Quote of the Week: Tim O'Brien

Cut for spoilers, sort of. This is the final passage of The Things They Carried and while it doesn't reveal any particular plot points it's still a very poignant final image. If you haven't read this book (please do), be aware that reading this post is like reading the last page and that you'll be getting O'Brien's final thoughts first. I hazard against it.

Character Profile: Nancy Drew

Nancy Drew has been my hero since I was six. This is true. When I was first allowed into the "chapter books" section, my elementary school librarian loaded me up with Newbery and Caldecott Medal bookmarks and each one of those found their home inside the collection of old Nancy Drew books on the fiction shelf. As soon as I worked my way through all of them, I started over again.

Why did I idolize her so much? Nancy was an older girl with two great best friends (George the stereotypical tomboy and Bess the stereotypical girly-girl), an awesome car, a loving lawyer father, a stand-in mother for a housekeeper, and a college boyfriend. Those were all things that made Nancy cool but in my mind it was actually her intellect and her willingness to take risks to help people that made her a heroine.

Nancy asked questions that wouldn't have easy answers, that often led to more questions and dangerous situations. She risked her life many times and frequently for people she had only just met. Nancy wasn't concerned about being paid, she cared about good people who were in need. She turned to her friends for help and they leapt to her aid and offered her their advice (most of the time, from Bess at least, it was to be careful). Her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson, was on hand to rescue her when she needed it, though Nancy often rescued herself. She combined clues (often while displaying some impressive talent) to unravel complex mysteries. For a character who debuted in 1930, Nancy is an impressively intelligent and self-reliant young woman. The women who wrote as Carolyn Keene clearly made an effort to present an admirable heroine to the girls of their respective times.

(Like Clare, Nancy will be featured again. I have a book about "Carolyn Keene" that's begging to be reread.)

What I'm Reading: The Mislaid Magician -or- Ten Years After

Sorry, Neil. My package from Amazon came while I was still reading Smoke and Mirrors and sadly, new books trump previously read books. I cruised my way through The Grand Tour, finishing it under the booklight on Friday night (sorry, hubby). Immediately the next morning I began The Mislaid Magician. The Grand Tour and The Mislaid Magician are sequels to my favorite epistolary novel (written in the form of letters or diary entries), Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede (can you tell yet that she's one of my most treasured authors?) and Caroline Stevermer.

They use an alternate dimension type reality where history in general has not changed and the world itself is very recognizable as Regency England, post-Napoleonic War. One big difference, though: magic is real, there is a Royal College of Wizards and a Ministry of Magic, and wizards are accepted members of society. The period details in all three of these books, including the phrasing that the main characters, Cecy, Kate, Thomas the Marquis of Schofield, and James, use are fascinating. Every once in a while, I'll catch myself thinking in character dialect after I've put the book down. Wrede writes as Cecy and Stevermer writes as Kate and their voices remain distinctive through all three books.

The Mislaid Magician picks up at the advent of the steam engine, ten years after Cecy marries James Tarleton and Kate marries Thomas. They each have a passel of children, fitting considering the times. Kate and Thomas are watching both families at their home (called Skeynes, which I hope is a reference to knitting and the knit messages from the previous book) while Cecy and James are headed to Stockton to investigate the disappearance of a surveyor wizard for the Duke of Wellington. I'm not very far in but I'm absolutely invested in the story. The children's individual personalities reflect their parents' and I can see everyone, including the little ones, getting into a lot of trouble very quickly in this one. I'm looking forward to finding out how it goes.

Thus far, absolutely recommend Sorcery and Cecelia, if you enjoyed it, check out The Grand Tour (which is written in the form of Kate's honeymoon diary and Cecy's deposition), and continue on to The Mislaid Magician. I'll let you know the final verdict.

Author Spotlight: J.K. Rowling

I long to write about Patricia Wrede but that will have to wait. In honor of this the final Harry Potter movie and the end of an era, I want to talk a little bit about J.K. Rowling and what she has done for children, magic, and literacy.

