Those two wizarding peoples...

Oh, this book...

First of all, every time someone asks, "Laurie, what is the giant piece of literature weighing down your lap?" I get the title all mixed up! For some reason, Mr. Norrell's name always comes first in my rendition. Either that or I say "Mr. Strange and Jonathan Norrell." Uhg. Why?

Second of all, I spilt orange gatorade all over the last half of the book. The pages are crinkly, damp, and sticky. But I'm fighting through it.

What I'm saying is--this book has been a journey.
I'm with Jessie. I feel like this books has taken a lifetime to read, and I don't know why!

Now, when I throw myself into it, I *really* enjoy it. Clarke's characters are extremely well rendered, and I love her historical world! As an English major, I keep recognizing her references to authors of the time period whose novels I've read! I just read Radcliffe's The Italian last month! Dorky? Yes. Do I care? No.

The footnotes, however, I could do without. While they are interesting at times, I don't feel that one needs three pages of foot note. I must confess, after the first ten, I stopped reading the ones that weren't directly connected to the plot. Great for world building (and interesting for sure!), but I just didn't have the time to peruse each one.

Anyway, I'm not finished yet, so I can't make truly informed arguments.
More to come when I close the back cover...

JS and Mr.N

Before I begin, I have to tell my cute story. I went on a vacation with my family over spring break, including my 5-yr old kid brother. He's learning to read (words like cat, dog, mom, you, etc.), so when he would see me reading the book at night, he would come and try to read the title. It was soooo cute! He got Jonathan after sounding it out, but kept saying stranger afterwards, instead of strange. And then, he would peek into the pages from behind me, and squeal and point out words he knew, like "the" and "you," lol. Sorry, I just had to tell yall.

Anyways... I'm finally into the story, and I can actually say I like it now. It's not that packed with action, but its kind of cute. I like the vast differences in characters' personalities and the occasional jokes Clark hides in her massive elaboration. I CANT STAND MR NORRELL right now. He's a selfish and rude little man.

more to come as i read on .....

The Devil's Backbone

I saw Del Toro's 'spiritual prequel to PAN'S LABYRINTH' over the break, and I just have to rave about it. If you haven't seen it yet- RUN don't walk to the nearest foreign films section and rent it. It is absolutely divine. There are so many parallels between these two masterpieces and it is SO much fun to discuss them (maybe only if you're a nerd, but STILL!). The mother figures from each respective movie are both named Carmen, and the villains are both stuck in time, as it were. The heroes are both absolutely awesome children dealing with very adult matters. Even the beginnings of the movies are eerily alike. I would love to talk with people, via comments, about WHY this movie is a 'spiritual prequel.' There are, of course, many ideas that repeat in both movies, but what is it, exactly, that links them in a thematically sequential way?

ALSO! For anyone who hasn't heard, Del Toro will be directing a production of THE HOBBIT, scheduled to hit theaters in 2010 (I think). Are you excited? Me too!

ALSO! Has anyone seen Del Toro's latest film, THE ORPHANAGE? It was in theaters in December, but I didn't even know it existed until the break when I was actively engaged in Del Toro research.

Like a turtle...

Maybe it's just me, but good gravy has J.S. & Mr. N been a slow read. I'm not quite finished, but I feel like I've been reading this novel forever. I'm not sure why either. The plot points are interesting and the world is so incredibly involved. Nevertheless, I feel I only started reading at my average rate after Mr. Strange's loss, which is two-thirds through the narrative. Jeez! Well, I feel better after sharing that. Otherwise, I'd like to note my appreciation for how Clarke hasn't aggrandized the wizards or made them anywhere near perfect. Their human qualities make them a bit more entertaining than your typical all-knowing, wise man type wizard. (No offense to my homie Gandalf, of course). Even those characters which seem more in the know than others, such as Childermass or the Lord of Lost-Hope, have their flaws. I'm also enjoying the mini-battle between intuitive, natural magic and book-learned, rationalized magic. I feel there are lots of parallels being made between the magical movement in the narrative and the Enlightenment vs. Romanticism movement that occurred in the "real world". That said, I can tell I'm missing a lot of the historical significance or relations in the plot, especially in regards to the war. I would probably get more out of it if I knew anything about the Napoleonic wars. Oh well. At this point in time, I suppose all I can say is, "If Jonathan doesn't realize there's a frikkin fairy plotting around him within the next fifty pages this book is going out the window!!!"

