After finishing Heaven's Net is Wide, I couldn't wait to get started on the next book in the series. I was in for a bit of a shock, however. While Heaven's Net left me with a warm fuzzy feeling of hope and a foreshadowing of vindication and justice delivered, Nightingale left me absolutely furious with a bad taste in my mouth. Most of my rage came from betrayal that 80% of the promised justice and vindication never showed up, and the bad taste came from the 20% that did. Don't get me wrong, Nightingale is still a good book. (the fact that I became so emotionally involved is a testament to the author's skill) I'll finish the series eventually, but my enthusiasm is significantly dimmed.
Another difference between the two is that unlike the first book, which is told in third person from various points of view, this one is alternately in first person and third person. The main character Takeo is the only one who has the privilege of narrating for himself, anyone else whose viewpoint is required for the story has to make do with third person. It's an unusual structure, but it works.
Note: For an intro to this series, read the first half of my Heaven's Net is Wide review
Overview
The book opens with a description of Tomasu's childhood in the village of the Hidden (a Christian sect). It's an idyllic life, although the young Tomasu is slightly restless, with the age old 'I'm-bigger-than-this-town' syndrome. As we find out later, Tomasu’s case is justified—he is descended from a secretive race known only as the Tribe, who possess semi-magical powers. This is quickly and brutally cured when the evil warlord Iida Sadamu, who has a particular vendetta against the Hidden, shows up and murders everyone he can get his hands on. Fortunately, he can't get his hands on Tomasu, who flees the villiage with soldiers close on his heels. This is the point where the first book ended, and the fleeing boy meets Otori Shigeru, who saves him from the soldiers, takes him under his wing, and renames him ‘Takeo’ to hide his Hidden origins. The story continues with Takeo’s adoption into the Otori clan, the development of his Tribe skills, and his training in the arts of the warrior and the assassin. (or samurai and ninja, if you prefer the Japanese names, although they are very pointedly avoided in the book) As time goes on, Takeo realizes that his encounter with Shigeru was no accident, and that he had specifically been chosen and trained to be the assassin of Iida Sadamu: the most evil, powerful, and paranoid man in the Three Countries.
Recommended for: Anyone who’s read the first book, or fans of fantasy and anime
Parental worries: Not for the kiddies: sex, violence, attempted rape, all that jazz. (and some hints at bisexuality, if that bugs you)
Audiobook Comments: Read by Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone, not the same readers as Heaven’s Net, but still the same format: male narrator for male POV and vice versa. The names of people and places are also pronounced slightly different for these two readers, with more accurate Japanese accents.
Ramblings (Spoiler Threat: Low)
I'm trying to decide whether my decision to read the prequel before the original was a good one, and I'm leaning toward yes, because there is so much in Nightingale that would have really come out of left field without the backstory from Heaven's Net. I guess I lost the joy of discovering the world of the Otori at the same time as Takeo, but it was as much fun (if not more) to watch him discover what was already familiar to me. Also, Shigeru is a very enigmatic character in Nightingale; I probably would have become completely fed up and slightly disgusted with him if I hadn't known his history. (i.e, why he was willing to adopt a stranger for the express purpose of training him as an assassin--shaping and forging the boy as a weapon against some random bad guy) I’ve also thumbed through some of the Amazon reviews for Nightingale, and it sounds like the lack of explanation ranks pretty high as a complaint among the bad reviews.
On the other hand, reading the prequel first meant that my focus was off--since the first book involved Shigeru suffering horrific tragedy and insult at the hands of Sadamu and his uncles, all I really wanted was to see was Shigeru claim his revenge against them all and take his place as the rightful ruler of the Otori. That's what I felt was promised throughout the first book and most of the second. That is not at all what happened. While the ensuing disappointment would only be enough to whet the interest and compassion of someone not acquainted with Heaven's Net, to me it was a complete and utter failure of the whole affair. Never mind that in the wider scheme of things, Takeo is the center and Shigeru's tragedy is only meant to give Takeo's life direction, to spur him on to a greater destiny. I think that’s a failure in the story arrangement: if you haven’t read the (admittedly very good) backstory, then you don’t understand enough, but if you have read the backstory you get hung out to dry.
