Bibliography
Oct. 6th, 2013 05:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_lady_lilyThe Jew's Beech - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff
I wanted to read some of von Droste-Hülshoff's poetry, but apparently such a thing is beyond the ken of the Essex library system. They did, however, have a copy of what I believe is her single prose work, which is this. It's only a short story, claiming to tell a true crime story of a man who flees from a crime and eventually gets his comeuppance - the Jew of the title is a murder victim who has his revenge from beyond the grave in a vaguely mythical fashion. I did read this in translation, so in some ways commenting on it is a bit less about language and more about form - it's pretty much of its time, I think, and feels like nineteenth century German literature, but beyond that I can't really comment.
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
Yes, I couldn't wait, and so went for another of these novels. This one was not quite as hysterical as the first, but the plot was equally gripping and the writing just as engaging. I think part of the difference with this is that the protagonist is now starting to think through some of the practicalities of living in a world which straddles 'reality' and magic, and how those come up against each other; the implications and consequences thus make this rather darker than the first book, but that's alright, because that's sort of the point. You still get sharp writing and strong characterisation, but yes. The one thing that did irk me a bit was how quickly Peter fell into bed with Simone, who happens to be the girlfriend of man suspected dead via dark causes. That was... well, bloody daft on his part, really, although it turns out to be essential to the plot. If we're going to carry on having a pattern where Peter has to get romantically interested in any woman who is plot-vital, however, I might get a bit cross.
The Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Well, in case anyone was wondering, I wasn't expecting this to be anything other than thoroughly racist, sexist and all sorts of other -ists! However, it was mentioned quite a bit at the SFF conference and in other venues, I hadn't read it, and it's sort of important in canon terms. And lo, I have now read it, and while it is dreadful in terms of intersectional oppression and so forth, it is also rather rollicking and full of adventure, daring do and similar reader-pleasing things. I can see why it's become such a classic but also why it leaves such a problematic inheritance.
I wanted to read some of von Droste-Hülshoff's poetry, but apparently such a thing is beyond the ken of the Essex library system. They did, however, have a copy of what I believe is her single prose work, which is this. It's only a short story, claiming to tell a true crime story of a man who flees from a crime and eventually gets his comeuppance - the Jew of the title is a murder victim who has his revenge from beyond the grave in a vaguely mythical fashion. I did read this in translation, so in some ways commenting on it is a bit less about language and more about form - it's pretty much of its time, I think, and feels like nineteenth century German literature, but beyond that I can't really comment.
Moon Over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch
Yes, I couldn't wait, and so went for another of these novels. This one was not quite as hysterical as the first, but the plot was equally gripping and the writing just as engaging. I think part of the difference with this is that the protagonist is now starting to think through some of the practicalities of living in a world which straddles 'reality' and magic, and how those come up against each other; the implications and consequences thus make this rather darker than the first book, but that's alright, because that's sort of the point. You still get sharp writing and strong characterisation, but yes. The one thing that did irk me a bit was how quickly Peter fell into bed with Simone, who happens to be the girlfriend of man suspected dead via dark causes. That was... well, bloody daft on his part, really, although it turns out to be essential to the plot. If we're going to carry on having a pattern where Peter has to get romantically interested in any woman who is plot-vital, however, I might get a bit cross.
The Princess of Mars - Edgar Rice Burroughs
Well, in case anyone was wondering, I wasn't expecting this to be anything other than thoroughly racist, sexist and all sorts of other -ists! However, it was mentioned quite a bit at the SFF conference and in other venues, I hadn't read it, and it's sort of important in canon terms. And lo, I have now read it, and while it is dreadful in terms of intersectional oppression and so forth, it is also rather rollicking and full of adventure, daring do and similar reader-pleasing things. I can see why it's become such a classic but also why it leaves such a problematic inheritance.