Match It for Pratchett

Terry Pratchett has donated $1 million to Alzheimer's research in the United Kingdom, as reported here by the BBC. "I intend to scream and harangue while there is time," he told a conference of dementia experts. And now there's a fan movement to help the cause, called Match It for Pratchett, first suggested in a March 13 Livejournal post by science-fiction writer Pat Cadigan.

Another personification of Death ...

... which Amy's paper has got me thinking about, is the protagonist of Christopher Moore's 2006 novel A Dirty Job.

Also

I thought I would mention it, since several people seem to have their share of blogging troubles, that it is possible to edit posts after you've posted them (for example, if you press enter too early). Just click on New Post, and one of the tabs under Posting includes Edit Posts. Also, after you click Publish Post, the subsequent page with the View Blog link also has an edit blog prompt. Hopefully this will be helpful and not a statement on something everyone already knows about.

Reconsideration

With our review of Lionflower Hedge in class, I've decided that the story is not so much under-developed as over-restricted. While the plot points were sparse, I feel there is actually a lot of suggestive history and emotions behind them. Yet, the story is so short that one reaches the end before having a chance to consider all the implications or build the interest to do so. The kids apparently grew up under the care of governesses (who made them fear the Hedge). As adults they seemed to have little sentimental attachment to their childhood home, which they were preparing to sell. They hardly have a strong attachment to each other as they ultimately plan to disperse to their respective families and, so it seemed, rarely communicate with one another. So, there is something to the fact that their governess kept them from unleashing their imaginations within the mysterious confines of the hedge. They may never have been given the chance to run wild as children, since they apparently come from a wealthy family. If so, it makes sense that they could hear their own childhood fun being had, even when they were children. I was also struck, even during my first reading, by how tender the mother seemed as she plants a kiss on the girl's cheek. She asks, "You were good, weren't you, while I was gone?" Safe in their beds, the children perhaps get to then relive their childhood, not with disinterested governesses, but with a warm, affectionate mother. Unlike the Narnia kids, these characters didn't achieve greatness during adulthood, only a sense of jaded disinterest, but perhaps they can achieve happiness as children.

Make illegal U-turn. Distance: 0.2 mi

So, I read "Directions" to my boyfriend (since it is such an awesome little story), and he said it sounded like Mapquest, that is to say, Mapquest gone horribly wrong, which is to say, Mapquest the way it always is. HAH!

Sorry to any faithful Mapquesters. I just thought that might be good for a laugh. Tee hee.

Take a look, it's in a book...

If you finished that title in your head (singing it), we should high-five when we see each other next. The titles in this anthology are amazing! True artistry if one can create a title to a short fantasy that makes a student *want* to read for fun. I read "A Fearful Symmetry" when I first got the book, before any other one. I enjoyed the short story, even though it didn't explore any type of new plot that hadn't already been well-mapped out. Again, we have the story within a story within a story, if not incredibly concise. And again we have the "words give life" motif, no all too common to me. I enjoyed most the *reasoning* the narrator gave behind his opinions/actions. I get my thrills through thought-processes in stories. If they are absent I usually have to substitute my own, which is only so much fun when it gets redundant. Here, the narrator allows the audience to see why a so-so plotted story is actually important to consider. He begins by saying he was drawn to the "symmetry" of the story. So that tells a lot about him, like that he is very logically inclined, etc. So he goes beyond the simple elements of the story to discuss the story itself. His emphasis in this short short tale is on the fact that it remained unfinished by a long shot, and that is where he came in, to bring it to completion. The reader, in Kang's world, plays just as important a role as the storyteller. Whether, it's our job to complete an unfinished story, perpetuate it, or simply wrap our minds around it to breathe life into it, readers are the ultimate endpoint of a story, and their importance should be made known. I like that we shouldn't just except ghost stories as they are, but rather become a part of them by laying the spirits to rest. Yay!

Hello All!!!!!

