read it - Kate Degelau-Pierce

Surrealism is alive and well

What’s it about?
The Strange Library, I think, pretty solidly qualifies as surreal. There’s a shepherd who goes to the library, and he’s directed to the basement. He makes his book request to an elderly man in room 107, who brings him his books and then directs him to the reading room, through a maze and eventually to a jail cell. Once there, he’s told to memorize the books in 30 days or else. There’s a man who wears a sheep costume and a beautiful woman with no voice who bring him his meals. It’s odd.

Why should you read it?
If you’re getting shades of Kafka, I wouldn’t be surprised. Naked Lunch also popped into my head whilst reading it. There’s a hero, and he’s going on a quest, but he’s not really sure what’s going on and neither are you. Furthermore, there are some things said that make you question your narrator’s reliability. Could this all potentially be a dream? Yes. Could the hero be crazy? Abso-freaking-lutely. I wouldn’t call The Strange Library entertaining, but it gave my brain a nice little workout.

Getting into the meat of the mystery

What’s it about?
Waistcoats & Weaponry follows up on Etiquette & Espionage and Curtsies & Conspiracies by furthering the plot of what exactly the macguffin is for. The macguffin in the series allows machines to transmit signals to other machines – something that could be used for either good or evil in a steampunk society. The mystery is which group is driving its production and what it will use it for. Waistcoats & Weaponry is diving into these questions as well as providing its usual fare of strong girls having adventures.

Why should you read it?
You should read it because the series continues to be a fun piece of work. Some of the class issues in Victorian England are brought to the forefront. Our heroine is flirting with both a viscount and a “sootie” – someone who feeds coal into the steam engines that everything needs to run in a steampunk world. She clearly prefers the sootie, but he knows that they cannot be together precisely because of his station in life. It’s handled very practically, I thought, for something that could be terribly dramatic. Overall, another good read.

It’s not about the running

What’s it about?
Haruki Murakami is a novelist who also runs marathons. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running are his thoughts about amateur long-distance running as they relate to fitness, writing, and life. His prose is careful and elegant and is a delight to read.

Why should you read it?
You should read What I Talk About When I Talk About Running because of its elegance. I would be a runner if my left foot would just heal from plantar fasciitis already; his thoughts about getting older and continuing to run are inspiring. He writes a lot about focus and acceptance that you don’t have the energy that you used to – there’s a whole meditation about talent vs focus and concentration. It applies to more than just running. That said, I think you’ll like the book more if you’re also a runner. It’s definitely worth your time.

Sometimes a strong heroine having an adventure is enough

What’s it about?
Curtsies and Conspiracies is about nothing, but that’s ok. I mean, there was a plot – the macguffin from Etiquette & Espionage is elaborated on and there are some interesting embellishments on vampire culture in alternate steampunk Victorian Britain. But otherwise? It’s still about the setting: a young girl at a finishing school, having adventures.

Why should you read it?
Because it’s the sequel to Etiquette & Espionage and you didn’t want that one to end. That’s why you should read it. You do also learn the identity of the handsome rake the main character danced with at her sister’s coming out ball. That said, this book is definitely a sequel – it doesn’t stand on its own. But it’s a good continuation.

Rethink what winter symbolizes

What’s it about?
The Snow Child is an expanded retelling of a Russian fairytale about a childless older couple who builds a snow girl one wintery night. The snow girl comes to life, but then gets too warm in the spring and she melts. In this version, the older couple is homesteading in Alaska in the 1920s; they are estranged because they’re both bottling up their feelings about the fact that the only child they were ever able to conceive was stillborn. But once their snow girl, Faina, comes to life, they open up as well, with each other and their neighbors. Faina stays several years, disappearing in the summers. She grows up, and you start to think that maybe she’s not magical, maybe she’s just a girl (and then a young woman). Maybe.

Why should you read it?
Look, I almost put The Snow Child down in the first thirty or so pages, the language and symbolism was all about winter == old == death and depression. It was effective and I almost couldn’t take it. But get through that, and you’ll be rewarded with a tale about a family who learns to share their emotions and how to be friendly. They become fuller people through love, which sounds schlocky and sentimental but it’s done delicately and gracefully. The balance with winter white and sparseness and elegance is done well. Overall, a very good book.

