A sweet and fun book about a small bear from "darkest Peru" adopted by the loving Brown family. Paddington is one of those characters, like Anne Shirley, to whom things always happen. Whenever Paddington is missing or lost, the Browns eventually learn to just look for the crowd or the chaos, though Paddington always seems to come out on top, fortunately for us, since we can't help but love him. Looking forward to reading this to Reason in a year or two.

Living Oprah

This is one of those books that just caught my eye and I read it on a whim.  It was actually pretty engrossing and turned out to be a great piece of thoughtful journalism (blogism?).  I am not a particular fan of Oprah, I don't watch her show (or any other show--we have not had cable or TV for several years and I REALLY don't miss it) or read her magazines, so I only know of her influence in the general culture, which, in the case of Oprah, is a considerable share.  The topics that this book covered in Ms Okrant's one year experiment are quite divergent, from clothing and accessories to spiritual guidance, and she frequently delves into the struggles that she experienced in reconciling some of these often contradictory messages.  Great read for any student of popular culture!

Alice in Wonderland meets the Sci-Fi Channel

A smattering of creative ideas and concepts punctuate an otherwise clumsy storyline and confusing plot in this inversion of Lewis Carroll's childish dreamscape. The landscape of the Wonderland dimension is interesting (though perhaps a little hard to believe that our world is the derivative and Wonderland the original), and the basic plot is simple enough, but be prepared for a much more violent adventure than even "Harry Potter", that begins with children witnessing a bloody coup and the brutal beheading and murder of their own parents. This might be a good pick for older kids who love comic books.  Be aware that the graphic novel spin-off series about the Hatter delves even further into the horror-fantasy genre.

Gothic Potboiler meets Boarding School Novella

Full of dark and menacing settings, mysterious and exotic peoples, secrets and magic, and a surprising amount of submerged sexuality, this novel quite lives up to its gothic and Victorian pretenses, though married to some mildly anachronistic feminist ideas. The author has done her homework on Victorian England, and yet the main character seems very modern in her persona.

The catty and vicious cliques are particularly well-drawn, as are the mercurial tempers and friendships of these adolescent girls. As the story develops, the main group of protagonists becomes more rounded and developed in their particular characteristics, and they have unique and real personalities, common struggles, and believable flaws. These girls are wonderfully self-absorbed and consumed by their personal dramas, as is so characteristic of adolescence, and they take even the most shattering events in a very egocentric way, which shows an adept understanding and skillful portrait of youth.

The "magical" plot that is growing beneath the external and superficial happenings at the school is slow to develop and does not come to the expected fruition or denouement at the end of the novel, as it is apparent that this is a first book in a trilogy or series. This "magical" plot is by far the weakest in this story, as the main antagonist is never revealed nor met, and the mysterious groups of the Order and the Rakshana are never fleshed out into anything but hazy references, though they seem important. An intriguing read, but one that leaves the reader a bit at a loss to understand what has happened in the magical and other-worldly Realms, and what these events portend.

Virtual Fulfillment

After I had finished the Twilight Saga, I spent some time reading reviews and interviews to find out the heart of the Twilight phenomenon. I decided after a little investigation that Stephenie Meyer is hard to dislike. She is a transparent person, and very frank about her writing and with her fans, which is refreshing. In several of her interviews I have read her story of how she wrote Twilight and the inspiration behind the novel, and I have found that it illuminates, at least to me, why Twilight is such a sensation. Mrs. Meyer wrote Twilight to satisfy herself. Twilight, and the books that follow are appealing to so many people because they are the ultimate in vicarious relationship satisfaction. What seemed so remarkable was that so many people happen to become so addicted to her particular brand of heroin, so to speak. When I finished reading the books and let the ideas percolate through my mind I think I understood better the mass appeal—it combines winning elements of fantasy and wish-fulfillment with a stimulating (and I don’t mean mentally) sub-plot of sexual tension.

There has been much said about the abstinence sub-context of the Bella-Edward relationship, which is one of the more intriguing aspects of the book that I was interested in investigating when I began reading them a few months ago. The inversion of the traditional roles of sexually aggressive guy and reticent virginal girl was unexpected, and Bella’s aversion to marriage I found completely surprising (and annoying). However, I would go a long way before I would classify these books as pro-abstinence, or as promoting a generally positive sexual message. It is actually not the story that I object to. I am not interested in the feminist tirades against the inequality of the relationship, or their vociferous objection to Bella’s selfless love for her unborn child (one of the best and most believable things about her character for me, because I have experienced that truly eclipsing love of a mother for her child, whether it has been born or not), or the invectives against Edward as a stalker-type who manipulates Bella in an abusive relationship (they are both shameless manipulators in my opinion). I am not a feminist and I was never bothered by the things that seem to cause them to hyperventilate. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl are intensely attracted to one another. Boy and girl overcome internal and external obstacles that threaten their relationship. Boy and girl get married. Boy and girl have sex. Boy and girl have baby. That is not a problem for me. I don’t find it terrifying that young women have devoured books with this story line. What concerns me, though, is the reason why.

