A beautiful graphic novel with a sometimes heartbreaking story about the life of a struggling family under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. I haven't readA beautiful graphic novel with a sometimes heartbreaking story about the life of a struggling family under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. I haven't read the original novel this adaptation is based on, but I was impressed by how well this short graphic novel encapsulates the complex history and grim realities of life in one of the 21st century's most scarred and war-torn countries for a middle grade audience. ...more
An old-school fantasy romance recommended by a couple of friends, so when I spotted it at a book sale I picked it up and breezed through in a couple oAn old-school fantasy romance recommended by a couple of friends, so when I spotted it at a book sale I picked it up and breezed through in a couple of evenings.
I probably would have enjoyed this king-and-queen-of-warring-shapeshifter-tribes-attempt-to-make-peace-through-marriage story a whole lot more if I'd come to it as a teen: every time the author attempted a bit of military or political worldbuilding I wanted to pick fights with her, which is unfair, because it seems like the book was written at a relatively young age. That said, there are definitely things to praise about this book; it's enemies-to-lovers, but Non-Toxic! and it did one or two little things that I really appreciated and would love to see happen a lot more often....more
June Hur has done it again! A CRANE AMONG WOLVES has some of the romantic tropes of a historical kdrama, but its core is another nuanced, uncompromisiJune Hur has done it again! A CRANE AMONG WOLVES has some of the romantic tropes of a historical kdrama, but its core is another nuanced, uncompromising, yet restrained depiction of real Korean history in all its darkness.
Our female lead, Iseul, has lost everyone she ever loved and when her sister is stolen by the king for his harem of a thousand "courtesans", her only ambition is to steal her back by whatever means necessary. Our male lead, Daehyun, is a prince who has survived his half-brother's reign only by burying his true feelings and feigning sycophancy - all the while plotting treason. Iseul reluctantly joins forces with Daehyun when she realises that deposing the king may be her only chance to free her sister - but can anything really change for the better in a sixteenth century Korea where power is concentrated in the hands of the corrupt?
I love the way June Hur writes history. On the one hand, she does serious research, she doesn't condense the history into a simplistic tale of black hats and white hats, and she's unflinching in the darkness she portrays. On the other hand, she always gives us sympathetic main characters who we can cheer for even while they remain very much grounded in their own time and their own beliefs. She always ends with hope. And, she never gets too far into the horrors: we know that awful things are happening but don't get dragged through them, and she's careful to give dignity to the victims.
My one ding against the book is that I did find it to be less polished than THE RED PALACE - which is surely the fault of the publisher and their editing team, not the author. So, if you aren't yet a fan of the wonderful June Hur, I'm not sure that I would start with this one. But if you are, and if you love thoughtful historical fiction for ALL ages, men who drink respect women juice, and deft treatment of dark topics - don't miss A CRANE AMONG WOLVES....more
June Hur got my attention with THE RED PALACE, and I've finally got around to reading one of her earlier novels, THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS.
I liked thJune Hur got my attention with THE RED PALACE, and I've finally got around to reading one of her earlier novels, THE FOREST OF STOLEN GIRLS.
I liked this book a lot, although I don't think it's quite on the same level as RED PALACE, just in terms of craft. But, so much of what I loved about THE RED PALACE is fully on display here: we have a good, old-fashioned detective story set in historical Korea, featuring a determined young heroine, a fascinating slice of Korean historical context, a steadily-simmering plot, and complex, mature themes that examine Korean culture and gender roles. By the end of this book, as by the end of THE RED PALACE, an individual monster has been defeated, but the characters - and the book - still recognise the enormity of systemic injustice that remains.
Unique to this book is the central relationship, which wisely eschews romance in favour of complex familial relationships - sisters, fathers, and daughters are at the centre of this novel in the most poignant and resonant ways. I also loved learning a little more about Jeju Island and also the historical context, in which the Ming Dynasty in China demanded a tribute of beautiful Korean girls for their imperial harems. And, as always, I'm in awe of the ways in which Hur - a westernised, Christian author writing fiction set in a world of Confucianism and shamanism - treads delicately in critiquing what needs to be critiqued while also honouring historical accuracy and the essential humanity and worth of the historical characters she writes.
