old cypress

Unread books

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:24:00 -0700

I think I need to put myself on a book-buying moratorium. To that effect, I am going to make a list of all the unread books that I own. The resolution is to not buy any more books (with four exceptions) until I have finished 75% of the list.

Going by shelf:
- Nabi vols. 4-7 by Kim Yeon-ju (Korean)
- Guncheong Schooldays vols. 2-3 by Irie Aki (Korean translation)
- Mushishi vols. 8-10 by Urushibara Yuki (English translation)
- Happy Gourmet by Seo Mun-da-mi (Korean)
- Joseon Female Detective Damo vols 2-5 by Bang Hak-gi (Korean)
- The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman (I disagreed with what I’ve read of this book, so I’ll allow myself to not finish it.)
- In a New Land by Nancy Foner (Read about half. Definitely worth finishing.)
- The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross (Read first chapter. Definitely worth finishing.)
- The Genius in the Design by Jake Morrissey (Read about half. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Travels with a Tangerine by Tim Mackintosh (Read first quarter. Definitely worth finishing.)
- The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton (I think this book was very poorly edited. Not worth finishing.)
- Reborn by Susan Sontag (Have been reading this book off and on in my spare time. Makes me nostalgic, sometimes in a painful way. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Lectures on Literature by Vladimir Nabokov (I read the first chapter and part of the second. I think it’s better to read the essays along with the books they discuss, so it’s lower on my priority list.)
- Strong Opinions by Vladimir Nabokov
- Everything and More by David Foster Wallace (Read about half. Worth finishing.)
- Dancing Naked In the Mind Field by Kary Mullis (Actually, this book belongs to a friend, and I need to return it. However, Mullis, the inventor of PCR, is notoriously sexist and egotistical. Mostly wanted to read it for amusement purposes—apparently the book is as ridiculous as its author—but starting to reconsider how amusing it will actually be.)
- Analects, Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean by Kongzi (English translation. I’ve already read the Analects but not the other two. Also, this book has the original hanzi to accompany the translation. Need to finish in order to consider myself an educated person!)
- The Inner Chapters by Zhuangzi (English translation. I’ve read substantial excerpts from a different translation. From what I can tell, this translation sounds better. But Zhuangzi doesn’t need to be read in one sitting; rather, he’s best when visited again and again.)
- Du Fu: A Life in Poetry (English translation. Compilation of his poetry. Again, poetry does not need to be read in one sitting but should be savored over time instead.)
- Three Kingdoms vol. 2 by Luo Guanzhong (English translation. I’ve read an abridged version of this translation already, so it’s not so urgent for me to finish. I’ve really enjoyed the reread so far; definitely worth rereading again and again. The main obstacle is that it’s easier to read when I am relaxed.)
- The Bhagavad-Gita (English translation. I borrowed it from S. and haven’t finished it yet! It should not take me that long to read; I just keep forgetting to take it off the shelf.)
- The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton (Not terribly high on my priority list but would like to read it someday.)
- Brain Gain: Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy by Darrell M. West (Looks interesting and needs to be read by October!)
- The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050 by Joel Kotkin (See above.)
- What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson (Title sounds silly but have been assured it’s a book worth reading. Also needs to be read by October!)
- Air by Geoff Ryman
- The Man and His Moment by Elinor Glyn (Practically starts with a rape scene. Refuse to finish.)
- The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett (Read about first third. Was rolling along before I got distracted by other books. When did my attention span grow so short? I need to finish because I’m curious about the rest.)
- Pawn in Frankincense by Dorothy Dunnett
- The Titus Books by Mervyn Peake (Not terribly high on my priority list but would like to read it someday.)
- The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny (I think I’m on the last book in this volume? Interested in finishing but not a high priority at the moment.)
- Iron Council by China Mieville
- A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes (I began this book months ago and am more than halfway through. Really need to finish simply because I’m so close to the end.)
- Waiting by Ha Jin (Started reading it, enjoyed it, then got distracted. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
- Botchan by Natsume Souseki
- The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin (Avoiding because of potential fail. Should give it a chance first though or at least read other people’s reviews to see if it’s worth reading.)
- The New Life by Orhan Pamuk (Read about half. Have to admit that I didn’t like it as much as My Name is Red, which I loved. Should try to finish it though, so I can move on to reading Pamuk’s other novels.)
- The Island of the Day Before by Umberto Eco (Read first ten pages. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Justine by Laurence Durrell (Read about half. Also have the rest of the Alexandria Quartet in ebook form. Definitely worth finishing.)
- The Death of the Author by Gilbert Adair (Recently acquired. Read first few pages, which live up to my expectations for the book. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Flight by Sherman Alexie (Got this book from the sale rack at Pegasus mainly to assuage my guilt at buying five volumes of Wodehouse in one go. It sounds like a book I will enjoy; plus it’s relatively short. Should try to finish quickly.)
