I've been meaning to read this for ages - settled in and read the three plays over three days. Carson's translations and author's notes are insightfulI've been meaning to read this for ages - settled in and read the three plays over three days. Carson's translations and author's notes are insightful and very funny. Well recommended to read with a glass or three of wine!...more
This was wonderful - subtle and satisfying, violent and validating. Save it for an afternoon or evening when you can read the whole novella at once - This was wonderful - subtle and satisfying, violent and validating. Save it for an afternoon or evening when you can read the whole novella at once - you'll miss things, otherwise. I loved the agender archivist and her magical realism/jhereg-style smartass commentator hoopoe, and while it took a few chapters to get used to the framing device, it became increasingly powerful as the story progressed. Highly recommended!...more
Kate Schechter is my favorite of Douglas Adams' protagonists - she's just so angry, even in situations where the only response should be bafflement anKate Schechter is my favorite of Douglas Adams' protagonists - she's just so angry, even in situations where the only response should be bafflement and perhaps pulling one's bathrobe more tightly closed. Instead, Kate yells at deities, yells at pizza restaurants across all of London, yells at our titular holistic detective, and yells at eagles. (She speaks calmly to airport workers and small children, at least.) I love Arthur Dent and Trillian to pieces, but they are often passive characters in Adams' tripping-int0-new-absurdities-and-dangers-plotlines. Kate is delightful, even/especially while threatening deities with first aid.
Minus one star because the ending is so ambiguous. Well worth the re-read, and now I need to catch up with the show......more
One of my favorite novels of all time - an epidemiological mystery smashed together with "Chinese history that never was"; a kidnapped goddess; plentyOne of my favorite novels of all time - an epidemiological mystery smashed together with "Chinese history that never was"; a kidnapped goddess; plenty of murder and ghosts; recurring-gag comedy; the best-written innocent POV character possibly ever; and a trickster protagonist who is still furious, decades later, that committing crimes turned out to be so much more boring than solving them.
Librarian-style warning for: (view spoiler)[violence against women, lots of blood and torture, child endangerment but no death, abstract and hilarious sex scenes - high school or older recommended, and a very dear, mild-mannered side character running around with an axe committing bloody murder being shrugged off as narrative justice. Also, while meticulously researched, this was written in the '90s by a white man; some of the blanket statements about China as a nation and a culture may be troubling. Sequels are much better for female character development. All that said, this book is unabashedly FUN. (hide spoiler)]...more
Ferociously relevant in 2017, regarding fake news and the higher purpose of journalism in society. Well worth the re-read - I finished with a grin on Ferociously relevant in 2017, regarding fake news and the higher purpose of journalism in society. Well worth the re-read - I finished with a grin on my face, hope back in my heart, and a resolution to go throw money at the Washington Post.
(When I first read the Truth - sometime in the early Aughts - I'd not seen Pulp Fiction, I knew nothing about British crime and its associated narrative traditions, hadn't yet read Neverwhere, and all of the Watergate jokes went over my head. Definitely a book that gets better with time.)...more
Every time I reread this series, I have to calculate how much closer I am to turning directly into Morwen. My fridge is full of cider, my kitchen is rEvery time I reread this series, I have to calculate how much closer I am to turning directly into Morwen. My fridge is full of cider, my kitchen is ruthlessly clean, and my balcony herb garden is being overrun with catmint varieties; significant progress.
Er. Long-time favorite series, excellent characters, 100% recommended to anyone over the age of 8 who likes their magic quests thoroughly muddled with common sense and swordfights against rock-dwelling, leaping snakes. ...more
Everfair is dedicated "for Octavia, who knew this day would come," and I fervently agree - this is a tribute to and a progression of Butler's legacy. Everfair is dedicated "for Octavia, who knew this day would come," and I fervently agree - this is a tribute to and a progression of Butler's legacy. This complicated, multi-generational novel braids together the "neat!" factor of steampunk, the satisfying fix-it nature of alternate histories, a refusal to gloss over the brutal history of Leopold and the Begian Congo, and a nuanced post-colonial narrative that extends past World War I.
Shawl ties it together with a queer love story (half delightful, half frustrating, entirely wonderful to read) and over a dozen point-of-view characters. None of the characters agree on any two motivations or mores, but they do, thankfully, agree on objectives.
Some of the other reviewers seem put off by the "fractured" cast, but documenting those differences in personal history, priorities, religion, race and racism, assumptions, and ingenuity is deeply important - necessary conflict for moving the plot forward, and necessary respect for the history Shawl is retelling. Overall, highly recommended, especially for for book clubs & discussion!
For those who have already read the book - (view spoiler)[there's that "hmm" moment when someone's deep-seated racism is cured by magical bees in the last act of the book. Priests who understand radiation poisoning, sure, disbelief suspended; but racism-curing magical bees? Would be entirely too nice if they were real. (hide spoiler)]
Librarian-type advisory: (view spoiler)[POV characters die both on-page and off, sometimes violently; there's a LOT of historically accurate aftermaths of torture, amputation/mutilation, and colonial despotism/genocide, but no on-page torture; no graphic sex, but a fair amount of problematic, non-informed or non-enthusiastic consent. (hide spoiler)]...more
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