Stir contents vigorously. Serve with eggs on hard tack with maggoty butter.
Sounds implausible, doesn't it?
The narrator, Adam Hazzard, tells the story of the rise of Julian Comstock, nephew and unwanted heir to the current President Deklan Comstock in 2172.
The world has survived an almost-apocalypse with the End of Oil and the Plague of Infertility. By the start of the story, new mega-countries have been formed, the population is growing again, and America is at war with Mitteleuropa over Labrador and has effectively replaced the Supreme Court with the Dominion of Jesus Christ on Earth. (I should mention that America has 60 states and covers most all of North America. The Presidency is effectively a hereditary emperorship prone to coups.) It's all a bit Republic of Gilead, don't you think?
This new world isn't all bad - as a matter of fact, it's very much like America in the 19th century. Horse, carriage and trains are the main modes of transport, women generally wear long skirts, and people are expected to maintain their lot in life. Wars are fought mostly with rifles and calvary in trench warfare, but "new" weapons are starting to tip the scales. Movies are very rare and still don't have sound.
Adam Hazzard gives the story an "aw, shucks" naive tone. Many of Adam and Julians' hi-jinks will have you amused and laughing like you did at Tom Sawyer. Adam and Julian are boyhood friends from Athabasaka (northern Alberta) who love to shoot and fish together. Despite Adam's lower caste (lease-holder, one step above indentured servant), Julian (a high-born Aristocrat) tries to share with Adam the knowledge of the Secular Ancients that he's gleaned from non-Dominion approved antique books. This knowledge is in effect heresy, because it claims that space travel existed and evolution was accepted science.
Once Adam and Julian get conscripted into the Laurentian Army to fight in Labrador, the stories of training and warfare take over. Normally this is where my eyes would gloss over; I'm definitely not a fan of war stories or strategies on the battlefield. However, Wilson seems to move deftly from battlefield to human stories, and kept me interested throughout.
I can't really tell you too much beyond this without spoiling the story. Adam develops a love of writing and telling stories from his childhood and his path to becoming a writer is an amusing subplot. Even more amusing are his attempts at romance with the "fairer sex." It's rare that I laugh out loud while I read, but I was chuckling over and over again at Adam's naïveté, or supposed innocent observations. However, all the characters Adam describes end up being deliciously flawed and curiously interesting.
Likewise, the near-dystopic society Wilson creates is fascinating: it's in the future, but it's backwards! Certainly it will have you contemplating society's future after Peak Oil, although hopefully in a fictional way.
I dropped one star because of one major flaw, discussed after my nostalgia trip discovering this book…
Two weeks ago it was a beautiful warm afternoon,I dropped one star because of one major flaw, discussed after my nostalgia trip discovering this book…
Two weeks ago it was a beautiful warm afternoon, so I decided to walk to the library to return my latest read. I figured I should bring some cash in case I wanted to buy a drink or take the bus home afterward. I couldn’t find cash in my purse, so I filled my pocket with quarters and set off with just the addition of my library card. After the tiring walk, I figured I should sit and rest, and maybe read a little before heading back home. I picked up A Wizard of Earthsea, plopped down in a big leather chair, and started examining the detailed map inside the cover. Before I knew it, I was totally immersed in the story. I was under the enchantment of lyrical language and magical places. Luckily I noticed the time and realized I had to hurry to make it home in time for dinner. On the way, I stopped at a convenience store and bought my monthly-splurge soda with the change in my pocket. Then it occurred to me, the circumstances and the book made me feel like an 11-year-old girl all over again; like I should be skipping home because walking was too boring. What a day!
It is sadly so unusual to have a children’s book written in beautiful, unusual language like Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea. Do writers feel that the quality of writing is secondary to the story at hand, that children can’t appreciate a good turn of phrase?
We have a somewhat simple moral fantasy of a wizard from a humble, rural background who in coming-of-age travels Earthsea fighting both real and his own demons. Ged is not a particularly likable character, but his complexity and difficulties are far beyond the typical kid’s book. You certainly don’t have to like the character to love the characterization. It’s a lesson all young readers should learn.
Le Guin’s writing is really stunning. There is brevity in many details, yet a stunning picture is painted. There is an urgency to the story that carries the action along swiftly while allowing the reader to develop a complex understanding of a character who while filled with flaws becomes more likable. The greatest success of the writing is apparent when one puts the book down, and realizes much of the action, although off the page, has flourished in the reader’s own imagination.
