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What I have been reading
I’m actually doing this on a Wednesday Woohoo! And again I have a backlog as I don’t seem to be able to write these posts on a weekly basis. Here is the book I have read so far in 2020.
France Hardinge: Deeplight Hardinge once again creates highly original work in The Myriad, a cluster of islands which has, up until 30 years ago, been ruled by a number of gods, residing at the bottom of the sea. But one day they all rose to the surface and killed each other, and the people had to learn to live without gods. Hark and Jelt are street urchins, and one day they find something in the water. Something that can heal. But healing has a very steep price.
Everything I have read by Hardinge I have liked and this book is no exception, even if Jelt is a character type I heartily dislike. Well, there is a reason for it. And I bet the theme of the book is a remark on current trends in the UK and elsewhere, though they are subtle enough not to bother a child reader.
Susann Cokal: The Kingdom of Little Wounds It’s the late 16th century and in a fictitious Scandinavian country (possibly located at the Faroe Islands), the King’s oldest daughter married to a Swedish prince; Magnus, the Mad count of Oestergotland. But the princess dies on the wedding night, and two servant girls suddenly find themselves caught in the middle of some very dangerous court intrigues. The seamstress Ava and the enslaved nursemaid Midi Sorte (Black Midi) don’t like each other, but they have to trust each other, or they may not survive.
This was not an easy read. Several characters are ill, and both illness and cure are described in very vivid detail. Both Ava and Midi suffer from sexual abuse, and Midi has also been mutilated, which has rendered her mute. Bad smells, which were undoubtedly very much around in the 16th century, are minutely described.
But I still thought it rather good. Ava and midi are not always likable, but their resourcefulness, intelligence, and resilience makes them interesting. The world-building was also very good. Some made-up, like a French invasion of some parts of Scandinavia, mixed with some real history. There really was a mad prince Magnus of Sweden, the only one of Gustav Vasa’s four sons who didn’t become king of Sweden, because he was so unbalanced. Not that the other ones were sane either, rik XIV suffered severe psychotic episodes, during one of them he killed his step-uncle and cousins, and Karl IX was probably bipolar. But I digress. It's clear the author has a very good grip on this particular historical episode, and a good handle on language as well.
Kristi DeMeester: Beneath A horror novel about a female reporter who investigates a snake-handling cult in a small Appalachian town. It began quite well, but it soon turned repetitive, with an abrupt and odd ending. There were also some stylistic choices that chafed. It was sent in 1988, which I could find o other reason than people not having cell phones. But with a lot of supernatural things going on that could easily have been arranged anyway. You see, it had the kind of ending that really must take place in the now, or in the near future to work, not 30 years in the past.
L. M. Montgomery: A Tangled Web After two rather depressing books I took a pause and re-read this one. Montgomery is always a safe bet.
Stephen King & Richard Chizmar: Gwendy’s Button Box Another re-read. Basically a thought experiment, What would happen if a child gets the power to destroy the world? I like this novella, and it held for a re-read.
Richard Chizmar: Gwendy’s Magic Feather 25 years after Gwendy first giót the button box, it suddenly returns to her, without explanation. The novella wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really necessary either. Gwendy’s Button Box is a complete story, and a sequel must really be adding something new to be interesting, which this one didn’. The antagonist’s action in the first novella is well built into the narrative and the conclusion works well. Here the reveal of the antagonist is purely deus ex machina and pretty much out of nowhere. Somehow this read more like a fanfic than a “real” sequel, to me.
Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden when I grew up we had bookcases in every room, apart from the bathroom. In the hall stood the art books, and on the bottom shelf, the books of my parent’s childhood. I found several gems there, not least Montgomery's Anne and Emily, and my perennial favourite Elizabeth and the Garret Theatre by Gwendoline Courtney. And the Secret Garden. It fascinated me on so many levels, the strange life Mary lives in India, the change when she came to England, the mystery of the secret garden, and the mystery of the cries at night. But most of all, I loved the idea of a secret garden, something tucked away and forgotten, and brought back to life. Then, as now, I lost much of my interest when the story’s focus shifts from mary to Colin, who I always found rather tedious.
Frances Hodgson Burnett: A Little Princess When I was around ten I was given a bunch of books from Aunt Elsa, my grandmother’s best friend. They had been hers, so they had all been printed in the 1920s. Most of them I read and forgot, but < Little Princess as well as Jean Webster’s Just Patyy was read and re-read several times over. Even as a child I found it annoying that no one thinks of asking of Sara’s name, but I forgive it for the joy of reading of the transformed room in the attic.
As I have Frances Hodgson Burnett’s collected work I tried my hand on the Lost Prince, but couldn’t get past the first chapter. So boring! Do you have any recs for Burnett? What should I read by her?
Jean Webster: just Patty This is a prequel to When Patty Went to School. Patty attends the last year in a girl’s school and has a number of adventures due to a sunny nature and an almost total disregard for school rules. I haven’t read this book in about 30 years and I realise now that when I reread Daddy Long-Legs I always feel that bits are missing, but in reality, it was bits from Just Patty I remembered. I still found it very enjoyable apart from a cringe-worthy chapter where Patty dressed up as a Romani woman. Perhaps not so surprising in a book written in 1917 and taking place in the 1890s, but definitely not comfortable reading today.
