Sara's Library: The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
Original Brazilian edition: Rocco 1988
First US edition: Harper Collins 1993
Translated from Portuguese by Alan R. Clarke
Grade: C-

Summary from Goodreads: This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasure found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

I've seen The Alchemist on various suggested reading lists for a number of years and finally decided to read it.  While the work is incredibly short, and thus I didn't spend too much of my time reading it, I still want that time back.  To me, this is one of the most over-hyped books I have ever read.

Essentially, this is a reworking of "The Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream" from The Arabian Nights.  The difference is that the details are fleshed out with a lot of pseudo-philosophical, pseudo-spiritual nonsense meant to inspire the reader to follow his dreams like the Shepherd.   While the style is meant to emulate the sparse style of folktales, Mr. Coelho didn't enrich the original tale with some new insight previously missing from prior incarnations, but instead muddled it.  The characters are flat, serving only to spout maudlin dreck found in the types of self-help books endorsed by reality TV stars, and the prose itself is only serviceable, though this may be a translation issue.

I cannot recommend this book.  All I can do is hope that my thoughts on it prevent someone else from wasting time.

Sara's Library: Mort

Mort by Terry Pratchett
Book four in the Discworld universe
Victor Gollancz 1987
B+

Summary from Goodreads: In this Discworld installment, Death comes to Mort with an offer he can't refuse -- especially since being, well, dead isn't compulsory.  As Death's apprentice, he'll have free board and lodging, use of the company horse, and he won't need time off for family funerals. The position is everything Mort thought he'd ever wanted, until he discovers that this perfect job can be a killer on his love life.

I'm not a very funny person.  My humor tends toward dry wit and pop culture references, and most attempts others make at comedy tend to fall flat when performed or shown to me.  It's not surprising then that the first time I read Mort, I saw nothing more than a pleasant diversion.  I recently reread it (aloud to my husband), and I enjoyed it much more when spoken.  So much of humor relies upon delivery that I think silently reading prose to oneself automatically inhibits the humor, but perhaps that's just me.

The plot is delightfully absurd.  After being apprenticed to Death, Mort botches one of his first jobs by letting a beautiful princess live.  In the days that follow, two timelines begin to converge, and Mort must come up with a plan to reset reality.  Meanwhile, Death tries his hand at various other occupations, forgetting he is essentially a cosmic force that cannot be replaced, regardless of who he might train for the job.

While I don't know if I'll invest any time in reading other Discworld novels, Mort is an enjoyable stand-alone story that should appeal to fantasy readers of all ages.

Sara's Library: Perfume

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
Original German edition: Diogenes 1985 
First US edition: Alfred Knopf 1987
Translated from German by John E. Woods
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel 1987
PEN Translation Prize 1987
A

Summary from Goodreads: "In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift: an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. 

But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and frest-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the "ultimate perfume"—the scent of a beautiful young virgin."

While Perfume was awarded the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, it is not what one generally expects of fantasy.  There are no mythical beasts, no supernatural events, or the dealings of gods and men.  Instead, it reads much more like a fairy tale with only the vaguest hints that any of its events or characters are unlikely to exist in our reality.  Like a fairy tale, we suspend our disbelief and accept that in the world in which Grenouille dwells this is simply how things are.  Grenouille's superhuman sense of smell is likely the reason the work has cemented its place in the realm of the fantastic, as well as one scene near the end where a scent he has concocted completely overwhelms the will of those in its proximity.  Those two items aside, the novel reads like an historical mystery.

What made this such a notable work was definitely the strength of Mr. Suskind's descriptions.  With a protagonist who understands the world best through scent it was integral that the writing be able to convey a sense of olfactory image, and Mr. Suskind does a stunning job doing just that.  Whether describing fragrances and perfumes or stenches and odors, the prose truly brings Grenouille's world to life.  

With Grenouille portrayed as such a loner and outsider, it could be difficult for some to connect with the text; however, the dry humor and comic peripheral characters will keep most interested, if not the writing itself.  Although the story descends into rather grim territory (murdering virgin girls to create the perfect scent), the novel never feels like horror, instead often feeling as light as one of Grenouille's perfumes.

A genre-defying work showcasing tremendous writing, I must recommend Perfume to any with an interest in the fantastic, the dark, or the historical.

Sara's Library: Carrie

Carrie by Stephen King
Doubleday 1974
B

Summary from Goodreads: "The story of misfit high-school girl, Carrie White, who gradually discovers that she has telekinetic powers. Repressed by a domineering, ultra-religious mother and tormented by her peers at school, her efforts to fit in lead to a dramatic confrontation during the senior prom."

With the new film version coming out, I wanted to read Mr. King's first novel.  I have seen the 1976 film version directed by Brian De Palma countless times over the years, and while I was familiar with the story, the details are sufficiently different enough to make for an entertaining read.

