A Century Too Late: The Picture of Dorian Gray

The Picture of Dorian Gray. Written by Oscar Wilde.

Aside: What's this? That's right, I'm pitting my movie addled mind against a classic piece of literature. We're pulling the old switch-a-roo on you this week and my lovely collaborator Doomwench will be reviewing the movie. And check us out, this book/movie paring only just barely counts as a vampire story, what with Dorian ruining people lives like some kind of a social succubus (or y'know, more accurately but less alliteratively an incubus). Perhaps this means we'll one day be able to learn and grow enough to review something not vampire-y at all.

Preconceptions: I'm a fair to middling Oscar Wilde fan, having read a lot of his essays, enjoying the hell out of the Importance of Being Ernest and sighing like a ridiculous groupie over Stephen Fry's portrayal of him in Wilde (the movie). I bought a copy of this book over a year ago, but what with one fantasy book about sex with dragons and another (I am a woman of classy literary tastes, which is why I don't usually write book reviews), I hadn't gotten around to reading it. I assumed since I enjoyed all of his other stuff (usually with a mean chuckle) that I'd dig this too.

General Review: Just in case you read even more trashy novels than me and you haven't heard the plot of this book, I'll give you a quick run down, there will be spoilers (can I even spoil a book that's over a hundred?). Basil is an artist who falls madly in love with the super hot Dorian Gray (totally platonicly, of course) who he has taken to painting. Henry, Basil's friend, demands to meet Dorian. Upon doing so Henry decides it would be fun to corrupt Dorian and shape him into a hedonistic fop. During their meeting, Henry goes on and on (seriously, for some 20 pages) about how great it is to be young and fresh. Dorian has to face up to the fact he won't be young forever, but the painting that Basil is doing of him will. He wishes the painting could age rather than him. Dorian slowly begins to fall under Henry's influence and eventually becomes every bit the thoughtless dilettante that Henry is. He notices that his wish has come true and that the bigger a jerkwad he is the older, more haggard and meaner the painting looks. He waffles for a long while about becoming a better person, but never gets around to it. Eventually, he can't stand seeing his bad choices paraded in front of him in the portrait so he stabs it and dies.

Pretty cool idea for a plot, right? Sounds like a particularly good Twilight Zone episode with a handful of homoerotic undertones thrown in for spice. I'm sad to say that where this falls out is in the writing. And don't think it's just because I don't like or understand the 1800's style. Despite my predilection to reading books that are little more than lycanthropic porn, I also get pretty excited about Austen, Dickens and Browning. No, unfortunately, I think Wilde falls into the trap a lot of the really stellar essayists and playwrights fall into when writing a novel: it's a completely different medium and shouldn't be approached the same way.

When we were paying attention to the plot, I was fully absorbed. But the vast majority of the book is a lot like reading a philosophical dialogue barely veiled in plot, while this was interesting (and who doesn't enjoy a well written philosophical dialogue?) it wasn't a novel. Yes, it was thought provoking and made me ponder the nature of beauty, different types of love and morality, but so do my ethics textbooks and essays. There are plenty of novelists who manage to strike a good balance between story and message, but I think Wilde didn't manage it this time. I wish he'd taken another kick at the can with this book under his belt, because he is an exceptionally good writer (making a really controversial statement there).

When I started this, I was also excited to see some of those famous quotes in their proper context (y'know, like: "the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it"). This proved to be another disappointment. The first few pithy statements made me laugh and feel intellectually smug, but there were so many of them that it became distracting. A lot of the time they were crow barred in and jarred me away from the story. While these witty comments worked well in Wilde's plays, I didn't care for them in the book.

But don't let me turn you entirely off, there is plenty about Dorian Gray to recommend it. There was a lush sensuality (no, I'm not trying to sell you a blasphemous dessert) captured in this book that was deeply effective. Its portrayal of languid indolence zapped right through me and made it a lot more likely that I'd cuddle up and read than get up and do the dishes. I can't think of many books where the atmosphere hits me quite so hard.

