The epistemological vagueries of this novel was what annoyed me the most, followed closely by the lack of information concerning the relationships and actual descriptions of/between the three species participating in this narrative. Or in plainer English, there’s a few troublesome holes in the world-building that seem pretty important to the story. This is mostly a novel about characters and action; I appreciate this. However, when much of said action is directly related to the systems of faith, values, knowledge, and inter-species relationships in the […]
How to not annoy while moralizing with folklore
I’d seen this book around, and I knew it had gotten some good reviews and won some awards. I wasn’t in much of a rush to get to it, but then I realized it would be a good fit for a final project in a Myth and Folklore in Literature class that I have coming up, starting in about a week, and I’m not about to put a book on a list of options for a final project unless I’ve read it myself. Reading project […]
“I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.”
Jacob Portman grew up hearing fantastic stories from his grandfather, Abe, about an orphanage in Wales where he was raised during World War 2 after he escaped Nazi occupied Poland. The orphanage was full of kids with special talents that were supported by photos that Jacob’s grandfather had held onto after coming to America when the War ended. As Jacob grows up, he gets teased for believing in fairy tales and begins to realize the stories and photos are fake which makes him angry and […]
The Cellar Door is an Open Throat
Last week I went to a conference in southern California. I took Kindred along, hoping to have time to read a few chapters. My first day there, I sat outside on my lunch break to read. I couldn’t put Kindred down (except, I had to in order to get back to the conference). I finished it before I came home. I read most of it sitting outside in a comfy chair, in beautiful weather. The contrast between my life and Dana’s at that moment felt […]