A decent book which looks at the feminist themes used in the fantasy writings of various writers. The book came out in the early 1980s so it is reflecA decent book which looks at the feminist themes used in the fantasy writings of various writers. The book came out in the early 1980s so it is reflective of the state of feminist literary critique of that time, so bear that in mind when using it as a research resource.
The format of the book is fairly straightforward: Spivack looks at a writer's given work, does a thorough summary of it and talks about how that work reflects the themes she's pinpointed. It's pretty spoiler-ful so bear that in mind if she starts discussing a work that you'd like to read someday. I put this book down and finished Patricia McKillip's Riddle-master trilogy before continuing, to avoid spoilers.
I also found the chapters on authors whose works I haven't read to be less interesting, since those chapters were 80% summary of the works in question, and 20% discussion of themes that have already been examined in earlier chapters. So I skipped maybe about a quarter of the book. With that in mind, it's good reference material if someone's doing research on this topic, but less interesting as a cover-to-cover read....more
This was the first two books of the Chrestomanci series, which a couple of my friends have recommended to me for years. I'm glad they did! As always, This was the first two books of the Chrestomanci series, which a couple of my friends have recommended to me for years. I'm glad they did! As always, Diana Wynne Jones spins a fun and fantastic tale with believable characters & interesting magic. Her word-smithing is deft, masterful and unostentatious, and she keeps the story humming along. Definitely worth the read, especially for those Harry Potter fans out there!...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow going at first, but when I really started to sense the shape of the plot and get to know the characteI really enjoyed this book. It was a little slow going at first, but when I really started to sense the shape of the plot and get to know the characters, it really pulled me along. Hartman's world-building is also excellent.
I look forward to reading the sequel and spending more time with Seraphina :)...more
This was a decent humorous fantasy, though I remember being frustrated by the "choose your own ending" solution the author used, in order to have his This was a decent humorous fantasy, though I remember being frustrated by the "choose your own ending" solution the author used, in order to have his cake and eat it too....more
A lovely book with fantastic writing. I loved the conceit of (almost) each story being a first-person narrative with a very different voice/style. I tA lovely book with fantastic writing. I loved the conceit of (almost) each story being a first-person narrative with a very different voice/style. I think my favorite story, though, is the first in the collection: "The Last Song of Sirit-Byar."...more
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