(no subject)

[skygiants]

Three reference points for Light From Uncommon Stars:

1. I don't think I would have thought of Daniel Pinkwater if aamcnamara hadn't mentioned the comparison, because the prose style is very different, but Ryka Aoki's joyously zany worldbuilding -- the premise of Light From Uncommon Stars involves both the literal devil wandering around making Faustian bargains to promising violin students and a family of alien refugees from outer space running an L.A. donut shop -- feels kind of delightfully neon in the same way that Pinkwater's does

2. In college I took a class on California Fiction, and one of the books we read was Karen Tei Yamashita's Tropic of Orange; it has now been almost 15 years since that class so I remember essentially nothing about the plot, but what I do remember is the deep and affectionate portrayal of LA as a palimpsest of diasporic subcultures -- not just as a grounding backdrop against which increasingly wild events can (and do) occur but as one of the book's main character in and of itself -- and this book also made me feel like that and also made me broadly nostalgic for the weird and great experience of that class overall

3. You know the Pern trilogy about Menolly the harper, and how she's horribly abused and has no opportunity to learn music despite her unbelievable natural talent, but then she runs away and gets rescued by an authority figure who recognizes said unbelievable natural talent, and her innate humility and kindness and purity of heart win her the love of everybody she encounters and eventually allow her to gain self-esteem and acclaim? Or the Mercedes Lackey book about Lark the fiddler, and how she's horribly abused and has no opportunity to learn music despite her unbelievable natural talent, but -- or the Mercedes Lackey book about Talia who loves to read, and how she's horribly abused and has no opportunity to follow her passions despite her unbelievable natural talent, but -- you know, it's truly not worth listing all the Mercedes Lackey books I have devoured uncritically in my time; anyway, it's a classic for a reason! and neither Anne McCaffrey nor Mercedes Lackey could have been in any way trusted to write about a trans protagonist and the the specifically transphobic violence that violin prodigy Katrina Nguyen is fleeing, nor would they have had been anywhere near as inventive with the aforementioned neon vibes of the plot enclosing this time-honored premise

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

I can see the blurb now… Lackey meets Pinkwater in this neon-hued adventure! Fans of Karen Tei Yamashita's Tropic of Orange will delight in yada yada etc.

[skygiants]

I surely can't be the only one who's read all three of these reference points! At least one other person in the world would read the blurb and be like "yeah!!" Probably not more than one though.

[sovay]

a family of alien refugees from outer space running an L.A. donut shop

That does feel extremely Pinkwater.

[edit] Reading this review of Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), I hit the line "a realm where a giant everything bagel looms like a black hole ready to suck everyone into the void" and it also struck me as extremely Pinkwateresque, hence returning to mention it here. Also I don't like everything bagels, so I would believe it.

[skygiants]

I had not thought to put Pinkwater in context of Everything Everywhere All At Once (from the trailer; I haven't yet seen the film) but now that you mention it you're absolutely right. (I do like everything bagels but I understand that an everything bagel everywhere all at once would also be fairly overwhelming!)

[aamcnamara]

Yes objectively it is almost entirely unlike Pinkwater and yet--and yet--something about the gently ridiculous and ridiculously gentle way it depicts a) the universe b) people and c) their relationships with each other. Aoki's way of doing it is exceptionally well-grounded in the realities of how harsh any of these things can be (Pinkwater is too sometimes, but usually sheers off rapidly from anything too deep) while retaining that touch of the absurd and kind. It's lovely.

[skygiants]

Yes, I think absurd and kind are exactly the right adjectives -- and they work really well together, the jolt of the unexpected kind of puts one in the mindset where one is also willing to believe in the kindness despite the harshness of the reality around it.

[bironic]

:D

I don't know those reference points but I did enjoy the story for the most part, and in fact right at this moment I am watching The Donut King on Hulu, about the Cambodian refugee who inspired Aoki's alien family.

[skygiants]

I had not known until after the fact that the family had a real-world inspiration point, or that the documentary was available! Thank you for adding it to my list. :D

[dhampyresa]

the literal devil wandering around making Faustian bargains to promising violin students
As one does.

a family of alien refugees from outer space running an L.A. donut shop
AS ONE DOES

I should read this book.

[skygiants]

There's a lot of AS ONE DOES throughout the text! I think you might dig it!

[hilarita]

I've never read any Pinkwater, but I also really enjoyed Light From Uncommon Stars. I did spend the whole book wondering if Aoki was going to stick the landing, but she did. It was glorious.

[skygiants]

Yeah, I really liked the way that the elements came together at the end! Rock beats paper (space beats devil.)

[sbrackett]

I want to read more books by Ryka Aoki!!!

[skygiants]

Yeah, I'm also very curious about her other work!