France Hardinge: Deeplight Hardinge once again creates highly original work in The Myriad, a cluster of islands which has, up until 30 years ago, been ruled by a number of gods, residing at the bottom of the sea. But one day they all rose to the surface and killed each other, and the people had to learn to live without gods. Hark and Jelt are street urchins, and one day they find something in the water. Something that can heal. But healing has a very steep price.
Everything I have read by Hardinge I have liked and this book is no exception, even if Jelt is a character type I heartily dislike. Well, there is a reason for it. And I bet the theme of the book is a remark on current trends in the UK and elsewhere, though they are subtle enough not to bother a child reader.
Susann Cokal: The Kingdom of Little Wounds It’s the late 16th century and in a fictitious Scandinavian country (possibly located at the Faroe Islands), the King’s oldest daughter married to a Swedish prince; Magnus, the Mad count of Oestergotland. But the princess dies on the wedding night, and two servant girls suddenly find themselves caught in the middle of some very dangerous court intrigues. The seamstress Ava and the enslaved nursemaid Midi Sorte (Black Midi) don’t like each other, but they have to trust each other, or they may not survive.
This was not an easy read. Several characters are ill, and both illness and cure are described in very vivid detail. Both Ava and Midi suffer from sexual abuse, and Midi has also been mutilated, which has rendered her mute. Bad smells, which were undoubtedly very much around in the 16th century, are minutely described.
But I still thought it rather good. Ava and midi are not always likable, but their resourcefulness, intelligence, and resilience makes them interesting. The world-building was also very good. Some made-up, like a French invasion of some parts of Scandinavia, mixed with some real history. There really was a mad prince Magnus of Sweden, the only one of Gustav Vasa’s four sons who didn’t become king of Sweden, because he was so unbalanced. Not that the other ones were sane either, rik XIV suffered severe psychotic episodes, during one of them he killed his step-uncle and cousins, and Karl IX was probably bipolar. But I digress. It's clear the author has a very good grip on this particular historical episode, and a good handle on language as well.
Kristi DeMeester: Beneath A horror novel about a female reporter who investigates a snake-handling cult in a small Appalachian town. It began quite well, but it soon turned repetitive, with an abrupt and odd ending. There were also some stylistic choices that chafed. It was sent in 1988, which I could find o other reason than people not having cell phones. But with a lot of supernatural things going on that could easily have been arranged anyway. You see, it had the kind of ending that really must take place in the now, or in the near future to work, not 30 years in the past.
L. M. Montgomery: A Tangled Web After two rather depressing books I took a pause and re-read this one. Montgomery is always a safe bet.
Stephen King & Richard Chizmar: Gwendy’s Button Box Another re-read. Basically a thought experiment, What would happen if a child gets the power to destroy the world? I like this novella, and it held for a re-read.
Richard Chizmar: Gwendy’s Magic Feather 25 years after Gwendy first giót the button box, it suddenly returns to her, without explanation. The novella wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t really necessary either. Gwendy’s Button Box is a complete story, and a sequel must really be adding something new to be interesting, which this one didn’. The antagonist’s action in the first novella is well built into the narrative and the conclusion works well. Here the reveal of the antagonist is purely deus ex machina and pretty much out of nowhere. Somehow this read more like a fanfic than a “real” sequel, to me.
Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden when I grew up we had bookcases in every room, apart from the bathroom. In the hall stood the art books, and on the bottom shelf, the books of my parent’s childhood. I found several gems there, not least Montgomery's Anne and Emily, and my perennial favourite Elizabeth and the Garret Theatre by Gwendoline Courtney. And the Secret Garden. It fascinated me on so many levels, the strange life Mary lives in India, the change when she came to England, the mystery of the secret garden, and the mystery of the cries at night. But most of all, I loved the idea of a secret garden, something tucked away and forgotten, and brought back to life. Then, as now, I lost much of my interest when the story’s focus shifts from mary to Colin, who I always found rather tedious.
Frances Hodgson Burnett: A Little Princess When I was around ten I was given a bunch of books from Aunt Elsa, my grandmother’s best friend. They had been hers, so they had all been printed in the 1920s. Most of them I read and forgot, but < Little Princess as well as Jean Webster’s Just Patyy was read and re-read several times over. Even as a child I found it annoying that no one thinks of asking of Sara’s name, but I forgive it for the joy of reading of the transformed room in the attic.
As I have Frances Hodgson Burnett’s collected work I tried my hand on the Lost Prince, but couldn’t get past the first chapter. So boring! Do you have any recs for Burnett? What should I read by her?
Jean Webster: just Patty This is a prequel to When Patty Went to School. Patty attends the last year in a girl’s school and has a number of adventures due to a sunny nature and an almost total disregard for school rules. I haven’t read this book in about 30 years and I realise now that when I reread Daddy Long-Legs I always feel that bits are missing, but in reality, it was bits from Just Patty I remembered. I still found it very enjoyable apart from a cringe-worthy chapter where Patty dressed up as a Romani woman. Perhaps not so surprising in a book written in 1917 and taking place in the 1890s, but definitely not comfortable reading today.
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