Okay...so who thought the "Winkie" was going to be a cute little story about some monster under a little girls bed that had big eyes and blinked a lot????? Well I have to admit that this story kind of freaked me out...just a little. I said, "This story doesnt sound like it will be to scary. I think I'll read it before I go to bed." Big mistake! Winkie was a baby eater with no eyelids!!!!!! That can really screw up your childhood! The worst part was that the mother just seemed so la-tee-da about it. She was like "yeah, I told them where they could find you." I would be like, well thanks a lot mom! You should of just told me who Winkie was in the first place and maybe I wouldnt have gone flouncing around at night for he to snatch me up and steal my eyelids!!!!

On another note, I love ghost stories!!!!!! I find it interesting to find out why the ghosts tend to linger around instead of passing on to the afterlife. This of course is why I loved Pol Pots Daughter and Fearful Symmetry. I liked at the end of Fearful Symmetry how the author incorporated the reader and the end. For Pol Pots Daughter, I have to say that I did almost cry at the end when the voices of the ghosts said, "We adopt you." Awww........ I actually heard the voices as I read...well I suppose that it was my own voice but I still felt touched. GREAT STORY!!!!

How to Know The Blog (and Life) Hates You...

...It magically (haha magically- get it?) deletes your comments every time you try to post them. You retype them numerous times only to have them eaten again. It freezes in the middle of your post so you frantically highlight and copy your words so they don't become payment to the God Devouring CyberSubmissions (yes saving is a wonderful concept, but when I get going...). And then it takes an extra 5 hours to load each page. Okay, rant done. I get it Oh god of the Internet! You are angry... :)
For real now. After reading everyone's previous posts i found myself doing my usual head nodding and shaking. Yes, Winkie was entirely off-kilter and a little creepy (thanks Andy, I live ALONE!). However, I really disliked Pol Pot that story just did not mesh with me at all even though it seems to be the class favorite. But no one has even mentioned the one I liked: A Fearful Symmetry. It read like a classic. I am really glad though that the intro said "gentle fable involving a ghost" because after Muldoon I have created a screening process as to which stories I will read late at night, by myself, cowering and waiting for mean ghosts to burst through the door. But with Symmetry we have one of the ghost stories I loved as a child where ghosts are not something to be feared but just another extension of humanity, and sometimes, well most of the time, they need help. When I was younger I read a book about a ghost cadet and a watch lost in a tree and by the end of stories like that one and this one I really find myself sympathizing with their ghostly problems. Weird, I know. I think the root of it is that I am in actuality terrified!! of ghosts and I keep trying to find ways to get over my phobia. Anyways, Symmetry is written as a story within a story which worked really well for the author, Minsoo Kang. He was able to explore so much range by doing this. And it made his ghost even that much more striking, that after all of these generations she was still weeping. I really liked it! At the end, I just wanted her to be at peace minus the creepy way that the author says something like "She will live on, she lives in you dun dun duuuuuuuuuunn".
Have an amazing Spring Break everyone!!!

a little disappointed

Pol Pot's story was definitely my favorite one, followed by the map one. The others couldn't really keep my attention; they were either too confusing or not descriptive enough. Lionflower Hedge seemed incomplete and Winkie was weiiiird, in a not so good way. I couldn't picture the story quite clearly in my mind.

I had no idea Sith was real! He kept denying the reality of every fact in his story. He probably did that so people could google them up and learn more about them (like a couple kids i know, hehe). It scared the bejesus out of me as I read the story. The part where the little robotic dog first starts talking to her, and the tv shows those videos... eeek! I thought much more violence was going to come out of that. I almost wanted to hide under the covers. The map story fascinated me since "barbarians" and "academics" had their religions inverted. Instead of barbarians usually being characterized as the superstitious ones, who perform rituals for their gods, it was the academics instead who fit this profile. Why did they destroy their lake? I didn't quite catch what the mappers were doing out there, or what they were supposed to do. A longer version of this story would be super interesting.

New and improved...coming soon!

I promise, everyone, I am alive. Really. I know it can seem otherwise, but I really have not forgotten about the blog. I'm here, and uber super blogs are coming in the very near future, ie tonight (if I have time) or possibly tomorrow later in the day. That's when I'll be free! Anyway, nobody send a search party. I love everyone and I have not forgotten.