- Dictee by Theresa Cha Hak-kyung (Read the first quarter. Brilliant stuff. Hard to appreciate when brain-dead though. Definitely worth finishing.)
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Murakami Haruki (Read first third. Ashamed to admit that I haven’t gotten around to finishing it after four years. Especially ashamed because it’s a signed edition! I liked what I read but kept getting distracted. Really need to finish.)
- Oblivion by David Foster Wallace (Read first three stories. Impression is that it is not as good as Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. But maybe there are hidden gems in the rest of the anthology.)
- Jacob’s Room by Virginia Woolf (Bought the book because it was insanely cheap. Also, I like what I’ve read of Woolf’s prose. But not that high on the priority list since I mostly got it because of my completist syndrome.)
- Perfume by Patrick Suskind (Main reason I haven’t read the book is because I suspect that the book will be either frightening or depressing. I loved the movie adaptation though and hear the book is even better. It was really popular in Korea. Worth finishing but may postpone until I’ve mustered enough courage…)
- The Red and the Black by Stendhal (…Forgot how much I read but it was a substantial chunk. Not as entertaining as/has a blacker mood than The Charterhouse of Parma, which is the main reason I haven’t finished it. Should read though since it belongs to the Western canon.)
- The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl (Bought it because I more or less liked The Dante Club. First page wasn’t very attention-grabbing though. Will try to read eventually, but it’s lower on my priority list.)
- Young Men in Spats by P.G. Wodehouse (Who am I kidding? Will probably read this in a single day sometime this week because Wodehouse comforts my tired brain after work.)
- Mulliner Nights by P.G. Wodehouse (See above.)
- Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau (English translation. Technically, I’ve finished this book but I want to read it again more thoughtfully instead of flipping back and forth.)
- Exercices de style by Raymond Queneau (French. As I reread the above, will hopefully use in conjunction with this volume.)
- Tom Brown at Oxford by Thomas Hughes (Not going to bother starting until I first read Tom Brown’s Schooldays, so quite low on the priority list.)
- The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann (I think I’ve read nearly three-quarters of the book by now. I started this book in freshman year of college. Quite embarrassed that it’s taken me so long. Will probably need to reread—maybe in a different translation?—as soon as I finish because my reading has been so fragmentary. Don’t get me wrong, I like Mann! But this book is not as easy to breeze through as Buddenbrooks or his short stories. I need to finish though so I can re-attempt reading Doctor Faustus.)
- Inda by Sherwood Smith (Wasn’t immediately sucked in, much to my surprise since I loved Smith’s books when I was a teenager. Will give it another chance though because I really would like to know more about this universe.)
- The Unconquered Country by Geoff Ryman
- Niccolo Rising by Dorothy Dunnett (Going to start after I finish the Lymond Chronicles, so I won’t pick it up for a while.)
- Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Terribly embarrassed to admit I haven’t read this book yet. Need to read it soon.)
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing by M.T. Anderson (Everyone says this book is amazing. Need to read it soon too.)
- Fledgling by Octavia Butler
- Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Adored Hundred Years of Solitude and expect to adore this book too. But the used copy I got has notes from a reader who was clearly reading it for a class, and the annotations are distracting. Oh well, I should soldier through.)
- The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch (Friend sent this book to me—along with Botchan—and the summary sounds intriguing. However, it’s quite a hefty book, which is probably the main reason I haven’t started reading it yet. Must remedy—possibly bring it on a flight or a retreat?)
- Empress by Shan Sa (…I only have one chapter left, so why haven’t I finished yet? My attention span when it comes to reading has seriously degraded with time. Should finish soon because I could probably read the rest in one sitting.)
- Readings in Modern Korean Literature (I got this KLEAR textbook for self-study purposes and promptly failed to study this summer. Oh well, there’s still a month left. Need to read it soon, especially since all the excerpts are quite short and come with a handy glossary so I don’t even need a dictionary handy.)
- Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (The Royall Tyler translation. Not my copy but C.’s, which means I should really finish it soon. Very behind with the Summer of Genji project, but at least I’ve made some more headway. I think I’ve read about five chapters so far.)
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon (I just got this book last week and have gotten about seventy pages into it. It is amazing. I will probably finish it first simply because I need to find out what happens next. Carrying it with me on my walk to and from work.)
- The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes (Technically S.’s book, but I’m reading it now. One of the few examples of first-person present tense used well. Definitely worth finishing.)
- Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik (C.’s book, which I should finish and return as soon as possible.)
- Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio by Pu Songling (English translation.)

