I've read several of McHugh's other books - though I haven't read Nekropolis yet - and enjoyed them very much. All of her work seems to be of the introspective, character-driven kind, and some of her other novels also end without that sense of resolution or completion that we've come to expect from most fiction, and that's sometimes uncomfortable. But for me that's part of why her novels really do make me think about the issues she addresses.
I definitely like those kinds of novels, and intend to read more of her's, though I think I wanted a just a little bit more from this particular ending. Not in terms of tying up plot, but more of an acceptance of herself for the main narrator, Hariba. But, oh well. :) It's a good book, and you should check it out. :)
I definitely intend to check it out. The only problem is that I have two full shelves of books I've bought but not read yet, and a 12 page list of books I want to buy - but Nekropolis is actually already on the list, so I hope to get to it before, say, the end of the decade. ;-}
I feel your pain, cause I'm the same way. Though I find that despite my piles of books, sometimes I'm just NOT in the mood to read any of them and have to order something I've been wanting instead. :)
(Cross Posted from SFi With Bite 9/30/06 Thread)trilobitekidDecember 9 2006, 02:58:12 UTC
It seems that on LJ a month is ancient history, so I thought I'd cross post to comment on your journal, knowing that the world has moved on...I did like the story and see your points about it
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Re: (Cross Posted from SFi With Bite 9/30/06 Thread)calico_reactionDecember 9 2006, 03:12:58 UTC
Thanks for cross-posting it here. I got the comment last night, but that particular comm is members-locked, and I have another user name I stay logged in on all the time, and wasn't able to answer and was too lazy to log in and out. :)
I think for multiple, first-person POV, she handled it very well. I think I wanted headers of the character's names, just so we had a head's up, but other than that, I don't think I minded too much. You're right in that it'd be a much longer book had it been filtered through one POV.
Interesting thoughts on the sex. I prefer the graphic-ness, but I don't mind some creative alluding. What I don't like is the kind of allusion that makes you wonder if the couple did it or not. :) Sorry if that sounds crude. I just like knowing one way or the other.
Oooh, interesting parallel. You're right: those kind of people don't read this stuff, sadly. :-/
Re: (Cross Posted from SFi With Bite 9/30/06 Thread)trilobitekidDecember 10 2006, 04:19:26 UTC
Trust me, when you get as old as me you'll know whether they did it or not, just from the way they hold their coffee cups! Sometimes in real life people surprise me, like the 60 something woman I met at work who said she'd had over a hundred partners, but sci-fi conventions are very stylized, not quite like Kabuki theatre but approaching it.
So what do you think of present tense fiction writing?
Re: (Cross Posted from SFi With Bite 9/30/06 Thread)calico_reactionDecember 10 2006, 15:23:02 UTC
I'm a big fan of the present tense, myself. I understand some of the "opposition" to it, how it can distance a story, but it doesn't bother me. I'm trying to think of a case where the present tense of something DID bother me, but nothing's coming to mind.
Course, I also read mainstream/literary fiction, where present tense is more common and accepted. :)
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I've read several of McHugh's other books - though I haven't read Nekropolis yet - and enjoyed them very much. All of her work seems to be of the introspective, character-driven kind, and some of her other novels also end without that sense of resolution or completion that we've come to expect from most fiction, and that's sometimes uncomfortable. But for me that's part of why her novels really do make me think about the issues she addresses.
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So many books, so little time.
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I think for multiple, first-person POV, she handled it very well. I think I wanted headers of the character's names, just so we had a head's up, but other than that, I don't think I minded too much. You're right in that it'd be a much longer book had it been filtered through one POV.
Interesting thoughts on the sex. I prefer the graphic-ness, but I don't mind some creative alluding. What I don't like is the kind of allusion that makes you wonder if the couple did it or not. :) Sorry if that sounds crude. I just like knowing one way or the other.
Oooh, interesting parallel. You're right: those kind of people don't read this stuff, sadly. :-/
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So what do you think of present tense fiction writing?
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Course, I also read mainstream/literary fiction, where present tense is more common and accepted. :)
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