American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is one of those authors where I never quite understood the big hype. I read Stardust and thought it was cute but not necessarily the most original thing ever - after all, rewriting fairy tales has been kind of a fad in recent years. I really enjoyed the first half of Good Omens and thought the fact that they'd misplaced the Anti-Christ was rather funny, but the ending just didn't seem to quite live up to the beginning. That being said, I really like how Gaiman just kind of deflates things at the end of his novels, and doesn't give his readers the expected show down. For example, the fact that at the end of Stardust, the witch just kind of gives up, saying that the star had already given her heart away, was great. I was disappointed that they actually had a big battle at the end of the movie but I guess films can't always be as dry and matter of fact.
After reading American Gods, I think I understand the appeal of Gaiman a little bit more. The basic premise is of course that gods really exist, and human belief both created them and gives them their power. As part of his cast of characters Gaiman uses a variety of gods from all religions who were brought over from their countries of origin due to their followers' faith in them. After a few years and generations in America, however, many of them became mere after thoughts and funny stories that no one actually believed in. Some of the more modern and powerful gods in the story include the gods of television, money and the internet/technology. Some of the ancient gods are more recognizable and famous than others - for example, the Egyptian gods Ibis and Anubis make appearances as well as some that are much more obscure.
As the novel begins, Shadow, a mere mortal, becomes involved in the world of the gods after he is released fom prison two days early due to his wife's death. Shadow is a rather quiet character - he is large, and most of the people mistake him for dumb due to his size. He doesn't ask many questions and after the initial surprise that Wednesday was able to locate him twice, he doesn't ask many questions. As his dead wife (there's gods in the novel, naturally the dead might rise as well) later tells him, he's not dead but he's not exactly alive, either. In addition to the main narrative, Gaiman includes background stories about some immigrants arriving in country with their gods and various other minor supernatural beings in tow. Many of the twists were easy to guess at (one or two possibly because I need to stop watching Supernatural) but they weren't overly obvious, and guessing them didn't ruin the novel. Much of the enjoyment was from Gaiman's writing and his sense of humor. Additionally, he is very sympathetic and forgiving to his characters as a writer and refuses to place much judgment on any of them even if some of their actions are questionable.
So now that I'm willing to jump on the Gaiman bandwagon, I'm curious which novel would be best suited for follow up? I'm kind of interested in Neverwhere, but it seems like Anansi Boys might be distantly connected to this one.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday Music Video
Hole - Celebrity Skin
For Jaime. She knows why. I don't actually own any Hole or Courtney Love albums but I enjoy a few of their/her songs, and even though she's kind of completely crazy, I've always had a soft spot for her. All those current pop chicks with a punk or rock edge, this is how it's really done.
Book 35: The Teahouse Fire
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery
I've made the comment before that I'm occasionally hesitant to read novels like Memoirs of Geisha nowadays because even if someone is fascinated by a subject, there is still the risk of taking another culture and making it more exotic. After all, after Memoirs of a Geisha was published, there were complaints about how inaccurate it was (a white author narrating as a Japanese woman - even with the best of intentions, surely there are things the guy can miss). The reason I picked this up is that the author chose to use a French-American woman who grew up in Japan as her main character - yes, it's still Western-centric in a way, but at least, this way the author isn't pretending to be an expert on anything. Instead, she is observing and relating, occasionally drawing conclusions and analyzing, but for the most part she never claims to completely understand everything even after twenty years.
Aurelia travels to Japan with her Jesuit uncle in 1866, and after a house fire, runs away. Yukako and her family take her under their care (although this more or less means they take her in as a servant), treating her as a slow and slightly deformed Japanese girl rather than a foreigner. Yukako's family are tea masters and train several men in the art of the tea ceremony. The gradual influence of the West and political changes lead to major cultural changes in Japan. Yukako has the most business acumen of anyone in her family, including her father and husband, who is set in the old ways. As Yukako becomes more involved in the business, especially after her father's death, she assures her familiy's survival with the changing times. Aurelia stays with the family for over twenty five years, and in that time, the tea ceremony evolves from a ceremony for samurai to something taught primarily to women to enrich the home life. Yukako doesn't necessarily approve of all the changes but does everything she needs to do to keep up with times.