Although Bella and Edward keep their hands to themselves in a reasonably admirable fashion, I have no doubt that the main effort of the writing is aimed at cultivating and dwelling in the sensation of that first blush of love—the racing heart, the thrill, the shiver down the spine that accompany the desire of new love. In fact, it is difficult to ascertain exactly what Bella means when she refers to her intense love for Edward, for as far as I can see, she is mostly referring to the physical response he provokes in her.  While it is no doubt very strong, being attracted to someone is not the same thing as love. There is nothing wrong with love and the sensations that love creates, but purposefully either attempting to fabricate those sensations or indulge them through fantasy is a dangerous place to live.

Twilight . . . continued

Favorite Quotes:

“It was a colossal tribute to his face that it kept my eyes away from his body.” Twilight, Ch 10

Falling out of the chair with that one. Fantastic. Perhaps Mrs. Meyers writing style is a little underdeveloped, but it was silly enough to lighten the mood of the plunge into unparalleled love-frenzy. She only just keeps her characters from utterly dissolving at the sight of one another with the teenaged voice of the narrator/heroine. You just can’t take it too seriously, which is why it was fun.

“I was like a lost moon—my planet destroyed in some cataclysmic, disaster-movie scenario of desolation—that continued, nevertheless, to circle in a tight little orbit around the empty space left behind, ignoring the laws of gravity “ New Moon, Ch 9

New Moon and Eclipse both got heavy handed with the descent into Love Hell, though I did like this quote. I am a sucker for metaphors and this one caught my attention. My biggest annoyance with these two books (and I wished that they had been streamlined into one book for my sanity’s sake) was definitely the love-triangle. I was forever frustrated with Bella for not getting the simple concept that you cannot have a permanent, intimate relationship with one man and be “best friends” with another man. ESPECIALLY when you know that your “best friend” is in love with you. Sorry. Does not work. At all.

“Edward and Alice playing chess was one of the funniest things I’d ever seen. They’d sat there nearly motionless, staring at the board, while Alice foresaw the moves he would make and he picked the moves she would make out of her head; I think they’d each moved two pawns when Alice suddenly flicked her king over and surrendered.” Eclipse, Ch 2

This is why these books are fun. Everyone wants to have super powers, but it’s the little things that you don’t think about that make writing about and reading fantasy so enjoyable. My regret for Breaking Dawn is that Bella did not ever make use of that extra-fine Ducati motorcycle that Edward bought. (Stephenie Meyer posted a link from her great website. Check it out http://www.superbike.co.uk/imageBank/d/ducati_848_large_wallpaper.jpg ) If I was nearly indestructible that would be one of the first things that I would want to do—closest thing to flying!

“’Thou shalt not kill’ is commonly accepted by most major belief systems. And I’ve killed a lot of people, Bella.”
“Only the bad ones.” Eclipse, Ch 20.

Need I say more?

Twilight . . . finally

Well, I will admit it. I did really enjoy the Twilight Saga. Alas, there goes my reputation as a Book Snob! Ahh! What is the attraction in these books? The compelling chemistry of an impossible love story is almost irresistible, and Mrs. Meyer has created a hopeless tangle of fate-fraught passion and vain self-denial. Aside from the fun of reading these books, there are so many great questions that rise from the concepts, characters, and plot that it is easy to engage the always eager Twilight fans in debates and discussion.

Twilight was definitely my favorite of the books in the series. It was an easy read, full of overly-delicious romance—more on that later—and written in a style that bordered on tongue-in-cheek so often that I found myself putting the book down and giggling (stay tuned for my favorite quotes). The first part of the novel centered on the expansion of the Bella-Edward relationship. Once the trembling lovers have finally come to an understanding, three-fourths of the way through the novel, some outside action finally intrudes on the concupiscent couple. At this stage the external conflict is introduced: some less scrupled vampires have homed in on the luscious Bella besides the virtuous Edward. In a breathless flight from one danger to another, Bella and her faithful vampire friends finally face down the deadly predator and rip him into small pieces and burn his remains. What is not to like about this? Basic, yes. Fun? Definitely.

This same basic formula repeats in the remaining books. The beginning is focused mainly on internal conflict and the anguished relationship, followed by a stand-off of the good guys against the bad guys. In fact, the plot of New Moon is merely extended in Eclipse—from the internal conflict, now complicated by the addition of a rival for Bella’s affections, to the outside threat of the evil blood-lusting Vampire bent on killing Bella in gruesome ways. The final book concludes with the same threads—the relationship goes through its final metamorphosis, not without the indispensible emotional gyrations, and the breathless couple find that the ultimate consummation of their relationship produces most unexpected results. Another bad-guy/good-guy stand-off ensues, but in the end nobody that we care for dies, all problems are avoided, and pretty much everyone gets exactly what they want and more. Forever.