Bloggityblog

Lionflower Hedge. I have NO idea what that story is about. Aside from Link, who sort of made sense in a strange, zombie-riddled way, this short story is by far the most incomprehensible one I've read. Are they still little kids? Or is this a memory that happened a long time ago? Is the hedge a type of portal to the past...or to the future? We've talked about portals in class...but this one (to me at least) doesn't begin to make a distinction as to whether they were going or coming. Why write this story? If there's a lesson or a deeper meaning in those 9 paragraphs I haven't found it. Nor did I find it a particularly imaginative or interesting story. Where's the fantasy? It could all be a daydream or a nightmare (dispose of the estate= dead parents?) the kids had, or even too much alcohol in the adults. Is the "lionflower" significant? Why lionflower? What is a lionflower? I googled it and found "dandelion" and "lion's tail" but no lionflower. And what kind of punishment is being "sent into the hedge" anyway? Apparently this story really got to me, and not in a good way.

Another Word for Science is Faith

I loved the reasoning behind this story. I took an Intro to Religious Studies class my freshman year and all we talked about was how just about anything could be considered a religion. While I consider football (except Alabama's) to be a bit of a stretch as far as religions go, science and academia is not that far of a stretch. We have professors that teach facts they believe to be true based upon the literature. The students must have faith in the professors and the authors of those papers when learning the material. Those that do not accept the material are removed from the group in some way. I think I smell a paper topic in this somewhere.

Comments from Renee

Hey, so I had a weird feeling of beig transported back to the science fiction version of this class while reading "Another Word for Map is Faith". But you know, it made me wonder how exactly the world shifted by degrees. Do the people there start to believe that that earth is really shaped a different way or what? And I was a little disappointed that they didn't have villagers chasing after them for taking away their lake at the end. It was all just kind of like 'tada' but without an exclamation mark.

I kind of wonder if the driver was going to be eaten at the end of "Directions", but other than that it was a little too short for me to get very involved with it.

More Eddie Izzard fun!

Speaking of having inappropriate things running through your head while reading "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter". This is what I was thinking of: youtube

It's another Eddie Izzard video in the same section as the "Do you have a flag?" one. Pol Pot is mentioned at about 1:48 if you want to fast-forward. And I'll warn you that he likes to swear. :) In this section he classified Mass murdering F**kheads with Pol Pot and Hitler who were history teachers or liked to paint(the video starts here).

Anyway, thought I'd share.

Woops!!!!

Sorry. So I did not actually mean to press the enter button so early! My "I forgot" was referring to my blog for our stories last week. It is halfway through the semester and I am still not use to the art of blogging. Anyways, all that I have to say about the story "Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery" is that he slept with her sister! Im sorry but the end of the story would have been so much better if he just did something simple like forgot her birthday(or once killed and man and just didnt tell her) and he was doing all of these things to make it up to her. That would have been a cute ending. But no he slept with her sister and she took him back. The sister gets a "no comment" on this blog.

On another note, I did not quite find the fantasy element in the La Fee Verte story. To me she just seemed like a lady who had visions....almost like some sort of fortune teller. After reading further into the story it seemed almost obvious that Victorine was going to find La Fee Verte, possibly because that is what the reader(me) wanted to happen. However, in the back of my mind I did not really want this because it is fantasy and all of the other fantasy stories have ended with a twist. Why didnt this one?

Oh NO I Forgot!!!!

Perhaps a normal subject this week....or perhaps not...

So, Casey, the subject of your post, ya know, *Wink, makes me think of this really funny harry potter thing what was a christmas present to one of the creators of potter puppet pals and at the end Snape looks at you and he winks and there is a winking sound. Basically it was funny.

Okay, so on to the short story fun. My story for the week was "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter" and I absolutely loved this story. I'm not gonna lie, I enjoy watching the show "Haunted" on the Discovery Channel because it's funny and it makes me laugh and I was definitely reminded of this show. But although in the beginning I thought that Sith's character was really selfish, I loved her transformation at the end. And I loved how at the end she was adopted by Kol Vireakboth and the ghosts of the unmourned. I thought it was so beautiful that the ghosts were able to find happiness because Sith helped them to be remembered. This was such a wonderful tale of redemption. But what did everyone else think? Did anyone think that the redemption was unbelievable, that Sith's character was shallow? What did you all think of Dara? He wasn't really my favorite character because I didn't fully connect with his character but what is your opinion? I adored the character of the motoboy, Sovann. I felt there was real significance with his name meaning Golden and the fact that he was so understanding of what Sith was trying to accomplish and how he helped her. But, thoughts, anyone? Other than that, see you kids in class on Wednesday!!

