The first days of family...
I'm on the last legs of a head cold, and my nose is chapped and so are my lips, but none of that matters, because this week I read two Patrick Rothfuss books (alas, the only two), and am come home again to Phoenix.
PATRICK ROTHFUSS'S BOOKS ARE EVERYTHING PEOPLE SAY THEY ARE AND I WANT TO LICK THEM!
They have the very best of the FEELING of the Earthsea books, and College of Magics, and even of Harry Potter (in a way). ...Only the protagonist is more likable than Ged, possibly less reliable, and his story is wider, and the cast is larger, and some of the things he does with the world building - not just the magics, but the deep cultural unpeelings - is just riveting.
Some of the story follows the familiar pattern of hero's journey and magic school: Kvothe's an orphan, he has an elderly mentor early on, he loves a pretty but unattainable girl, he's both an outsider and a rockstar school, he has a mortal archenemy who's super mean, he has an immortal archenemy who's TOTALY EVIL... But I find comfort in that familiarity, and also delight in the details that break from tradition. And there are a lot of them.
It's also deeply romantic. Rothfuss lavishes love on these characters. He loves them, so you love them. You bleed for them. You want them. Everyone is beautiful. They are all clever.
(I have arguments about unrealistically beautiful protagonists in fantasy, but I forgive Rothfuss all their beauty and intelligence and talent, because, after all, he kicks the snot out of his characters too.)
I also particularly like that Kvothe spends most of two books in debt. That it weighs on him. That it colors all his actions. I can relate. That's something new to me; I haven't read about that yet. But I can relate, deeply. And so, I think, can most of his readers. So that was damned smart.
***
But back to Phoenix...
It is home, you know. Because it's the same house. And my brothers, though grown up, are still my brothers. There's one I haven't seen yet, the youngest - he's been at work the two times I've come here - but perhaps he will come home tonight and I will HUG HIM. But endeavor not to breathe on him.
Last night we spent at my eldest brother's house, with the three nieces. I was pretty shattered, but I made up for it this morning. I took my youngest niece on a long-promised date to a place called Rita's - where they serve ice and custard. We also did a side trip to Carambas for some lunch. We did a word-search puzzle on the Women's Movement ("Do you know what 'suffrage' means, Amelia?") and drew castles and mazes on the back.
We returned to hear my middle niece at her music therapy. She sang the train song with her teacher and was well-applauded for it. My eldest niece then required my opinion as to which hat she should wear with her outfit. A checked black and white, or a gray. I suggested the gray as it matched her sparkly silver boots.
I have sparkly silver boot envy.
We all watched BRAVE together this morning, and I found it funny and refreshing. A mother-daughter tale, with no romance whatever, three nekkid babbies, scary bears, a great witch and raven, and a head of hair Rapunzel should rightly envy. Sometimes I have hair that red, but even the permanent dye lasts about 2 washes, so I've mostly given it up.
Tonight my brother Aidan is making lasagna. AND I WILL EAT IT ALLLL!!!
My brother Aidan and his lady MaLinda have chickens. In a chicken coop. That they built. And they have begun several gardens. And have planted palo verde trees. They're walking the walk, man. Aidan's in school for sustainability, and his lifestyle reflects it more every time I talk to him or see him in action.
Now he wants a tiller.
I guess you can buy them for $400 at the Home Depot
Well. It's a goal.
***
PATRICK ROTHFUSS'S BOOKS ARE EVERYTHING PEOPLE SAY THEY ARE AND I WANT TO LICK THEM!
They have the very best of the FEELING of the Earthsea books, and College of Magics, and even of Harry Potter (in a way). ...Only the protagonist is more likable than Ged, possibly less reliable, and his story is wider, and the cast is larger, and some of the things he does with the world building - not just the magics, but the deep cultural unpeelings - is just riveting.
Some of the story follows the familiar pattern of hero's journey and magic school: Kvothe's an orphan, he has an elderly mentor early on, he loves a pretty but unattainable girl, he's both an outsider and a rockstar school, he has a mortal archenemy who's super mean, he has an immortal archenemy who's TOTALY EVIL... But I find comfort in that familiarity, and also delight in the details that break from tradition. And there are a lot of them.
It's also deeply romantic. Rothfuss lavishes love on these characters. He loves them, so you love them. You bleed for them. You want them. Everyone is beautiful. They are all clever.
(I have arguments about unrealistically beautiful protagonists in fantasy, but I forgive Rothfuss all their beauty and intelligence and talent, because, after all, he kicks the snot out of his characters too.)
I also particularly like that Kvothe spends most of two books in debt. That it weighs on him. That it colors all his actions. I can relate. That's something new to me; I haven't read about that yet. But I can relate, deeply. And so, I think, can most of his readers. So that was damned smart.
***
But back to Phoenix...
It is home, you know. Because it's the same house. And my brothers, though grown up, are still my brothers. There's one I haven't seen yet, the youngest - he's been at work the two times I've come here - but perhaps he will come home tonight and I will HUG HIM. But endeavor not to breathe on him.
Last night we spent at my eldest brother's house, with the three nieces. I was pretty shattered, but I made up for it this morning. I took my youngest niece on a long-promised date to a place called Rita's - where they serve ice and custard. We also did a side trip to Carambas for some lunch. We did a word-search puzzle on the Women's Movement ("Do you know what 'suffrage' means, Amelia?") and drew castles and mazes on the back.
We returned to hear my middle niece at her music therapy. She sang the train song with her teacher and was well-applauded for it. My eldest niece then required my opinion as to which hat she should wear with her outfit. A checked black and white, or a gray. I suggested the gray as it matched her sparkly silver boots.
I have sparkly silver boot envy.
We all watched BRAVE together this morning, and I found it funny and refreshing. A mother-daughter tale, with no romance whatever, three nekkid babbies, scary bears, a great witch and raven, and a head of hair Rapunzel should rightly envy. Sometimes I have hair that red, but even the permanent dye lasts about 2 washes, so I've mostly given it up.
Tonight my brother Aidan is making lasagna. AND I WILL EAT IT ALLLL!!!
My brother Aidan and his lady MaLinda have chickens. In a chicken coop. That they built. And they have begun several gardens. And have planted palo verde trees. They're walking the walk, man. Aidan's in school for sustainability, and his lifestyle reflects it more every time I talk to him or see him in action.
Now he wants a tiller.
I guess you can buy them for $400 at the Home Depot
Well. It's a goal.
***