A favorite passage (chapter 6): “That night, that one night, was joyous for Ged. No shadow could come near him through the brightness of those fires of thanksgiving that burned on every hill and beach, through the circles of laughing dancers that ringed him about, singing his praise, swinging their torches in the gusty autumn night so that sparks rose thick and bright and brief upon the wind.”
Now to the major flaw that stole a star from my rating. I bet you’re expecting me to say the ending. It seems most people find the ending weak and predictable, but honestly it didn’t bother me. I don’t seem to mind didactic stories, and I loved the yin and the yang, light and dark lesson at the end.
Instead I was very, very sad that while Le Guin created such a detailed mythical world complete with people of different races, cultures and backgrounds, yet she barely mentioned the role of women in her society. I get that this is a book about the solitary pursuit of one very flawed boy-wizard. However, wouldn’t you expect Ged to be longing for a mother or a mother-like figure? The only women in the story are a backwaters witch, a somewhat evil sorceress, and a girl who’s become the housekeeper to her brothers. Really? Women can’t be as magically powerful as the men? There’s no magical schooling for girls? Not even a passing reference. I don’t expect the world to be run by women, or even have them be equal, but just one passing mention of the role of women in Earthsea would make the story that much more complete.
In the end, it reminded me of the Battleship game we had when I was a kid. On the box was an early-60’s drawing of a father and son playing at the kitchen table, while behind them the mother and sister are looking over their shoulders laughing at the pair. The apron-clad girls are in the kitchen, doing the dishes. The game didn’t explicitly say “for boys only!” Yet, even when I was very young I asked my mom why the mom and sister weren’t playing, too.
You might say the sexism is subtle, and kids won’t care anyway, but sometimes subtlety is insidious and penetrating, teaching you lessons without you barely realizing.
Despite all this, the writing and the story were fantastically magical. If you know of some kids who couldn’t get enough of Harry Potter, give them A Wizard of Earthsea so they can experience some wonderful writing. Reading this story was the type of experience that causes a 30-something woman to skip home from the library, book under the arm, like a schoolgirl who’s found a treasure from a far-off land....more
Jim Dixon is like a cross between Holden Caulfield and Adrian Mole. Maybe just ever so slightly smarter than either, but just as cynical, aloof, and fJim Dixon is like a cross between Holden Caulfield and Adrian Mole. Maybe just ever so slightly smarter than either, but just as cynical, aloof, and full of troublemaking buffoonery. That type of humor hits some people in just the right way, while leaving others in the cold. Personally, I was in hysterics.
This book is quite funny if you have worked in upper levels of academia, and particularly hysterical if you have worked at a UK university. The skewering academic humor still rings true today - research of minutia, clueless older profs, uncertain job market, and the social awkwardness of the intellectual community.
Even if you haven't had the unique "pleasure" of academia, just the mischief Dixon creates to cover his hide will send you rolling. He likes to pull faces when people aren't looking (I was imagining a Jim Carrey face). His internal dialogue while trying to pay attention was a hoot - the situation in reality is much tamer than in his head. And his inabilities with women are funny, even if dated.
Just a good, amusing read. If you liked Catcher in the Rye, you'll most likely like Lucky Jim....more
What a fun read! A gripping science fiction romp that will leave you dazed, thinking about the size of the Universe, the effects of world-wide crises,What a fun read! A gripping science fiction romp that will leave you dazed, thinking about the size of the Universe, the effects of world-wide crises, and our small place in both of these.
The difficulty is being able to tell you much about the book. Every chapter contains either a huge game-changing twist, an important turn in the characters' story, or both. The twists start happening so early on, that I can't even breathe a word of them, lest I ruin the fun of the surprise.
The best I can do is give you the setup. In a very near future, the Earth is suddenly surrounded by a temporal shield, the Spin, that blocks out light from the stars and moon, replicates the sun and tides, but otherwise leaves the Earth intact. Outside the Spin, the Universe is aging at a rate of 100,000 years to one year back on the Earth. The consequences of this disturbance are complex, both scientifically and sociologically. We follow the story of three characters as their personal stories intersect with those of the Spin and its aftermath for decades after the event.
There is so much cosmology, astronomy, exobiology, sociology, and evolution to keep you thinking and guessing at each turn.
Seriously, I haven't had this much fun being absorbed in a science fiction story since I read Darwin's Radio.
