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May. 16th, 2012 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skygiantsHm. Okay. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making: I read the first chapter when it was posted online, realized I was never going to get around to contributing to the online donation thing it was meant for, and felt guilty enough about that that I waited to buy a copy for real when it was published in hardcover.
So by the time I actually got around to reading that copy, I was very well aware that The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is a Child Meets Wacky Magic Land Book In The Vein Of Oz And The Phantom Tollbooth And Every Other Book You Loved As A Kid Except Also Responding To Those Books And Being Feminist.
And it . . . I mean, it does what it says on that label! I have no complaints with it! I guess -- well, early on, as one of those Things Narrators Say in Books Like This, the narrator explains to us that children's hearts grow at different rates, and some children have none, and some children have lots, and Our Heroine September is at the moment not Utterly but Somewhat Heartless.
And that sounds about right to me. The book was very entertaining, and did what it did very well, and it felt like it had approximately 40-50% of the proper level of heart. There were places that it made great leaps, and then I was like, oh, there, that's where your heart is! That's why I should care!
The part where September draws her mother's sword -- that was brilliant. And the reveal about the Marquess was clearly the emotional heart of the story, and packed the punch it should have.
On the other hand, September's relationship with her comrades the Wyvern and Saturday, I didn't feel it, and I sort of think I should have. Also apparently September and Saturday are destined to make babies, I guess? (That was a bit weird.)
Anyway, you'll know pretty easily I think whether you want to read this or not. There's a lot of Look How Clever I Am, which you should avoid if you'll find that frustrating; personally I think it's fine, it's appropriate for the kind of book this is. Shelve it next to Un Lun Dun on the "We're Fixing Our Fairyland Forebears" shelf and maybe they'll breed! Valente and Mieville probably would make very, very pretty if somewhat insufferable prose babies.
So by the time I actually got around to reading that copy, I was very well aware that The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is a Child Meets Wacky Magic Land Book In The Vein Of Oz And The Phantom Tollbooth And Every Other Book You Loved As A Kid Except Also Responding To Those Books And Being Feminist.
And it . . . I mean, it does what it says on that label! I have no complaints with it! I guess -- well, early on, as one of those Things Narrators Say in Books Like This, the narrator explains to us that children's hearts grow at different rates, and some children have none, and some children have lots, and Our Heroine September is at the moment not Utterly but Somewhat Heartless.
And that sounds about right to me. The book was very entertaining, and did what it did very well, and it felt like it had approximately 40-50% of the proper level of heart. There were places that it made great leaps, and then I was like, oh, there, that's where your heart is! That's why I should care!
The part where September draws her mother's sword -- that was brilliant. And the reveal about the Marquess was clearly the emotional heart of the story, and packed the punch it should have.
On the other hand, September's relationship with her comrades the Wyvern and Saturday, I didn't feel it, and I sort of think I should have. Also apparently September and Saturday are destined to make babies, I guess? (That was a bit weird.)
Anyway, you'll know pretty easily I think whether you want to read this or not. There's a lot of Look How Clever I Am, which you should avoid if you'll find that frustrating; personally I think it's fine, it's appropriate for the kind of book this is. Shelve it next to Un Lun Dun on the "We're Fixing Our Fairyland Forebears" shelf and maybe they'll breed! Valente and Mieville probably would make very, very pretty if somewhat insufferable prose babies.
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Date: 2012-05-17 09:26 pm (UTC)As far as the "I am so clever bits" -- well, the book is full of things like the heroine going somewhere on a Leopard, and then the narrative will go One can never see what happens after an exeunt on a Leopard. It is against the rules of theater. But cheating has always been the purview of fairies, and as we are about to enter their domain, we ought to act in accordance with local customs. For which the subtext is "look lulzy Shakespeare reference! AREN'T I CLEVER." It's not always that bad, but that's the sort of thing that may get on people's nerves.
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Date: 2012-05-17 09:30 pm (UTC)I AM INTERESTED THOUGH: punching C.S. Lewis in the face? I AM INTERESTED. (Never over Susan)
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Date: 2012-05-17 09:36 pm (UTC)You can borrow my copy if you like, when you're here!
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Date: 2012-05-17 09:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-17 09:38 pm (UTC)