The second largest problem I have with this series so far is that Hearn simply cannot write romance. When she tries, the result is either creepy (for the pairings that aren’t your ‘made in heaven, lasting for all eternity’ variety) or painfully clichéd and overdone (the love at first sight, ‘we must have been lovers in other lives’ variety). I can understand that the plot doesn’t leave too much room for romance, but there’s got to be a better way of fitting it in.
Extra Rant (Spoiler threat: Very High)
That's right, this rant gets a section all to itself (for easy skipping, ‘cause it probably won’t make sense unless you’ve actually read the book):
Screw Muto Kenji and the horse he rode in on! It's not enough that the Tribe killed Takeo's real father, Kenji had to be the star player in the death of Takeo's adopted father as well. I cannot remember the last time I was this pissed off at a character, and it's kind of sad that I can get so angry at someone who doesn't exist. It's not that he's an evil character, that's the problem. If he was a traditionally evil character, with no knowledge or care of right and wrong, then his betrayal would be more understandable. But Kenji has a fair amount of good in him--we can see it in his affection for Shigeru, Takeo and various members of his family. The problem is that he's so dedicated to his #$%@#! Tribe that he's willing to throw away every last one of them for its benefit. Not a noble sacrifice, bravely endured for the greater good, but the betrayal of trust and friendship simply because the Tribe wanted to keep a monster in power (more money for them). And then he has the gall, the gall to ask Shigeru for forgiveness. Shigeru, who had been stripped of his rank, labeled a traitor and crucified on the castle walls. And the thing is, Shigeru might have given it to him, if not for the fact that Kenji's betrayal had also resulted in the death of Lady Maruyama and her unborn child. It doesn't really matter that it was Sadamu's hand behind all the killings, at that point Sadamu had become a force of nature—doing the most harm, the most evil, wherever he could. And Kenji knowingly unleashed that force onto the only man he had ever considered a friend. I can think of no fate horrible enough for such a man.
Labels: fantasy, Tales of the Otori
When I first discovered that the sequel to The Princess and the Goblin was called The Princess and Curdie, I half-hoped that it would take place at least 5 years after the first book and involve a romance between the title characters. I was disappointed, however, when the first chapter of P&C placed it only a year after P&G. Oh well, I should have known better :-p In retrospect, it's hard to imagine MacDonald switching genres on this set of characters, especially since the theme of childhood is so important to both stories.
Overview
The title of this story is slightly ambiguous, because there are actually two princesses involved--the young princess Irene who left for her father's court at the end of the last book, and her great-great grandmother, also named Irene, who is fondly referred to as "the old Princess" by Curdie and his family. For at least the first half of the book, it seems that the old princess is actually the title character, for Irene the younger does not make her appearance for quite awhile. The first half of the story focuses on Curdie, who has settled down to life as a miner after turning down the King's offer to join him at court in the first book. The old Princess, however, has other plans. She sends Curdie off on a mysterious quest, with one of the goblins' monster-animals for company. This strange beast, named Lina, at first disgusts Curdie, but eventually manages to earn his love and loyalty.
Upon reaching the capital of the kingdom, Curdie discovers that the inhabitants of the city are not only unwelcoming, but dishonest and outright hostile. After a little more digging, he finds that the King is suffering from a mysterious illness, and the country is completely under the control of his cabinet, all of whom are less than savory characters. Curdie joins forces with the young Princess Irene, and with a little help from Lina and the old Princess, they save the day.
Recommended for: Anyone who liked the first book.
Parental Worries: Still a children's book, but P&C is a little darker than the first one. Some of the judgements handed out to evildoers are a bit harsh, and the sheer number of bad characters is a somewhat depressing.
Audiobook Comments: Read by Ian Whitcomb, who also read P&G. Its nice to have all the old voices back, it's really weird when they switch between books.
Ramblings
Overall, I'd say this book isn't as good as its predecessor, but still very good. The darkness that sets it apart from the first book is not quite the same as the darkness that slowly grows with, say, each Harry Potter book. There's almost two different conflicts--one between Curdie and the King's evil ministers, and one between the King and his people. The first half of the story belongs to Curdie, and it is excellent, possibly even better than the first book, both in terms of adventure and in its allegorical messages.
