Long-(over)due Mini-reviews

Title: Watership Down
Author: Richard Adams
First published: 1972
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Rating: ★★★☆☆

I've heard so many great things about this book, that I was more than a bit disappointed with it. It just didn't grip me. Adams can write adventure all right, but I didn't get why it had to be rabbits? They behave exactly like people anyway, so what's the point? For me it didn't work, as I couldn't care much for just a pack of rabbits, however well-elaborated their characters might be. I know, I'm a monster :) But I've hated tear-inducing books about "poor animals" since my childhood :) The rabbit language was also not very well-developed or necessary. What I did like was the rabbit mythology. The parts when they tell stories were my favorite!

The biggest problem of the book is the lack of any female characters. The whole plot is about "getting some does", but even when they appear, they don't play any role at all and are very passive. OK, OK, maybe it's supposed to be so with the rabbits, but they behave like humans, so it still irritates me. Also, all the philosophy is just... meh!

In my book: Maybe more suitable for children than adults. Or for much less cynical than me adult animal lovers :)

Title: The Warden
Author: Anthony Trollope
First published: 1855
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Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I read it for Chronicles of Barsetshire Readalong, and it was due in March, but I couldn't finish it until May, although it's a fairly thin book. What can I say? It was just so dull! I didn't care a twopence about moral dilemmas of a countryside priest and all the ecclesiastical politics around it. Trollope is really witty in some small scenes, for example his commentary on family life made me giggle a couple of times, but the plot is just so long-drawn and anti-climactic, that most of the time I used the book to fall asleep fast.

In my book: A classic soporific.

Title: The Republic of Thieves
Author: Scott Lynch
First published: 2013
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Rating: ★★★★☆

I picked this book out of despair - no story could hold my attention this horrible May, and I thought if this one couldn't, I was doomed. Well, Lynch haven't disappointed me: I was involved in the book, as much as it was possible at the time. However, I do think it had some problems. First, both plots (there's a flashback, as usual) are far from being original. Election and theater, really? They DO work, because both are amazing sources of plot devices, but I kinda thought Lynch was above it... Also, I didn't get the whole thing about the bondsmagi, including the last cataclysm and Locke's "secret". WTF????

I was most excited to finally see Sabetha, but I was a bit disappointed here too. No, she IS every inch as cool as I've imagined her, but her and Locke's relationship is so fucked up it becomes tiresome. Also, I'm glad there are always enough of great female characters in the series, but her "female in a male world" problems are a bit exaggerated here, I think.

In my book: Still great, but a bit less amazing and a bit darker than the previous books.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Review)

Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
First published: 1973
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Rating: ★★★★★

Another choice for Coursera Fantasy and Sci Fi book club has quite unexpectedly become a huge success with me. It's rather surprising, because really, if you read the premise it sounds like a typical Disney story. Don't let it mislead you! Even though “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.” are all present, as promised, it's also very, very funny.

The book is subtitled as "S. Morgenstern's classic tale of true love and high adventure. The "good parts" version abridged  by William Goldman", and it starts with an introduction in which the fictionalized Goldman explains how he came to love this book and why it needs abridging. The problem with the "original Morgenstern" is that he was writing a satire, and some satirical parts are better left out if the reader is not particularly interested in Florinese history and politics. So Goldman is doing what his father was doing when he read his son from the book - skipping the boring stuff. He actually substitutes it with his own commentary, justifying his omissions and commenting on their content. Sometimes the commentary also tells the reader about Goldman's experience when he was first read the book by his father. So, this way, with the additional awesomeness of Morgenstern's and Goldman's commentary, the story is told.

And the story itself is rather potent: not only does it have all the elements of a great narrative (fencing and true love, dudes!), it is also very ironic, with some twists of the plot rather unthinkable and some purely ridiculous. Yet, all of them pertaining to the style.

With all this complexity, the story holds together surprisingly well and is read in one breath. It took me only two nights, and that with all the impending exams. That says something about it!

In my book:
A great story: engaging, humorous, comforting. An unusual format adds to the appeal and doesn't distract :)

The Thousand and One Nights (Review)

Yeah, Boromir knows what he's talking about :) I've read a full academical edition of One Thousand and One Nights, which is 3624 pages long, around 600 of them comprising the commentary section. The photo below shows how the edition I read looks like in print:

See, it's much more than one book! :) Luckily, it has been scanned and made into an ebook, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get hold of it. Anyway, I'm so proud of myself, that I simply had to boast! Applause, please! :) I started last spring, so it took me a year and a half to finish this, as reading it non-stop is not something you'd want to do. So I read a tale or two each time I finished a book, which made the Nights rather entertaining instead of boring. I have no idea how to write a proper review for such a giant as One Thousand and One Nights, so I'll just write some random thoughts about it in no particular order.