Splendid fiction, the kind of YA I'd highly recommend for actual young adults, and a vivid window onto historical Korea - long may June Hur reign....more
This was more a gothic-infused psychological thriller than it was a fantasy, and while I saw every single plot twist coming from miles away, I'm not mThis was more a gothic-infused psychological thriller than it was a fantasy, and while I saw every single plot twist coming from miles away, I'm not mad about it either. I normally don't like books with such thin plots and I definitely have never cared for Chokshi's overly ornate prose, but the suspense kept me skimming through, and with five or six books under her belt Chokshi has certainly matured into a writer whose uses her ornament to some purpose.
Most of all, however, I admired the themes in this book. It seems to be setting up something as dark and disturbing as du Maurier's REBECCA, and there's a lot of portentous talk about myths and fairytales, some of which had me eyerolling (as did the Susan Pevensie commentary...until I realised that Chokshi was actually using it to say something valid and very close to Lewis' own take on the character, which was that she would find her way back to Narnia in the end). Lots of people talk a lot of nonsense about fairytales, but for me, there are just two or three really important things about them, and the most important thing of all is this: every true fairytale ends in eucatastrophe. So does THE LAST TALE OF THE FLOWER BRIDE, and it was this that caught me by surprise even though I saw the actual plot mechanics getting into gear from the very first act.
Although it's not my normal cup of tea, I liked it a lot, and I couldn't put it down.
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ETA: I've been thinking about this book non-stop since I finished it, and the more I think about it the more I love what Chokshi did with it. This is a creepy and sometimes heavy novel (one of the characters must deal with a predatory/abusive stepfather) that nevertheless ends in hope and healing, in a way that feels almost subversive. It's the one time I've seen Susan Pevensie Discourse done in a way that actually shows the author understood Lewis' point. I also cannot sufficiently express how much I love that the role of the gothic heroine is played by the bloke, and that the role of the Bluebeard is played by the woman. It's the best gothic novel I've read since MEXICAN GOTHIC and I liked it even better....more
THE BLUE CASTLE meets SABRIEL in this dark cottagecore romantic fantasy from Kate Stradling. I'll be honest, this one didn't sweep me away quite as haTHE BLUE CASTLE meets SABRIEL in this dark cottagecore romantic fantasy from Kate Stradling. I'll be honest, this one didn't sweep me away quite as hard as THE HEIR AND THE SPARE did, but it was also exactly the mildly spooky comfort read I needed right now, and I inhaled the bulk of it in a couple of evenings. ...more
I read this in beta so I won't say much, but OH LOOK IS IT ATHELAS TWISTILY USING HIS POWERS FOR NICENESS AND NOT FOR EVIL :-OI read this in beta so I won't say much, but OH LOOK IS IT ATHELAS TWISTILY USING HIS POWERS FOR NICENESS AND NOT FOR EVIL :-O...more
Secretly An Exiled Fae King + Mildly Autistic Lady Academic is what I never knew I needed
I would have loved for the historical context to feel less vaSecretly An Exiled Fae King + Mildly Autistic Lady Academic is what I never knew I needed
I would have loved for the historical context to feel less vague and more convincing, even as an alternate history - simply a closer attention to the language used, with fewer anachronisms and Americanisms would have helped enormously. But that's just me, a history nerd. What does work well in this book is the depiction of the fae, which is note perfect and wonderfully evocative, and the characterisation, which is absolutely delightful. Cosy, thrilling, and hilarious. Bring on book 2!...more
sometimes a girl just wants to read a detailed critique of local/visible church absolutism, okay
this short book doesn't try to argue much that is new,sometimes a girl just wants to read a detailed critique of local/visible church absolutism, okay
this short book doesn't try to argue much that is new, which is one of its strengths - it backs up its argumentation pretty solidly from writers of the past from Rutherford to Gillespie, from Spurgeon to Hodge. it also helped me think through some of the questions I've been asking myself about ecclesiology and the role and authority of elders, particularly as I've been rethinking women in ministry.
the big light bulb moment for me was Bo pointing out that elders are pretty much literally that - people who have been believers longer and thus are better acquainted with the faith. this fits super well with my steadily emerging convictions that, eg in 1 Timothy when Paul does not allow women to teach and appeals to Eve having been formed second and therefore being more easily deceived, he isn't saying that women are ontologically stupider than men but just that anyone, specifically women in this case but not necessarily limited to them, who hasn't been a believer for as long, is going to be more susceptible to false teaching and ought to spend some time learning before wanting to teach.
