Girl on Book Action: Reader's Choice Poll #2

New “What Should Doomwench Read Next?” Poll Candidates

In order to assist you in voting I thought I’d write a little bit about each of the books I’ve put up as candidates this time around. Please take the time to vote! Tell me what to do – it doesn’t happen often that people get the option to do so. The poll will be open until midnight on Friday, February 19th.

Mauve Desert – Nicole Brossard:

This book is the “re-read” for this poll. I first read it in a class about feminist writing a few years ago and was really smitten with the story and the writing, sort of a new-age Romanticism. It’s one of those “story within a story” books, with multiple layers of narrative that I like so much.

We – Eugene Zamiatin

We is my “fiction and literature” selection. It’s been on my to-be-read pile for some time, dating back toa period when I read a lot of utopian / dystopian fiction. This particular novel is “recognized as the inspiration for George Orwell’s famous 1984” according to the back cover. It was also never published in the Soviet Union due to political censorship.

Fledgling – Octavia E. Butler

Something I picked up because the name Octavia E. Butler kept popping up in my meanderings around the internet. It’s a vampire novel, so right up my alley. And, as stated in the “About the Author” section at the back of the book she “was the first black woman to come to international prominence as a science fiction writer.” Sadly, she passed away in February 2006, but it seems like an appropriate month to include her work on this little poll of ours.

Girl on Book Action: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

ISBN: 0-307-29084-0

Blurb:

The story of Hester Prynne – found out in adultery, pilloried by her Puritan community, and abandoned, in different ways, by both her partner in sin and her vengeance-seeking husband – possesses a reality heightened by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s pure human sympathy and his unmixed devotion to his supposedly fallen but fundamentally innocent heroine. Exploring themes such as community and isolation, innocence and guilt, and secrecy and exposure, Hawthorne brings readers into a world where public and private life are inextricably linked – a reality that heavily influences the actions of the novel’s characters. In its moral force and the beauty of its conciliations, The Scarlet Letter rightly deserves its stature as the first great novel written by an American, the novel that established American literature equal to any in the world.

***

Aside: As most of you remember, this book was the winner of the first reader’s choice poll some weeks ago. I know you’ve all been eagerly awaiting my thoughts on it.

My Thoughts:

Indeed, what did I think of this little book? I have to admit, I was often quite bored while reading the long, largely superfluous descriptions. I mean, the man has skills with words, but perhaps it’s my TV-addled modern-ADD brain, but I kept wanting to skip ahead to when something was happening, because when things were happening I was mostly interested in what it was – although, not much actually happens either. This is no Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre (why am I only thinking of novels written by women as comparisons?). The story is touching in a lot of ways, but also very far removed from our modern sensibilities. I think most of us have no understanding of why adultery is such a big deal in this Puritan community, which is just as well, if you ask me.

I would have to say that the 40+ page introductory section about the Customs House felt overdone and was blatantly boring. I understand that he was attempting to establish the basis for the novel, but it could have been done in fewer pages – the descriptions of the decrepit old men who work in the Customs House did not add anything to my understanding of the book as a whole, and if I’m honest, mostly just helped me go to sleep at night.

I thought Hester was an interesting character, even if she serves as one of those terrible examples of what women think they have to endure for some strange notion of honor or virtue or penance for being female. Even so far removed from that culture I understood her motivations and didn’t judge her harshly for the way she chose to behave in any given situation. In some ways, I also think the argument could be made that we still choose to suffer through similar bouts of conscience and guilt for things that we should not feel guilt. As much as we think of ourselves as liberated from the trappings of the ‘feminine’ and all its bizarre ideals, we (I speak here primarily of women) still seem to think we need to live up to some kind of unwritten standard for behaviour and in turn we expect men to react a certain way to our manipulation of these standards. Feminism still has a long way to go, but at least we don’t have wear a scarlet letter for doing things men have always done without blame.

In conclusion, I should stay that I’m glad that I read this at times dreadfully boring story, but I don’t think that I’ll be revisiting it any time in the next ten years at least, unless I get desperate for a soporific bedtime story, in which case I’ll just read the Customs House over and over again.

Weeks Too Late: Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In. Directed by Tomas Alfredson & Written by John Ajvide Lindqvist.

