Category: Reviews

No Goddesses–Have a Child Genius Instead

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Juvenile, Reviews2 Comments

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer was one of those books I’d heard of, but knew nothing about.  I knew it was a popular series and…that was about it.  If I had had to guess, I would have assumed it had some relation to Greek mythology, maybe something about warriors and hunting.  I mean, toss together the Greek goddess of the hunt and a bird, what are you likely to get?

Not Appearing in This Book

An evil child genius, as it turns out.  I never did find a connection to Greek mythology (or figure out why the main character, especially a male one, is named after a Greek goddess), and no birds.  Artemis Fowl is a very wealthy twelve-year-old bent on conquering the world–or at least making even more money off of it–and isn’t scrupulous about how he does it.  His new scheme is to exploit fairies–a whole new market!

I really enjoy the concept of the fairies.  There’s a whole community, mostly living underground, hiding their existence from humans.  They have plenty of the magical and mystical powers that fairies traditionally have, but in other ways they’re treated as simply another intelligent species that sprang up on the Earth the same as humans.  I suppose that makes sense–why should fairies consider themselves myserious and otherworldly, after all?  I think you can consider this a fantasy, but in some ways it feels more like science fiction.

So I liked the idea of the fairies…but somehow I couldn’t build up much interest in the fairies as individuals.  I don’t know why, and this may be totally my thing and not relevant to someone else.  Artemis’ scheme is to kidnap a fairy, and he does–Holly Short, a member of the fairy police force.  I feel as though I should like her more than I do–she’s a tough female character trying to prove her worth in a male profession.  Put that way, she has plenty in common with Tamora Pierce’s Alanna, who has to be in my top ten favorite characters ever.  But maybe Holly felt too much like a stereotype–fine for her type, but too much a type and not an individual.

Holly’s boss (whose name I can’t remember or find!) feels even more like a stereotype: the crusty old chief with a gruff exterior and a secret heart of gold.  He’s like Perry White, minus the “Great Caesar’s ghost!”  I did enjoy Mulch, a rather creative criminal, and Foaly, a technical genius centaur with a paranoia that humans are spying on him.  But even they seemed like they should be more interesting than they were.

I liked the human characters better, although they were probably types too.  Artemis is pretty interesting.  Evil child geniuses are fun, and Colfer played a bit with the bizarre combination of a brilliant intellect in someone who really is still twelve.  There was also some nice ambiguity about how evil Artemis actually is.  Ruthless, definitely, but it wasn’t always clear whether his motivation truly was profit, or something more noble.  I like the grayness.

I also liked Butler, Artemis’ faithful sidekick and the muscle of the team.  The Butler family has been serving the Fowl family for centuries, and may be the origin of the term “butler.”  That’s fun.  Butler is enormously proficient at fighting, fiercely loyal to Artemis…but once in a while we get a glimpse that he can think for himself too.  Again, I like the grayness.

So I was up and down about the characters.  The plot was pretty good, although since it hinged on Holly’s kidnapping, it probably would have worked better if I had cared about her more.  But it was an enjoyable book, and I can see how someone else who connected better with the characters would really like it.  For myself, I’m glad that now I know what it’s about (no Greek goddesses–check) and I might pick up the next book eventually, though I haven’t rushed to get it.  But maybe some time, especially to see if the characters develop more as the series goes on.

Anyone else care to share an opinion?  🙂  I’d love to hear it!

Author’s site: http://www.artemisfowl.com/

Why Does All the Food Have to Be Sad?

On By cherylmahoneyIn Fantasy, Reviews4 Comments

Every so often, one book seems to make its way through several of the blogs I read.  One of these books, a few months ago, was The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender.  Since I’d already read the jacket description in Green Apple Booksellers in San Francisco when I was visiting over New Year’s and been intrigued, I decided to request it at the library.

Six months later, I finally read it.  When I joined the hold list, I was around #130 in line.  Good thing I wasn’t in any particular hurry!