There are also various romantic subplots and geisha running throughout the story. Aurelia becomes close friends with a girl named Inko, but for the most part, she is focused on Yukako and absolutely adores her. As the years progress, Aurelia helps Yukako with her interactions with the foreigners, but she also begins to feel less important and more like she is simply a servant rather than a trusted friend (when she first arrives at the home, Yukako tells her to call her "older sister").
The novel was very detailed, and witnessed several changes in Japanese culture and history. Avery also notes the arrogance some of the Americans and other foreigners had towards the culture, barely bothering to learn Japanese yet wanting to turn them into proper Christians and so forth. It was a bit slow at times and I guess when it comes down to it, I'm really not that interested in the tea ceremony but the ways the two cultures interacted and influenced each other were interesting.
I've made the comment before that I'm occasionally hesitant to read novels like Memoirs of Geisha nowadays because even if someone is fascinated by a subject, there is still the risk of taking another culture and making it more exotic. After all, after Memoirs of a Geisha was published, there were complaints about how inaccurate it was (a white author narrating as a Japanese woman - even with the best of intentions, surely there are things the guy can miss). The reason I picked this up is that the author chose to use a French-American woman who grew up in Japan as her main character - yes, it's still Western-centric in a way, but at least, this way the author isn't pretending to be an expert on anything. Instead, she is observing and relating, occasionally drawing conclusions and analyzing, but for the most part she never claims to completely understand everything even after twenty years.
Aurelia travels to Japan with her Jesuit uncle in 1866, and after a house fire, runs away. Yukako and her family take her under their care (although this more or less means they take her in as a servant), treating her as a slow and slightly deformed Japanese girl rather than a foreigner. Yukako's family are tea masters and train several men in the art of the tea ceremony. The gradual influence of the West and political changes lead to major cultural changes in Japan. Yukako has the most business acumen of anyone in her family, including her father and husband, who is set in the old ways. As Yukako becomes more involved in the business, especially after her father's death, she assures her familiy's survival with the changing times. Aurelia stays with the family for over twenty five years, and in that time, the tea ceremony evolves from a ceremony for samurai to something taught primarily to women to enrich the home life. Yukako doesn't necessarily approve of all the changes but does everything she needs to do to keep up with times.
There are also various romantic subplots and geisha running throughout the story. Aurelia becomes close friends with a girl named Inko, but for the most part, she is focused on Yukako and absolutely adores her. As the years progress, Aurelia helps Yukako with her interactions with the foreigners, but she also begins to feel less important and more like she is simply a servant rather than a trusted friend (when she first arrives at the home, Yukako tells her to call her "older sister").
The novel was very detailed, and witnessed several changes in Japanese culture and history. Avery also notes the arrogance some of the Americans and other foreigners had towards the culture, barely bothering to learn Japanese yet wanting to turn them into proper Christians and so forth. It was a bit slow at times and I guess when it comes down to it, I'm really not that interested in the tea ceremony but the ways the two cultures interacted and influenced each other were interesting.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Book 34: Fledgling
Fledgling by Octavia Butler
Fledgling is Octavia Butler's approach to the vampire novel (I feel like I've read way too many vampire novels this year by the way). When the story begins, the narrator awakens alone and hurt in a cave with no memory of her life. She soon meets Wright, a man in his mid-twenties who helps her. She soon discovers her father, and discovers her name, Shoshi as well as more about herself. Although 53 years old, she is still a juvenile in the Ina (vampire) world, and looks like a 11 year old girl. Unlike most vampire legends, the Ina don't actually kill humans to survive, but instead live with a group of about 7 or 8 humans with whom they form a symbiotic relationship. Butler has explored symbiotic relationships in other novels, perhaps most notably the series that has been combined in the book Lilith's Brood. Wright will be the first of Shoshi's new dependents. She lives off his blood while he gains extra strength, health and longevity through his interactions with her. Shoshi also learns from her father that she is an experiment of sorts, and that her eldermothers (grandmothers, basically) combined Ina and human strains of DNA to create an Ina that would be able to function in the day. That is the reason she survived the assault on her mothers' community that caused her amnesia. Before she can learn much more, her father's community is also destroyed, and Shoshi must find other Ina who can be her allies.