However, once the kingdom is reached and the king is returned to his rightful position, things get strange. I can appreciate on one level that the people without their king symbolize the people who have turned away from God, but on another level it's not only depressing but downright insulting to the people to suggest that one year without a good, strong human ruler is enough to turn every one of them into little better than beasts. Of course, we have no idea what they were like when the king was in control, but the assumption is that the good king would not have allowed such bad behavior in his subjects. This conflict between the king and his people reaches the point where they welcome an invading power into the land, and when the king marches to battle with a ridiculously small force, the people actually fight on the side of the invader! Well, obviously the good guys win, and the traitors are either wounded or killed. Again, we get the two levels of meaning here: there's the allegory of a people turning against their God and the necessity of a harsh rebuke to save them from an even worse fate, but in a political, worldly view, the thought of a good king taking arms against his evil subjects and vice versa is just . . . wrong. And then to top it all off, the story only has a temporarily happy ending. The ultimate ending, in an attempt to explain why the kingdom does not appear in history, is completely bleak, with no last note of hope. Definetly a case of allegory gone wrong.
Labels: children, fairytales, fantasy
Most fantasy novels are deeply entrenched in western culture; if they have oriental elements it's usually a transplant to introduce something new, exciting and/or mysterious. These transplants are more than likely half-assed and never manage to do real justice to eastern traditions or history. In much the same way, most anime and manga that take place in a western setting are similarly inauthentic. Its like putting my blonde and blue-eyed self in a kimono, or a Japanese lady in an Elizabethan gown--the juxtaposition is interesting and a refreshing change, but nobody's fooled.
With these thoughts in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a fantasy series called "Tales of the Otori" which takes place in feudal Japan. (well, not really Japan in the same way that most fantasy novels aren't technically in England or Europe, but you get the idea) The author is a westerner (Hearn was born in Britain and currently lives in Australia) but she's studied Japanese history and culture extensively, and it shows in her writing. Heaven's Net is Wide is a wonderful read, not just because of its story and characters, but also because of the beauty of their world, which Hearn describes in loving and convincing detail.
Overview (Spoiler Threat: Low)
Heaven's Net is Wide is the prequel to the series, (the first book, Across the Nightingale Floor, was published five years earlier in 2002) so I might be missing a few important points in reading it first, but I've always preferred to read books by their own chronological order when possible, not necessarily by their date of publication.
The book opens with a murder: Kikuta Isamu, who had abandoned his old life as an assassin to start anew, is found by his cousin, Kikuta Kotaro, and knows that his life is at an end. However, he has taken a vow to never kill again, and can only lead his assassin as far as possible from his village, young wife and unborn son before calmly accepting death. This opening chapter introduces us to two of the three driving forces of the series. The first is the mysterious Tribe, the group of assassins and spies that Isamu had tried to leave behind. No Japanese adventure tale is complete without ninjas, and although the term is never used, that's the Tribe in a nutshell. The second group, only hinted at here but expanded upon later in the book, is the Tribe's antithesis--the Hidden, a Christian cult whose members practice their religion in secret. This was a big hook for me, not only because I have a fondness for my own creed but also because of the historical basis behind this apparently artificial insertion. The first Westerners to reach Japan brought along Catholic missionaries, and the new faith first flourished then survived, even in the face of heavy persecution after Japan secluded itself from the West.
After this enigmatic (although extremely important) opening chapter, the book follows the life of Otori Shigeru, heir to the ancient and powerful Otori clan (driving force #3). Shigeru starts out as a 12 year old boy and we watch as he is fostered and forged into a tragic hero of epic proportions (although significantly more likable than most other tragic heroes I can think of). The title 'tragic hero' may be a bit of a spoiler, but this is the prequel, after all--it's obvious that Shigeru will be a powerful driving force in the later series, but he is not the main character. Quite a bit of the book is also spent filling out the political and cultural background of the land, setting the stage (or rather, filling in the background) for later developments. The book ends with Shigeru finding and adopting Isamu's son, now a boy of 16. The boy, originally named Tomasu and renamed Takeo, is obviously the true star of the series--tied to all three groups: Hidden, Otori and Tribe. Poor kid. And here's the danger of reading the books in the wrong order ^_^ Now I'm more emotionally invested in a secondary character, and we'll have to see if Takeo can earn his rightful place.
Recommended for: Fantasy and anime fans
Parental Worries: Lots of sex. Nothing too explicit, but there's no shyness about the topic, and it's quite central to the plot.
Audiobook comments: Read by J. Paul Boehmer and Julia Fletcher, depending on whether a woman or man is narrating a particular chapter. It's a nice effect.