It was a good book and I’m not sorry I let it sit in my hold list long enough to get all the way though the LONG line…but I’m also not sorry I didn’t buy it six months ago, despite my great fondness for Green Apple.

The book is about Rosie, who, whenever she eats, can taste the emotions of the people who cooked the food.  She discovers this talent/curse when she eats the lemon cake her mother made for her ninth birthday, and realizes that her happy-seeming mother is…well, depressed is simplifying–empty, unfulfilled, desperately seeking something else in her life and probably wanting someone else to provide it.

The book follows Rosie into adulthood, as she grapples with eating and with the hidden tensions in her family–revealed only in their food.

I love the premise–I was so intrigued by it at Green Apple.  I do feel it lived up to the promise of that premise, at least in how that part of the book was handled.  Rosie develops a complex palette for food–she can tell where the ingredients came from, has insights about every stage of the process, sees into the hidden emotions of the people who touched it all along the way, often seeing the things that they don’t know themselves.  I didn’t understand why she couldn’t cook her own food–where’s the harm in feeling your own emotions?–but when she does finally try that, it reveals hidden feelings in herself that are even more terrifying than other people’s.

I did have some problems with parts of the book, though.  People seem to only ever transmit negative emotions into food.  Maybe I’m just a hopeless idealist, but I refuse to believe that the vast majority of people are leading desperately unhappy lives, secretly or otherwise.  In all the food she eats throughout the book, I can think of only one example where the people making the food seem to be truly happy.  Rosie also finds one restaurant where she loves the food, but it’s not so much that the cook is happy as that she really loves food, and puts that into the dishes.

So I had trouble with that part.  I also don’t see why it was necessary.  Being overwhelmed by other people’s emotions every time you eat is compelling enough–being hit by other people’s positive emotions would be difficult too, and maybe even more interesting.

The second part I bumped into some problems with was Rosie’s brother, Joseph.  He possesses his own strange talents which, if you take it all at face-value, make tasting emotion in food seem comparatively tame.  At the risk of a slight spoiler, I’ll mention that he disappears most of the way through the book.  I won’t spoil how, except to say that it’s part of that strange talent.

This, odd though it may sound, is where I found the book implausible.  Not the way Joseph disappears–I was willing to accept that as the universe of the book–but the way other people react.  I’ve read other books about family members who disappear, probably kidnapped or run away, and the reaction here just didn’t feel right.  He was twenty or so when it happened, but there still should have been quite a lot of police calls, a lot of trying to hunt down anyone he had talked to or knew who might have an insight, a lot more searching.  Deciding to live in a fantasy where he’s off skiing the Alps and might come back any time just didn’t ring true to me, even for these rather odd characters.

I am probably over-exaggerating the issues of the book.  Do you ever find it’s sometimes easier to explain the parts that didn’t work than the parts that did?  Well, let me wind up by saying I did enjoy the book, and if you’re intrigued by the premise it’s worth a try.  You might want to lay in a Terry Pratchett book or two, though, in case you find yourself needing a laugh by the end.

Author’s site: http://www.flammableskirt.com/ (I don’t know what it means either…)

An American Girl for an American Holiday

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Juvenile, Reviews4 Comments

Happy Fourth of July!  I’ve been hunting my shelves for a good book to review that’s appropriate to the day.  I usually celebrate with movies–either 1776 or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.  But I do have one favorite book series set around the Revolutionary War.

I loved American Girl when I was a kid.  I subscribed to the magazine for many years, and read several of the book series.  My favorite was always Felicity.  One of the best Christmas gifts I ever got was a Felicity doll, with her wardrobe of clothes and her four-poster bed, from rather indulgent grandparents.  🙂

Felicity lives in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, at a time when tensions are beginning to rise between the British and the colonists.  Felicity loves adventure and has trouble being a proper young lady–which is probably what makes her beloved of young girl readers.  The main focus of her story is usually on school or family or friends, but the political situation furnishes a backdrop, and sometimes becomes part of the story.  At one point, Felicity is separated from her best friend, Elisabeth, because Felicity’s family is pro-revolution, while Elisabeth’s father is a Loyalist.  At another point, Felicity’s father’s apprentice considers running away to join the revolutionary army.