Aside (lets just chit chat): In an effort to be clever dicks Doomwench and I have decided to review the movie and book form of the same thing. We thought this little experiment turned out pretty well, so we talked at length about doing something similar every once in a while. As it turns out, the only movie/book combos we could come up with that we could both stomach were vampire based. What a strange thing to have in common.

Preconceptions (why must you make me hit you, vampire movies?): After the disappointment that was Daybreakers I wasn't certain I was ready to waste another two hours on the overexposed vampire movie sub-genre. However, Doomwench is a noted expert on the subject, so at her recommendation I rented it. Despite her glowing review, I was a closed door to this movie and it needed to be something pretty special to stop me from writing another snippy vampire movie review.

General Review (I was wrong again, is it really a surprise at this point): This was a strong movie. Easily the best vamp movie I've seen since Shadow of Vampire (though not such a laugh riot). There is something about bleak winter settings that makes me believe in vampires more than in cityscape. Blood and undead feet in the snow really do it for me (think there is a fetish for that? Bloody, snowy, reanimated feet?).

I most often saw the movie described as a horror. There were certainly horrific elements in it, lots of blood, suspense and ultra violence. But really, it's more of a coming of age story. Wait, no, don't run, it isn't Lost Boys you have my word. It certainly isn't the first movie to use elements of horror to highlight the thrilling, confusing and terrifying experience of growing up. It is one of the first vampire movies I've seen that genuinely highlights the inevitable grief that comes from dating a vampire. I'm not talking about the "oh he's so dangerous and romantic, but he must be bad for me, swoon" type of grief, either. This is the pathetic inevitability that comes from dating an immortal creature.

I rarely get to read or see stories that make much of the old OCD myths about vamps. Let the Right One In made particularly good use of the idea by making the vampire character attracted to puzzles. In fact, I'd like to take a moment to mention I liked how and what they did with vampire mythology stuff in general. The effect to show what will happen to a vampire if they come in without being invited is very neat and something I've never seen done before.

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of children in general and children in movies in particular. Why would I want to use the escapism of film to be around something I'm usually escaping from? But I quite liked Lina Leandersson (who played Eli). I couldn't see her looking at her stage mom cheering her on from the sidelines and she handled a complicated role well.

I dug a lot of things about this movie, the acting, the setting and the staging but something that really stuck with me visually was the make up. A lot of the time to make vampires monstrous they're given bumpy foreheads, giant teeth or (my personal favourite) the big old bat ears. The make up in this was extremely subtle. You knew when someone was otherworldly or when they were a vamp getting hungry. But you weren't bashed over the head with it. The fact that the vampires managed to be monsters without serious prosthetics work was a big accomplishment of the actors, director and make up artists.

Random Thoughts (where I lose some cred): If I may be a bit less of a film snob for a moment, I'm often irritated with subtitles. Not because I have to read them and pay attention to the movie (I learned that trick in high school when I got into anime) and not because I'd rather the movie be dubbed (in dubbing the translation can really put my teeth on edge.) My major issue is being unable to read them in certain sets. If they choose yellow subs, then inevitably we'll be in a yellow room or on sand where I can't see what people are saying. A big non-film related positive note from the movie: having the white subtitles with black outlining the words makes them a lot easier to read. They aren't lost in the snowy ground or dark rooms.

Girl on Book Action: Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Linqvist

Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
ISBN: 978-0-312-35529-6

Blurb:

It is autumn 1981 when the inconceivable comes to Blackeberg, a suburb in Sweden. The body of a teenage boy is found, emptied of blood, the murder rumored to be part of a ritual killing. Twelve-year-old Oskar is personally hoping that revenge has come at long last---revenge for the bullying he endures at school, day after day.

But the murder is not the most important thing on his mind. A new girl has moved in next door---a girl who has never seen a Rubik’s Cube before, but who can solve it at once. There is something wrong with her, though, something odd. And she only comes out at night. . . .

***
Aside: This week at Girl on Book Action we're doing something a little bit different. I am reviewing Let The Right One In for you today, and on Tuesday, Wren will be providing a companion review of the movie adaptation. Look for us to do this again in the future, although it appears that we'll only ever be able to do it with vampire-related book / movie combinations. We hope you enjoy this venture! Now on to the review!