five stars, not because the book is perfect but because I enjoyed it so much...more
The good: this was gorgeously written, with constantly simmering moody suspense that begins to approach cosmic horror. In this book Stewart is writingThe good: this was gorgeously written, with constantly simmering moody suspense that begins to approach cosmic horror. In this book Stewart is writing about the numinous and terrifying sanctity of nature and the horror of mountaineering accidents in a brutal and uncaring landscape. Her settings are always as vivid as the characters that inhabit them, but in this book she outdoes herself. I adored the bleak, dark atmosphere she conjures up in this book, and how beautifully it fits with the plot.
The not so good: [SPOILERS] there was nothing wrong with this book that couldn't have been fixed if the murderer had been the heroine's ex husband. If you've been reading Stewart for a while you always know the heroine is going to end up with the dark and untrustworthy love interest rather than the golden retriever boy, and this would have been a great way to surprise us. Moreover, the untrustworthy love interest in this book is a) the heroine's crumby ex who has already cheated on her at least once AND b) barely in the story at all, which together means that we don't sympathise at all with her anxiety over turning him in to the police. Finally, there's an attempt to set up a great theme about loyalties versus principles, which loses all force and relevance when it turns out that the crumby ex is NOT the murderer.
In sum: a terrifically atmospheric and creepy suspense thriller, unfortunately let down by its ending. ...more
Massive, magisterial, detailed, surprising, endlessly thought-provoking. The most glaring fault in the book is its treatment of the few women it deignMassive, magisterial, detailed, surprising, endlessly thought-provoking. The most glaring fault in the book is its treatment of the few women it deigns to recognise with uniform contempt as hysterical, irrational, and swayed by family and domestic considerations. Similarly, the author often seems to uncritically accept Russian imperial self-image and aspirations, and brush off the desires of subject peoples for self-determination. Apart from that, this is a sweeping, epic picture of the Russian Revolution, covering three decades and every level of society, from daily life in the village commune to the political rivalries of Lenin's declining years, without ever becoming dull or bogged down in detail.
Some valuable quotes from the conclusion:
Gorky's view of the Russian Revolution denied that the people had been betrayed by it. Their revolutionary tragedy lay in the legacies of their own cultural backwardness rather than the evil of some 'alien' Bolsheviks. They were not the victims of the revolution but protagonists in its tragedy. This may be a painful lesson for the Russian people to learn at the end of the twentieth century. Seventy years of Communist oppression might well be thought to have earned them the right to see themselves as victims. But Russia's prospects as a democratic nation depend to a large extent on how far the Russians are able to confront their own recent history; and this must entail the recognition that, however much the people were oppressed by it, the Soviet system grew up in Russian soil. It was the weakness of Russia's democratic culture which enabled Bolshevism to take root. This was the legacy of Russian history, of centuries of serfdom and autocratic rule, that had kept the common people powerless and passive. 'And the people remained silent' was a Russian proverb — and it describes much of Russian history. To be sure, this was a people's tragedy but it was a tragedy which they helped to make. The Russian people were trapped by the tyranny of their own history.
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The state, however big, cannot make people equal or better human beings. All it can do is to treat its citizens equally, and strive to ensure that their free activities are directed towards the general good.
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[E]ven more worrying, authoritarian nationalism has begun to fill the vacuum left by the collapse of Communism, and in a way has reinvented it, not just in the sense that today's nationalists are, for the most part, reformed Communists, but also in the sense that their violent rhetoric, with its calls for discipline and order, its angry condemnation of the inequalities produced by the growth of capitalism, and its xenophobic rejection of the West, is itself adapted from the Bolshevik tradition. ...more
The final book in the Bracken trilogy is both the darkest and the best. When I first read these books around the age of 10, I didn't like sad stories,The final book in the Bracken trilogy is both the darkest and the best. When I first read these books around the age of 10, I didn't like sad stories, and this book stunned me because although it was SO sad, I still loved it.
