2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
Wow. Mind-blowing stuff. The ultimate superhero comic book epic, it seems.
In its most basic form, 'Watchmen' is a realistic, alternate-universe/history version of our world where ordinary people have been going out as costumed vigilantes since the 1940s. It is about the lives and multiple interactions of said group of heroes - the ones not killed in action or inaction anyway - who, in present day 1985, have long since retired (and outlawed from fighting crime). Some still fight - killing more lives than saving them, mind you - in the name of glory, the thrill, human enhancement, or mere publicity. But mostly the Minutemen are decades-old news.
The murder of one such "hero", The Comedian, on page one jump-starts the plot, and a mystery is set. Is there a conspiracy where someone, for whatever reason, is killing or incapacitating former crime fighters?
While the murder mystery goes on in the forefront, in addition we move through a strange yet straightforward and relevant cacophony of histories, chapters dedicated to the backstories of each major and minor character, and a truckload of symbolism and subtext. ‘Watchmen’ is vastly character-driven, and draws its ideas from real-life political issues and an existential philosophy.
Details matter, and at over 400 pages it is not to be read in one afternoon sitting - it is a graphic novel with an emphasis on novel, and should be treated as such. After reading this monster of a comic, it is not hard to see why Alan Moore is considered a revolutionary genius; a “hero” of a medium that was widely underappreciated and written off as cartoonish. In 1986, 'Watchmen' came and fired that perspective into deep space.
Moore deconstructs the superhero genre down its nitty, gritty complications and implications. He even explores the origins of the comic book and why some people, deep down, would like to be superheroes or at least feel inspired by them to make the world a better place. 'Watchmen' demonstrates how much power fiction has - particularly in stories featuring uncomplicated, black-and-white heroes and villains - and how much we need it in our lives.
For art mirrors life.
There are intermissions at the end of each chapter which include written historical documents relating to the Minutemen, including an autobiography (one of my favourite parts). While this might at first be off-putting in a graphic novel - where all should be visual - it helps add realism, and fills in blanks without drowning the book itself in too much exposition.
All the characters are people, not necessarily "heroes". They are relatable, and are easy to hate because of that. But they are still interesting in their uniqueness as human beings who deny truths and make mistakes as ordinary humans do. Their psyches are explored externally in graphic novel form via colours, shades and in-depth symbolism (i.e. the 'Nostalgia' perfume and the in-universe pirate comic book), and internally in just how much they have to deal with in their lives, before or after they chose to become superheroes for various reasons. Some of the “heroes” have bad intentions, some no intentions at all, and others good intentions – which can prove to be even more destructive.
As a side note, the death of The Comedian in the beginning is probably a good thing in hindsight, as the reader shall see in flashbacks what a repulsive, violence-obsessed and egotistical sociopath he was, especially in his interactions with the other Minutemen. He is fascinating, however, in how he viewed the world as one big joke without a punch line. He didn't believe in principles or any abstract ideas such as justice. No, he did what he wanted - and as violently as possible - in order to infuse some sense of humour and purpose to life's meaningless existence, even as a government-sponsored hero. But to have any chapter where we delve deep into his past, and deeper into his mind and the reasons for his actions, would have been too much, since there is already no room left for sympathy. The readers are not meant to empathise with The Comedian on any major level, and by having him be the old "hero" who’s killed off at the start of the story, they are spared from doing so, leaving more room for developing the living characters. There’s a chance to sympathise with them instead.
There are a few more characters I feel are worth mentioning.
One is Dr. Manhattan. He is the only person in 'Watchmen' with actual super powers. (Caused by a laboratory incident; he's not an alien like I thought he was before reading). He is superhuman, capable of doing anything, but he does nothing. Dr. Manhattan is in danger of being used and abused as a weapon by the American government, when at war with other countries (his name was even chosen to strike the fear of America on the rest of the world). He is awed, feared and slandered by the people he looks down on - which is everyone, including those he cares about. While to some degree he feels human emotion, he can't help that as a god-like entity, he sees humanity as worthless and inconsequential; shown through his spending most of the comic in isolation on Mars, where he tries to build a new home for himself. This doctor is immortal; life and the universe just keep going, dying. Humanity will continue to kill itself, and eventually it will (he can see into the future, which he thinks is pointless to try and change), so he will want to move on from it all, and explore the rest of the infinite universe. Dr. Manhattan is a highly complex, tragic creation; a non-hero no one would want to be even with his powers and immortality.