According to Rowling's website, Harry Potter was first conceived during a train delay and finally came to fruition years later in Edinburgh after the birth of her older daughter and the dissolution of her marriage. As if single motherhood to a real child wasn't difficult enough, Rowling worked hard to give the world Harry Potter. My mom bought the books as a set: the first four hardcovers in a box, just for my little brother to interest him in reading. I, for one, had refused to take part in such a ridiculous movement and anyway, at 14, I was clearly too old for these children's stories. Anyone who knows me, though, knows that I can't be in the vicinity of a book for a prolonged time without reading it. And there these four books were, in my very house, waiting. Possibly staring at me. Certainly demanding my attention. I gave in and, immediately rapt, read one after the other, after the other, until I was done and when was this fifth book coming out, anyway? These are not exceptionally well-written books nor is the concept that magic is hiding in everyday life just out of our reach totally original. Rowling's true genius in Harry Potter was that, as her initial batch of readers grew older, as did Harry...and his story. Correct me if I'm wrong, but no other children's series that I am familiar with has evolved from book to book, aging the character and making the plot darker and more complex, with such excellent pacing. This is a series that grabs your attention and refuses to let it go, refuses to allow you to grow out of it. Harry Potter grew up with me, so much so that I dragged my fiance along with me in 2007 for the midnight book release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. He now asks me every other day when we're going to see the last movie. Soon, I say.

I also love what Rowling has done for children's literacy. I subscribe to the books=drugs theory in that there are gateway books that will lead people to more difficult and totally hardcore books or even just more books in general. Rowling's Potter books are the ultimate gateway books. She's created a recognizable world but with a twist, a sympathetic hero and surrounded him with a great complementary cast of characters, and a wicked villain who everyone loves to hate. They're accessible and interesting, funny and sad, and best of all, they're addictive like crazy and they'll hook 'em while they're young. Children who work their way through all seven Harry Potter novels are not going to simply stop reading at the end of Deathly Hallows. They'll want more books like Harry Potter and then more books, any books that sound interesting. Rowling is creating a whole new batch of book junkies out of a generation that would have likely found its place permanently parked in front of the television if it hadn't been for her. I think that's beautiful.

Thanks to Rowling, too, other authors are getting exposure that they deserve. (See, I'm going to work her in anyway:) Older books involving magic for the same general demographic of readers are being reprinted and released with shiny new cover art...wonderful books like Mairelon the Magician and The Magician's Ward by Patricia Wrede have been combined in an omnibus edition titled A Matter of Magic. Granted, themes will fall in and out of fashion (vampire books were cool when I was a teenager 13 years ago and, thanks to Twilight, are back in), but it always takes one big book to act as a catalyst and I believe that Rowling brought back the magic to young adult literature with Harry Potter.

A single mother created an outcast boy and in introducing magic to his life, she gave it to all of the rest of us. It's not so much the ordering of her words but the fact that they exist, that they caught on like fire, and that the story she began burns on in the people who read it--that's the magic. Thank you, J.K. Rowling.

Missed Friday

Things got in the way on Friday and today was also full so look forward to a double-post tomorrow.

Quote of the Week: Kurt Vonnegut

"Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."
-God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Kurt Vonnegut

Husband and I have been talking about children lately (our new neighbor is a month into her third trimester and is so sweet and so excited), which has gotten my mom and I talking about decorating a nursery. My first concept was Alice in Wonderland but it got to be far too theme park-like and elaborate in my head. My mom, as always, was a settling influence: she suggested a library. I want something cute that introduces things I love to my baby from an early age but, as my mom reminded me, I also need baby to sleep in this room. Libraries are places of joy and imagination but they're also quiet and calming. I swear, this relates to the quote.

Vonnegut's main character prepares this little speech for his neighbors' twins. I find it to be a simple but beautiful summary of human life. We're here on this planet for a limited time and the place itself is the way it is. It is round and wet and crowded. Being kind may not be the rule (enough people seem to ignore it if it is) but it should be. We'd be a lot better off if all babies were greeted with this, if the need for kindness was consistently reinforced throughout their lives. Mine will: I plan to have this cross-stitched and framed above the crib.

Character Profile: Clare

At long last, another of our awesome female characters: Clare DeTamble from The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (beware: this will contain spoilers though I try to gloss over specific plot points). I have read this book countless times now. In fact, the first time I read it, I closed it, sat for a minute, and then opened it up again to start over. One of the greatest things about Clare as an element of the story is that while so much of the storyline is about Henry, the real factor at play here is the way that they have shaped each other through time and circumstance.