The first two books of this series were about princesses. THE TWO COLLARS is about a child slave who has been abused all her life when she's bought by the wise woman who is the central figure of the whole trilogy, and raised to be her successor. Meanwhile, unspecified years after the books of the first trilogy, a war is brewing between the king and his cousin - and age is finally catching up with the wise woman.
As in the first two books of the series, there's a subtle stand of allegory running through the story, although it becomes a little more overt here - Krea's relationship with her Mistress, adopted out of slavery to be raised into maturity as her daughter is clearly intended to be an image of the believer's relationship with God. Indeed, the allegory has that inartistic characteristic, of only being understandable if you take the wise woman as being God. Krea's dependence on the old woman would be pretty troubling in any relationship between humans. Nevertheless, I give it all a pass, not just because of how novel and delightful it is to see an allegory where God is represented as a woman rather than as a man or an animal, but also because the symbolism is so poignant and for much of the story, so subtle. Even as an adult, I was tearing up throughout this book. By this time, Massi has learned how to shred your feelings with a few turns of phrase.
The main theme of the book has to do with authority. Where does authority come from? Krea's old master uses power, fear, and manipulation to control her. The kingdom of Bracken appeals to the Unchangeable Law carved on the foundations of the king's castle. And the old woman tells Krea that she must learn to serve others not from fear, but from love, and that she will attain to the wise woman's royal status not through high birth, but service. All this is of course straight from the Gospels, and has become additionally meaningful to me of recent years. To go back and find it all laid out in a favourite book from my childhood was pretty special.
Resonant, heartbreaking, and despite its flaws full of what CS Lewis called sehnsucht, THE TWO COLLARS pulls the Bracken trilogy beyond itself to a new level. It's been years since I last read these, but they have weathered nostalgia well....more
The second book of the Bracken trilogy is a big step up from the first in almost every way - the writing is immediately more engaging, the story (despThe second book of the Bracken trilogy is a big step up from the first in almost every way - the writing is immediately more engaging, the story (despite similarities to the first book, with a princess needing to flee an enemy and rescue her parents) is far more epic and bittersweet in its scope, and there is no clumsily overt moral to this story, just some gracefully organic themes to do with suffering and courage.
Indeed the themes are so subtle in this book that the publisher chose to include a foreword labouriously to explain that this is in fact a Christian book with a Christian message, in case that was not obvious to parents who need an overt moral. I personally prefer my books not to have overt Christian messaging, and this delightful fantasy feels very much like a George MacDonald book - it's applicable and deeply resonant, without ever being preachy. I was also highly impressed by the book's very respectable attempt at a faux-medieval writing style - especially in the dialogue, Massi uses this ably to lend a sense of solemnity and gravity to the story, without quite slipping over into suggesting that CS Lewis Made Me Do It.
My only criticism of this lovely book is that to a greater extent than THE BRIDGE, the story is more that of the princess - Rosewyn, a much more vivid character than the first book's Rosalynn - and as result, it feels a little anticlimactic when the wise woman turns up at a climactic moment to save the lost princess. The effect is less eucatastrophe than deus ex machina, since it detracts a little from Rosewyn's agency as a character.
That said, I got just as sucked into this book this time through as I did when I was a child. There are some twists and turns that hit you HARD in this book - a sign of what was to come in book 3 - and the bittersweetness is something else I never came across in most of the Improving Christian Books I read as a child. Absolutely delightful. ...more
Since Miss Dark and her crew are currently visiting Imperial Russia, I decided to read this biography of Mathilde Kschessinska, queen of the Russian bSince Miss Dark and her crew are currently visiting Imperial Russia, I decided to read this biography of Mathilde Kschessinska, queen of the Russian ballet at the turn of the twentieth century and most famous these days as the one-time mistress of Nicholas II, before he married Alexandra. This biography was not the most fascinating reading as it refrained from diving too deep into commentary on Kschessinska's life - a life which neverthess was full of dizzying highs and awful lows. "Little K" climbed the ladder of the Maryinsky Theatre with boundless ambition, ruthlessly exploited her relationship with Nicholas long after it was over, was the mistress of at least three Romanov princes in quick succession, parleyed this success into astonishing wealth and a brilliant dancing career - suppressing the careers of goodness knows how many more talented dancers in the process - most likely made a small fortune in profiteering during World War I, lost it all in the Revolution and had to flee on foot over the Caucasus, before spending the final half of her long life working herself like a dog as a dancing-mistress in Paris to support an extensive family of impoverished Russian emigres. Bad Girl Makes Good, to wildly simplify things. I learned a lot about the imperial Russian ballet system, though not as much as I'd like, and came away with perhaps more questions than ever. It's tempting to wonder whether "Little K" ever wished she'd lived a life of blameless and prosperous obscurity rather than soaring too close to the sun, before plummeting so disastrously to earth. But I don't think she did, and moreover, a life of blameless obscurity did not save millions of Eastern Europeans at this time from horrific deaths. I still really wished we'd heard more about the WAR PROFITEERING though. ...more
I've been in a dreadful reading slump all year, so I'm revisiting some old favourites in an attempt to reboot my interest in the pastime. Jeri Massi'sI've been in a dreadful reading slump all year, so I'm revisiting some old favourites in an attempt to reboot my interest in the pastime. Jeri Massi's BRACKEN trilogy was a fantasy staple of my childhood. When I wrote my very first story it was a rather thinly veiled copy of this one, and I thought it would be fascinating to revisit the books as an adult.