The characters are also worth mentioning. Dorian's fall from grace is one of the more believable ones I've read. The fact that he starts off weak and vain probably helps, but reading him justify his reprehensible actions to himself clinches it. Sybil (Dorian's girlfriend) is a genuine ingenue who's innocence doesn't come off as syrupy. It's actually pleasant to watch her be happily in love. Henry, despite being heavily involved in some of the yacky sections, is by far my favourite character. His gleeful debauching of Dorian and stealing him away from Basil (who I thought was a rather dull character foil for our bad boys) was a delight to read.

The Picture of Dorian Gray wasn't what I was expecting. It was about half novel and half philosophical discourse. I liked both parts, but they didn't meld into the cohesive whole I'd expect of a writer of Wilde's calibre. There were definitely moments that felt like I was being forced to read something for a class, not something I usually face when reading good lit. It's worth reading for the good bits, but be warned that it's an uneven reading experience.

Girl on Book Action: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
ISBN: 978-0-316-15454-3

Blurb:

Breathtakingly suspenseful and beautifully written, The Historian is the story of a young woman plunged into a labyrinth where the secrets of her family’s past connect to an inconceivable evil: the dark fifteenth-century reign of Vlad the Impaler and a time-defying pact that may have kept his awful work alive through the ages. The search for the truth becomes an adventure of monumental proportions, taking us from monasteries and dusty libraries to the capitals of Eastern Europe – in a feat of storytelling so rich, so hypnotic, so exciting that it has enthralled readers around the world.

***

My Thoughts:

Well, hmm. I’m a little torn over my feelings for this book. On the one hand, there are a number of things I really enjoyed, on the other hand, I was often terribly bored or annoyed and really just wanted to get to the end so I could read something else.

The thing that bothered me the most were the constant jumps between the different story-lines. The book is set up as a story within a story within a story type deal, tracing the history of involvement with this mysterious book, which is fine. I like those kinds of onion-structure narratives. What bothered me was when there were two or three paragraphs from one story-line and then maybe two pages of a different one and then a chapter break and then we were back at the original story-line. This jumping back and forth made it really hard to get involved with any of the stories, because the moment you were connected you’d be wrenched out and into a different story and time. Fortunately, toward the middle of the book, Kostova started to just tell one strand at a time for a while, which made it much easier to enjoy the mystery and the descriptions of beautiful and exotic (to me) places.

I didn’t like the end at all. Everything wrapped up way too neatly if you ask me and the attempt in the epilogue to undermine that neat ending and rekindle some of the mystery seemed somewhat cheap.

The amount of research and careful planning that must have gone into the writing of this book is respectable and I tip my hat to the author for her dedication. I really appreciated all of the descriptions of monasteries and libraries and the life of a Graduate student – I only wish I was such a good student. It’s a little strange to think that my thesis topic would, in the world of this book, make me a potential person of interest for Vlad the Impaler, but hey, if he wants to come over and have tea some cloudy afternoon I’m okay with that. Anyway. The book does a great job of making you want to travel to Istanbul and Budapest, so if you’re the kind of person who likes to travel it might give you a slight case of wanderlust.

Spoiler alert, I’m about to discuss actual plot elements.

Something that I’m not sure I agree with, or how I feel about it, is that Kostova turned Vlad into some sort of militaristic, undead bibliophile collecting books through the millennia. I have no idea if this is historically accurate or not, but it sort of struck me as an odd thing to include, considering that she was doing her best to make him be a monster. A love of books, even in a bloodthirsty tyrant, seems to me to be an endearing characteristic. So, I don’t know how I feel about it. I mean, I like it – I just don’t know that I like it as part of this story. I suppose it was necessary as a motif for his actions throughout the book.

End spoilers.

So, on the whole, I’d say it was an okay read. Certainly not one of my favourites, and definitely not as gripping as the blurb would lead you to believe. If you’re interested in libraries, monasteries, Vlad the Impaler, or simply following a bunch of crazy historians around on a quest, you might like it. If you’re looking for a quick, thrilling read you may want to look elsewhere. There is action here, and mystery, but it’s not edge-of-your-seat type stuff.

Weeks Too Late: I Sell The Dead

I Sell The Dead. Directed & Written by Glenn McQuaid.