She is the titular character here and the first one that we hear from. The story is written from two viewpoints: Henry, the involuntary time traveler, and Clare, the time traveler's wife. Though Henry's voice is so dominant in the chronicle of their lives it is truly Clare's story that shines through and gives it definition. It's Clare who we follow from youth to adolescence to adulthood with a much greater focus. We get snippets of Henry's past but nothing like a clear picture of his life, really. He travels back and meets her as a young girl and as he begins shaping her life (admittedly in an inadvertently twisted way), she begins to change him in the time that he comes from. Clare teaches Henry to be reliable, or as reliable as he can be. She teaches him to maintain hope through the futility of his life. That's really what this novel is about. It isn't an epic love story. It's a story about the futility of predestination, about reliving memories over and over, about learning from the past even if you don't know if you can change the future.

Henry is the tennis ball in The Time Traveler's Wife, batted back and forth through time, and Clare is his constant. She is the one thing we can depend on in this story. The only times we truly see her fall apart are when they are trying to conceive and when Henry dies. She is a rock not just for Henry but for the reader. We know who she is and we can rely on her to act, for the most part, with wisdom, compassion, and justice. Clare isn't perfect and as I've said before, no good heroine is perfect. If she was, we couldn't aspire to be more like her--she would be out of reach. Clare's biggest flaw is that she spends so much of her time just waiting. She tries to find things to do to fill the time while Henry is gone but she doesn't seek to do them with other people, just by herself. And she goes back and forth between glorying in the freedom and despairing in the loneliness.

Clare is strong and determined with an incredible foresight. So much of the end is left to our imagination but from what I read into Clare, I know this much is true: In spite of defining herself as simply The Time Traveler's Wife, she rises up beyond her relationship with Henry and builds herself a life with her daughter and teaches us that we are not victims of circumstance as long as we pull ourselves above it and move forward.

What I'm Reading: Smoke and Mirrors

Today, caught in the death grip of whatever was wrong with me this morning, I wrapped up Sorcery and Cecelia by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (fantastic book that I will talk about later and in Googling, found two sequels that I have just ordered from Amazon) and picked up Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman. I'm likely running the risk of Gaiman-ing out my readers but (shhh, don't tell them) I don't care. I have yet to be unimpressed by his writing which is a really passive way of saying that his writing impresses me. Were I ever to meet him, I would ask him if he knew how great he was. (Side note: If I ever spoke to Patricia Wrede [again], I'd ask the same question.)

So anyway, Smoke and Mirrors is an amalgam of his short stories and a few poems that have been previously published in anthologies and other collections.What I enjoy about this book is that it seems to be a really great representation of the things that have inspired and influenced Gaiman as a writer and professional imagination-man. There are stories here that touch on H.P. Lovecraft and traditional fairy tales and classic horror films but all with Gaiman's personal twist on them. Some are uncomfortable to read but possibly only because I am Minnesotan and discomfort comes easily to me. My only problem with this collection is that when I read the pieces that mention Larry Talbot (the wolfman) by name, I can't help but envision Lon Cheney Jr. in the role, with his perpetually stricken face. Again, more of a personal problem.

I definitely recommend Smoke and Mirrors to anyone who likes a story with a good twist or someone who doesn't have a lot of spare time to read and wants a quick payoff. Short story collections are great for that and this one in particular never fails to deliver.

So here's the blog schedule, as I promised:
Sunday: What I'm Reading
Monday: Character Profile
Wednesday: Quote of the Week
Friday: Author Spotlight

I'll be running occasional polls of authors and characters (though Character Profile days will start with Nancy, Scout, and Clare as promised) and other miscellaneous things. Feel free to comment whenever with requests, suggestions, or anything.

Brainstorming

I'm working on a regular schedule for posts and a list of topics for when I'm feeling uninspired. Sunday will mark the beginning of the new schedule and I'm really excited about it!

Also, you can still expect to see posts about Scout, Clare, and Nancy. Your favorite ladies will be featured here soon.