Exceptions:
1. Vol. 1 of Damo if I can get my hands on it.
2. Arrow Books editions of P.G. Wodehouse. I’ve already bought eleven, so I might as well finish the collection.
3. Any writer of color that I’ve had recommended to me multiple times and who I think is worth reading. E.g. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new short story anthology. As soon as I can figure out how to convince myself that I can afford a $15 copy. Maybe I should buy the Kindle edition.
4. Any book I’ve already read and feel that I must have for rereading purposes. The latter part of the statement has to hold true though.

Kind of disgruntled (at myself) to see how my shelves are dominated by white male authors. I will say though that I am more likely to finish books by non-white and/or female authors, even if the initial discrepancy makes that proportion less meaningful.

"Yamamoto said he thought you had to be able to hear how something did not work as part of a bigger..."

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:56:16 -0700

“Yamamoto said he thought you had to be able to hear how something did not work as part of a bigger thing to hear how it did and it was precisely because people couldn’t hear that that they were willing to let movements be taken out of pieces.”

- Helen DeWitt, The Last Samurai

Your Republic Is Calling You, by Kim Young-ha

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:27:32 -0700

Your Republic Is Calling You, by Kim Young-ha

On the shelf

Wed, 19 May 2010 13:19:00 -0700

In addition to the two Austen novels and The Possessed, I finished rereading yet another Terry Pratchett book, Eric.

I’m currently absorbed in Qiu Xiaolong’s Death of a Red Heroine, which is the first book in his Inspector Chen series. Quite wonderful. I’m fascinated by the setting, and the characters are intriguing. There’s a lot of historical and cultural background information provided within the text, and I’ve been wondering whether:

1) Qiu’s original intended audience was the younger generation in China that might not recognize cultural references that date back to Mao or earlier.
2) Qiu’s original intended audience was foreigners or diaspora.
3) The translator did a very good job of seamlessly integrating in explanations into the text.

ETA: Meril informs me that in fact Qiu writes in English, which explains everything. Should have realized from the lack of translator name on the cover.

Elif Batuman

Wed, 19 May 2010 07:14:47 -0700

I picked up this book in the University Press Bookstore because I was drawn to its subtitle, “Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them”. I spent many of my formative years devouring Russian novels and short stories, and since the book itself is about a graduate student narrating funny incidents of her graduate studies, I couldn’t help purchasing it. From the get-go, it’s quite humorous in a very Russian way: at times sardonic, at others absurd.