The books strike a balance, bringing in history without making it feel dragged in, and without distracting too much from Felicity’s adventures as a girl living her ordinary life in the 1770s.  Not every book achieves such a good balance!

The most appealing part of the Felicity stories, for me, was Penny.  Penny is a horse who Felicity tames and learns to ride, rescuing her from a cruel master.  This was directly responsible for my going through the horse phase that probably every little girl has at some point!

These are sweet books, and a lot of fun–and quite short!  Rereading them many years later, I find it takes about twenty minutes to read one book.  But Felicity and her world are nice to visit–however briefly!

Story in Song

On By cherylmahoneyIn Reviews1 Comment

I love to read, but what I really love are stories–which of course aren’t confined just to books.  It was fun to review a couple of movies for the Once Upon a Time Challenge, and I think I may mix it up a bit in the future, occasionally reviewing something that isn’t a book–but still a marvelous tale.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying stories in music.  I may be among the few people my age willing to admit this, but I’m a Barry Manilow fan.  (No one laugh!  I’m in good company–Elton John, Victoria Beckham and Slash from Guns ‘n’ Roses are all fans too.)  If you somehow don’t know Barry Manilow, he’s an oft-maligned singer/songwriter since the seventies, singing heartfelt and soaring ballads.  I ask you–what’s not to love?

Barry’s latest CD came out just a few weeks ago: 15 Minutes, a story about a singer’s rise to fame and subsequent self-destruction.  And it really is a story.  It’s not just a series of songs around a theme–it’s a clear, continuous, building story, from track to track.  It’s like a soundtrack, only without the play.

For those who are familiar with Barry Manilow, this one is different.  It’s still heartfelt and soaring at times, but it has more of a rock quality to it.  He’s also delving into different emotions: anger, bitterness–darker feelings.  He’s always had sad songs; you can pretty much take your pick of songs that follow the theme “I loved her, I lost her, I miss her.”  But there’s something more raw and edgy about this CD.

(If it’s possible to give a spoiler for a CD, fair warning that I’m about to.)

It opens with “15 Minutes,” setting the stage of the singer’s dreams of fame and glory.  He gets the job in “Work the Room” (which has an astonishingly rapper-like quality to it!) and rushes home to tell his girl in “Bring on Tomorrow.”

“Bring on Tomorrow” is my favorite song on the CD.  It’s a beautiful piece about reaching your dreams and seeing this amazing future spread out ahead of you.  Chasing dreams are another frequent theme in Barry’s songs, which may be one reason I like him.

Bring on tomorrow for me and for you,
We hung on through dark hours, dawn’s overdue.
Bring on tomorrow, and show me the sun,
We’ll live it together, ’cause you’re the one.

Without you it’s nothing, why else would I climb?
Together forever, hearts beating in time.

He gets to enjoy his rise for a few songs, but then it starts to disintegrate: “He’s left with no companions, only enemies and slaves” in “He’s a Star.”  From there, everything falls to pieces, including his relationship–which gives “Bring on Tomorrow” this wonderful added poignancy.  The songs trace a spiral into increasing destruction, including the truly creepy “Letter from a Fan,” who turns out to be disturbingly obsessed.  (I have never used the word “creepy” to describe Barry Manilow music before!)  Everything comes to a head in “Winner Go Down,” followed by a few songs reflecting on how it all went wrong.

And here, despite how much I do love this CD, is where Barry ends up losing me.  I’m right with him through “Trainwreck,” the third-to-last song, about how it all went off the rails and now the singer is trying to get back on the track again.  But then, right when I’m looking for a classic “loved her, lost her, need her” song…we get a reprise of “15 Minutes.”  The singer’s heading back into the spotlight.  Which I could accept as well, if there was a sense of “I learned something, I’ll get it right now and it’ll be different this time.”  There is a sense of “I’ll prove to them I’m not done yet,” but…not much of “it’ll be different.”  So when the last track is “Everything’s Gonna Be All Right,” I’m left saying, how and why and what are you going to do to make it all right?

