books! books! books!
I am not a happy girl. I had nearly finished a post reviewing the books I'd read in January, hit 'more options' on the LJ portal, and then Firefox froze and ate my post. GAH. So this will probably be shorter than it was originally going to be.
Mélusine could easily have become one of my favorite books had it been evenly written. The first half was fantastic, lush and original, but then they had to go on a Journey, which Monette didn't really seem to be interested in, and the ending was rushed and left open for a sequel. I'll definitely read the sequel, which may help to put Mélusine more into perspective. I just hope Gideon returns (and that Felix stops being a prick) : ) Definitely recommend if you like fantasy or Victorian novels, as this seems to squish the two together.
Howl's Moving Castle was light, fun, middle-school fantasy. A bit obvious (and Sophie not telling her sisters was rather contrived), but Howl is a great character and I look forward to reading more of Jones' work.
Perfume was odd. It's the story of a man in eighteenth-century France who is, for lack of a better term, an olfactory genius. He becomes obsessed with the scent of a particular young woman and begins to kill in order to be able to obtain it. I found the premise very interesting, but there were long philosophical asides that were rather boring, and the ending didn't make any sense. It also would have been nice to have had more reasoning behind the killings, as in the chapter before it said he didn't need to actually kill people. So I don't think I'd recommend the book, though I'll probably download see the film (especially as Alan Rickman is Richis). It will be interesting to see how they portray on screen so much that happens in the mind.
Aside from the standard tediousness of chivalric romances, I found Parzival really interesting. I hope that I have time this semester to dig into the some of the scholarship, especially on geography and orientalism. I'm also curious about derivative works, as there is so much in here that is ficcable could lead off in interesting directions (like the evil castrated sorcerer Clinschor). There were some scenes with little details that really struck me as realistic and atypical of medieval writing, like when Parzival returns to Condwiramurs and she is lying undressed in bed and she jumps up and grabs the coverlet so she can go to him. Good stuff, and the Holy Grail as Magic Rock That Gives Food made me chuckle.
I also read most of Njal's Saga and The Book of Three, but as they aren't finished I won't count them. It'll give me a head start for February, as I probably won't get much fun reading done : )
ETA: Wolves & Honey wasn't a January book (December), but it was so good that I wanted to put it up. It is a heartbreakingly gorgeous work touching natural history, biology, etymology, folklore, and history, and generally focuses on a small section of New York State but ranges far afield. It took a bit of time to get into, as I found the writing to be rather non sequitur, but by "An Atmosphere of Sweetness" I was completely drawn in. I highly recommend if you want something a little more introspective. I'll have to check out her other book.
I just went to Amazon to double-check the chapter title. Right below the giant HP7 banner there's a link to Cassandra Claire's new book. HA.
Mélusine could easily have become one of my favorite books had it been evenly written. The first half was fantastic, lush and original, but then they had to go on a Journey, which Monette didn't really seem to be interested in, and the ending was rushed and left open for a sequel. I'll definitely read the sequel, which may help to put Mélusine more into perspective. I just hope Gideon returns (and that Felix stops being a prick) : ) Definitely recommend if you like fantasy or Victorian novels, as this seems to squish the two together.
Howl's Moving Castle was light, fun, middle-school fantasy. A bit obvious (and Sophie not telling her sisters was rather contrived), but Howl is a great character and I look forward to reading more of Jones' work.
Perfume was odd. It's the story of a man in eighteenth-century France who is, for lack of a better term, an olfactory genius. He becomes obsessed with the scent of a particular young woman and begins to kill in order to be able to obtain it. I found the premise very interesting, but there were long philosophical asides that were rather boring, and the ending didn't make any sense. It also would have been nice to have had more reasoning behind the killings, as in the chapter before it said he didn't need to actually kill people. So I don't think I'd recommend the book, though I'll probably download see the film (especially as Alan Rickman is Richis). It will be interesting to see how they portray on screen so much that happens in the mind.
Aside from the standard tediousness of chivalric romances, I found Parzival really interesting. I hope that I have time this semester to dig into the some of the scholarship, especially on geography and orientalism. I'm also curious about derivative works, as there is so much in here that is ficcable could lead off in interesting directions (like the evil castrated sorcerer Clinschor). There were some scenes with little details that really struck me as realistic and atypical of medieval writing, like when Parzival returns to Condwiramurs and she is lying undressed in bed and she jumps up and grabs the coverlet so she can go to him. Good stuff, and the Holy Grail as Magic Rock That Gives Food made me chuckle.
I also read most of Njal's Saga and The Book of Three, but as they aren't finished I won't count them. It'll give me a head start for February, as I probably won't get much fun reading done : )
ETA: Wolves & Honey wasn't a January book (December), but it was so good that I wanted to put it up. It is a heartbreakingly gorgeous work touching natural history, biology, etymology, folklore, and history, and generally focuses on a small section of New York State but ranges far afield. It took a bit of time to get into, as I found the writing to be rather non sequitur, but by "An Atmosphere of Sweetness" I was completely drawn in. I highly recommend if you want something a little more introspective. I'll have to check out her other book.
I just went to Amazon to double-check the chapter title. Right below the giant HP7 banner there's a link to Cassandra Claire's new book. HA.