Ramblings (Spoiler Threat: High)
For all the high points of this book, its got definite issues as well. I started out with the assumption that Lian Hearn was a man, and only recently discovered that I was wrong. This assumption was strengthened as I read because I thought that only a man could write female characters and romance as abysmally as they were handled in this book. For example, our first major female character is a courtesan named Akane. She's not a courtesan when we first meet her, she's an anonymous girl who helps Shigeru save his brother from drowning and then haunts his adolescent dreams for years. Oooo, a mysterious beauty, very nice. What really gets me though, is how Akane falls into her line of work. She's the daughter of an eccentric but extremely talented mason, and his reputation combined with her own 'independent spirit' mean that none of the women in the village want her to marry their sons. The mothers don't like her, so she'll have to be a prostitute. That's how it's presented in the book, just a matter of fact cause and effect. I had to stop for a minute at that. Really? Is this society so restrictive and structured that there's no other way? She can't find a man who doesn't have a mother, or isn't completely under her control? She can't learn a trade of some kind, become a healer, work as a servant, anything? She's a beautiful, intelligent, resourceful woman, and the first alternative she turns to is prostitution? Please.
To be fair, the type of prostitution she comes to practice falls under the geisha tradition, and because she selects a well-run house, her virginity is guarded longer and more jealously than any other girls of the time could expect (there's a large price tag on it, after all). Even so, the setup of Akane as a 'happy prostitute' turned my stomach. And it gets worse from there. She eventually becomes exclusively Shigeru's mistress, and because both of them have for different reasons sworn to never fall in love, there is much silly going-on about how they are 'so dangerously close to the edge' (of falling in love, which is obviously a horrible fate). Bah. She becomes obsessively jealous of Shigeru's wife (from an arranged marriage) and does her best to poison the marriage and any chance Shigeru has of producing a legitimate heir. Circumstances being what they were, I can't really blame her for that, but there's this looming sense of doom that begins to emanate from Akane. I couldn't help but think that she was going to innocently and stupidly destroy everything Shigeru stood for, and by the time she dies in the throes of madness, all I could do was breathe a sigh of relief that her course of destruction had come to an end.
Shigeru's wife Moe turns out to be Akane's polar opposite, and although I never really got the sense of oncoming doom from her that I did from Akane, she's still a very poisonous character. Like Akane, she's trapped by circumstances, and like Akane, she makes them even worse, to the point where her death is a relief to the reader.
Now, to be fair I think the first two female characters are meant to be awful, but even Shigeru's main love interest isn't particularly impressive, imho. She's supposed to be this powerful ruler in her own right, strong and independent. Predictably, therefore, she goes completely goey when the hero shows up. That's all well and good, but in the meantime we never actually see her political prowess and independent spirit at work, we just have to take everyone's word for it. We do see quite a bit of her strength as a woman; she's really remarkable just for that, but since her character is sold so strongly as transcending the traditional role of a woman, it would have been nice to see more than one side of her. Oh well :-p Maybe I'm a bit too hard on Lady Maruyama.
This is not to say that all the female characters in the book are horrible. There's several minor characters that I have no objection to (mostly because, as minor characters, there's not enough for me to object to :-p ) But there's also Muto Shizuka, a woman of the Tribe who eventually realizes the depths they are willing to sink to, and transfers her loyalty to Shigeru. Shizuka is an interesting character, walking a tightrope of loyalties and deception without coming off as fake or insincere in any of them. It'll be interesting to see what happens to her.
There's probably a few more things I could ramble about, I haven't given nearly enough time or attention to Shigeru himself, for one thing, but this post is getting really long. Suffice it to say that Heaven's Net is Wide is an interesting, delightful book, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
Labels: fantasy, Tales of the Otori
I'm really, really surprised that I made it through childhood without reading this book. I'm a complete sucker for fairy tales and fantasy--growing up I read just about anything that promised royalty, brave young peasant kids, dragons, magic, et. cetera. This book may lack dragons, but goblins and assorted beasties come in a close second. So where was it? I haunted the children's fantasy sections of at least six different libraries while I was growing up, and I am stymied that not only this wonderful tale but all of George MacDonald's books managed to fall through the cracks. MacDonald needs to find a publisher that will actually deliver his stories to their intended audience; being dead for over a hundred years is no excuse.