I’m not sure how much of this book is memoir and how much is fiction. Certain events do coincide with a tidiness that suggests some artifice in rearranging memory, and at least one footnote led me to believe that Batuman has at the very least filled in the gaps in the manner most convenient for her narrative. The chapters of the book initially seem like disjointed episodes but pull together thematically in what is actually a very cohesive structure. Still, I don’t doubt that the raw material for the book came from Batuman’s real experiences; there are too many personal details.

I found the book funny, but I was also surprised to find it quite moving. I especially liked the chapters on her summer in Uzbekistan, where she studied Uzbek language and literature. The stated reason is to get out of the Russian teaching requirement and apply for a Uzbek teaching position instead, but it metaphorically functions as her attempt to mediate between her Turkish identity (Batuman is Turkish-American) and her passion for Russian literature. This part of the book was not only interesting for all its information on Uzbek literature—which I knew nothing about previous to this book—but also its perspective on Russian language and culture from the periphery.

Jane Austen

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:58:47 -0700

I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s other novels before, but I held off on Mansfield Park for the longest while because the summary sounded quite depressing, and I’ve heard from many critics that Fanny is the least likable of Austen’s heroines. Indeed, Fanny is quite passive, and it’s easy to interpret her quiet disapproval as prudery. My sympathy for Fanny came in because of the constraints of her situation as a dependent who cannot practically defend herself or assert her desires; in that respect, at least, Austen drew a realistic portrait of many women who live their lives in such circumstances without respite. I could see parallels with my mother and the women of her generation, and while Fanny does not know the words to utter her frustrations—may even be conditioned to believe that her frustrations are invalid—I suspect that those frustrations do exist.

Still, sympathy aside, Fanny is not charming, not the way that Elizabeth Bennet or Catherine Morland or Emma Woodhouse is charming. She doesn’t have Elinor Dashwood’s quiet presence of mind nor Anne Elliott’s steady passion. She loves Edmund but can barely express her affection or jealousy. Moreover, her love interest, Edmund, is hardly ideal, and she only gets her happy ending with him after he becomes unable to marry his first love. We never see Edmund falling in love with Fanny and are left to suspect that he settled for her as the comfortable choice.

Nabokov’s Lectures on Literature convinced me to finally read Mansfield Park, and I must say that approaching the book from a critical angle did increase my appreciation for the book. He analyzes Austen’s techniques of characterization, and I firmly believe that the appeal of Mansfield Park lies in its full cast of characters. They are not admirable or likable, but they are all very complete and very real, even the more comic figures like Mrs. Norris.

Around the same time, I set about rereading Sense and Sensibility. The first time I read this book, I was convinced that Edward Ferrars was going to turn out to be a cad toying with Elinor’s heart and was quite surprised to find that he was devoted to Elinor after all. So upon reread, I paid special attention to his scenes and interactions with Elinor and felt more satisfied, though I still think his relationship with Elinor remains on the undeveloped side.

I was sobered by how much I have started to notice the hidden presence of colonialism in Austen’s novels; even last year, I don’t think I would have been quite so aware. The offhand references to the colonies and to goods acquired from overseas stood out to me where before they would have glided by unnoticed. I don’t think they take away from my enjoyment of the novels but they do stop me from romanticizing the era. Though I will add that Austen’s novels are not romantic; in some sense, they are anti-romantic. I’ve often read them for the love story and found them unsatisfying; that’s because her stories are not meant to be about love itself but the obstacles to love, such as money and social conventions. She doesn’t dwell on the reasons for affection but rather its consequences for human relations. Austen’s perspective is quite pragmatic—and I find that rather refreshing. Thus, Edward Ferrars’ decision to honor his engagement to Lucy Steele—even though he no longer loves her—is heroic, not frustrating, and Willoughby’s jilting of Marianne is tragic but also one of those everyday tragedies of life, not a Romeo-and-Juliet-style hyperbole. There’s something quite real about the way Austen portrays relationships, even to my modern perspective.