My favourite character is Rorschach. I love his design - both in costume and out - and the idea behind his conception. He is the one to immediately investigate The Comedian's death and conclude that there is indeed a conspiracy. He keeps a journal which is laid out in notes throughout his scenes in the comic, giving the reader a glance of how his mind works and why he hates the world so much as to lash out, to make right when it did him wrong. Messed up and hinted to have an antisocial personality disorder, Rorschach is every bit the antihero, and a murderer of murderers and rapists. A believer in a narrow view of justice - who acts as its judge, jury and executioner. But he is very smart; smart enough to be all too aware of how the world and everyone in it works. Which makes him literally a psychologist's worst nightmare. Despite being a murderous terror, the fact that he does try to bring about justice in his way, coupled with his past and the state of the world he's in, is still somewhat noble in its own right. At one time he is also shown to have a soft side when faced with children, who he refuses to do anything violent to or in front of. His own deeply troubled childhood makes this understandable as well as admirable. Anyway, Rorschach: a tragically-deluded psycho - and poet - who gets stuff done, and as bloodily as possible. A deconstruction of Batman as a poor man, he is incredible.
Lastly, I want to talk about Laurie, aka the second Silk Spectre. Despite some people saying she is the weakest character, I thought she was really well-written and multifaceted. Upon starting 'Watchmen' I was wary of how the lone major female hero would be represented. As it turns out, I was surprised by how much time is spent on her development: her past, and thoughts and feelings as a human being. Though yes, Laurie doesn't do anything of significance to enhance the plot; she's just going along for the ride. She's romantically involved with two of the male “heroes”, and any moment of badassery is ruined by her making mistakes and needing men to help her out. Storywise, Laurie exists for the development of the male leads, but in terms of her own character, I found her to be progressive for a comic book from 1986. She's smart, assertive and aggressive when need be. A people-person who smokes, loves sex and having a drunken night out with old friends. Laurie is someone "normal" for the reader to connect to amidst the weirdness and darkness of 'Watchmen'. That she says she never liked being a crime fighter, yet puts on her old costume when going out to rescue people from a burning building (with Nite Owl, admittedly), says a lot about her. Laurie Jupiter is a more realistic Lois Lane, and as multi-layered as the rest of the cast. I liked her.
Her mother, Sally the first Silk Spectre, on the other hand is pathetic, and even more useless and passive than Laurie. I'm glad she appears very infrequently in the book, even when keeping in mind that women and victims like her do exist in real life, sadly.
The artwork is great, reminiscent of the Action Comics of the 1930s onwards, and like the story it is richly detailed. Every panel is illustrative in more ways than one - emblematic in subtext. The hard work that went into creating 'Watchmen' shows on every page, jumping out at the reader. Everything about this graphic novel masterpiece is admirable.
Of course there are downfalls to it. Patience is vital whilst reading ‘Watchmen’, however the ride can still be enjoyable and exciting as well as suspenseful. Not so much when the exposition goes overboard both in the story content and the "samples" of history after every chapter. Nowhere is this more apparent than near the end, which I won't spoil, but it's when an "evil plan" is revealed and page after page is dedicated to explaining it right down to the tiniest faucet of detail. It’s boring and unnecessary, even if we need to know it all to understand character motivation. It's here where I saw why some people might call 'Watchmen' pretentious or trying too hard to impress.
And why is Ozymandias's female secretary barely mentioned after what happens to her in her introduction? I don't think she was even given a name. That's disturbing in of itself.
Even with its flaws, however, it is not at all hard to see why 'Watchmen' is hailed as one of the best graphic novels of all time, read even by none-comic readers. It's very dense, dark and shocking, with an end-of-the-world vibe lurking in the foreshadowing pages always, but it's balanced out with spectacular moments of character and genuine feeling for a world gone mad - in reality and in art.
'Watchmen' appears to be a story about heroes. But in actuality it is about humans. A universal, existential exploration of the human condition.
I applaud Alan Moore for his effort of insight and gravitas, much rewarded.