I just wanted to add that Spin is the first in a planned trilogy, the second volume, Axis is already out. The ending sets up the second book, so it might come across as unfulfilling. ...more
I have no idea how I came upon Frank Bruni's blog when he was the food critic of the New York Times. I started following his behind-the-scenes commentI have no idea how I came upon Frank Bruni's blog when he was the food critic of the New York Times. I started following his behind-the-scenes commentary while I was living overseas, and his quick wit and descriptions of restaurant visits made me long for the food and customer service of home. I loved that he was as much a fan of good greasy take-away grub as he was with Keller's work at Per Se. Never mind that I was not from New York - his writing was too captivating to ignore.
I was highly intrigued when I heard earlier this year that not only was he leaving his position and "outing" himself (i.e. revealing his true identity) by publishing a memoir, but that he had struggled with overeating his whole life. It shares many similarities to David Kessler's memoir The End of Overeating Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite which also came out this year. Both are eloquently able to elucidate those unspoken urges to overeat. Kessler has taken the scientific and commercial tack with his life story thrown in, while Bruni's focuses wholly on his life story, revealing all that was happening within. Both are very worthy reads, and I would suspect Kessler and Bruni would be two peas in a pod discussing their struggles.
Luckily Frank Bruni has both had an unusual life and describes it with humor, drawing us into his extended Italian-American family and circle of friends. As a journalist, he has lead an unusual path from working as a movie critic, to being a staff reporter following the Bush 2000 Presidential campaign, to working as a foreign correspondent in Rome, and eventually landing him as food critic at the NYT.
If you can't relate to having a complicated relationship with food, Bruni's memoir might come across as slightly whiny, or a little too self-reflective; i.e. you won't relate. To others us who through our life have had to have a serious "relationship discussions" with food, he really lays himself bare, admitting to various levels of eating disorders and self esteem issues. It's honest. It's funny, and a well-written account of his life.
The only flaw is that the book is heavily marketed as "food critic who was overweight", yet only about 25% of the book deals with his years as a food critic, eating lavish dinners 7 nights a week. After following his blog, I know there's much more to this story - more behind the scenes stories, surprises, learning about the industry. Perhaps Bruni is trying to be kind to restauranteurs still in business or he's saving the majority of those moments for some future book.
At any rate, reading Bruni's memoir is like getting to sit next to that unusual stranger at a dinner party who has a magical way of telling his life story. If only!...more
I wanted to comment purely on the storytelling in The Handmaid's Tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There are plenty of other excellent comments and diI wanted to comment purely on the storytelling in The Handmaid's Tale, which I thoroughly enjoyed. There are plenty of other excellent comments and discussions here about the context of The Handmaid's Tale with regards to historical events, feminism, post-modern writing, etc.
I simply loved the way Offred the Handmaid's story unfolded. It was slow and deliberate, despite the horrific events. You are mostly being told the rather mundane yet utterly foreign day-to-day life of Offred in her own narration. Yet, she starts to drop clues from the beginning that getting to that slow, controlled life was a complicated story. Offred offers more and more clues to her background as she becomes bolder in her life.
In some ways, it was a bit like watching Mad Men in that it takes patience from the viewer/reader to get to the payoff. But when it does, events start to spin faster, feeding on themselves - both with Offred's present story and how much she tells the reader about the history of the religious revolution, how she lost her husband and son, and her experiences in the Red Center. The background disclosures seem to go hand-in-hand with her undoing.
About halfway through the book I was so eager and anxious to know more about the background stories that I realized that I was feeling a bit like the poor Handmaids. Just as they were desperate to find friends and pass around information in secreted tidbits, I was desperate for Offred to tell me more about the Canada crossing or how the country could become so religious and militarized so quickly. Will she ever find Moira? Will she become too bold and get caught by the Eyes? Will she get pregnant and secure her future? Will there be a revolution, or will she die?
The reveals end up being so delicious because the reader has been collecting these crumbs of the stories, waiting patiently for the big reveals. At the end I realized I was so immersed in the world that Atwood created that I couldn't decide how I wanted the book to end.
I can see how lots of people are disappointed that some parts of the society aren't fleshed out enough, and you're left without some explanations. However, this is Offred's story, as a representative of the plight of the Handmaids, and she tells you as much as she can when she feels ready. As a narrative, a character study, I found it completely fulfilling....more
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