Preconceptions: I heard about this movie entirely by chance, as my cohort saw an ad while it was still in production. She showed it to me and I thought "huh, neat looking zombie movie" and promptly forgot about it. I came across it again, nearly a year later while looking for a bit of new horror to watch (knowing full well that the horror genre was sorry for the last movie I saw, and it certainly wouldn't hit me again). I rented this strictly on the strength of the trailer, which made it look quirky and about a variety of undead monsters rather than strictly zombies, something I haven't seen before.

General Review: I'll admit it, I don't like horrodies (the clever portmanteau movies that mush horror and comedy together have been stuck with). I am well aware that I'm the only person in the universe who didn't like Shaun of the Dead, finding the switch between serious drama and comedy too jarring (I never claimed to be sophisticated). But while this movie fell firmly in the horrodie camp (whimsical harp music during gore and all), that wasn't my main beef with it. Though, while I'm on the subject, this movie didn't even manage to confuse my brain with fear and sentiment in the off-putting way some other movies of this genre do. It managed to evoke neither. It was terribly unfunny and didn't even manage to cause a startle response to something jumping out of a box (the lowest form of horror).

No, while that would be enough to turn me off, this movie did something even worse: it attempted to create a camp, B-Movie atmosphere on purpose and failed at it. While I won't say it's impossible to set out to create something campy and cult from the get go (Hedwig and the Angry Inch comes to mind) it is nigh impossible. I understand the crass desire to cash in on a cult movie. I understand wanting to be hip and ironic (though a whole lot less, crass comes easier to me). What's great about a good low budget movie is when the writing and clever shooting makes up for the low budget. Waggling how cheap the movie is in front of our faces isn't endearing. Saying: "ha-ha, we don't have to write compelling or interesting characters because it's a cheap movie and, ha-ha isn't it fun to watch this suck, ha-ha!" doesn't fly with me. Sometimes, it can be fun to watch something suck, but not usually when it's on purpose.

This movie had a lot of potentially interesting ideas and if it had been written better it could have been neat. Grave robbers are fascinating and could be either blackly funny or frightening (or both at the same time, if you're playing to a more emotionally developed audience than me). Having them run into a pile of different undead foes is a really good idea. It makes sense, given their line of work and something I haven't seen anyone take a serious stab at (I still haven't).

The cast is basically not worth mentioning. They must have had a sandwich to feed him, so Ron Pearlman was in it. Dominic Monaghan (who played Douchey McBand, AKA Charlie, on Lost) was in it and I got the feeling he might have been able to play something a bit more complex if he'd been given a chance, but I couldn't say for sure. There was a lot of scenery chewing all around, but I'm not sure who I should blame this on the actors or the director.

The directing (except for the directing of the actors), wasn't that bad. While McQuaid didn't make very good use of most of what he had, he did put a competent looking movie together. The small budget didn't make the movie look small. I didn't feel like we were in someone's backyard in the outdoor scenes and the different graveyards were distinct. The monster make-up was also alright, if uninspired, a lot was borrowed from the Evil Dead movies (which I love, but c'mon can't we get past them and try some new ideas?).

If you're expecting a charming, funny little movie, look elsewhere. There was a kernel of a good movie in I Sell The Dead, but only a kernel. If McQuaid had taken the project more seriously, rather than just aping cult classics past, it might have blossomed into some delicious popcorn. C'mon man, take your tongue out of your cheek and perhaps strive to make a good movie rather than a deliberately bad one.

Girl on Book Action: The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker

The Anvil of the World by Kage Baker
ISBN: 0-765-34907-8

Blurb:

Kage Baker’s first fantasy novel is the tale of Smith, of the large extended family of Smiths, of the Children of the Sun. They are a race given to blood feuds, and Smith was formerly an extremely successful assassin. Now he has wearied of his work and is trying to retire into safe obscurity in spite of all those who have sworn to kill him.

To get there, he agrees to lead a caravan from the inland city of Troon to the seaside city of Salesh. The caravan is dogged by murder, magic, and the brooding image of the Master of the Mountain, a powerful demon, looking down from his mountain kingdom upon the unwary travelers passing below.