Proper manners and adventure, thank you very much

What’s it about?
Etiquette and Espionage is about a fourteen-year-old girl in an alternate steampunk Victorian universe. She is, of course, uncouth and adventuresome. She also, of course, gets sent to a finishing school to become a proper young lady. Said finishing school will also teach her to be a spy and assassin. There’s a macguffin being chased to provide a plot, but this one’s mostly about the setting.

Why should you read it?
It’s charming! It doesn’t take itself seriously (there are werewolves in top hats for crying out loud) and it has a sense of humor. Plus, I am always a fan of young women taking control of their lives. The only major theme that should be called out is: appearances matter. What you look like makes a difference. It’s presented, though, as a tool: if you want people to think you are from the country (as opposed to the city) you shouldn’t be wearing the latest fashions. If you dress like a slob, people will make assumptions about your competence. Form is function, to a degree. This doesn’t detract from the book’s appeal though – there’s no objectification going on, and it fits nicely. Overall, a winner.

Telling tales

What’s it about?
Cruel Beauty is a retelling of beauty and the beast, though the beauty isn’t very ladylike or proper. But that’s ok because I don’t think many people will identify or enjoy a main character who is ladylike or proper. The setting is a magical island that has been cut off from the rest of the world. Literally – there’s a barrier that even blocks out the sun. A girl has been promised to the beast. The book begins with her marrying him in abstentia – she’s there, he’s not – and then heading to his castle. They don’t spend that much time together, but there is a mystery to be solved and an adventure to be had.

Why should you read it?
It’s a fun quest story, that’s why. Fairy tales retold are the fashion these days (wow, there’s a sentence that makes me sound like my grandmother). Cruel Beauty turns Beauty and the Beast into a more overt quest than it is – the beauty leaves/chooses to go to the beast’s castle, he takes her captive, they become friends, then they figure out what made the beast turn ugly, fix the problem/fall in love, watch as he becomes not a beast, and they live happily ever after. This story emphasizes the fix the problem part of the story. It’s fun. Definitely recommended for when you want something light.

More mystery than murder

What’s it about?
Big Little Lies is a murder mystery in that someone dies and the story is ultimately about putting the world back together. But it’s not structured like a typical mystery: the death isn’t until almost the end, and the world keeps getting messier and messier until suddenly it’s not messy at all. It’s about a group of parents who all know each other because their children all go to kindergarten together, and how they all relate. It’s not a heavy book, but I was expecting something even lighter going in. (I blame the cover.)

Why should you read it?
It’s a good story, that’s why. It’s well told, it’s gripping (I stayed up late to finish it), and it made fun of school politics from the parents’ point of view. School politics always deserve to be made fun of. I like this trend of writing more books aimed at working parents that treat the parents as people who both love their children and want to have lives of their own. I’m avoiding writing about the murder mystery part of the book because I don’t want to spoil it, because I suspect many people will read it. It’s very well done.

Introducing Afghanistan

What’s it about?
The Kite Runner is about Afghanistan. It was, I think, written to personalize Afghanistan to America, by an Afghani immigrant to the US. It was published in the year after 9/11, I’m sure because there was such a voracious appetite for any information about Afghanistan at that time. The story in the book is about a boy, Amir, and his servant boy growing up together; they are separated by a tragedy that Amir does his best to make up for as an adult.

Why should you read it?
It really does serve as an introduction to Afghanistan to a Western audience. Is it sanitized/caricatured for Western eyes? Probably. But introductions are often like that. There are also some clunky metaphor moments (it is Khaled Hosseini’s first novel), but it is overall a good story. The main character isn’t particularly likable – which is a whole other debate, should characters be likable? – but I was moved by the overall story. In a good way.

Look, The Kite Runner was incredibly significant when it first came out – there were no common Afghani-American stories available. This is a lovely introduction to the country and the culture.

Book club for teenagers

What’s it about?
Looking for Alaska is a young adult novel about a boy who goes to boarding school and makes some friends, plans some pranks, falls into what might be love (or might be lust) with a girl named Alaska who already has a boyfriend, and generally deals with growing up.

Why should you read it?
Looking for Alaska is realistic fiction about being a teenager; about feeling like you don’t fit in; and also about death and grieving. It’s well-written and sensitive without being overly touchy-feely. And given that there’s a reading guide written by the author in the back of the book, it’s apparently also widely taught in schools these days. Perhaps it takes the place of A Separate Peace? They feel like similar stories to me. I enjoyed it.