1) Contrary to what many people (probably after reading some adapted edition) think, these tales are NOT for children. There's a lot of sex descriptions (including some really perverse things), cheesy and weird euphemisms, rudeness and violence, Muslim propaganda and war scenes. These are tales for adults, and adults who are not easily shocked.

2) Ali-Baba and Aladdin tales are NOT in the collection. They are "orphan" tales and made it to the book somewhere on the long way from Asia to Europe the text has travelled. Sindbad however IS in the collection, and his journeys are as numerous and adventurous as I had imagined them.

3) Tales is the most important thing in the world of One Thousand and One Nights. By telling a suitable story you can convince somebody of something, save somebody's life, pay for something and bring the bounty of the Sultan on you and your family. There are tales inside tales inside tales in this collection, and it's easy to get lost in all this complexity.

4) There's a lot of poetry in the stories, sometimes even too much. Some stories even look like they were devised only as a frame for poetry. The verses are difficult to understand and relate to, probably because we now read them from a page and not hear a harem beauty singing them while accompanying herself on a lute.

5) The ideal of a man in the book is very feminine. They cry and faint all the time, get compared with a moon, have soft skin and thin waist, use perfume, etc. One of the favourite plot devices in the stories is dressing a man as a woman or a woman as a man, and nobody notices!

Source

7) The tales share much with the European canon. Most of them are essential marriage plots and feature journeys, coming of age, weathering difficulties and different kinds of magic creatures and devices. Women, however, not always play a passive role and sometimes apply their cunning to get what they want. I have an impression that women had all the power in the Arabian Nights world, and just let the men think they are in charge. Not surprising, considering the stories are told by a woman! :)

6) There are different types of the stories. First, I would distinguish shortish fables. They are usually a night long and feature animals. Sounds familiar, right? I usually fail to get the moral though, because they thought so differently. Second type is the stories about lower people who make their way to fortune through guile and Allah's favour. The third one is heroic stories, featuring princes and kings, that usually tell either of vast conquests and political issues or are moralistic and show how a ruler can and can't behave. Although there are a lot of repetitive elements in the collection, each story a bit different, so it's difficult to have a definitive classification.

7) Religion is very important in the book. It is a reason for conflict and friendship, luck and misery... well, for everything. The characters believe that Allah governs their lives and display the most unbearable fatalism I've ever seen in literature :) It seems that at that time Islam was competing with idolatry and Christianity, so violence against the representatives of both is very frequent.

Well, these are some general thoughts about this huge story collection. Of course, there's much more to say, but this post is already too big and I'm afraid not very exciting for those who haven't read the tales or are not going to read them someday :) Was reading them worth it? Well, yes. This is the kind of book which has influenced TONS of media around the world, and getting to know the primary source is always interesting. But I can't help wishing it was shorter and less repetitive. So if you are not like me and reading an adapted and shortened version doesn't drive you crazy, this may actually be a good thing to do :)

By my favourite Bilibin

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz versus The Wizard of the Emerald City

Our Coursera Fantasy and Sci Fi book club is discussing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz this week, and this was a wonderful excuse for me to finally read the book. Yes, yes, I have never read it before, but that doesn't mean I'm unfamiliar with the story. There is a wonderful retelling called The Wizard of the Emerald City by Volkov, which was one of the most favourite books of my childhood. I've already talked about it when I made a list of Russian classic children's literature, and now I want to make a list of differences between the two books, which I collected while reading. It was fun!

So, here are the ways in which The Wizard of the Emerald City differs from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

• The girl's name is Ellie instead of Dorothy
• No witch's feet visible, Toto just finds the shoes and brings them to Ellie
• Toto speaks!
• No magic kiss on Ellie's forehead, the shoes make her untouchable.
• No difference in the prosperity of different munchkins.
• There is a pretty intense encounter with an ogre in the forest. It is before meeting the lion, if I remember correctly.
• There are sabre-toothed tigers instead of Kalidahs.
• I'm pretty sure the tin woodman didn't cut a cat's head off to save the Mice Queen. Ellie just saves her from Toto's barking instead.
• There are no fighting trees or china town. I also have vague remembrance that the fight with the spider is scarier.
• Instead of telescopic neck the fighting guys are just very good jumpers. Less creepy.
• Different colour and name design of the world. The witches all have names, which, I think is much better than a reference to their geographical location.