My Thoughts:

A lot of people have talked about how amazing this book is (at least quite a number have told me so in response to my studies in vampirology) and I’m not sure I agree with the hype. Although, I do have to say that the issues that I have with the book are mostly stylistic problems, which may also just be a result of translation. I guess ultimately I have problems enjoying a good story if it’s not in similarly good packaging of well-constructed sentences that don’t use jarring colloquialisms in the midst of flowing prose.

Something else that bugged me about the style of the novel was the constant shifts in point of view. I think that there were not too many shifts, but too many different points of views. For instance, one sub-section of a chapter was written from the point of view of a squirrel…yes, you read that right, a squirrel. I think that there were several valid points of view that added to the depth of the novel, but in some parts the shifts got a little ridiculous. Not every side-character needs to have his own section of the novel to show a different perspective, nor does every random forest creature. Actually, no forest creature should have its own section, unless you’re writing a novel about the lives of forest creatures.

You know, so far, it doesn’t sound like I enjoyed this book, even though ultimately I did.

Now that that’s over and done with – child vampires are creepy, so very, very creepy. I don’t even want to get into how creepy child vampires are to me. Although, I will say that it’s a rather lovely metaphor for the parasitic nature of children. The vampires and vampirism in the book are portrayed well and the monsters are really monsters, but they’re also painfully human. It’s been a while since someone has written vampires that are both gruesome and pretty scary as well as human. Hakkan is a terrifying character (much more so in the book than in the movie which I saw back in December) and his subplot was uncomfortable. Some scenes were written so well that I was genuinely scared, claustrophobic scenes in pitch-black rooms locked in there with a monster. Yeah, scary.

I also think it speaks to a certain realism in the portrayal of the characters that I found it hard to like most of them – they were all flawed and in a lot of ways ugly characters. No one was idealized or portrayed as heroic or angelic. In so many books the people are unreal with the way they act and interact, but in this book there was kindness, but there was also ugliness, ruthlessness, and hopelessness and if it isn’t meant as some sort of social commentary on the suburbs then it does a hell of a good job regardless of intention.

My last words on this book: read it and try to ignore the irritating stylistic elements. The story makes up for some of the jarring sentences. After you read it, go watch the movie – with subtitles.

And once again the picture is an alternate cover, or I should say, it is the cover from the UK edition.

Weeks Too Late: Nevermore

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Written & Directed by Jonathan Christenson.

Aside (where I am off point): In order to class up the joint a bit (and because movie night was play night last week) I'm going to talk about Nevermore, a musical about Edgar Allan Poe. I know, I know, unless you live in Canada you can't rush out to see this just yet, but it's doing right well and I expect it'll make the rounds any time now.

Double Aside (to Canadians only): Run out, see it and tell all your American friends how great it was, even if you don't like it. How often do we get things first?

Preconceptions (hoopskirts and dark eye makeup, what was a girl to think?): I grew up as an overly cheerful little goth girl and while I've had to trade a lot of my fishnet for work appropriate sweaters, I'm still a Tim Burton fan in my bones. Needless to say hearing about this play and seeing promo pictures that looked like this: left me pretty excited. The Catalyst Theater company has put on some neat plays and I hoped this wouldn't be an exception.

General Review (could I really spoil the life story of well known, highly biographied, long dead man?): While I know I shouldn't talk about how pretty the costumes were before I talk about the songs, acting or the writing....well, then they shouldn't have made the costumes so pretty (and I shouldn't have been made so shallow). It had all the bustiers, strappy boots, stripes and giant hats I could hope for. And more to the point, the costumes made it very clear which characters where which even when the actors were playing multiple characters.

