Thursday, March 18, 2004
The Resurrectionists - Kim Wilkins
Oh. My. Fucking. God.
This was good. Really good.
Really impressive writing. I often find that some 'literary' writers read like they are trying too hard. It takes a special author to write simple, flowing prose that is at once easy to read and inspiring in its beauty.
I knew from the first sentence that I was reading something special.
"On the first Thursday in November, Maisie Fielding watched as her boyfriend murdered a woman in a fit of jealous passion, but her mind was elsewhere."
It's only an opera, but that's a first sentence big on the impact.
I think I will leave a plot description out, this is a book that you should just go out and read, and an author that I will definitely be chasing up. To give you an idea of genre, it is probably best classified as horror, although when I heard her talk at a writer's festival I think she classified her writing as gothic, bodice rippers, which also comes close.
I think that my only major complaint was the main characters name. Throughout the entire book I could just never bring the character that formed in my head to fit the name Maisie. At times when I was tired (I pulled a couple of late nights to finish this) I actually read it as malaise.
At times it was almost Lovecraftesque, but I dont think she quite lives up to his prose. Although I have only ever read his short stories and it is probably easier to impress in that format than in a novel.
I have a number of notes that I am having trouble fiting into paragraphs so I might drop in to point form, a number of these are as much for my benefit as for yours, sorry.
Quote - "Circumstances and opportunity are all that are required, and then any man can find himself a million miles from his heart's desire, though it seems he walked but a few feet to get there."
Quote - "I am to die on a Wednesday. Strange. I have never held a particular prejudice against Wednesdays."
There was a scene on a Yorkshire beach, where the beach is covered with snow. For some reason this seemed like a very powerful image. I liked it.
She manages to use some quite brilliant hooks at the end of chapters that made the book hard to put down. The second night I was reading it I remember at 2.30am trying to figure out whether I could finish it before going to work in the morning. I figured I would still be slightly short at 7, so went to bed.
The conclusion seemed to be petering out at one stage, but then Kim adds another delicious twist and concocts what is perhaps the saddest ending that I have ever read. Very deep.
Turn off you computer.
Find this book.
Read it.
Or Else.
This was good. Really good.
Really impressive writing. I often find that some 'literary' writers read like they are trying too hard. It takes a special author to write simple, flowing prose that is at once easy to read and inspiring in its beauty.
I knew from the first sentence that I was reading something special.
"On the first Thursday in November, Maisie Fielding watched as her boyfriend murdered a woman in a fit of jealous passion, but her mind was elsewhere."
It's only an opera, but that's a first sentence big on the impact.
I think I will leave a plot description out, this is a book that you should just go out and read, and an author that I will definitely be chasing up. To give you an idea of genre, it is probably best classified as horror, although when I heard her talk at a writer's festival I think she classified her writing as gothic, bodice rippers, which also comes close.
I think that my only major complaint was the main characters name. Throughout the entire book I could just never bring the character that formed in my head to fit the name Maisie. At times when I was tired (I pulled a couple of late nights to finish this) I actually read it as malaise.
At times it was almost Lovecraftesque, but I dont think she quite lives up to his prose. Although I have only ever read his short stories and it is probably easier to impress in that format than in a novel.
I have a number of notes that I am having trouble fiting into paragraphs so I might drop in to point form, a number of these are as much for my benefit as for yours, sorry.
Quote - "Circumstances and opportunity are all that are required, and then any man can find himself a million miles from his heart's desire, though it seems he walked but a few feet to get there."
Quote - "I am to die on a Wednesday. Strange. I have never held a particular prejudice against Wednesdays."
There was a scene on a Yorkshire beach, where the beach is covered with snow. For some reason this seemed like a very powerful image. I liked it.
She manages to use some quite brilliant hooks at the end of chapters that made the book hard to put down. The second night I was reading it I remember at 2.30am trying to figure out whether I could finish it before going to work in the morning. I figured I would still be slightly short at 7, so went to bed.
The conclusion seemed to be petering out at one stage, but then Kim adds another delicious twist and concocts what is perhaps the saddest ending that I have ever read. Very deep.
Turn off you computer.
Find this book.
Read it.
Or Else.
Sunday, March 07, 2004
Destiny of the Light - Louise Cusack
Well its been three weeks since I finished a book, which is unusual especially considering I was only reading one (and a collection of short stories) in that time. But I have been busy, and sick.
Louise Cusack is a Brisbane author who I heard talk at last year's Brisbane Writer's Festival. I have been keeping an eye out for books by many of the authors I heard talk that weekend and managed to pick this one up at the Lifeline Bookfest of a couple of weeks ago. (32 books for $60 - how can you go wrong.)
And this one was definitely worth the extravagant $3.50 I paid for it.
Anyway, the story centres around a young woman, Khatrene (or Catherine), who is compelled to leap from a waterfall adorned cliff and finds herself in a world parallel to ours, Ennae. Here she discovers that she is a princess as well as The Light, whose child is prophesised to unite the four worlds. Her guardian Talis helps protect her from the many dangers that the Ennae landscape presents. It is not really a quest fantasy, actually is almost better described as romantic fantasy, but there is adequate amounts of political intrigue and battles to keep the interest up.