Once Shoshi finds these allies, Shoshi sets the events in motion for an Ina trial. Butler uses this to explore more of Ina culture and ideas. Most of the Ina were excited about the success of the Shoshi experiment but there are those that view humans as less than they and hate the idea of the mixed DNA (since Ina and humans are different species they cannot reproduce but they can have sex; in addition to her seven or eight humans, Shoshi would eventually have an Ina husband(s) ). Additionally, all the other vampires in the area appear to be white (other Ina explain to her that there are Ina in all the world, including Africa so I don't know if they are black or not, but at least in the States, whiteness seems to be the norm), and some of them have very strong opinions about her blackness. Butler uses her science fiction to explore racial and gender issues without becoming overly preachy. In Lilith's Brood, for example, there were humans that decided to continue with their racial prejudices in a post-apocalyptic world when there were only tiny communities left. It just makes these people seem incredibly stupid but the fact is, Butler is correct that people will hold on to their ideas even when it hurts them.
As usual, as much as I enjoy Butler's ideas, the sex scenes were disturbing. They don't tend to be overly graphic, but in Lilith's Brood (I guess that series reminded me the most of this), there was interspecies coupling between odd looking aliens and humans. In this one, Shoshi has sex with Wright. Not a huge deal, except that Shoshi looks like an 11 year old girl, and is still considered a juvenile by her people though human/Ina interactions are very different (there is never a point when Shoshi is not in charge). So it's alright according to their customs but still very disturbing.
A lot of this book actually seems like set up, and since basically everything else I've read by Butler has been a series or at least had one sequel to it, it is definitely not hard to imagine that this was intended as the first of a few books. After all, we are told time and again, that Shoshi is still young and will be incredibly powerful once she is a full grown adult. Unfortunately, Butler died in 2006, so she never got around to turning this novel into a series. While she does set up places for potential sequels, the novel doesn't leave any huge unanswered questions so I wasn't frustrated with the way it ended or anything.
Fledgling is Octavia Butler's approach to the vampire novel (I feel like I've read way too many vampire novels this year by the way). When the story begins, the narrator awakens alone and hurt in a cave with no memory of her life. She soon meets Wright, a man in his mid-twenties who helps her. She soon discovers her father, and discovers her name, Shoshi as well as more about herself. Although 53 years old, she is still a juvenile in the Ina (vampire) world, and looks like a 11 year old girl. Unlike most vampire legends, the Ina don't actually kill humans to survive, but instead live with a group of about 7 or 8 humans with whom they form a symbiotic relationship. Butler has explored symbiotic relationships in other novels, perhaps most notably the series that has been combined in the book Lilith's Brood. Wright will be the first of Shoshi's new dependents. She lives off his blood while he gains extra strength, health and longevity through his interactions with her. Shoshi also learns from her father that she is an experiment of sorts, and that her eldermothers (grandmothers, basically) combined Ina and human strains of DNA to create an Ina that would be able to function in the day. That is the reason she survived the assault on her mothers' community that caused her amnesia. Before she can learn much more, her father's community is also destroyed, and Shoshi must find other Ina who can be her allies.
Once Shoshi finds these allies, Shoshi sets the events in motion for an Ina trial. Butler uses this to explore more of Ina culture and ideas. Most of the Ina were excited about the success of the Shoshi experiment but there are those that view humans as less than they and hate the idea of the mixed DNA (since Ina and humans are different species they cannot reproduce but they can have sex; in addition to her seven or eight humans, Shoshi would eventually have an Ina husband(s) ). Additionally, all the other vampires in the area appear to be white (other Ina explain to her that there are Ina in all the world, including Africa so I don't know if they are black or not, but at least in the States, whiteness seems to be the norm), and some of them have very strong opinions about her blackness. Butler uses her science fiction to explore racial and gender issues without becoming overly preachy. In Lilith's Brood, for example, there were humans that decided to continue with their racial prejudices in a post-apocalyptic world when there were only tiny communities left. It just makes these people seem incredibly stupid but the fact is, Butler is correct that people will hold on to their ideas even when it hurts them.
As usual, as much as I enjoy Butler's ideas, the sex scenes were disturbing. They don't tend to be overly graphic, but in Lilith's Brood (I guess that series reminded me the most of this), there was interspecies coupling between odd looking aliens and humans. In this one, Shoshi has sex with Wright. Not a huge deal, except that Shoshi looks like an 11 year old girl, and is still considered a juvenile by her people though human/Ina interactions are very different (there is never a point when Shoshi is not in charge). So it's alright according to their customs but still very disturbing.