THE BRIDGE is the shortest and slightest of the trilogy, following a fugitive princess after her kingdom is invaded as she attempts to escape the enemies trying to capture her. When Rosalynn joins forces with an ageless wise woman, they get a chance to save the whole kingdom.
This time around I find part of the book's theme slightly troubling. 10yo Rosalynn is depicted as a prideful and spoilt girl for questioning her adult friends, and her character arc has to do with her learning unquestioning obedience in some ways that I'm not sure I would consider appropriate for a child of my own (although I am not a parent and it might hit different if I was).
That said, even in this shortest and slightest of the trilogy, I found much that was impressive. The story owes clear debts to the children's fantasies of CS Lewis and George MacDonald, in the best possible ways. Although the trilogy has always been published by Christian publishers and there is a very, very faint thread of allegory/symbolism, I was pleased by how subtle and artistic the Christian themes were. Finally, although this is a children's book, the real protagonist is without a doubt the wise woman whom the princess meets on her travels. It is she who saves the day using her knowledge and wisdom when all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot. As child reading this book I was entirely wrapped up in Rosalynn's adventures, but as an adult the appeal of the book lies in seeing a solo female character of indeterminate age Gandalfing her way through this fantasy about princesses for little girls. It's like THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN if you could actually imagine BEING the grandmother and stomping down out of the tower to fix everything. Which, of course, I thoroughly enjoyed. ...more
S A Chakraborty, whose CITY OF BRASS trilogy absolutely enchanted me, is back with a new series about pirates, magic, and high adventure on the medievS A Chakraborty, whose CITY OF BRASS trilogy absolutely enchanted me, is back with a new series about pirates, magic, and high adventure on the medieval Indian Ocean. First up, this book is a riot and a hoot, a romp and a thrill ride. You should absolutely read this book if you like fun, if you've ever wished for SINDBAD THE SAILOR to meet PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, or if the idea of an aging lady pirate and her utterly reprehensible feral disaster husband betraying each other up and down the length of the Indian Ocean sounds like your cup of tea. I was particularly excited because a recent nonfiction read (THE GOLDEN ELEPHANT) introduced me to the rich life of the medieval Indian Ocean and it was absolutely thrilling to get a book set in that world.
If it wasn't for one specific aspect of the book this would be a totally uncomplicated rave review. I've honestly debated about whether to mention this at all, because most people aren't going to notice or care. In all honesty, I really struggled with the character of Falco, the villain, who is supposed to be a former crusader and acts as a lightning-rod for some discussion and critique of the crusades generally. Since this is a history I've been reading on and off for the past 9 years, I can't help having strong opinions on the way Chakraborty chose to approach this aspect of her story. With all respect to the author, I honestly think it is characterised by many small inaccuracies and repeats historical myths which have now been either exploded or strongly challenged by more recent scholarship. For one example (out of many): the book portrays the crusaders in general and Falco in particular as being strongly prejudiced against the indigenous Christians of the east, a view popularised by Steven Runciman back in the 1950s. More recent scholarship, however, like Christopher MacEvitt's THE CRUSADES AND THE CHRISTIAN WORLD OF THE EAST: ROUGH TOLERANCE, makes a persuasive argument for fairly positive crusader/indigenous Christian relations which did not begin to sour until the late 12th century and remained cooperative throughout the history of the crusader states.