I have also got an impression that Volkov writes better than Baum, whose writing is too plain and repetitive to my taste. But maybe I'm just too grown-up now to enjoy the story as much as I enjoyed it when I was a kid :) But anyway, in my book Volkov undoubtedly wins!

Speaking of sequels, Volkov has 4 totally amazing ones and the last one that I don't like, and all of them are have nothing to do with Baum's stories. I remember taking some Oz book about a pumpking-head guy in the library, and it totally crept me out, so that I could not finish it. That's why I'm not sure I want to read more Oz books, but you know I love to be made change my mind, so I ask you: are there some amazing books in Oz series that you would recommend?

I'll finish the comparison with the two most famous maps of the two magic countries, because I love maps! Do you still have doubts which is better? :)

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare

Title: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: William Shakespeare
First published: 1596
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It's been a while since I participated in Let's Read Plays event because of exams, conference and other stuff. So A Midsummer Night's Dream was actually supposed to be an April read, but it seems even more timely now, in June, when summer solstice is approaching. I've also decided that I don't want the pressure of catching-up, so I'll skip Romeo and Juliet and An Ideal Husband which were re-reads anyway and start next month with a clean slate to fully enjoy The Seagull.

Now to the play itself. Remember me writing that I'm not actually enjoying Shakespeare's comedies because of rude and primitive jokes which are moreover nearly impossible to understand because of the language? Well, this is completely not true about this play, and I enjoyed every line of it. I guess that's thanks to the main topic of the jokes, which is theatrical business, the thing that Shakespeare knew very well and so could ridicule best.

As for the plot, there are three distinct story lines in the play. One is a love triangle, or rather quadrangle with twisted sides: two men in love with one woman; she loves one of them, but her father is supporting another, and the second girl is in love with the unwonted suitor. She wants to fight for her love, but, as she says:

We cannot fight for love, as men may do;
We should be woo'd and were not made to woo.

and it takes a love potion to set all this straight. The love potion comes from another cast of characters, fairy folk, who has their own story: Oberon and Titania, the king and the queen of the faerie, are having an argument about a servant and are eager to spite each other, for which Oberon sets up a plan of enamoring his wife with something repulsive. And someone suitable turns up, as one of the troop of common men rehearsing a play for the royal wedding in the same forest is half-turned into an ass by another fairy character Puck. So there is a lot of fun in the play, but everything ends well, and the poorly rehearsed play is performed at the celebration, accompanied by the most hilarious jests and commentaries as to the setting, the plot and the performing ever!

Some more lines that I liked in the play:

...reason and love keep little company together now-a-days;

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; 

And I'll finish with my favorite:

Lord, what fools this mortals be!

Stardust Group Read, Part 2

I was so sad when the book came to an end that even the fact that the end was a good one didn't help. So I immediately re-watched the movie, and I hope I will not mix up story lines from the book and from the movie while answering Carl's questions for the second part of Stardust read-along.

1. In the first part we saw a naive, wool-headed and self-involved Tristran. What are your thoughts about Tristran and his personal journey now that the book has ended?

Well, he has become considerate of other people's feelings, he has realized what he really wants in his life and he has made his mother accept his plans, which was the most challenging of all :) Is it called growing up? I think so. He has become a man, and a rather good one, I must say.

2. The star, who we now know as Yvaine, also experienced a transformation of her own. So I ask the same question, what are your thoughts about Yvaine and the journey she took?

Yvaine is a bit tragic and desperate in this half of the book. She has no other option than to follow Tristan, and he doesn't want her. That first love failure makes her calmer and kinder, I think. Remember how she treated the witch? Do you know anyone who could kiss a person who wants to cut his heart out? I don't. But it makes her less human too, so I connected with her much less in the second half of the book than in the first one.

3. The villains of the story came to interesting ends, but not necessarily expected ones. How do you feel about Neil Gaiman's handling of the Stormhold brothers (who had remained at the end of Part 1) and the two witches, the one Lilim and Ditchwater Sal?

I think it is only fair that all the brothers die. It kind of cleans their line of all the bad traits of character accumulated through centuries and gives place for Tristan, who is very different. I even pitied the Lilim witch, as old age is not very pleasant for anybody, and to be confined to an old body forever must be a hell of a punishment itself. 