A lot of this book actually seems like set up, and since basically everything else I've read by Butler has been a series or at least had one sequel to it, it is definitely not hard to imagine that this was intended as the first of a few books. After all, we are told time and again, that Shoshi is still young and will be incredibly powerful once she is a full grown adult. Unfortunately, Butler died in 2006, so she never got around to turning this novel into a series. While she does set up places for potential sequels, the novel doesn't leave any huge unanswered questions so I wasn't frustrated with the way it ended or anything.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Random Thoughts on Vienna
Before I came home on leave, I had a four day weekend. Since I've been trying to take advantage of living in Germany more now that the end is slightly more near (it will still be forever until I'm back in the States but it seems a lot closer now than it did before Iraq), I've been trying to go somewhere every four day. In February, I only made it to Munich since I'd had staff duty the Thursday before, and needed Friday to catch up on my sleep, but this last one I went to Vienna. I figured with me coming back home that same week I wanted something cheap that didn't involve airports. The hotel and train were actually reasonably well priced, and I didn't do any shopping but Vienna was still a little more pricey than I expected. It was a great city, though.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I ended up with a cabin of middle schoolers on my flight home - well, in Vienna I arrived at my hotel for check in right behind a bus load of Italian teenagers. The lobby was tiny, they were loud and took forever. Fortunately, they were in a different section of the hotel but naturally, they chose to check out at the exact same time as me and beat me to the punch. It's probably a sign that I've been in the Army too long when my first reaction to a loud and noisy crowd of people is the desire to take them outside and form them up. I could just imagine myself as a tour guide.
In a way, once you've been to one European city, you've been to all of them. They all have beautiful churches, art galleries, palaces etc. Despite that, I really enjoyed Vienna. I only went into about three or four churches, and of those, the one that had an entry fee was the least exciting - the Karlskirche. Beautiful and different on the outside, totally not worth it on the inside.
I also saw paintings by Gustave Klimt - I'd heard of him before but don't remember seeing anything of his before, at least, nothing that made an impression. I actually really liked his art work, and discovered Alphonse Mucha as well in a special exhibition. Apparently he has a museum in Prague so I have even more of a reason to return there now. Mucha has that whole vintage poster art look going for him, and I've been wanting to hang up vintage travel posters in my apartment for a while now but haven't gotten around to getting any of my prints framed (not to mention that my walls aren't exactly conducive to having nails hammered in). Naturally, I was drawn to his style, and will probably order a few things of his now to compliment that theme.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I ended up with a cabin of middle schoolers on my flight home - well, in Vienna I arrived at my hotel for check in right behind a bus load of Italian teenagers. The lobby was tiny, they were loud and took forever. Fortunately, they were in a different section of the hotel but naturally, they chose to check out at the exact same time as me and beat me to the punch. It's probably a sign that I've been in the Army too long when my first reaction to a loud and noisy crowd of people is the desire to take them outside and form them up. I could just imagine myself as a tour guide.
In a way, once you've been to one European city, you've been to all of them. They all have beautiful churches, art galleries, palaces etc. Despite that, I really enjoyed Vienna. I only went into about three or four churches, and of those, the one that had an entry fee was the least exciting - the Karlskirche. Beautiful and different on the outside, totally not worth it on the inside.
I also saw paintings by Gustave Klimt - I'd heard of him before but don't remember seeing anything of his before, at least, nothing that made an impression. I actually really liked his art work, and discovered Alphonse Mucha as well in a special exhibition. Apparently he has a museum in Prague so I have even more of a reason to return there now. Mucha has that whole vintage poster art look going for him, and I've been wanting to hang up vintage travel posters in my apartment for a while now but haven't gotten around to getting any of my prints framed (not to mention that my walls aren't exactly conducive to having nails hammered in). Naturally, I was drawn to his style, and will probably order a few things of his now to compliment that theme.
Gustave Klimt - Pallas Athene
Pallas Athene Fountain in front of Parliament in Vienna
What can I say, ever since I got my tattoo two years ago, I tend to notice Athena related things more.
Book 33: With Violets
With Violets by Elizabeth Robards
I was so incredibly disappointed with this book. I stumbled upon it at Barnes and Noble last week on one of their display tables, and ended up getting it because it was about the Impressionists, and more intriguingly, a woman artist. When I got home and googled Berthe Morisot, I discovered that she was actually the artist behind one of the paintings at the Chicago Art Institute that I'd always liked a lot. Naturally, that got me even more interested in reading a historical fiction novel based on her life.