The Calligrapher’s Daughter, by Eugenia Kim

Thu, 13 May 2010 20:00:47 -0700

The Calligrapher’s Daughter, by Eugenia Kim

The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis Recommended by C.

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 16:58:42 -0700

The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

Recommended by C.

The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 10:56:42 -0700

The Lost Books of the Odyssey, by Zachary Mason

The Lemoine Affair, by Marcel Proust

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 04:56:41 -0700

The Lemoine Affair, by Marcel Proust

Shoplifting from American Apparel, by Tao Lin

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:55:41 -0700

Shoplifting from American Apparel, by Tao Lin

The Death of The Author, by Gilbert Adair

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 16:54:42 -0700

The Death of The Author, by Gilbert Adair

The Girl with the Golden Eyes, by Honoré de Balzac

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 10:53:41 -0700

The Girl with the Golden Eyes, by Honoré de Balzac

YA and food

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 04:53:41 -0700

Reread Year of the Griffin and The Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones. I read them in reverse chronological order, same as the first time I picked up this duology. I still prefer Year of the Griffin—I think the school setting appeals to me—although I like the way the women are the ones to really organize and rebel against Mr. Chesney in The Dark Lord of Derkholm. I wish we’d get a sequel someday; I want to know what happens to Claudia and Blade, although knowing Diana Wynne Jones, a sequel would probably cover an entirely different subset of characters altogether.

I also finished It Must’ve Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten, lent to me by my friend C.(P.). Debated whether or not to write a separate reaction post for this book, but mostly I can sum up the book as effectively hunger-inducing. It’s a collection of food essays he wrote for Vogue, accompanied by several intriguing recipes for the meals he describes in loving detail. We tried a few recipes already (the gratin dauphinois, which turned out delicious, and the pizza bianca); I bought a used copy of the book for myself in order to try the rest. Steingarten can get annoying on occasion: e.g. he begins his introduction by talking about his campaign to get Americans to eat more cephalopods, without acknowledging that for most Asian-Americans, eating squid/octopus/cuttlefish/calamari is quite normal. Another example: at one point, he uses the phrase “weird ethnic group”, which I did not find charming or amusing. Not terribly pleased by his exoticization of the Thai people either. But when he’s not assuming his audience is monolithically white and upper-class, his obsession with food and his willingness to try all sorts of cuisine is quite entertaining.

I am still reading Sontag’s journals. Will probably note down memorable quotes, as it is very quote-worthy. Have also taken to rereading the first few passages of Zhuangzi (I have A.C. Graham’s translation). Also tempted to start the anthology of Best European Fiction that Kara so kindly sent me, although I am trying to stop myself from starting new books. (Not to mention buying new books! I already have enough to read for a year without obtaining any new ones, although that hasn’t stopped me from making impulse purchases…)

Death of a Red Heroine, by Qiu Xiaolong

Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:53:51 -0700

Death of a Red Heroine, by Qiu Xiaolong

Restless

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:38:00 -0700

I’ve been reading bits and pieces of everything. Still in the middle of It Must’ve Been Something I Ate and A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. Began Reborn: Journals and Notebooks, 1947-1963 and The Apex Book of World SF. Reread Men At Arms along the way. I’ve probably opened up a few other books as well.

Scott Lynch

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:50:56 -0800

I obtained The Lies of Locke Lamora in a book swap with thistleingrey, after seeing friends talking about the book for the past three years. It took me a while to get into the flow—more to do with my inability to read a single book at a time than anything inherent to the book itself—but once I did, it was a fast read.

Lynch’s main weakness is infodumping. He begins by switching back and forth between the past and present—which worked fine for a while—but after he runs out of backstory, he starts switching to long passages of exposition instead and some of the transitions are a little too abrupt and awkward. Luckily, I enjoy reading infodump in general and was pretty fascinated by the worldbuilding of the novel, so I didn’t mind it at all. Worldbuilding is not entirely consistent in the way that it draws mostly on Italian setting and names but also uses Spanish names as well, but I shan’t nitpick too much.

