orichalcum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orichalcum) wrote2009-03-17 11:29 am
orichalcum) wrote2009-03-17 11:29 am
Reviews: Oscar Wao/Stolen Child/Kings
Some non-spoilery reviews, which I haven't done lately, of works that might interest some of you: (And one random comment about BSG's "Islanded in a Stream of Stars,": Mr. Olmos, "beating your head against the wall" is intended to be understood _metaphorically._ Darn method actors. ) I got both of the books free via Stanford, as they were among the books handed out to froshlings.
_The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao_, by Junot Diaz: In the end, this is a book that I admired more than enjoyed. In essence, it's your classic multigenerational family tragedy story - people in Gen 1 make mistakes, but recover; people in Gen 2 make similar mistakes, rinse, lather, repeat. What makes it stylistically fascinating is that it combines two very different cultures and settings. The novel takes place largely in the Dominican Republic from the 1950s-90s as well as Long Island and Queens, and is inundated with Spanish, Dominican history, food, and culture. However, two of the narrators interpret this culture and their own lives through the lens of 70s and 80s geek culture. Thus, the evil dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo, is conceived of as Sauron, and his lieutenants are referred to as Ringwraiths; when Oscar Wao gets beaten up by local thugs, he shrugs it off by analyzing it in terms of hit point damage - as long as you're still conscious, you're fine. It's great to see geek culture treated with the same respect and love as other American subgroups - and this book outgeeks me at various points, leading me to plaintively ask my husband questions about "Queen of the Demonweb Pits" and the plot of Tron. My main complaint is that, well, it's a multigenerational family tragedy - don't read this hoping for light and fluffy, despite the geekiness. But the language and the evocation of cultures and characters is just gorgeous; I wish I could write like this. There's a reason it won a Pulitzer.
_The Stolen Child_, by Keith Donohue: This is one of the better serious fantasy novels I've read in a while, though not stylistically as strong as Oscar Wao. This book tells the story of Henry Day, an American child kidnapped in the 1950s by local hobgoblins (faeries, if you must), as well as the story of the changeling who replaces him and steals his family and life. The depiction of the feral childlike hobgoblins is terrific and terrifying; it's a society composed at some level of immortal 7-year-olds, which works about as well as you might think - more "Outside Over There" than "Labyrinth". Meanwhile, the changeling tries to adapt to human life, while concealing his true origins from everyone. Not the happiest or lightest of tales, again, but really well done. A few caveats - young or expecting parents might be unnerved by the idea of child abduction and replacement, which the story naturally dwells on. As well, there's some suggestions/hints of a relationship between the whole idea of changelings and autism - both in that the hobgoblins take only children who "don't fit in" to their families and that earlier eras might have labeled autistic kids as "changelings." So if that is a potentially sore point, this may not be the book for you.
Kings (NBC): A modernish alternate-history retelling of the biblical Books of Samuel, complete with King Silas Benjamin of Gilboa, his children Prince Jack (Jonathan) and Princess Michelle, Reverend Samuels, and the young war hero David Shepherd. It seems after the first two hours like it's got a well-developed world and terrific design and costume work (a monarchical Manhattan, with a faux-NYPL as the royal palace), possibly hampered by poor pacing, some cheap special effects, and an emphasis on formality over liveliness. Also, I feel like the casting director went for types rather than acting ability - the actors are mostly unknowns except for Silas (Ian McShane), but have sufficiently close resemblances to A-list actors that I feel like the casting director's instructions were: "We want an Olmos type for the King, a Matt Damon type for David, and a Joaquin Phoenix type for Prince Jack.") Consequently, some of them can handle the dialogue better than others. And there's a bit too much good versus evil - we first see Michelle passionately advocating for heart-transplants for 6-year-old poor African-American boys, whereas Jack is introduced drinking and smoking amidst a decadent orgy. Subtle, that. Still, definitely worth another week, especially since I've largely given up on Dollhouse.
_The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao_, by Junot Diaz: In the end, this is a book that I admired more than enjoyed. In essence, it's your classic multigenerational family tragedy story - people in Gen 1 make mistakes, but recover; people in Gen 2 make similar mistakes, rinse, lather, repeat. What makes it stylistically fascinating is that it combines two very different cultures and settings. The novel takes place largely in the Dominican Republic from the 1950s-90s as well as Long Island and Queens, and is inundated with Spanish, Dominican history, food, and culture. However, two of the narrators interpret this culture and their own lives through the lens of 70s and 80s geek culture. Thus, the evil dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo, is conceived of as Sauron, and his lieutenants are referred to as Ringwraiths; when Oscar Wao gets beaten up by local thugs, he shrugs it off by analyzing it in terms of hit point damage - as long as you're still conscious, you're fine. It's great to see geek culture treated with the same respect and love as other American subgroups - and this book outgeeks me at various points, leading me to plaintively ask my husband questions about "Queen of the Demonweb Pits" and the plot of Tron. My main complaint is that, well, it's a multigenerational family tragedy - don't read this hoping for light and fluffy, despite the geekiness. But the language and the evocation of cultures and characters is just gorgeous; I wish I could write like this. There's a reason it won a Pulitzer.
_The Stolen Child_, by Keith Donohue: This is one of the better serious fantasy novels I've read in a while, though not stylistically as strong as Oscar Wao. This book tells the story of Henry Day, an American child kidnapped in the 1950s by local hobgoblins (faeries, if you must), as well as the story of the changeling who replaces him and steals his family and life. The depiction of the feral childlike hobgoblins is terrific and terrifying; it's a society composed at some level of immortal 7-year-olds, which works about as well as you might think - more "Outside Over There" than "Labyrinth". Meanwhile, the changeling tries to adapt to human life, while concealing his true origins from everyone. Not the happiest or lightest of tales, again, but really well done. A few caveats - young or expecting parents might be unnerved by the idea of child abduction and replacement, which the story naturally dwells on. As well, there's some suggestions/hints of a relationship between the whole idea of changelings and autism - both in that the hobgoblins take only children who "don't fit in" to their families and that earlier eras might have labeled autistic kids as "changelings." So if that is a potentially sore point, this may not be the book for you.
Kings (NBC): A modernish alternate-history retelling of the biblical Books of Samuel, complete with King Silas Benjamin of Gilboa, his children Prince Jack (Jonathan) and Princess Michelle, Reverend Samuels, and the young war hero David Shepherd. It seems after the first two hours like it's got a well-developed world and terrific design and costume work (a monarchical Manhattan, with a faux-NYPL as the royal palace), possibly hampered by poor pacing, some cheap special effects, and an emphasis on formality over liveliness. Also, I feel like the casting director went for types rather than acting ability - the actors are mostly unknowns except for Silas (Ian McShane), but have sufficiently close resemblances to A-list actors that I feel like the casting director's instructions were: "We want an Olmos type for the King, a Matt Damon type for David, and a Joaquin Phoenix type for Prince Jack.") Consequently, some of them can handle the dialogue better than others. And there's a bit too much good versus evil - we first see Michelle passionately advocating for heart-transplants for 6-year-old poor African-American boys, whereas Jack is introduced drinking and smoking amidst a decadent orgy. Subtle, that. Still, definitely worth another week, especially since I've largely given up on Dollhouse.