Unfortunately, the book was just kind of boring. The back cover did say that it would be partially about Morisot's love affair with Manet (which may or may not have actually occurred), but I figured there would also be a lot about Morisot herself. While she was the narrator, most of the novel was about Manet and his paintings and their interactions and his thoughts, etc. She described more of Manet's paintings than her own! In fact, based on the novel, I got the impression she only painted about two important pieces during that whole period, and for the rest of the time either copied famous paintings at the Louvre, painted flowers for practice in her studio or posed for Manet. Since I don't know much about the artist (which is why this book was supposed to help enlighten me), I'm not sure if she painted most of her significant work after the affair, or if Robards just didn't think any of it was worth mentioning. Also, Morisot was in love with Manet for years despite his marriage to someone else, but I was never really convinced as to what was so special about Manet. His character was flat and didn't seem charming at all. If I wasn't going to learn much about Morisot, at least the love story could have been exciting and passionate, but it seemed like a failure even in that regard. I had no clue why these two people were interested in each other.
I was so incredibly disappointed with this book. I stumbled upon it at Barnes and Noble last week on one of their display tables, and ended up getting it because it was about the Impressionists, and more intriguingly, a woman artist. When I got home and googled Berthe Morisot, I discovered that she was actually the artist behind one of the paintings at the Chicago Art Institute that I'd always liked a lot. Naturally, that got me even more interested in reading a historical fiction novel based on her life.
Unfortunately, the book was just kind of boring. The back cover did say that it would be partially about Morisot's love affair with Manet (which may or may not have actually occurred), but I figured there would also be a lot about Morisot herself. While she was the narrator, most of the novel was about Manet and his paintings and their interactions and his thoughts, etc. She described more of Manet's paintings than her own! In fact, based on the novel, I got the impression she only painted about two important pieces during that whole period, and for the rest of the time either copied famous paintings at the Louvre, painted flowers for practice in her studio or posed for Manet. Since I don't know much about the artist (which is why this book was supposed to help enlighten me), I'm not sure if she painted most of her significant work after the affair, or if Robards just didn't think any of it was worth mentioning. Also, Morisot was in love with Manet for years despite his marriage to someone else, but I was never really convinced as to what was so special about Manet. His character was flat and didn't seem charming at all. If I wasn't going to learn much about Morisot, at least the love story could have been exciting and passionate, but it seemed like a failure even in that regard. I had no clue why these two people were interested in each other.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
I'm on Vacation, finally
I'm currently on leave in the States. Despite the almost twenty four hours it took me to get from my little town in Germany to back home, I actually didn't get that much reading accomplished. After starting really strong this year, I've hit on a few books lately that just weren't that interesting, so I've read about a hundred pages in two or three books now before deciding to take a break and start something else. Still, I feel like I've done a pretty good job of catching up on the Cannonball Read considering that I started a few months after the front runners (who I don't think I will catch up to anyway). Granted, part of the reason is that I haven't read much if any nonfiction or classic literature lately, and I've been sticking to moderate length novels.
Now that I'm on leave, I'm not sure if I'll have more or less time to read, but I have actually been able to go to real life book store! Much like last year, I now have a huge stack of books, and I have no clue if any of them will be any good but I was just excited about the choices.
I've realized one thing in the past few months, though. As much as I like going places to travel, it also really irritates me. Since I tend to go sightseeing, I run into a lot of other tourists, and god, those people can get annoying (obviously, I'm not). During my flight to the States, I shared a cabin with a class of middle schoolers - teenagers/pre-teens are kind of loud. And ditzy. Like, really.
Now that I'm on leave, I'm not sure if I'll have more or less time to read, but I have actually been able to go to real life book store! Much like last year, I now have a huge stack of books, and I have no clue if any of them will be any good but I was just excited about the choices.
I've realized one thing in the past few months, though. As much as I like going places to travel, it also really irritates me. Since I tend to go sightseeing, I run into a lot of other tourists, and god, those people can get annoying (obviously, I'm not). During my flight to the States, I shared a cabin with a class of middle schoolers - teenagers/pre-teens are kind of loud. And ditzy. Like, really.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)