***

My Thoughts:

If you’re looking for a quick, fun fantasy read, this novel might be a good bet. It’s fast-paced, hilarious in parts, but with an underlying criticism of our wasteful treatment of the planet. When it comes to environmentalist messages, Baker’s novel fairs better than the illustrious Margaret Atwood’s Year of the Flood, since Baker is never heavy-handed with her depiction of ecological devastation. Let’s finish with these generalities and get to the meat of the thing.

Lord Ermenwyr has to be one of my favourite supporting characters ever. At times infuriating, he provides not only comic relief, but also a decent amount of moralizing, world-building information and does a fine job of moving along the plot. And, at the end of the day, you just want to wring the sniveling little bastard’s neck, but in a loving, exasperated sort of way. Although, I suppose in all fairness to applying a critical eye, his interventions were at times a little bit on the side of deus ex machina. I’m willing to forgive this flaw, because I liked the nonchalant way in which he carried it off.

Smith made for an engaging lead, as well. I really have no complaints about him, his decisions make sense, though I think a bit more exposition of his past might have added depth to him. I understood why he acts the way he does, but his motivations could have been spelled out more forcefully. Although, the ambiguities may serve their own purpose, as when you get to the moment in the book you really don’t know what choice he’ll make.

I think my only real complaint about the novel is that some of the world building could have been stronger and more detailed. Most everything is explained at one point or another as the narrative progresses, I just wanted there to be more – more myth, more explanations, more descriptions. As it is, there is a complete world and a good narrative there, it just could have been…fuller.

One example where more explication would have been nice is that while there is Smith (the main character) there is also Mrs. Smith (no relation) and two further Smiths all within the first 30 pages of the book. Eventually, there is a creation myth that explains why the name Smith is so popular, but that is probably a good two-thirds into the story and at that point you could miss it if you weren’t paying attention.

Story-wise, I liked that there was a build-up to the main event. It almost felt like reading three novellas, chronicling the important events in Smith's life, so there wasn't a lot of boring exposition detailing his day-to-day life. While filling in some of these in-between times might have provided more of the world to allay my feeling that it could have been fuller, I think it worked well as it did. Baker doesn't let her story get bogged down in events that have no bearing on the story she wants to tell. What's important is that in each section, you learn about the world, the characters and you get a real sense of the people and this is what makes the book so strong.

Overall, I recommend this one. The characters make it memorable, if nothing else. I’ll be looking for more of Kage Baker’s books (well, at least I will be once I make a dent in my rather considerable “to-read” pile).

Post Script: The winner of the poll, with a unanimous six votes is His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, which I'll be reading in the not too distant future.  Thanks to everyone who voted!

Weeks Too Late: Ponyo

Ponyo. Written & Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Preconceptions: I'm a big Miyazaki fan and it was only the hurly burly of day to day life that kept me from seeing this movie in the theaters, not lack of desire to see it (going to movies alone holds no fear for me, not even to kids movies). I've heartily enjoyed all of the rest of his filmography and didn't expect this to be any different.

General Review: What? Another kids movie, you ask? And a Disney movie, at that? Don't be fooled, my cupcakes, much like Spirited Away this is a Miyazaki movie that's just being brought to America by Disney. And yes, it's still a kids movie, but Miyazaki knows what I like: adorable little horrors having adventures.

His movies have something else I like: complicated villains. Even the ones that are trying to destroy all of humanity or who've taken a serious dislike to our hero have sensible reasons for what they're doing. These flicks give the watching children more credit than most movies do, presenting them with some moral ambiguity. While I found this in books pretty early on, I don't remember being faced with it in cinema until I was well into my teens. I think it's probably good for developing brains to be forced to deal with antagonists that aren't twirling their mustaches.

While Fujimoto (voiced by Liam Neeson) isn't the best example of this in Miyazaki's flicks, he does represent something else that is more complicated than usual kid's fare: he is a father who's unwilling to let his children grow up. I mean, he's keeping them in a glass bowl (his kids are fish, and while we see their mum and she doesn't appear to be a fish, it does make me wonder about their conception). But, because this is Miyazaki, it isn't quite as simple as that, his daughter trying to grow up (and turn into a human) is also causing some catastrophic events. So it isn't even just a father being overprotective.