4. Were there any descriptions, characters, settings, plot threads that stood out to you personally during this second half of the book?

I adored the scene where Tristan finally meets his mother and they immediately start arguing. It doesn't matter if your mother hasn't seen you for 17 years, she is still your mother and she wants you to settle down and behave reasonably. It was so realistic and recognizable that it made me laugh :) I also enjoyed the pun with two Mondays and how it freed Una.

5. At the very end of the book we see that Tristran and Yvaine's relationship and fate echoes that of Aragorn and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings. If this question makes any sense to you (lol), what comparisons and/or contrasts do you see, especially in the fates of Yvaine and Arwen?

Although there is an apparent similarity, there is one major difference here: Arwen chose her fate herself, and Yvaine didn't have much choice, as there was no way for her to go back to the sky. So I think she was very happy indeed on Earth as I can't imagine a better fate for her given that she HAS fallen, and she was spared Arwen's doubts if she had made the right decision.

6. What are your overall impressions of the story now that it is done?

I loved the story! Although the ending was not so Hollywood-perfect as I remembered from the movie, I liked it even better this way. There is some sadness left in you when you close the book, but it is a good sadness, a sign of a really great story.

7. If Gaiman were to return to Wall/Faerie, would you take another journey there? If so, are there any adventures hinted at in Stardust that you would like to see Neil expand on?

I think I would not like to return to the same characters or the same places. They were so fully exploited and the story is so well-rounded, that a sequel would spoil it all. I'd like something completely different, probably in different time or in a different place of the Faerie (there must be other entrances there, right?), but in the same style and with the same mood!

Stardust Group Read Part 1

For Stardust read-along Carl is encouraging us to answer the following questions about the first 5 chapters of the book. I really love the book so far, so I gladly join!

1. We have spent a little time with Tristran and even less time with the star. What are your initial thoughts/impressions of our two protagonists?

Well, the first word the star pronounces is he f-word, so I'm rather shocked by her behavior, but I think she is rather cool. And although she tries not to show it, she is very kind too. Remember how she healed the unicorn? Tristan is less likable right now, I'm afraid. He is rather narrow-minded and can't talk about anything except "his love", which is totally fake. I hope some adventures in Faerie will change him into a proper hero :)

2. There are some very interesting potential villains introduced in this first half of the book. Do any of them particularly stand out to you? If so why or why not?

Oh, I love the villains in this book! They are so ruthless and immoral, which makes them really believable and scary. I can't decide which one is my favorite, as both the witch and Septimus are equally gorgeous!

3. In Chapter Three, just after the section with the brothers in Stormhold, Neil Gaiman gives us a description of Faerie that includes "each land that has been forced off the map by explorers and the brave going out and proving it wasn't there...". What imaginary lands do you then hope are a part of Faerie?

I think that the world from 1001 Nights is surely there, with genies and everything... It would be really fascinating (but frightful!) to visit it! Then some dragon land will be appreciated too. And all the queer lands from the Greek myths. Wouldn't it be cool to know that the Atlantes are there somewhere, supporting our skies?

4. We do not get to spend a great deal of time in the market but while there we are given a number of interesting descriptions of the wares being bartered or sold. Which if any of them caught your eye, either as items you would like to possess or ones you would most certainly hope to avoid.

I finished reading this part a week ago, so I don't remember any wares in particular, but I guess I'd acquire some useful potions or curious animals, and I'd avoid accepting anything for free. Now we know how it ends! :)

5. If you have read much of Gaiman's work, particularly his short fiction, then you have come across some rather graphic and disturbing portrayals of sex. Gaiman offers up something very different in the way of a sex scene early on in Stardust. What are your feelings of the scene either in general or as a contrast to other Gaiman-penned scenes involving sex?

I haven't read any of his other works, but I remember being shocked with the sex scene. It was beautifully written, very romantic and everything, but it's not what you expect after such a fairy-tale beginning. I hope nobody gives the book to children thinking it's a fairy-tale! :)

6. I suspect Neil Gaiman is influenced by a number of fairy and folk tales in Stardust. Are there any elements of the story that made a particular impression and/or reminded you of other fairy stories you have read or are familiar with?