Well might you ask: why does this matter? - Because the history WAS complex and nuanced, and so were the people, and because those who demonise the crusaders in many cases uncritically accept the same narratives being pushed by those who valorise them. (I want to give a shoutout to Zamil Akhtar's grimdark epic GUNMETAL GODS, which also has a crusader-coded character as the villain, and although he's a mass-murdering war criminal he's also complex, nuanced, and a much more accurate representation of a crusader.)
Again, I cannot emphasise enough what an EXCELLENT time this book is or how very little any of this historical debate ought to impact your enjoyment of it. All my friends have absolutely loved it. The bibliography may be thin on crusader history (understandable!) but Chakraborty has clearly done a formidable amount of reading on the medieval Indian Ocean and she brings that world vividly to life. My gratitude to Chakraborty for writing such brilliant, vividly detailed fantasy inspired by such underrepresented history far, far outweighs any quibbles I may have with her take on the crusades, and I cannot wait to follow Amina al-Sirafi's future adventures....more
I'd already read Abraham Eraly's book LAST SPRING on the Mughal Empire's apogee from Babur to Aurangzeb; and William Dalrymple's THE LAST MUGHAL on thI'd already read Abraham Eraly's book LAST SPRING on the Mughal Empire's apogee from Babur to Aurangzeb; and William Dalrymple's THE LAST MUGHAL on the first Indian war for independence, aka the Sepoy Rebellion. THE ANARCHY filled in the gap between these two books, largely focused upon the eighteenth century in India, as the Mughal Empire disintegrated and was taken over by multiple small successor states, thereby becoming rich pickings for the feuding English and French. As I've come to expect from Mughal history, this book was a rich and often dramatic tapestry, with brilliantly written military history punctuated by intense and vivid moments of interpersonal conflict: Shah Alam's early strife with a teenaged evil vizier; a Bengali prince's death by oddly accurate lightning strike or possibly at the hands of a vengeful concubine (take your pick); the gallant last stand of Tippu Sultan, or the gaudy horrors of Ghulam Qadir's revenge upon the Mughal court - because the tale of the EIC's rise to an empire, with a standing army twice the size of the British government's, is not just a tale of imperial agency but also the tale of Indian agency.
And of course there are the English vultures who systematically looted an entire subcontinent, some in the name of empire but most simply in the name of a board of merchants in Leadenhall Street. Parts of the book, especially the 1770 famine in Bengal, reminded me of Stalin's manmade famines in the Soviet Union and especially the Holodomor in Ukraine: in both cases, an unscrupulous ruler systematically stripped a rich and fertile province of its food, resulting in widespread starvation. When capitalism and communism result in such similar effects, you might pardon me for feeling so extremely sceptical about both of them.
But the British Raj in India was achieved in what strikes me as a peculiarly British manner. England has been described often as "a nation of shopkeepers" and it was one of its most notable characteristics in the 19th century that even its royalty affected a purposefully bourgeois flavour compared to the more militaristic, autocratic regimes in, say, Russia and Germany. Miranda Carter (in her very fine book The Three Emperors: Three Cousins, Three Empires and the Road to World War One) pointed out how while the German aristocracy and royalties legitimated their status through the projection of militaristic, masculinist power, the British upper classes did so through the projection of strict middle-class morality (in public, that is: in practice, it meant rank hypocrisy). This book helped to explain how a nation which always prided itself upon its liberal democratic government, its freedom of the press, and its strictly mercantile ambitions, managed to bloodily acquire an empire of millions. Throughout the period of the EIC's aggressive expansion - first under Clive, then Hastings, then Cornwallis, and finally Wellesley - Britain clutched its pearls and tutted at the atrocities being committed by its most brazen, aggressive, and greedy corporate creation. Periodically, it asked questions in Parliament and even impeached people. But it always retained a plausible deniability as regarded the Company, because the Company was not Britain. It was merely the financial engine which made Britain a world power. If atrocities were committed and millions starved - well, that was the fault of a few greedy nabobs rather than something for which the nation as a whole should feel responsible. When, eighty-seven long years after the great Bengal famine, Britain finally got around to ending the EIC for good and formed the British Raj to administer the subcontinent as a possession of the Crown, it could pat itself on the back for rescuing India from the venal ambitions of those nasty nabobs. And so, I take it, virtue was satisfied....more
