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March 2019 Book List
Apr. 10th, 2019 02:59 pmFour books this month, two novels and two comic books.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Set in 1870s New York and focusing on the emotional affair between a young lawyer who's engaged to be married and his fiance's cousin, a Countess fleeing an abusive marriage. The book is a mixture of romantic yearning, melancholy reflection on the inescapable expectations of the characters' society, and long digressions about various society folk and their own foibles and habits. Not bad per se, but I got impatient with it a lot? I feel it could have been a lot shorter.
In terms of plot I've seen it compared a lot to the more famous Anna Karenina, which I have not read so I can't tell you how accurate that is. But it might be handy to know if you have.
Saga Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
This volume skips back in time a bit from where the last one left off, allowing us to see more of Marco and Alana's family's stay with Oswald Heist. It's a pleasant time but we know going in that eventually their pursuers are going to catch up with them, so tension is derived from both that dread and the need for the parents to decide what exactly they're going to do next.
Meanwhile The Will, Gwen, the little girl they rescued from the brothel planet, and Lying Cat are all stranded on an alien planet. Their situation is complicated by The Will seeing visions of his deceased lover, who urges him to a) bone Gwen and b) give up the mercenary life to stay on the idyllic planet they've wound up on, which conflicts with Gwen's desires to get off the planet and have her revenge on her ex.
Prince Robot IV isn't as active in this volume, having to wait in the wings to confront Oswald the way he did at the end of Vol. 2, so for a third subplot we follow a pair of investigative reporters named Lipsher and Doff who are trying to write a story about Alana and her illicit relationship and motherhood, but get on the wrong side of the authorities in the process.
This series is good, although it relies a lot on crudeness for humor and... I dunno, shock value, I guess? As you've probably surmised, I find it a bit gratuitous. Fortunately the intermingling storylines and characters keep things engaging. 'ware various triggers however.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron is one of the Disney movies we'd sometimes rent while I was growing up and while it wasn't a regular favorite it did make me curious about what the original books are like. Based off the first one, I'd say I like it quite a bit- the story is set in a medieval fantasy sort of world and takes place in a Wales-like land called Prydain, a collection of various small Kingdoms. A peasant boy named Taran dreams of adventure but instead works in a small village learning to make horseshoes and taking care of a pig called Hen Wen. Hen Wen happens to be an oracle however, and when she senses that the local evil Death-Lord, Arawn, and his general, the Horned King, are after her she escapes from her enclosure and flees into the forest. Taran pursues his pig and from there things spiral into a road trip with the end goal of reaching the fortress of Caer Dathyl before an advancing army does.
While I do still like the movie relatively well I think the book is a bit better, particularly with regards to the characters. Book!Eilonwy for example is weirder than the movie one and I greatly appreciate Weird Little Girl Rep. There's also this theme of... Taran, though he wants to be, is not really a mighty warrior hero, but instead an Assistant Pig-Keeper who is Doing His Very Best, and while the theme remains in the movie the book gives us a good idea of how painfully out of his depth Taran feels, which makes his perseverance especially sweet.
Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
New Jersey teenager, Kamala Khan, like many teenagers, is struggling with her identity; her parents are orthodox Muslims and with the exception of her friends Nakia and Bruno, she's viewed as an oddity by her peers. On top of that she's also something of a nerd (she writes superhero fanfiction which, Kamala, why, RPF is weird). In an attempt to fit in she sneaks out to a party and winds up in the midst of an alien attack on New Jersey which mysteriously grants her shapeshifting superpowers. After using them to save someone she decides that she's going to become like the superheroes she admires, but from there she has to figure out how to balance her aspirations with being true to herself, superhero life with teenager life, and all without her parents figure out what's going on. A very cute and charming origin story.
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Set in 1870s New York and focusing on the emotional affair between a young lawyer who's engaged to be married and his fiance's cousin, a Countess fleeing an abusive marriage. The book is a mixture of romantic yearning, melancholy reflection on the inescapable expectations of the characters' society, and long digressions about various society folk and their own foibles and habits. Not bad per se, but I got impatient with it a lot? I feel it could have been a lot shorter.
In terms of plot I've seen it compared a lot to the more famous Anna Karenina, which I have not read so I can't tell you how accurate that is. But it might be handy to know if you have.
Saga Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
This volume skips back in time a bit from where the last one left off, allowing us to see more of Marco and Alana's family's stay with Oswald Heist. It's a pleasant time but we know going in that eventually their pursuers are going to catch up with them, so tension is derived from both that dread and the need for the parents to decide what exactly they're going to do next.
Meanwhile The Will, Gwen, the little girl they rescued from the brothel planet, and Lying Cat are all stranded on an alien planet. Their situation is complicated by The Will seeing visions of his deceased lover, who urges him to a) bone Gwen and b) give up the mercenary life to stay on the idyllic planet they've wound up on, which conflicts with Gwen's desires to get off the planet and have her revenge on her ex.
Prince Robot IV isn't as active in this volume, having to wait in the wings to confront Oswald the way he did at the end of Vol. 2, so for a third subplot we follow a pair of investigative reporters named Lipsher and Doff who are trying to write a story about Alana and her illicit relationship and motherhood, but get on the wrong side of the authorities in the process.
This series is good, although it relies a lot on crudeness for humor and... I dunno, shock value, I guess? As you've probably surmised, I find it a bit gratuitous. Fortunately the intermingling storylines and characters keep things engaging. 'ware various triggers however.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron is one of the Disney movies we'd sometimes rent while I was growing up and while it wasn't a regular favorite it did make me curious about what the original books are like. Based off the first one, I'd say I like it quite a bit- the story is set in a medieval fantasy sort of world and takes place in a Wales-like land called Prydain, a collection of various small Kingdoms. A peasant boy named Taran dreams of adventure but instead works in a small village learning to make horseshoes and taking care of a pig called Hen Wen. Hen Wen happens to be an oracle however, and when she senses that the local evil Death-Lord, Arawn, and his general, the Horned King, are after her she escapes from her enclosure and flees into the forest. Taran pursues his pig and from there things spiral into a road trip with the end goal of reaching the fortress of Caer Dathyl before an advancing army does.
While I do still like the movie relatively well I think the book is a bit better, particularly with regards to the characters. Book!Eilonwy for example is weirder than the movie one and I greatly appreciate Weird Little Girl Rep. There's also this theme of... Taran, though he wants to be, is not really a mighty warrior hero, but instead an Assistant Pig-Keeper who is Doing His Very Best, and while the theme remains in the movie the book gives us a good idea of how painfully out of his depth Taran feels, which makes his perseverance especially sweet.
Ms. Marvel Vol. 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
New Jersey teenager, Kamala Khan, like many teenagers, is struggling with her identity; her parents are orthodox Muslims and with the exception of her friends Nakia and Bruno, she's viewed as an oddity by her peers. On top of that she's also something of a nerd (she writes superhero fanfiction which, Kamala, why, RPF is weird). In an attempt to fit in she sneaks out to a party and winds up in the midst of an alien attack on New Jersey which mysteriously grants her shapeshifting superpowers. After using them to save someone she decides that she's going to become like the superheroes she admires, but from there she has to figure out how to balance her aspirations with being true to herself, superhero life with teenager life, and all without her parents figure out what's going on. A very cute and charming origin story.