I completely adore Gaiman's way of writing! He takes some well-known patterns and then mixes them up, adds vivid characters and spices it with some humor. What you get is still very recognizable, but something completely new at the same time. The whole book is based on the traditional travel pattern, which is found in folklore all over the world. Scientists say it's because of the initiation ceremony which was obligatory for boys nearly in every culture. It usually involved surviving in the forest on their own for some time to prove they are fit to provide for themselves. And we see it in Stardust very clearly: Tristan's father somehow understands that it's time for his son to go on his quest and does not object. I hope Tristan will really become a grown-up through this challenge!

7. And finally, which of the many side characters introduced have caught your eye and why? Or what else about the story thus far is of interest to you?

I really adore this small pessimistic forest guy who gave Tristan the candle. He is grumpy, but cute, and he seems to be a good friend. I hope we'll meet him again in the book!

So that's all for this week's discussion. I'm looking forward to seeing others' posts on this half of the book and reading the second half!

The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame

The Reluctant Dragon is a classic English children's book, which, they say, was the first to picture a "nice" dragon. Really, why do we always think dragons are bad and that they must be killed? You cannot find two people with identical character, so dragons are very different too =)

The dragon in question has never been a good fighter, and then some catastrophe happened and he found himself blocked underground, where he started to write poetry and generally was quite happy because nobody made him do anything. I'm very much like this dragon, in fact: could please nobody bother me and organize everything for me? I can be polite as a change =)

When the dragon finally comes out and tries to settle, he makes friends with a boy and they spend a very pleasant time together until people around find out and start being uneasy about having a dragon around. They even invited a hero (now, can you guess his name?=)) to deal with the dragon, and the boy has to settle everything and not be late for home. And of course he manages, because he reads a lot!

It's a very pleasant read, and I found myself laughing out loud during some dialogues between the dragon, the boy and the hero. There's a lot of mild irony, and plenty of clever observations about people's character. I'll definitely be reading something else by Grahame, as this is pure joy.

P.S. The book was found thanks to the wonderful Classic Children’s Literature Challenge event in this list, compiled by Amanda @ Simpler Pastimes. Thanks, Amanda!

Rereading The Hobbit

I've decided to reread "The Hobbit" and I am anticipating the pleasure of it. 

I have a long story with this book. I first read it when I was a child and I totally didn't like it. Maybe it was just a bad translation  but I remember my irritation at stupid verses and phrases, the meaning of which I couldn't understand. Then in my teens there came together with the first good widely-available translation a fashion for "The Lord of the Rings". My best friend gave me a book, which I read in 4 days, and then immediately reread. That translation is still my favourite (I can even remember some lyrics), although I have seen 3 or 4 more of them, but they either have a very simple language, or the verses are poor, and in one of them the names were translated, can you imagine it?? There is a "bag" in "Baggins", but I surely don't want to see a name, derivated from the Russian word meaning "bag" in my book!

So, I became a fan, but I took "The Hobbit" again only several years later, after I had already read "The Lord of the Rings" several (~14) times and after I had read all the other Tolkien's works, both about the Middle-Earth and others. By that time I have, of course, being reading them all in the original and enjoyed it immensely. Then I thought that "The Hobbit" could't possibly be as bad as I remembered if all the other works of the same author were just perfect. And I started to read it again, a bit afraid of being disappointed. But I wasn't. I enjoyed the puns, the language, and especially the lyrics, so linguistically fit to the whole surroundings. I wanted to find the edition I disliked so much in my childhood to see if it really was the translation or my age, but I couldn't, because it was taken from the library. And so be it.

Why do I want to reread it now? There are two reasons, one good and one bad, as news usually are. Let's begin with the good one, as I always do.

1) The film is coming! I'm really looking forward to it, especially now that I have watched the video diaries of the shooting process. I bet you can find them on YouTube (here is the first one, and if you are hooked you can easily find the rest of them, there are 7 or 8 episodes) and they are really worth watching not only to the fans. I find it very interesting to see how the scenery is done, how they shoot Gollum scenes and how they make the gnomes look so nice. I actually believe that Peter Jackson can't spoil it, as I really liked his "Lord of the Rings". Yes, they've cut the ending and Tom Bombadil, but for a Hollywood movie the plot was very well preserved. The cast was also good (with some exceptions, yes, but enough has been said about the poor elves) and the scenery is completely fascinating! So I'm looking forward to more New Zealand! And the dragon, of course!

2) The second reason is a pact I made with my back, according to which it tries not to give me so much trouble, and I don't sit hours at lectures (and do not worry about it!), eat some healthy stuff instead of painkillers, lie down and generally relax for the whole week. And what can be better for relaxation than "There and Back Again"? See you!