Last Batch of Short Stories

Aw. I'm kinda sad to see them go...

Anyway, I did enjoy these last short stories of the semester. I did not enjoy them as much as last week's selections, but I found them interesting and a bit different. As Casey said earlier, this week's stories jumped all over the place! We moved from imaginary villages to Korea to Cambodia and back again.

Personally, I actually really enjoyed "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter" with its "ghosts in the machine" and its interesting Cambodian flavor. Sith was a cool character, and although I found her a bit annoying at the start, I began to sympathize with her as the story continued. I do think the story gets a little "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" when the narrator speaks of Sith's "tiny heart" thumping in her chest, her selfish nature, and her eventual conversion to helping those in need. However, I thought it was pretty interesting that Sith happened to be the same age as me (I was also eighteen in 2004--crazy!). That's always weird.

Overall, I thought the story was well told and entertaining. Certainly not something I would have expected. I mean, first of all, how strange it is to find a fantasy/ghost story written about post-genocide Cambodia. And even stranger still, a fantasy/ghost story about Pol Pot's daughter (who is *real* by the way, AND named "Sitha"... I did not know that). Sadly, the entire time I was reading this, I could not get that Dead Kennedys song, "Holiday in Cambodia," out of my head. That's ok, I think the Dead Kennedys probably rank among the music on Sith's numerous iPods.

Right. So there you are.

*Wink*

We've discussed fairy tales tropes quite a bit in class, and I'm glad we finally have one that introduces the common 'bogeyman' theme. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who has heard the phrase 'Be good, or else the monsters will get you!' or some general variation of it. (Anyone who has read THE BFG by Roald Dahl knows where I'm coming from). Children have long been threatened with monsters to get them to behave, and this method of control probably works better than scoldings or ear-boxing. After all, what is worse than your own imagination? "Winkie" actually brings this idea into the light and examines it: we meet the disobedient child, the wicked monster, the frustrated mother. The writer also allows us to catch a glimpse of the truth behind the tales; there is no way any loving mother would let her child be eaten by a creepy (incredibly well-developed) ogre.

I also found it really interesting that Winkie is trying to pull a sadistic, medieval grafting surgery for himself. He really wants eyelids, but why? Ollyn's mother explains the link between mother and her child by saying, "There must be a sound you make, your eyelids opening. It carries to my ears" (Lanagan 227). I'm tempted to think that Winkie lacks this bond and is subconsciously trying to achieve it. Maybe that's reading to far into it, but the blinking, winking eyelid imagery comes up way too much to be merely coincidental. There's also a lot about the relationship between sleeping and waking. Winkie claims that he can never sleep, and he only come for the children at night when they SHOULD be sleeping.

Personally, I loved this story. What do you guys think?

Fantasy Across the Map

I really enjoyed the selections for this week because they included several stories that were set in places distinctly NOT European. Being faced with fantasy based in Cambodia and Korea made me think about the beginning of the semester when we all crafted lists of this genre. Most of the items we came up with, I think, were decidedly European. When we think 'fairy tales,'
who instantly comes to mind? Hans Christian Anderson, maybe? The Brothers Grimm? A lot of fantasy has roots in fairy tales, and these fairy tales have their roots in culture. I don't think I'm stepping out of bounds when I assume that the fantasy genre is mainly Western in nature. But what about cultures that are extremely divergent from ours? What about contemporary Cambodia? What about war-torn Korea? Other cultures have vast amounts of creative flavors to add to this genre, and I'm glad that several authors are beginning to explore beyond the age-old European recipes.

Stories

HeyAndy (or anyone really),

Am I presenting something this week? I can't remember.....hmmm.....

I'm on the ball this week...WOO!