Overview
The Princess and the Goblin is a beautiful story, full of adventure and magic. It's easy to see that MacDonald's work heavily influenced Lewis as he was writing the Narnia series; the themes of faith and charity are as central to P&G as the more traditional fairy tale virtues of courage, honor and duty. (charity here refers to the Christian virtue, not necessarily almsgiving) It can be bit preachy at times, but that's a side effect of the target age group.
The plot follows the adventures of the eight year old Princess Irene, who is being raised in the country away from her father's court, and Curdie, a young boy from the local mining town. Curdie discovers that the goblins who inhabit his mine are hatching a devious plot of some kind or other, and makes it his business to find them out and stop them. Meanwhile, Princess Irene discovers a beautiful lady living in the most remote and abandoned rooms of the manor, a lady who claims to be her great-great grandmother and cannot be seen by anyone else.
Recommended for: Anyone, but especially kids and fans of C.S. Lewis. (I'd also recommend At the Back of the North Wind and The Light Princess, two more of MacDonald's books)
Parental Worries: I'm only including this line to preserve format between posts :-p Nothing but a mild battle or two, if you're worried about violence (I don't usually bother commenting on violence unless it's particularly graphic, but I've got to have something here ^_~ )
Audiobook Comments: Read by Ian Whitcomb, who does a good job, but not particularly amazing.
Ramblings
I never would have heard of George MacDonald if he hadn't been highly praised multiple times in Lewis' works. When Lewis' alter ego arrives at Heaven in The Great Divorce, he is met by the shade of MacDonald, much as Dante is met by Virgil in his Divine Comedy. In particular, MacDonald's book Phantastes was supposedly very influential in Lewis' conversion from atheism to Christianity. Knowing this, I was very excited to finally get my hands on it. Probably too excited, 'cause after reading it I was rather underwhelmed. Its a good book, but I get the feeling that I was too quick to read through and missed an important message or subtle plot point somewhere. Definitely worth a reread though.
Anyway, this post isn't about Phantastes :-p The point of that little sideline was that although it was slightly disappointing, the rest of MacDonald's books have more than made up for it. I can see why he captured the minds and hearts of not only C.S. Lewis, but also Tolkien, Lewis Carrol, and even Mark Twain.
The character of the great-great grandmother in P&G is very similar to the North Wind in At The Back of the North Wind, and it's interesting that MacDonald uses female characters for his divine figures, unlike Lewis and Tolkien. It might have something to do with the characters being young children, although the female figures are not surrogate mothers; both Curdie and Diamond from North Wind have wonderful mothers. It's merely that these figures are primarily nurturing and protective; the terrible power that is so central to Aslan and Gandalf is only briefly hinted at.
I also like the characterization and treatment of the goblins. There is not a particularly strong condemnation of them in the introduction of the story, they are described as resentful of the 'Sun people' and not unwilling to do harm or mischief where the chance presents itself. Its their actions throughout the book that are damning, as we see that their physical deformities are only a shadow of their twisted morality. The treatment they receive from Curdie is also interesting. For the majority of the book, the only weapons he uses against them are rhyme and song, which they cannot stand, and an occasional stomp on their tender feet. This gave me a sense that any battles and confrontations would be 'soft', the kind where the hero never really dirties his hands with any great violence. However, when the goblins' plot finally takes form and Curdie is no longer the only one in danger, he switches from rhyme to his deadly mining tools with nary a qualm. I'm not impressed by this because it shows callousness, but because it shows decisiveness. There's no moral quandry about whether the poor goblins don't know what they're doing, and whether Curdie's being to harsh on them. The lack of gray area is refreshing. It also shows (without any self-righteous back-patting) that although Curdie had the power to do serious harm all along, it never entered his head to use more force than was absolutely necessary.
I'd better stop before I try to outline any of the more beautiful spiritual messages that MacDonald manages to work into his story, messages that adults can appreciate as much as children. Its more fun to come across them fresh ^_^
Labels: children, fairytales
Overview
Not too much to tell in this section. The book is a collection of about 30 fairy tales from many different traditions--English, French, German, Arabian, and Scottish. Some of the stories are credited to other 'collectors' like the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault, while others have no such citation. I don't know whether this means Lang dug them up himself or not, but I think all of the non-cited stories are from England, so maybe he felt that he could claim partial ownership.