Re-read for the umpteenth time for DRACULA DAILY. It has been a decade or so since I last read this, and it really is a wonderfully atmospheric monsteRe-read for the umpteenth time for DRACULA DAILY. It has been a decade or so since I last read this, and it really is a wonderfully atmospheric monster-hunting story, full of deliciously spooky passages, which no adaptation has ever done justice. This time I particularly relished the internet's blorbo Jonathan Harker, who starts out as a mild-mannered lawyer taking the role of gothic heroine in the sinister castle, and ends up a kukri-knife-wielding maniac bent on either taking out Dracula or walking into hell hand-in-hand with his beloved Mina. The treatment of Mina herself was more complex than I remember: the plot sees long stretches of her being kept in the dark by the Big Strong Men who wish to Take Care of Things For Her and Spare Her The Pain, and she declares herself to be grateful for their care, but in fact every time this happens she is vindicated by the narrative: keeping her in ignorance always facilitates her attacker and prevents her from bringing her formidable wits to bear upon the problem at hand. Did Stoker understand the ways in which his overt message was being contradicted by the subtext? I'm not sure, but one could spend an age discussing the ways in which DRACULA trips over some interesting questions of gender, sexuality and predation.
The book that codified the modern vampire story has still got it - and it's more nuanced than I realised, too....more
**spoiler alert** At the end of PHINEAS FINN, our favourite Golden Retriever of an Irish Catholic trying to make a career in English politics had torp**spoiler alert** At the end of PHINEAS FINN, our favourite Golden Retriever of an Irish Catholic trying to make a career in English politics had torpedoed his own career on a scruple before retiring to Ireland to marry his childhood sweetheart, rather than any of the glamorous society women whom he had pursued. At the start of this book, we find Phineas once again arriving in London as an eligible bachelor, determined to take up a career in English politics. Right from the outset, I wondered how this second novel about the same man doing the same things was going to justify itself. Sure, there's a comical subplot about a young and impecunious Palliser cousin having to fend off the attentions of a distressing suitor while trying to figure out a way to marry the man she really loves on an annual income of about sixpence, but this isn't the main meat of the novel, which is about Phineas Finn's adventures in love and politics.
The political elements of the story worked far better for me than they did in the first book, as it presents us with a satirical parliamentary imbroglio only too familiar today. The Conservative Prime Minister unexpectedly presents the nation with a bill for church disestablishment. The Liberal Opposition is absolutely irate, because church disestablishment is THEIR cause, dash it, and how dare the Conservatives imagine that they can introduce such a bill when it's the rightful property of the Liberals? Political tribalism does the rest. It's painfully funny and all too relatable.
This sets the scene for a story which, at bottom, is about disillusionment with politics, especially as a route to power. I particularly loved that in this book we get to see a lot more of Plantagenet Palliser and Lady Glencora, who were one of my favourite things about CAN YOU FORGIVE HER? Plantagenet acts as a foil to the social climbers around him in that doesn't care about holding office at all; he just wants to restructure the entire British monetary system to be more *efficient*, and he doesn't give a hoot that as the Duke of Omnium such work is now beneath him. He's a very lovable character.
Phineas Finn himself goes through a lot in this book, and towards the end I was surprised and touched to find a really sympathetic and extremely insightful treatment of trauma. While I would strongly disagree with the author on certain things (for instance, it irritates me to be told, off-handedly, that women as a rule naturally desire to be mastered), the passage in which Trollope discusses the way in which his hero is thought to be "unmanly" because of his trauma response to suffering is extremely good, and involves some extraordinarily shrewd insights into the way that a certain view of masculinity can become a laborious performance. With all these added elements, I thought that the political plot of this book was far more substantial and meaningful than the one in PHINEAS FINN.