Since I just finished reading the stories for this week, I thought I would go ahead and post so that I don't wait until the last minute like most every other week. :/ I really liked all of the stories assigned for this week too! "Winkie" was probably my favorite. I had really strong "feelings" about it the entire time I was reading it. I got mad at the mother and scared for the little girl and the creepy guy. I really like stories that I can really get into. I also really liked "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter;" at first I thought Sith (by the way, all I could think about was Star Wars everytime her name was mentioned...anyone else have that problem?)...back on track...I thought she was really flaky and I didn't really care for her, but I really liked that in the end she made up for her father's mistakes and turned out to be a really good person...even though she had a "small heart"...haha. I was a little bored by "Another Word for Map Is Faith." I don't really understand "Lionflower Hedge" yet, which is unfortunate because that is the story I'm talking about Wednesday. I'll have to figure out what it's all about before then. And finally, I really liked "A Fearful Symmetry" too! I liked that it was symmetrical, and everything that was mentioned in the story was resolved by the time you got to the end. I also really liked that we are part of her "rebirth." It makes me wonder if this really happened or if it is completely made up. Like the other stories I liked, I felt really connected to this one, too. I was a bit suspicious about the girl and the soldiers though. The girl was really stupid to go out there all by herself. So, yeah. That's what I thought about this weeks stories. Hopefully I'll figure out something very insightful to say about "Lionflower Hedge" before Wednesday!

My favorite story this week was "Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery." I thought that this was a great blend of fantasy and reality. I loved all of the gifts that he sent her and how they were so unrealistic and so great at the same time! I think their favorite bar was my favorite gift, but Saturday was pretty great too. I also really liked the entire storyline. I thought it was a lot like what would happen in real life. Guys do something stupid and then they try to "give the girl the world" to make up for it. I just really really liked this story, but this set of stories was definitely my favorite overall. They were all really great this week!

Definition?

So didn't exactly post before class--apologies, but I wanted to say a little more about The Muldoon. Andy--we were talking about what exactly is a "muldoon" before the connection was up and running, but no one was sure exactly what it is. I had googled it before class, but couldn't come up with anything. Laurie suggested that it is just an irish expression, which makes the most sense, but I just feel like I've heard the word before in a different sense. Could be totally making that up though. However, I figured if there were double entendres throughout the story there might be one in the title...Just a thought.

Agh, I know I am a cutting it a little close with the posting here so I will try not to repeat to much of what everyone else has already said. My favorites this week were "Fourteen Experiments", "Journey", and "Cup and Table". I really, really liked "Journey" and to continue with Jessica's post, would like to say that I was completely fooled. Here I was, reading this tragic love story about ghosts in a lighthouse and then BAM! it turns into a firsthand account of a psychopath (whoa Alex, whoa). I get the whole life imitating art and really Alex and Agatha are the actual tragic love story not Ezekiel and Agatha but still... I am impressed by Rickert's ability to throw in a surprise, twist ending and really the writing style was entirely spellbinding. I just felt like the end kind of turned into one of those flashy "dramatized" documentaries of a serial killer. Actually, the whole life and fantasy being intertwined and inseparable reminded me a ton of "Pan's Labyrinth!!" Anyone else think so?
I know this is getting long but P.S. "Cup and Table" = phenomenal! I haven't read an off-the-wall original story like this in ages. The guy who eats everything and takes on their properties? Love it!

journey into the crazy's guy's imagination

I really believe that the girl's claims about her story not being real is actually true. I'm sure she did write it as an expression of her current anxiety, and not as a biography. The guy who read the story, and MURDERED her at the end, was already distraught by his last wife's death, so I don't doubt in the least that he had gone cuckoo. He really really really wanted to believe that her story was true because he wanted to escape from his pain and live a completely new and different life. So after he dumped her in the water, he IMAGINED or DREAMED her coming back into his bedroom to cuddle with him. So whatever. He was totally wrong for doing what he did to an innocent girl. Even though she made up that story, she did NOT throw herself in that situation because she later told him (various times) that it wasn't true. ugh

Symbolism in the Mail

When I was reading "Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery", I could not help but wonder just how weird the plot of this story went. Beyond that I did pick up on several literary references within the story.

For example, we have the guy sending her his "socks" in the mail. I think Van Gogh did the same with his ear, he wasn't crazy enough to give himself "cold feet" so to say.

The guy on the horse was a throwback to the Canterbury Tales by Geoffry Chaucer. He represents the Pardoner and the verse in that poem was modified from the General Prologue's description of the Pardoner. The Pardoner is also described there as either a eunuch or a homosexual. So I thought it pretty funny that she sent him to see her ex.

The letter where she got the bar may have some symbolism in it. The bar was owned by Harold Angel in Chapel hill. "Hark the Harold Angel sings". A gold leaf angel was also on the window to the bar. Angel's wife was also named Joy. "Joy to the world"

I am sure there is even more to digg up in this story. These were just some of the first ones that came to mind.