Not terribly fond of Locke, who has too much a heart of gold to be truly compelling. The first few chapters made me think that Locke would be a bit amoral, though not immoral, but the rest of the book shows you that in fact he has more of a conscience than any of the other characters. I am glad though that Locke is clever but not a good fighter; these niceties are what make an intelligent, talented character interesting rather than unbearable.

I also was not all too impressed by the villains in the book, who seemed initially promising while they were still mysterious and frightening but failed to live up to the anticipation once their actual plans were revealed. I mean, I like vengeance plots but after all that buildup, I expected a much more dramatic reason for the Gray King’s revenge. That isn’t to say that losing one’s parents isn’t a sufficient reason but somehow the explanation from the Falconer fell a little flat. Possibly because we were never given much of a chance to see the Gray King’s desire for revenge. Locke’s retaliation on the other hand meant something because the reader bore witness to the pain and anguish he felt at the loss of his “brothers”. (The scene where he kills the Gray King was indeed the emotional climax of the book.)

Speaking of which, I adored the camaraderie of the Gentlemen Bastards themselves and the larger underworld of Camorr with its rigid hierarchy and rules. The character that I abruptly found myself loving most was Jean Tannen. The backstory tells us how Jean, originally the son of a wealthy merchant, finds himself unexpectedly orphaned and flung into the world of thieves; I was completely charmed by how Jean remains proud of himself and feels no shame either about where he came from or what he is now. There’s this moment in the book where he sees wealthy young noblemen dressed in elegant clothes, and he thinks to himself that he feels a pang of loss for what he once had but not shame for what he’s wearing now. I’m quite selfishly relieved that Jean survived; not sure that I would be interested in reading about Locke’s exploits without him.

I’m incredibly curious to know what Locke’s real name is and what his history with Sabetha is. Can’t believe that there are six more books coming! I hope some of my questions get answered before then.

N.K. Jemisin

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:50:51 -0800

I finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in about a day after I bought it at the local SF/F bookstore (where I had it pre-ordered), and I promptly persuaded S. to read it too, despite his initial reluctance. After skimming the first two pages, he complained that there were too many names, but I inveigled him to finish the first chapter, which was enough to get him hooked. In fact, the main reason that I’ve been so excited and eager for this book is because I read the first chapter online a few months back and have been itching to find out the rest of the story ever since. Make that be a testament to the excellence of the book.

Minor spoilers below. (As usual, these posts are less review and more reaction.)

I really liked Yeine, who pretty much satisfies my definition of a great female character. I read a review that mentioned that Yeine seemed somewhat masculine at times and wondered whether it was a lingering effect of the fact that she had originally been male in a very early version of the novel. However, I never once thought that Yeine had a “male” voice and identified very much with her personality and worldview. In fact, that was part of the deep satisfaction I felt on reading the novel, i.e. being able to relate to an unmistakably female voice. (Not to be gender-essentialist—I don’t think there are necessarily “female” and “male” voices in writing—but Yeine was a refreshing change from reading Strong Female Characters written by male authors who impose their personal voices on the character.)

I didn’t like Nahadoth very much, although I recognized him as id-fodder. I thought Jemisin handled Yeine’s reaction very well because I couldn’t imagine being actually in love with Nahadoth but I could understand (by the end) how Yeine had come to love him. My favorite character, other than Yeine herself, was probably Sieh, with Zhakkarn coming a close third.

Political intrigue is one of my narrative kinks; surprisingly, the book was less about actual intrigue and more about family secrets in the end, but the plot was still cleverly paced to keep me continually on the edge of my seat. Kudos to Jemisin for putting in plot twists that I hadn’t expected.