The romantic elements have left me with a lot to chew over, also. Two of Phineas' old flames are still about in this book. Madame Max Goesler is just as rich, handsome, and clever as ever, but Lady Laura, once Phineas' self-appointed political patroness and advisor, is now separated from her husband and living a lonely and utterly miserable life in hiding. Much is made of how haggard and prematurely aged Lady Laura has become, and it's clear that Phineas, whom she still loves better than ever, is the one ray of sunshine in her life. Naturally, I spent the entire book trying to bring the two of them together by sheer efforts of willpower. But no, it isn't to be: Trollope instead sets up his hero with the still beautiful Madame Max.
Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this. I'm not among those readers who respond to THE SMALL HOUSE AT ALLINGTON by assuming that, in keeping Lily Dale single, Trollope is insisting that having lost her first love, a heroine should forever remain faithful to his memory and never cheapen herself by loving again. It's so eminently clear from that book that Lily would have been quite happy to love again if Johnny Eames had not been such an ass. The point of the book is that young men ought not to be asses, not that ladies should never fall in love twice. However, I AM finding it difficult to feel as sure that Trollope doesn't think Lady Laura committed an unforgiveable sin by turning down the man she did love, to marry the man she didn't. It's clear that she made the choice she did out of straitened financial circumstances, and she suffers very horribly for it, but Trollope still seems to think that she should acknowledge her own fault instead of just blaming her husband for the failure of her marriage, and it's hard not to feel that she's packed off to a hopelessly miserable future as a form of poetic justice for her sin. Looking at the story through modern eyes, it's pretty clear that Lady Laura is in an abusive marriage, and one of the hallmarks of an abusive relationship of any kind is that the victim CANNOT fix the relationship by changing. You can't have a successful marriage with an abuser merely by being careful not to provoke his jealousy.
I don't want to oversalt this. The book never suggests that Lady Laura should go back to her abusive husband and try to change to suit him. But, it does doom her to a ruined life of hopeless misery and loneliness, in a way that suggests it might be her own fault, and I just don't know how to feel about that. I get that this is not a perfect character. I didn't want Phineas to marry her in the first book, and in this one, when she starts insulting Madame Max Goesler in front of him because she fears that he might be falling for her rival, I felt that this was the old Lady Laura I was encouraging Phineas to run away from in PHINEAS FINN. I think Madame Max is a great character and a lovely person, and only her being described as a "German Jewess" [sic] saved the book from being worryingly antisemitic (as regards the Josef Emilius character). So, I'm not mad that Phineas ends up with her. But the sheer amount of misery Lady Laura goes through, and the pains Trollope takes to tell us that her beauty has faded (is this to explain why it's impossible for Phineas to love her as he used to?) made me ready to take up the cudgels for the character.
In sum, Madame Max will be just fine if she doesn't end up with Phineas, but I'm really worried for Lady Laura. And maybe that's in the end a testament to Trollope's powers as a novelist, that I feel for his characters as strongly as though they are real people....more
On the one hand, this book was a fascinating set of glimpses at the medieval history of Africa from approximately the Islamic coAbsolutely delightful!
On the one hand, this book was a fascinating set of glimpses at the medieval history of Africa from approximately the Islamic conquests of the seventh century to the arrival of Portugese explorers in the fifteenth. These bite sized essays don't claim to tell you everything there is to know about Berber North Africa; the cross-Saharan trade in salt, gold, and slaves; the Christian kingdoms of Nubia and Ethiopia; the Islamic Sahelian empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, and others. But, they do offer fleeting and vivid glimpses which, being layered on top of each other like a patchwork made out of travellers' tales, archaeological fragments, and scholarly conjecture, gradually form a larger picture.
The effect is strangely, beautifully literary for such an academic book. Partway through I finally put my finger upon what, precisely, THE GOLDEN RHINOCEROS reminded me of: Jorge Luis Borges' LABYRINTHS. I see you looking at me funny: what could a volume of short speculative fiction by a South American magical realist author possibly have in common with an academic history text? But viewed as literary works, the two are closely akin. Both are short, pithy, vivid snatches of much larger stories, originally written with erudite flair in Romance languages, each of them the most fleeting glimpse of a long-vanished, half-imaginary world of often breathtaking sophistication and splendour.
As such, THE GOLDEN RHINOCEROS is one of those rare works: an academic-level literary text with serious literary appeal. As of May 2023, it's still free with your Audible subscription. It's short and fascinating and I thoroughly recommend it....more
Suzannah Rowntree
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