La Blase Fee Verte

I absolutely love our class discussions, as no matter how I felt about a particular story coming in, I find some new way to appreciate it before the class is overwith. Now, I am not the one presenting "La Fee Verte," so I won't go too deep into it. Maybe it was just the circumstances in which I read it, but the tale wasn't nearly as enthralling as most others we have read. My initial reaction after finishing it was just a nod and a golf-clap. The plot's focus on Victorine's unrequited love for a girl who was practically a figment of one's imagination felt... in the way? No, I'm not sure how to say it. Maybe if anyone else feels a twinge of something they can help elucidate this feeling. I did enjoy the historical quality to it; I definitely read believingly, without questioning whether the author had any idea that's the way the atmosphere felt in the late 1800's. The character of Victorine was very real as well. She always made sure she was in complete control over her life, and always got what she wanted, except (for many moons) for that elusive La Fee Verte, the mysterious seer I just couldn't bring myself to care about. I guess if someone knew absolutely everything that was going to happen/happened, she would have a sort of indifferent look on something such as a momentarily jilted lover, and just about every aspect of life would seem to her as "only shadows," which should not be feared. Still, she felt so unreal and I still have no idea what her deal is. Is she really a faerie's descendant? What does everyone else think of her character?

Fourteen....

Okay so I don't want to say too much, because this wasn't my story to discuss, but I did want to say that I really liked Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery. The story was just so random and ridiculous. Kind of like me. I really found it interesting that the story was told solely from Jessica's point of view and that Chris never sent any letters, only packages. I'm not really sure what deeper meaning that has but i'll let someone tackle that tomorrow.

A Quickie

Before I have to run away to one of my many other commitments, I figured a post was in order. My faves were Journey Into the Kingdom, along with Cup and Table, by far. My story for tomorrow, however, is La Fee Verte. I enjoyed how the author interwove the green fairy motif throughout. Like absinthe, Victorine's lover was also a means of escape from the present world. Unlike the liquid, however, her stories actually transported one into another time -- literally, in one case, for Victorine. The historical re-creation of war-frazzled France was also well done, I think. Harsh reality against intriguing fantasy is always a good combo. Besides, you have to dig the closing message - as the Beatle's say - all you need is love (or companionship right here, right now).

These stories rock...in America.

So, I'm not really sure what to write this week because I am not assigned to any of the stories and I don't want to steal the thunder of the person who is assigned. So I guess I'll just say what I liked about the stories and I won't get too deep. I thought that "Fourteen Experiments in Postal Delivery" was an awesome story. I really liked the fact that Christopher sent Jessica Saturday in the mail. I mean, how awesome is that?! He sent her the day and everyone got a day off! And then he sent her Spain! Now, the end was kind of weird, but I still enjoyed it. Now, "La Fee Verte" was somewhat interesting but not my favorite. "Cup and Table" was okay and I did find it amusing that massive amounts of drugs helped to amplify their powers. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, though. Except maybe Carlsbad. I don't know, I thought he was interesting, because even though he was made up of all the world's evil, he himself was not evil. I actually really liked his character. The last two stories were good. I really liked the stories in "Journey into the Kingdom". It might have been one of my favorites that we read this time. "The Muldoon" was also interesting. I feel bad for the kids and I'm definitely creeped out by gross great-grandmother phantoms trying to get little kids. It sucks for Miriam because it's really not her fault that Martin fell down. I mean, it was just a bad situation that she got blamed for, especially since she has to live with the secret that her grandfather let his mother and his mother-in-law die. But still, a good story nonetheless. I find myself more creeped out that a person could let his mother die then the creature that lives in the house. So, there we go, I wrote something. Hurray for me! See you all tomorrow!

Sign me up!

Hey,

As I'll be gone Wednesday, I was hoping that I could volunteer myself in absentia for a story! I don't really care which one. So, yes, when Andy is signing people up for the short stories next week, think of me!

Post for Rickert

Right, well, better get this week off on a head start!

As was previously stated, my task for the week involves wrangling M. Rickert's "Journey into the Kingdom." According to Rickert's Wikipedia article, "Journey into the Kingdom" won the 2007 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction. This came as no surprise to me, really, as I thoroughly enjoyed it! The characters were quirky and entertaining, and the story itself contained at least three stories within a story. A lovely interwoven plot, and a great read.