The book's greatest weakness is that Lang saw fit to include an excerpt from Gulliver's Travels. Horrible idea. It may have several fantastic elements, but Gulliver's Travels is satire and political commentary! It's no more a fairy tale than A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. But even if we ignore its pedigree, the excerpt really breaks the rhythm of the book and bogs it down; the tone is too pompous and formal. Gulliver's Travels was a fine book on its own, but it doesn't fit here. On the whole though, the stories are excellent.
Recommended for: Everyone, why not?
Parental Worries: The book was designed for children, and there's not much I'd object to. Having said that, these are not morality tales. The heroes are not sterling examples of behavior, but I don't think that's too much of a problem. (see below)
Ramblings
The best thing about these books is the random, obscure fairy tales that haven't been made into Disney movies or otherwise re-told a million times. "Snow White and Rose Red" is one of my favorites in this category, but other good ones from this volume are "The Goose Girl" "Prince Darling" and "The Story of Pretty Goldilocks" (different Goldilocks). Some of the tales are pretty strange, and occasionally morbid or shocking. I was surprised to realize this, because I'd heard Lang was of the school that freely edited tales to make them more acceptable for children. However, I don't remember being traumatized by any of these stories as a child, so I think my 'shock' is merely a sign that I've grown up and forgotten that kids love that kind of thing. They can enjoy a fun story with a hero that doesn't always act like a perfect gentleman (or gentlewoman) without completely accepting and condoning his or her actions.
Its also interesting to compare the ethnic backgrounds of the tales. The stories with French sources tend to be lavish and glamorous, whereas the tales from Grimm are characteristically dark and down-to-earth. There's two tales from Scotland at the end of the book that are written with full dialect intact. (dotchter = daughter, sae = say, etc) I can't decide whether the overall result is charming or annoying--there's a fine line there somewhere.
Labels: children, fairytales
With the exception of A Christmas Carol, all of Dickens' novels require a serious commitment (600 t0 800+ pages worth), but it's almost always worth it. This was Dickens' first novel, and I can easily imagine that it made him an instant hit. Just as a measure of its popularity and impact, there's at least one literary device (Wellerism) and one medical condition (Pickwickian syndrome) that derived their names from this novel. I also remember the Little Women girls playing Pickwickians, and although I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about at the time, in hindsight this is exactly the type of book that would be fodder for children's playtime. I've liked the Dickens novels that I've read in the past, but this one is my favorite so far.
Overview
The opening chapter is presented as the minutes of a meeting of the 'Pickwick Club'. It is by far the least-organized and most difficult chapter of the entire book. Fortunately, it's also unique, so if you can make it through, stuff starts making more sense almost immediately. The general idea of the first chapter is that the esteemed and venerated Mr. Samuel Pickwick has agreed to travel the countryside with three companions and provide the club with the complete record of their adventures for the education and entertainment of the members.
Mr. Pickwick's three young companions are introduced at this point: Mr. Tupman, the romantic; Mr. Winkle, the sportsman; and Mr. Snodgrass, the poet. As the story progresses, Mr. Tupman's conquests include almost winning the heart of someone's spinster aunt, before she runs off with another scoundrel; Mr. Winkle's sportsmanship consists of accidentally shooting Mr. Tupman in the arm; and although none is ever offered, I will let you take a guess as to the quality of Mr. Snodgrass' poetry.
The first half of the book follows Mr. Pickwick and co. through several seemingly random visits to small English towns, where they take in the sights, mix with the local color, and generally manage to get themselves into plenty of trouble. They also collect and record any stories that their acquaintances have to tell, and these can range from tragic to hilarious to just . . . strange (but always entertaining). The last half has more direction and slightly more cohesiveness; it follows several storylines and has a more subdued tone, although there's still plenty of humor involved.
Usually, the only books that leave me laughing out loud are Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but this one had my husband slightly worried because I kept randomly chuckling while working in the kitchen.
Recommended for: Anyone with enough time
Parental Worries: Umm, it's Dickens. Wholesomeness is basically a given.
