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12.07.03 by Widge @ 5:54 am   Written by Neil Gaiman Coraline Jones is a young lady who is very, very bored. Her family has just moved into a new flat and her mother and father have plenty of work to do that doesn't involve keeping her entertained. Her new neighbors, two former actresses and the ringmaster of an all-mouse circus, seem interesting enough--but interactions with them can only take up so much time. In her explorations of her new surroundings, Coraline finds a door that doesn't go anywhere. When the building, formerly a house, was converted into flats, they separated one half of the structure from the other with a brick wall--so this door opens onto brick. But one day the door opens on a corridor, one that leads to her other flat. And to her other parents, who want nothing more than to keep her entertained and well-fed...forever. Many, many moons ago I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Gaiman do a reading of about the first third of this novel, which he introduced as a "spooky story for little girls", and I never forgot Coraline or her button-eyed other parents...and how the entire thing creeped the hell out of me. And now that the rest of the story is known, I can say it was definitely worth the wait. Categorized as: Books and Reviews
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12.07.03 by Dindrane @ 3:14 am  Written by: Mark Z. Danielewski House of Leaves contains text that you may recognize from a song by the musical artist Poe. This is the least of the oddities you will discover in these pages. It is at best a work of literary genius. It is at least an experimental text with interesting adjuncts and lexicography. The truth, as always, is somewhere in between. It is reminiscent of Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer for its complex narrative layering. Appendices contain poems, collages, sketches and photos, quotes, and a series of letters from Truant's mother in an insane asylum written to Truant. The premise of the layout is a kind of frame story: Johnny Truant has found an incomplete manuscript written by an old blind man named Zampanò. The text is ostensibly either an academic discussion of a non-existent film, or a novel. Truant is never certain. House of Leaves at large is annotated both by Truant himself and by the "editors." The film in question, "The Navidson Record," is supposedly a documentary made by a photojournalist who has moved into a house that is not what it seems. The least surprising thing about this house is that its internal measurements are in fact larger than its external dimensions. The strangeness progresses from there. Categorized as: Books and Reviews
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12.07.03 by Dindrane @ 1:43 am  Written by: Bruno Bettelheim Written by a child psychologist, The Uses of Enchantment investigates how faery tales affect children, including a story-by-story analysis of many of the most common tales. It is Bettelheim's claim that faery tales are invaluable in educating, strengthening, and supporting children. He argues that the frightening aspects of faery tales, including their unadulterated violence and sexual aspects, should not be removed; rather, such things enable children to grow up stronger, believing that every conflict has a resolution. Trying to isolate children from the reality of violence, the author claims, does them a very real disservice; faery tales can serve to redress this imbalance. There are, however, some problems with Bettelheim's claims. While many of his claims regarding the symbolism of the tales are interesting, claiming the source of a given mytheme, ripped from its story-context, is dangerous even for the most seasoned analyst, particularly when only one possible reading (the Freudian one) is accepted. In typical Freudian fashion, he neglects the fact that sexuality isn't the only issue in growing up. Undoubtedly, faery tales can be quite valuable to a child's progression, or even an adult's, but the author does not always succeed in making his more challenging points. Bettelheim does not address the fact that many faery tales, even some of those included in common anthologies, do not end well for the hero/heroine. How, then, could a child, consciously or otherwise, learn to believe in the power of goodness or even their own power to find resolutions? Also, faery tales were not originally just for children; they were for adults as well. To claim, then, that they were intended to teach children valuable lessons is fallacious. Perhaps they can be used in the manner he suggests, but that would be a modern use, not an ancient one. Categorized as: Books and Reviews
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02.12.02 by ScottC @ 7:43 pm  Written by: John Berendt Ah, Savannah. You've got to love a town where the first thing the residents ask is "What would you like to drink?" If you visit this port city, you will see the garden squares in the historic district with their grand houses and their pre-Civil War architecture, walk the cobblestones of River Street and view the paintings at the Telfair Museum of Art. But this is only the surface of Savannah. Jim Williams, a main character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil says to the author John Berendt, "You mustn't be taken in by the moonlight and magnolias. There's more to Savannah than that. Things can get very murky." And Mr. Williams knew this all too well. Jim Williams was an antique dealer, a restorer of historical buildings, and owner of Mercer House, one the finest mansions in a town known for its attractive houses. He was a pillar of Savannah society even though his wealth was recently acquired. His Christmas party was considered the social event of the year. And one night in his office Williams shot Danny Hanford, a young, violent, and highly desirable "acquaintance" of his. Williams said it was self-defense, but he was still charged with first-degree murder. While this true crime account and the unbelievable story of the murder trials is captivating, you only get to it halfway into the book. Categorized as: Books and Reviews
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01.29.02 by ScottC @ 6:04 pm  Written by: China Miéville In the front of the book Perdido Street Station, you are given a simple map of the city of New Crobuzon: its precincts, rail lines, and rivers. But it does nothing to illustrate the complexity of this city built under the rig cage of a gigantic skeleton. The architecture is a confusion of grand houses, billowing factories, crowded markets, and grimy rookeries. The population is an unruly mix of humans, khepri (women's bodies with insect's heads), vodyanoi (amphibians who shape water like clay), cactus-men (self-explanatory), and other more unusual inhabitants. Even science includes the psychic Remaking of flesh into bizarre and obscene forms, computers made of gears and sprockets, and alchemy is studied alongside atomic theory. New Crobuzon is a city always on the edge of crisis and all that is required to tip it over is a little push. This push originates from Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin, a scientist whose controversial theories have gotten him shoved from the mainstream. So he takes jobs where he can find them. One job comes from Yagharek, an outcast member of the garuda (a noble race of nomadic birdmen from the desert). For the crime of 'choice-theft in the second degree', he had his wings cut off. Yagharek hungers for the sensation of flight and offers a lot of money to Isaac to make it possible. Isaac begins by getting all manner of birds and winged insects to study their modes of flight. One particular specimen is a multicolored grub that will only eat dreamshit, the newest drug on the street. What the grub becomes when it emerges from its cocoon will lead Isaac, his friends, and the city itself into a waking nightmare they might not awaken from. Categorized as: Books and Reviews
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