I think what makes this book particularly compelling is that it doesn’t treat its main theme of dualities in a simplistic manner. Jemisin doesn’t just mention the complexities and ambiguities but actually delves in and confronts them. Relationships are messy, emotions messier. Love and hate (lust and disgust) do not just coexist but fuel each other. Jemisin doesn’t tidily resolve the conflicts either; balance is not fully restored at the end simply because Yeine succeeds in freeing the Enefadeh. It’s clear that balance and reconciliation will take time—conveniently leaving room for sequels—and that the flux of power is inevitable. I liked the moral ambiguity of confining Itempas to a mortal form but allowing him a path to his own liberation. I’m interested to hear more about Itempas’ perspective on the Gods’ War, which the next book will apparently include.

As many other reviews have said, this book is about family, and the treatment of mother-daughter relationships especially rang true for me, as I (like most daughters) have a lot of complex feelings about my mother. The mother as powerful, beloved goddess; the mother as the part of oneself that one hates; the mother as obstacle to be overcome; the mother as secret to be unearthed.

S. notes that the writing is still a little uneven; I agree but am inclined to be forgiving since it is still much more polished than all of the other debut novels I’ve read this year. I suspect the remaining roughness will be smoothed away by the second novel.

Reading update

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:50:00 -0800

After finishing False Colours and The Final Solution, I did a quick reread of Hogfather, which I picked up at a Goodwill store. Then I sped through N.K. Jemisin’s debut novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora. Yesterday, I started reading It Must’ve Been Something I Ate by Jeffrey Steingarten, which my friend C.(P.) lent to me, but abandoned it for Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter, which I finished on the train. Probably not going to write about the last one, since all I have to say about it was that it was very entertaining and also very clearly compiled from blog posts.

Still in the middle of A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters.

Michael Chabon

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:16:51 -0800

Finished The Final Solution. I’ve refrained from trying out Chabon, even after my high school friend P. spent most of senior year raving about The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, but repeated recommendations from all sides made me buckle down and buy one of his books. I chose The Final Solution because I’d heard it featured Sherlock Holmes, and it seemed like a good way to get a taste for Chabon’s prose before investing in his longer books.

I very much like Chabon’s style, which is, to me, the equivalent of a warm leather armchair. Vivid but not lush. The style was not so well suited to Holmes’ voice per se; Holmes requires a more minimalist touch. As a result, the best chapters were the ones narrated from other characters’ POV, the one with the parrot being my favorite. I was intensely skeptical when beginning that chapter since animal POVs are usually too anthropomorphic (and biologically implausible!) for my tastes, but I found it to be the most emotionally moving narrative perspective in the whole book. I still felt skeptical about Chabon’s choices—would a parrot really find chickens attractive, when we aren’t usually attracted to lemurs?—but I empathized with the parrot nonetheless.

Second favorite chapter was the inspector’s reaction to meeting Holmes in his old age. Also, despite my feeling that Holmes’ voice was a little off, Chabon drew a really compelling portrait of a brilliant mind growing old. Liked as well the inclusion of chromatic characters in the form of Mr. Panicker and his son Reggie, who were handled well in my opinion. Wished in fact that there was more about Mr. Panicker; I grew invested in his crisis of faith and family problems, neither of which is resolved.

The ending was handled perfectly; it could easily have been spoiled by a too-unsubtle approach. The title gave away the answer to the mystery in any case; I figured out the meaning of the numbers almost immediately. (I do wonder if in a hundred years, this book will need to be annotated in order for the meaning to be understood completely. The ending image is striking and resonant for us now, but will it remain so?)

Question: isn’t “flash” a bit of an anachronism? Thought that it didn’t come into usage until later. Not that I know anything about the history of British slang.

Kept thinking about whether this book succeeded as fanfiction or not. Obviously, a large part of the appeal rests on knowing the character of Holmes, but the whole construction is overwritten with Chabon’s style and thematic concerns that even the incarnation of Holmes in the book belongs more to Chabon than to Doyle.