Rather than being a waif as portrayed by Sissy Spacek, in the novel, Carrie is an overweight, acne-prone girl who would likely be tormented for those facts alone.  That she is the naive, painfully shy child of the local religious nut only exacerbates the teasing.  The teenage girls are depicted as relentlessly cruel; one dreads what might have befallen Carrie in today's viral YouTube culture.  

Only three characters are depicted with any sort of positivity: Sue, Miss Desjardin, and Tommy.  However, the two females both question their motivations, discovering that it is not altruism that drives them to help the unfortunate Carrie, leaving only Tommy as an unstained saintly martyr.

Throughout the narrative, articles from newspapers and academic papers about the prom night incident appear.  If someone avoided all pop cultural references to Carrie for the last thirty years, the end would still be somewhat anti-climatic with the heavy-handed foreshadowing present in these articles.  Honestly, I felt they came off as a bit pretentious and distanced the narrative too much from Carrie's perspective of events.  As an anti-bullying piece, it would have been strengthened had the focus been only Carrie, as the reader would have been able to feel her pain more keenly and thus better able to empathize with her.  

All in all, the story continues to resonate today.  I'm quite interested to see what the new Kimberly Pearce film does, considering the setting has been updated to the present and bullying has taken on an entirely new shape online.  

Sara's Library: A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Book one of A Song of Ice and Fire
Bantam 1996
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel 1997, World Fantasy Award for Best Novel Nominee 1997, Nebula Award for Best Novel Nominee 1997
A

Summary from Goodreads: "Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.

As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.

The old gods have no power in the south, Stark’s family is split and there is treachery at court. Worse, the vengeance-mad heir of the deposed Dragon King has grown to maturity in exile in the Free Cities. He claims the Iron Throne."

Spanning more than 800 pages and nearly a dozen POV characters, this first installment of Mr. Martin's epic can appear a bit daunting.  As one begins to wade through the tome, it can be difficult at first to keep track of the various characters and their factions, especially when there are several common names (Robert, Brandon, Jon) used for more than one character.  Due to this, it might be good to have some familiarity with the characters before reading, but it's not absolutely necessary.

There are three major plot threads in this first installment, all of which are left to be concluded in later volumes.  The main plot consists of Eddard Stark moving from his northern seat at Winterfell to the southern capital, where he becomes the chief advisor to his long-time friend King Robert.  Eddard becomes embroiled in a conspiracy when he uncovers information about Robert's wife and heirs and must ultimately choose whether to speak the truth and lose his position, or remain silent and lose his honor.  

The second plot thread involves the heirs of the deposed king, Viserys and Daenerys, who live in exile.  When Daenerys is wed to Khal Drogo, the leader of a Hun-like army, the two hope to travel back to Westeros and regain the throne stolen from them.  But the khal is slow to act, and a feud develops between him and Viserys.

Finally, in the far north, the dead have been coming back to life...

Even with its prodigious length, that's a lot to cram into one book, and yet it never reads like an info-dump.  Information is given carefully throughout the book, always incorporated organically in conversation.  The writing is realistic and straightforward; however, there is a sense of repetition with the writing.  It wouldn't suit the tale told here to have flowery writing, but perhaps a thesaurus would be a good investment for Mr. Martin.

The world-building and character development are definitely the strengths of the work.  While the regions and countries can be reconciled with those in our own world, the inclusion of dragons, dark magic, and the old gods give this tale of political maneuvering more flavor than an historical novel might have.  I've read that each new installment increases the amount of fantasy elements, so I'm interested to see how the elements already present are expanded.

With its emphasis on the history of Westeros, I'm reminded a bit of Tolkien, though there are no linguistic exercises here, and the tale is far grimmer, even without one ring to rule them all.  Winter is coming, after all.

Sara's Library: The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
Book one of the Fillory trilogy
Viking 2009
A-

Summary from Goodreads: "Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. He's a senior in high school, and a certifiable genius, but he's still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read as a kid, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, anything in his real life just seems gray and colorless. 

"Everything changes when Quentin finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. But something is still missing. Magic doesn't bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he thought it would.

"Then, after graduation, he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real."

Review:   There were so many times I wanted to simply give up on this novel and throw it at the nearest wall.  It's not that it's poorly written, far from it.  Quentin is just one of the most infuriating protagonists I have ever encountered.  He is extremely selfish, egotistical, and prone to moping when things don't go his way...and, ultimately, this is one of the reasons The Magicians works so well.

Quentin and the majority of his group (save Alice) are perfect examples of the high-achieving, middle-class students who are constantly told how "special" they are that they become self-absorbed misanthropes in their college years.  Quentin represents his generation.  Despite his cynicism, his disapproval of the failing system left to him by his elders, he holds on to his hope of something better, represented here by his belief in Fillory.

