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I give this book 4/5 stars.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Quote:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>"How marvelous books are, crossing worlds and centuries, defeating ignorance and, finally, cruel time itself."</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">- Gore Vidal</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">My Goodreads:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole">https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7170636-nicole</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Next To Read:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Who Fears Death</i> by Nnedi Okorafor</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">River Song's Spoilers:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(<span style="color: #6fa8dc;">unsafe</span> for those who haven't read this yet, so <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">don't read </span>this section)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I wasn't lying in the review section, I really did enjoy Kate's relationship with Jesse and her point of view of what wasn't their relationship. Even though the emotional swing went back and forth for a while, this is a girl who largely spent her time with solely her father, and when she did encounter boys her age they didn't tickle her fancy. I think it was realistic that when one finally did reciprocate those feelings, she question a lot of the actions he did that might seem unwarranted on the surface to everyone else. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Let's talk about Rose and his gang. While I think it's fair that as a 1st person POV, it might limit the personalities of characters we only see when our protagonist sees, however I wanted more from them. They were the antagonists and considering most of the time Kate was trailing them and just in the middle of the desert, we do see a lot of them. I just wish there was more to them than the flat, archetype of a Wild West villain. Creating the rose scar on the deceased (or soon-to-become-deceased) was a cool trait of the gang and I like that the villain used his name as a marker instead of initials (you see me Zorro? you see me Batman?). Also, another thing I liked about the gang was the different encounters Kate had with them. There's the first in Prescott--- her first real test to see how far she'd go in her vengeance, then the shoot out on the Agua Fria River, and Phoenix of course. Then her last one at the cache by the gold mine. It was enjoyable to see how she encountered the ruthless thugs, by killing each one, mentally preparing her for her big stand-off with Rose himself. Almost like a video game and she needed to level up with each death. Only she didn't kill all of them like she was checking them off from a list. One died by natural causes and one died by Rose himself. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> I feel I need to talk about Will. His death didn't mean as much as I think Bowman meant for it to be. Plot-wise it made sense--- it gave Jesse a newfounded quest past the gold. But, when he died I didn't really care. It probably tied into the fact I didn't understand why he was rebuking Kate on <i>Jesse's</i> feelings. Jesse's his <i>brother</i>--- why patronize someone who is not only older, but a stranger to you? Put all that aside, he was a nice foil to his responsible, thoughtful, well-mannered brother. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Let me talk about that ending though. It was... how can I say it... disorienting. This <i>woman</i> comes out of no where, appealing to Kate with a name she'd never heard and it's pretty easy to guess it's her mom. I mean, if you didn't get that from the reference to an older woman who we'd never seen before that appeared near the mine--- something only Kate's parents and the Apache people knew about--- I don't know what to tell you. It was obvious to me. And the fact she was faking a ruse, pretending to be a hostage to garner on Kate's sympathies was just an easy solution to a suspenseful moment. Not lazy writing, just lazy plotting. That scene was predictable, and yet interesting. I said disorienting because I know Bowman wanted me to be shocked about the fact her mom was still alive, and Bowman wanted Kate to be emotionally comprised because it's a woman she loved and who she thought was dead--- but I just didn't like how it came about. She turns out to be in cahoots with Rose! Not surprising! The fact that she starts to monologue was just odd since in a moment like this--- no one would just reflecting on what happened in the past like they were reuniting after decades apart. She finishes explaining Kate's past to then turn on Rose. I'm sitting there thinking--- <i>why?? </i>They have a stand-off and then she tries to shoot Kate. Maybe it was an accident--- but then why did she mention there being "two" minds who knew about the mine that wasn't going to leave again. She pointed at Jesse then Rose, so why shoot Kate? I thought "her flesh and blood" was important to her. I mean, that's how she made it sound to Kate. Like she cared for her. Only--- she didn't really. She was just satisfied staying in the mountains. So: I'm not shocked when I should be by the mother's appearance, I don't sympathize a woman and her struggles after being abandoned since she was drowning in her greed, and then she shoots at her family when I can't be sure what her true feelings are. It might've been a twist if it was handled better. The fact that Rose made a legit deal with her is probably the most confusing. He offed his other men, no problem, but instead of overpowering this woman he could easily do, or just come back on his own, he's settling for a small amount of gold and is shocked when she turns on him.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Whew, I hope that all made sense. Because if so, you'll understand why my feelings toward that scene is all over the place. Good thing the ending was nice. I don't usually care for romance bookending a story when romance was just a subplot; but I liked it. I'll tip my hat to Bowman this one time.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Until Next Time,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Nicole Ciel</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Nicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12248212034154523251noreply@blogger.com0