If you haven't finished, read no further--spoilers abound.

I love that the story starts off with coffee shop art. So often one walks into a local coffee shop and finds him/herself face to face with a truly dreadful canvas with an even more abhorrent title on sale for some ridiculous amount of money. The slack jawed expression Agatha throws Alex when she explains that someone actually wanted to buy her painting was priceless ("Doesn't he know it sucks?"). However, I feel that the way the paintings are first described must mean that they *don't* suck. Alex describes the careful strokes and the combination of hues. And while the title doesn't really fit with the paintings, it describes the three stories as a whole quite well.

I really want to read an artist's statement like that one day.

Anyway, some recurring themes in the class that cropped up in the story include: live people dating dead people (and the troubles involved), the power of an artist's word (i.e. the "artist's statement"), death by ocean/water, and slightly creepy guys tying up young girls and tossing them into watery places.

As always, I like to compare this to things I've read that aren't on the syllabus... Again, this story reminds me of Karen Russell's alligator wrestling story in St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves. In the story the reader encounters two young Floridian girls, one of which selfishly wanders into the swamp at night to meet with her dead boyfriends (i.e. let them possess her). Worth a read, definitely, and could make an interesting comparison.

Question: What did everyone think of the bizarre, half-drowned, one-night stand (really one-night stand) at the end?

A Cup of Sugar Under the Table

I've got to be honest here, I'm not sure how to feel about this story. At some points, it seems like a critique of those superhero groups involving all those overused characters: the sexy token female, the hardcore guy, the time traveler and the jackass. This in and of itself is a good reason to reflect on this story. I mean, it isn't every day that protagonists in superhero stories are able to heighten their abilities with copious drug-snorting. Pratt certainly had some interesting touches, but overall, I had to ultimately wonder if this was a critique or if he was really just succumbing to the cliches. Hey, sometimes it's hard to tell a parody from a sincere story attempt! The reading I prefer is the parody, because if this ISN'T written to be satirical, I have a bone to pick or a forbidding fruit to offer. I'm rather tired of reading stories that involve obviously sexist renditions of female characters. I know that Laurie and Laura at least will appreciate this notion; so many times in fantasy we either get a goddess or a whore. I really noticed it in this story and it kind of bugged me. And trust me, I'm not a militant feminist. In "Cup and Table" we've got a witch-whore and a masculine, bitchy boss-lady. It made me sigh a bit.

HOWEVER! I really enjoyed the ending. I'm learning that religious fantasy (ala "The Muldoon") can be molded into stories that simply pulse with edgy life, and the Deist worldview solidly presented here offers some fascinating possibilities (such as snorting God's blood and asking him not to leave the world ticking away on its own).

HOWEVER! I'm also incredibly bitter. I really wish we had read this story before I wrote my paper about man vs. God... *sigh*

Post for Pan

Ok,

So, really, this is quite late, but I'd like to put in my two cents worth for this week anyway...

I really enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth! True, it was disturbing and frightening at times, but it was overall enthralling and quite moving. I have to agree, two of the saddest moments were the death of the doctor and the death of the mandrake! I definitely teared up.

Also, just a little something extra to go along with the cycle discussion we had in class on Wednesday:
There's cyclical symbolism throughout the entirety of the movie (including the Persephone reference that Kalen brought up and the cycle of the moon thing), but I don't even think we touched on how the movie itself is a cycle. It begins with the bloody death of Ofelia and ends with the gun shot that brings her down. Yes, I know, "Thank you Captain Obvious," but I didn't even think about it until today.

All in all, I feel that one could write a pretty convincing feminine archetypal analysis of this movie. There are all sorts of distorted primal feminine fertility and cycle symbols. Again, something that just struck me today was the toad in the first task. Frogs and toads were animals often associated with feminine fertility in ancient societies (See Heqet, the Egyptian Fertility Goddess), and I am of the opinion that the toad sucking the life from the inside of the tree could most definitely be tied to the troubled pregnancy of Ofelia's mother. The toad, like Ofelia's mother's pregnancy, is a burden on the tree and causes it to wither; and although Ofelia rids the tree of its parasite, I am of the opinion that the death of the toad portends the difficult childbirth Ofelia's mother later faces.

Just an interesting thought.