I was worried at the start as the writing style was too casual for my tastes and contained a large amount of info-dumping that was rather unsubtly used. I think that the world could have been revealed slightly slowler and in a smoother fashion. Despite being transported to a parallel world Khatrene thoughts are often expressed in ways that we would be familiar with, yet are dramatically out of place in the fantasy setting of Ennae. I really liked this touch, as it served as a reminder that Khatrene was new to this world. They also often contained distinctly Australian references which is refreshing. Not all fantasy needs to be set in a Europe like environment just because that is what Tolkien did. There are a few that I wrote down and may as well include here "she felt like an albino at a corroboree", "moss crackled like Rice Bubbles", "like the sugar gliders that had frequented her mango tree", "hairstyle better suited to a toilet brush", "cadbury coloured skin".
In the beginning there is seemingly little impediment to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Danger is far away or absent, and there is no threatening build up or tension of any kind. The characterisation seemed child-like; good - but lacking depth or realism, a little too perfect and proper. The early attempts at political intrigue also seemed ineffectual, lacking in menace, but the relatively small cast of characters meant they were easy to follow, unlike GRRM, and Jacqueline Carey. These negative reactions may have also come because it took me quite a while to get through the first part of the book. If I had rushed through it in one night it might not have seemed like such a problem. I think that the circumstances in which we read books often have a greater influence over our opinions than we admit.
But just before the half way mark the action starts to pick up significantly and my interest rose with it. Political enemies are revealed, plots start to thicken and suddenly things don't seem so rosy. Tension increases steadily until the conclusion and we are kept in the dark just enough that it doesnt get frustrating (although there is a rather glaring loose end that I would have liked to seen cleared up, but as this is the first book in a trilogy I suppose I should let that go.)
And the conclusion is brilliant, a thought provoking twist, battles, deaths of some of the characters. I loved it! There was one particular phrase here that jumped out at me (actually just a word but, hey) "her mind full of the ambrosial emotions she tapped into"
There was plenty of soppy romance which I think went a bit too far, there is only so much fawning that I can take in one novel, but there was some well written sex at the end of it so it wasnt all bad.
But to sum it up I would have to say 'Great ending! Bring on number two.'
Coincidentally I have just won an ebay auction on number two, so it should be here in a week or two :)
Louise Cusack is a Brisbane author who I heard talk at last year's Brisbane Writer's Festival. I have been keeping an eye out for books by many of the authors I heard talk that weekend and managed to pick this one up at the Lifeline Bookfest of a couple of weeks ago. (32 books for $60 - how can you go wrong.)
And this one was definitely worth the extravagant $3.50 I paid for it.
Anyway, the story centres around a young woman, Khatrene (or Catherine), who is compelled to leap from a waterfall adorned cliff and finds herself in a world parallel to ours, Ennae. Here she discovers that she is a princess as well as The Light, whose child is prophesised to unite the four worlds. Her guardian Talis helps protect her from the many dangers that the Ennae landscape presents. It is not really a quest fantasy, actually is almost better described as romantic fantasy, but there is adequate amounts of political intrigue and battles to keep the interest up.
I was worried at the start as the writing style was too casual for my tastes and contained a large amount of info-dumping that was rather unsubtly used. I think that the world could have been revealed slightly slowler and in a smoother fashion. Despite being transported to a parallel world Khatrene thoughts are often expressed in ways that we would be familiar with, yet are dramatically out of place in the fantasy setting of Ennae. I really liked this touch, as it served as a reminder that Khatrene was new to this world. They also often contained distinctly Australian references which is refreshing. Not all fantasy needs to be set in a Europe like environment just because that is what Tolkien did. There are a few that I wrote down and may as well include here "she felt like an albino at a corroboree", "moss crackled like Rice Bubbles", "like the sugar gliders that had frequented her mango tree", "hairstyle better suited to a toilet brush", "cadbury coloured skin".
In the beginning there is seemingly little impediment to the fulfilment of the prophecy. Danger is far away or absent, and there is no threatening build up or tension of any kind. The characterisation seemed child-like; good - but lacking depth or realism, a little too perfect and proper. The early attempts at political intrigue also seemed ineffectual, lacking in menace, but the relatively small cast of characters meant they were easy to follow, unlike GRRM, and Jacqueline Carey. These negative reactions may have also come because it took me quite a while to get through the first part of the book. If I had rushed through it in one night it might not have seemed like such a problem. I think that the circumstances in which we read books often have a greater influence over our opinions than we admit.
But just before the half way mark the action starts to pick up significantly and my interest rose with it. Political enemies are revealed, plots start to thicken and suddenly things don't seem so rosy. Tension increases steadily until the conclusion and we are kept in the dark just enough that it doesnt get frustrating (although there is a rather glaring loose end that I would have liked to seen cleared up, but as this is the first book in a trilogy I suppose I should let that go.)
And the conclusion is brilliant, a thought provoking twist, battles, deaths of some of the characters. I loved it! There was one particular phrase here that jumped out at me (actually just a word but, hey) "her mind full of the ambrosial emotions she tapped into"
There was plenty of soppy romance which I think went a bit too far, there is only so much fawning that I can take in one novel, but there was some well written sex at the end of it so it wasnt all bad.
But to sum it up I would have to say 'Great ending! Bring on number two.'
Coincidentally I have just won an ebay auction on number two, so it should be here in a week or two :)