There’s a brilliant melodic touch in here–a couple times, at key emotional moments, we hear the melody from “Bring on Tomorrow” again.  It’s there in the song when the couple falls apart, and again at the end of “Trainwreck”–which is my one (extremely slim!) hope that maybe he went and found the girl again.  (He should–didn’t he listen to all of Barry’s other songs about devastated loss?)

If they were going to turn this into a play, it would be easy to do.  It’s got the complete story already, and if they needed to expand it, they could just bring in some of Barry’s other songs–I’ve been listening to my other Barry Manilow music, and there are several that would weave in very nicely.  Including adding a “loved her, lost her” song at the key moment.  All you have to do is name the girl Mandy and you’re set.

“Mandy” is Barry’s signature song (along with “Copacabana”) and one of his first big hits.  Thematically,  it fits into this story perfectly, even in the details.

Standing on the edge of time,
I walked away when love was mine,
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing, the tears are in my eyes,
And nothing is rhyming, oh Mandy.

You came and you gave without taking,
But I sent you away, oh Mandy.
You kissed me and stopped me from shaking,
And I need you today, oh Mandy.

If they need someone to turn this into a play, I’m ready!  🙂  And barring that unlikely event, I’ll just enjoy listening to it.  If you like Barry Manilow, or even if you don’t, check it out–you might be surprised in either case.

Thank you for indulging me on my musical ramblings about a marvelous tale in music…I promise to write about a book next time!

Artist’s Site: http://www.manilow.com/ (including samples of the songs from 15 Minutes right on the homepage)

A Book by a Family Friend–Distantly

On By cherylmahoneyIn Historical Fiction, Reviews1 Comment
My great-grandfather is on the right. At left...anything's possible!

We have a family legend that my great-grandfather, who was in the Merchant Marines in the early part of the 1900s, was a friend of Jack London’s.  The embroidered version is that they were drinking buddies; the verified version is, well, non-existent.  But we do have several old pictures of my great-grandfather traveling the world, often with unidentified companions.  So who knows–one of them could be Jack London…

Despite the family connection, I’d only read one novel by Jack London (The Sea-Wolf), until recently when I delved into The Call of the Wild.  Ol’ Jack may have been great fun to visit a bar with, but I’m sorry to say he’s never going to be a favorite author of mine.

It was an interesting story, and the point of view of the dog brought a lot to it.  The picture of life up in the Klondike during the mining time was engaging (not that I’d want to visit, but it was fine to read about) and there were exciting moments.  But the nearly unrelenting harshness of it all was too much for me.

The story follows Buck, a family pet who is stolen and sold to become a sled dog.  Buck gradually sheds civilization, adjusts to life as a sled dog, and eventually finds his inner wolf, responding to the “call of the wild.”

As Buck passes from one owner to another, meets and (usually) fights with other dogs, and gets pushed through one test of endurance to another, the story is so bleak, and so harsh.  For most of the book, rarely is there an act of kindness or a pleasant word.  Buck does finally find a loving master who he worships in return.  If he hadn’t, I might have completely despaired of the book (or at least London’s opinion of humanity).  But, while I don’t want to give away spoilers, let’s just say it doesn’t end up happily with that master either.

I should have known what I was getting into, of course.  The Sea-Wolf  was not exactly cheerful, and, more significantly, I had read “To Build a Fire,” an incredibly bleak story about a man who managed to get wet in the Arctic and struggles, strains and strives to build a fire so that he won’t freeze to death.

Incidentally, you can also find a story by Mark Twain, I think part of Roughing It, called “Lost in the Snow.”  A group of men get lost in the snow and try to build a fire so that they won’t freeze.  Because it’s Twain and not London, it’s a very funny story.

I respect London’s knowledge and worldview…but it’s not a world I’d want to visit too often.  The Call of the Wild is a good book as a book, but not my style.  I’d rather hang out in Twain’s world.