But on to more substantive thoughts (Oh pretty, so pretty!). The Granville Art Club Theater is a small venue. Some of the shows I've seen there have really felt the lack of the big stage and giant sets. They've looked under-produced and unfinished, more like a half hearted dress rehersal than a play. This was not the case with Nevermore. One of it's most noticeable charms was its simple set and small cast. While it could certainly be dressed up to fill a larger space it was perfectly at home in our little theater (and if you get a chance to come here, do. It's a great theater and because it's a bit small there really aren't any bad seats. Even crammed down in the bottom corner, which was all our poor selves could afford). This is a show that could fit anywhere.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the voices and presence of the actors. Nevermore only had seven cast members. But the cast managed to make it feel like there was a full chorus. And while there weren't any giant dance number (this isn't a musical about tap dancing, after all) the little awkward clockwork dances were charming. I particularly want to mention Scott Shpeley who played Edgar. The majority of his role was silent except for an occasionally singing with the chorus or a line here and there. He managed to be engaging and expressive (without coming off like a silent street performer). Unfortunately, it wasn't all stop motion dancing and hair sculptures. When you're writing a musical about a famous poet awkward phrasing and painful rhymes are something to be avoided. There was a lot that I liked about this show and a handful of the songs were quite powerful. However, more than a handful of them were not. A lot of unnessary reptition and Yoda-like lines to make the rhymes work.

The full first quarter of the show made me wonder if I was seeing a pantomime dressed up for a fetish night (there was even a horrifying panto-horse!). Fortunately, as Poe matured in the story, so did some of the songs. Believe me when I tell you, you'll know when you hit the turning point: gruesome cruelty.

Despite having some failings and weak first 25 minutes (excluding the opening number, which was carnvale barker catchy) it was still a good play, not great, but good. Also, credit for being one of the first good musicals I've seen in ages that isn't nearly as old as I am.

There isn't a soundtrack to this show yet, but Catalyst has put up a couple of videos so that you can have a taste. You can find their main song here, their YouTube playlist here and you can find out about future shows here.

Random Thoughts: It had quite a bit less men dancing with men than I expected (which was all, all dancing with men).

Well, maybe not all my fishnet and lace:

Photos of the show unscrupulously borrowed from the Catalyst website, all credit to Bretta Gerecke. I wanted to show off how the play looked and somehow, I don't think they'd have appreciated my flash photography in the middle of the show.

A Sexy Statement:

An announcement and some general words by your Literary Master Doomwench (of the Girl on Book Action book reviews) and her Dashing Partner Wren (of the Weeks Too Late movie reviews):

Well, now that you’ve all had a chance to see our styles and enjoying our opinions, we thought we’d provide an introduction of sorts rather than just letting our work speak for itself. So here, without further ado, let us give you our mission statement, our mantra, our manifesto of meaning!

Doomwench: I really do love books more than I love most people. If there was a fire and I had to pick between saving you or saving an armload of books, you might find yourself without a helping hand. Unless the pile of books is something offensive to my highly refined tastes and book-snobbery.

My intention? Well, my intention is to try to motivate you to go read a book, of course. Call me a pedant, old-fashioned, a supporter of destroying forests, whatever you like, but I think books are important and that reading is a healthy habit, healthy for your brain – you want to taste yummy when the zombie apocalypse happens. And if I can’t get you to actually go out and find copies of the books I review, I want to at least entertain with my long-winded, verbose accounts of my opinion on various tomes.

I also want to shed light onto some books that I think people should be reading. It’s my attempt to support the authors who have made life more bearable with their words. Of course, sometimes, I’ll be disappointed in a book and you should all be disappointed with me.

Really, it’s a way for me to impose my opinion on other people, whether that is done for good or ill. It’s my own personal literary (ha!) soap box!

Wren: Not one moment can pass in the day where I’m not entertaining myself. Because of this I have a voracious appetite for books and movies. Because I can’t be trusted not to wander off and ignore everyone for video games Tuesday night became movie night with the gang. I found myself coming home bursting with a need to tell everyone what I thought of the latest flick. I started by doing this on Twitter, but 140 characters wasn’t nearly enough space for me to blah blah blah in.

I also noticed I was reading a lot of blogs and comics by various people, being extremely entertained, and not giving back one tiny bit of entertainment. It’s quite possible nothing has changed on that front. I fear I have developed the creative attention span of the common earth worm (video games again). So, as a point of pride, and to prove I can do it, I’m determined to write a review a week (while trying to be funny).

We both hope that you've been enjoying the reviews thus far and that you'll throw the occasional comment or fluff our way .