Audiobook Comments: Read by Patrick Tull, who does a splendid job. I would highly recommend tackling this book on audio, for several reasons. The names that Dickens gives his characters are a joy to hear aloud; their humor and appropriateness are not quite as effective in print. Also, (and I had to check the print edition to make sure of this) the wonderful accents in the book are actually spelled out, and I at least would find reading it to be fairly tedious at times. (as with any heavy accent, they require a bit of translation that isn't necessary when read aloud)
Ramblings
Dickens is famous for his characters, and several of his most memorable come from this work. The title character is so lavishly and outrageously praised by the narrator that I almost expected him to be the complete opposite, but he turns out to truly be as good-hearted and lovable as the narrator claims (although perhaps not as dignified :-p ). My favorite character by far though is Sam Weller, Mr. Pickwick's manservant. Sam is not a trained valet, but was originally a bootblack who became mixed up in the affairs of the Pickwickians and was subsequently hired by Mr. Pickwick, who found his originality and wit refreshing. Sam is not only great fun but one of the most virtuous characters in the book. He and his father also have a charming accent that I'd never heard before--all of their v's are pronounced as w's, which means that things are 'wery nice' or 'conwenient'.
As with any of Dickens' novels, The Pickwick Papers is chock full of social commentary. However, most of it is lighthearted satire, with one notable exception. The debtors' prisons of London, which lock away men who would work to clear their debts, but provide good-for-nothings with the life of leisure that they desire, are not a matter for levity. It's interesting to look at Dickens' development over the course of this novel, which was released in serial form over a year and a half--he starts out with a very unconnected, piecemeal story with a light tone and eventually builds to a serious condemnation of a social injustice that strikes close to him personally. (Dickens' father spent some time in a debtors prison when he was about 12 years old, bringing a harsh end to an otherwise happy childhood)
Another thing that really made me smile is Dickens' lawyers. Dickens does not like lawyers, and it shows in all of his books. Remarkably, only two of the lawyers in this story are truly despicable; the others are merely amusing, although his criticism of lawyers in general and the justice system in its entirety is still very strong.
Oh, but it isn't enough to have one cross-dresser! Enter Ito Miura, the school tomboy. Okay, so she's not actually pretending to be a boy, but she's tall with short hair, and she prefers the boy's uniform to a short little skirt that won't let her run around. All of this turns into a bit of confusion on the part of strangers, and lands her the male lead in many of the drama club's productions. Since she also wants to be an actor, it's natural that she makes friends with Makoto. It's also natural that when Makoto's changing into her costume for the next act, Ito has no compunction about wandering into the dressing room. Whoops.
So the whole story comes out, and Ito becomes part of the conspiracy. The rest of the series consists of Ito and Makoto falling in love and trying to keep Makoto's secret from the rest of the school. It's great fun, and alternatively sweet and hilariously funny. I haven't actually finished the series yet, but I think I'm only one volume away.
Recommended for: Girls and manga fans
Parental Worries: None so far. The two are remarkably well-behaved, considering that their family and friends don't think twice about them sharing a room for the night. This is the type of manga where a girl gets flustered and nervous about hugs and her first kiss, and that's about as far as they go. (again, I haven't read the last volume, but I'm not expecting any surprises)
When I first started reading this series, I was kind of thrown off by the crazy gender switching and characterization. Ito looked like a boy (not even a particularly pretty boy) and Makoto was rather feminine. I honestly wondered a little what the two saw in each other. As the series develops though, we get to see more of Makoto not acting like a girl, (it's really a stunning change, he's a handsome guy) and Ito getting coerced into dresses and kimonos that show off her truly striking beauty. This development was something I really liked about the series; anime and manga characters (especially romantic couples) are usually designed to be 100% aesthetically appealing, so it was refreshing to have a bit of discord at first. (I may be giving the artist a little too much credit here, the changes in character design could be the result of polishing and refining the manga's art style, but it produces the same result either way.)
Another thing I really enjoy is that the actual relationship between the two is very real, and very healthy. This isn't a pair of emotionally dysfunctional kids clinging to each other for protection against the big bad world and trying to fill the holes in each others lives; there's more joy and less angst than in any other love story I can think of. There's still a bit of angst, or it wouldn't be much of a story, but it's kept to a minimum--most of the conflict comes from outside forces and extraordinary events. In fact, there's a surprising amount of action for a high school romance that isn't based around superheroes or magic. (This isn't to say that some of their adventures don't take a turn into the supernatural, but they're just amusing sidelines, not significant plot drivers) It turns out that Ito's family also runs a dojo, so when rival clubs or hired thugs try strong-arm tactics, the two heroes are fully capable of kicking ass.
The supporting cast is also lots of fun; between crazy schoolmates, crazy teachers and Ito's four overprotective brothers, there's always something going on. I can't wait to get my hands on the last volume. ^_^
Labels: graphic novel, romance