But rather than the whimsical, somewhat generic fantasy world he remembers from his beloved children's books, Quentin finds a Fillory ravaged by violence, a world antithetical to the one represented in the text of the books.  Again, Mr. Grossman brings life to a generation's frustrations and disappointments, this time by subverting children's fantasy.

While I'll be the first to admit that the book could be a slog due to Quentin's behavior, the writing and the thought behind it more than make up for an annoying protagonist.  I will definitely be reading The Magician King.

Sara's Library: Stardust

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Original publication: Avon Books 1998
This edition: William Morrow 2006
Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel Nominee 1999
Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature 1999
A-

In a village called Wall, so named for the wall between our world and that of the faeries situated nearby, a Faerie Market is held every nine years.  In 1839, Dunstan Thorn goes to the market to procure a gift for his love, Daisy.  After purchasing a crystal flower from one stall, he ends up having intimate relations with the stall-girl.  He marries Daisy shortly after the market, and in February the next year, a baby boy (presumably the result of his tryst with the stall-girl) is left at their doorstep.

Seventeen years later, the boy, Tristran, foolishly tells his heart's desire that he will find and claim a fallen star, which the two had seen fall earlier, as a gift for her.  He enters the world of Faerie and soon discovers that the star is not a dead space-rock, as we would expect, but a living, breathing girl named Yvaine -- though it should be mentioned that were she to ever cross the wall she would  become a space-rock.  Although at first Tristran intends to give Yvaine to Victoria, his ladylove, during the course of their travels he comes to view Yvaine as a person, not an object.

Two other characters in pursuit of the star round out the cast: a witch who wishes to gain immortality by snatching the star's heart, and the Lord of Stormhold, who is searching for a lost topaz in the star's possession.  The various encounters between the protagonists and these two account for most of the tension in the novel.

The two protagonists, Tristran and Yvaine, are both written rather believably and often have snappy dialogue, as is usual for characters attributed to Mr. Gaiman.  In the hands of a less capable writer, the story would have seemed too far-fetched and easily become asinine drivel.  But even the non-fantasy reader should be able to enjoy this tale, styled after the early fantasy novels of the Victorian era, yet accessible to modern readers by avoiding overly long and overly dry passages.

I will say that when I first read this I was not at all in the mood for a breezy fantasy, so I do caution potential readers to be in the right frame-of-mind when choosing this title.  Stardust isn't groundbreaking, but it is a beautiful homage to fantasies of the past.

Sara's Library: The Bloody Chamber

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
Original publication: Gollancz 1979
This edition: Penguin Books 1990
A+

As a fan of both fairy tales and Gothic literature, this had been on my to-read list for awhile.  I finally read it back in October, as part of my month of Gothic horror, but somehow never got around to writing about it.  Were this just a piece of mindless fluff, I suppose I wouldn't bother, but writing of this caliber deserves to be properly reviewed, even if it comes months after the fact.

Being a collection of ten short stories, I don't intend to write about every story's merits and flaws, but rather the collection as a whole.  However, I did have a few favorites, as was to be expected.

Overall, this was a phenomenal collection with decadently rich, descriptive writing throughout.  Despite its short length, this is the kind of book one savors.  I truly enjoyed the subversion of the "damsel in distress" in a number of these stories, and while this has become common in mainstream media, even to the point of being touched upon in Disney films and serial dramas, Ms. Carter was one of the first to do it and one of the best.  I can't really think of any complaints I had, aside from a minor quip about repeated stories (two "Beauty and the Beast", three "Red Riding Hood.")  But, given that most of these stories were published elsewhere before being collected, it's easily forgivable.

The novellette from which this collection derives its name is one of my top tales, primarily because its story is the most fully realized.  A retelling of "Bluebeard," here the protagonist is a young conservatory student wed to an older, wealthy man with sexual tastes akin to that of the romantic interest in one of the most poorly written bestsellers of all time.  Rather than bombard the audience with tacky sex scenes, Ms. Carter alludes to the acts in sensual prose.  Being a "Bluebeard" tale, the husband leaves on business, forbidding the girl to enter one chamber in particular, where she discovers the extent of his sadism.

While the girl remains a damsel in distress in this tale, it's worth noting that she's not saved by a man (though a blind piano tuner does gallantly remain with her through her peril), but her mother.  This is in keeping with the familiar saviors in the original tale (her brothers), while giving the story a feminist perspective.

My other particular favorite is "The Tiger's Bride," which is an inspired retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," where the daughter is gambled away in a game of cards.  While I liked the other animal husband tale in the book, I felt this one stood out more because of its reversed ending.

Whether read as a whole, or in part, I cannot recommend this collection enough to any fans of gothic literature or fairy tales.  I will definitely be reading Ms. Carter's novels at some point!