Comments | kattahj: random stuff, part 2: DumbStruck, or why Maria Gripe rocks

kattahj

random stuff, part 2: DumbStruck, or why Maria Gripe rocks

Jul 13, 2009 22:40

While writing Convictions, I thought some about the various ways Zorro has a bunch of decent cards that it uses badly. That's a post for another day, if ever, but among other things, I thought of the way Felipe's muteness is treated in "The Word" - that is to say, the show finds no problem with incorporating in the same ep the sentences, said by ( Read more... )

book talk, maria gripe, disability, zorro, tv talk

Comments 10

bookelfe July 13 2009, 20:51:00 UTC

. . . wow, it does sound like we're missing out! That series sounds kind of fascinating.

kattahj July 13 2009, 20:59:29 UTC

Dude, and I didn't even get into the genderbendy stuff! Or the women's lib stuff! Or all the discussions on things like what a soul is! I think it's criminal that the books haven't been translated - other books by MG have been, and IMO these are her best ones. (They're a tad purple and not very humourous, perhaps, but you have to give props to a YA author who's willing to quote Schopenhauer and Oscar Wilde without fear of scaring off the reader.) And the TV miniseries isn't available on DVD, so I can't even provide that.

irmelin July 13 2009, 21:11:28 UTC

Okay, I definitely need to read those books again, because there is so much here that I don't even remember.

kattahj July 13 2009, 21:14:24 UTC

*grin* It was maybe a year since I last read them? But I've read them so many times before, I remember quite a bit between times. Though on my second or third reading, I kept going "Huh, I could have SWORN X happened" a lot, until I realized that there are two separate versions of Skuggornas barn. The Spanish publishers wanted a shorter book, so MG tightened it up and then republished the shorter version in Sweden too.

irmelin July 13 2009, 21:24:41 UTC

I haven't read them in over ten years, but I read them so much when I was younger, that I thought I had a pretty clear memory of them, but now that I think about it, I haven't at all! I'm off to the library tomorrow! Must make sure I get the right version. I hate shortened versions of books.

kattahj July 13 2009, 21:29:49 UTC

Hee! I fully approve of this decision.

emmaco July 14 2009, 06:30:40 UTC

Have you read Mahy's The other side of silence? It has a narrator who has chosen not to talk. In this case her voluntary muteness is tied up in noisy and mostly loving family relationships. There's also a fairy tale element with a quest the main character completes at the hosue of a wicked old woman (IIRC).

kattahj July 14 2009, 06:38:02 UTC

No, I haven't! It sounds really interesting, though the library doesn't seem to have it.

kattahj August 17 2009, 05:00:36 UTC

Having read the book now, I want to apologize for crediting the wrong person for the tip! And thank you so much, I really enjoyed it!

emmaco August 17 2009, 19:32:21 UTC

I'm glad you liked it! I think it's a pretty classic Mahy.