I'd also like to take a moment to enjoy how good the voice acting was in this. I remember the dark days when to see a cool anime (or Japanamation as it was called at the time) you'd have to sit through some right terrible voice acting (when you couldn't find the subtitled versions). Now the translation to English basically always comes with the pile of voice actors and the occasional screen actor. For all the crap I've just given Disney, this was well done. Noah Cyrus (yes, Billy Ray's other kid) was particularly worth noticing. I wasn't sure what to expect when I thought "magical fish sorta like the little mermaid" voice, but she nailed it, squealing for ham and all. Tina Fey was so good I didn't even realize it was her (and I just finished watching some 6 hours of 30 Rock). I also enjoyed Betty White as Yoshie, she's got a great voice and (to flagrantly steal a joke) as the last remaining Golden Girl is a national treasure.

I will say, that despite all my raving, this isn't Miyazaki's best work story wise. There is a lot of wandering around not having adventures or really being set back. Forging ahead was all Ponyo and Sosuke (the little boy helping his fishy friend) needed to do in this, not be particularly clever or brave. Plodding away doesn't make for great drama. The stunning visuals saved the meandering from being dull (and swapping animation styles to show the wavering look of being under water was really cool), but even they couldn't sharpen up the uninspiring climax. Throughout the story we're promised that Sosuke will have to prove his love for Ponyo in a dangerous test and that there would be dire consequences if he failed. (**If you don't wish to be spoiled, please skip the next paragraph**)

What was this big test? Saying that he'd love her (so I guess that means more fish children in future generations). That's it. No proof of love, no daring do, just a quick sentence and everything is all fixed. I'm not even sure if this can be called a climax, I think I'm going to call it the fizzle. With the fizzle of the movie taken care of everything goes back to normal and Ponyo becomes a little girl for real.

If you haven't seen a Miyazaki movie before, don't start with this one (go see Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away instead), it's pretty good and absolutely gorgeous, but it isn't the best of its kind either. If you've liked some of his other flicks, chances are good you'll enjoy this one as well.

Random Thoughts: Ponyo probably didn't have the best fish care advice I've ever seen in a movie. The fish spends a lot of time being petted and flapping out of the water (I wonder how many goldfish this has effected?).

Girl on Book Action: Reader's Choice Poll #4

Candidates for Reader’s Choice Poll #4

I know, it’s been a while. I’ve been busy. I’m actually not sure about the timing on these. Am I polling too often? Not often enough? Should I be doing it like clockwork, say, every 2 months? Every 3? What do you think?

As always, the poll will be open for 1 week and I’ll be reading the winner as soon as I finish whatever book I happen to be reading at the time. Anyway, on to the choices for this month’s poll.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

Once again I’m beginning with the fic-lit pick. This book was recommended to me by a fellow Grad Student a while ago and I saw it at the used bookstore and decided to give it a try. The story sounds intriguing, although I’m not sure how the title of The Reader relates to a story about a love-affair and a criminal trial. I suppose I’ll find out when I read it.

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

A very dear friend was reading these books last year and would tell me about how much she was enjoying them and a little bit about the story and I was interested at the time, but then life happened and I was very much distracted. It’s an alternate history of the Napoleonic war that includes dragons (DRAGONS!!!) and the first part in a series. Nearly a year later and I’ve finally picked up a copy and decided to include it as the fantasy pick for this poll.

Silk by Caitlin R. Kiernan

The re-read pick, which turns out to have been the most difficult to select. I’m trying to strike a balance between offering lit-fic and fantasy-ish books on these polls, and since last time I had two lit-fic options and only one fantasy I decided to do the opposite this time. The problem with most of the books that fall into this category and that I’ve read is that they are not stand-alone novels and if I start a series I’ll want to finish it. So, even though I only recently reviewed Kiernan’s The Red Tree, I decided to put up Silk. Make of that what you want.