Final Score: 4/5
Tuesday 31 March 2015
Friday 27 March 2015
Book Review - 'Misery' by Stephen King
2021 EDIT: Not as good as the first time I read it, but 'Misery' remains an enduring, chilling and twisted horror classic by Mr King. I'm mindful of the 1980s casual sexism and racism now (I especially don't like the rape analogy that Paul Sheldon makes at the beginning when Annie tries to breathe life into him; aside from everything else wrong with that comparison - as in, there is no comparison, so WTF? - it's written specifically as, '[he] smelled her on the outrush of the breath she had forced into him the way a man might force a part of himself into an unwilling woman, [...]' (page 5), as if men can't be raped). (And the N-word is casually used at least once, too). The book is also very long and wordy, but mostly interesting and creative. There are some parts that I think the film adaptation did better, and some parts not so much. Stephen King - still a good writer, but maybe not for me anymore. Or maybe I'm not in the best mood to read 'Misery'.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
LONDON STREET. THREE AM. BEFORE THE ECLIPSE.
It is quiet after midnight. ARTEMIS CRESCENT, self-proclaimed Internet Witch and Fantasy Feminist, walks down the grimy, silver street, to the starlit, sleepy crack between our world and the dream world, the unconscious made conscious.
She travels to the realm of nightmares in order to collect data, to better define fear and the nightmare’s connection to the horrors thought up in the real world. For even the various fantasy realms she has visited over the years have no better link to the magnificent, the terrible, and the sickening macabre of nightmares than in the seemingly plain, ordinary earth.
Artemis has been here a scattering of times, both physically and in her walking dreams, always content, because no matter what images humans conjure up in their sleep, no matter how awful and depraved, she takes comfort in knowing they are not wholly real. Dreams can't kill you. They are intangible. Nothing supernatural. Nothing really there. She is confident that nothing in the realm of nightmares can affect her mental and emotional state.
She is wrong.
Oh, so wrong.
Artemis has read many horror stories. She even once escaped with a dragon egg in a fantasy world; one with giant killer bees. But she has yet to know what it truly means to be afraid.
It is on this visit to the nightmare realm that she encounters a plump, smiling, matronly lady in an apron. Holding a needle. And an axe.
A chainsaw and a riding lawnmower lie further up the dream mountains. Artemis knows that with a single thought ANNIE WILKES will summon them and, as is also common in nightmares, the woman who is meant to be a witch will be paralyzed, unable to move away.
Artemis breathes deeply, thinking screw it to the nightmare world not being able to hurt you. Like Paul Sheldon, she has to seriously consider her options. Plan how she will get out of this. To use her vivid imagination to her advantage.
All chipper, she meets one of Mr King's greatest creations, Annie Wilkes, eye-to-eye.
ARTEMIS: Oh, I suppose you want me to conjure a spell to send you into the real world.
ANNIE: The real world?
ARTEMIS: Or else you'll draw my blood and try to make the circle yourself, even though you have no-
ANNIE: I don't care for any of that! Fiction is where the passion lies. Where the truth is. Real life is horrible. Full of cockadoodie birdies! Too many people judge me.
ARTEMIS: Well, I think they have good reason to-
ANNIE: What?!
ARTEMIS: And you are a prominent figment here, in the plane of human nightmares. There is a reason why you are widely feared and considered to be one of the greatest literary villains of all time. No one’s out to get you, you scare them too much.
ANNIE: Hmm. Well I... do have quite a temper, I admit. And I suppose I am a little crazy-
ARTEMIS: A little? You're fucking insane.
ANNIE: Language! I hate it when people swear. Effing this and effing that! There's already enough of that in books, especially nowadays.
ARTEMIS: Well, you do swear a bit yourself, when you are really mad and drop the cockadoodie bollocks. (And how do you know there's a lot of swearing in modern lit when you're here? Though I guess you do mostly show up in the dreams of modern readers). But anyway, to get back on track, I did not mean fucking insane to be an insult to you, Annie.
ANNIE: But... but you-
ARTEMIS: Because it isn't. Here's the thing, you wouldn't want to hurt me at all. Because even though, like many others, I do fear you, I also deeply admire you. The way you love a literary heroine, Misery Chastain, who in truth is a poster-child nineteenth-century doormat, passive despite being the main character, always having to be rescued by two unrealistically handsome men-
ANNIE: AAAHHHH! YOU WILL NOT INSULT BEAUTIFUL, LIVING MISERY YOU BITC-
ARTEMIS: But you, Annie Wilkes, are a much better literary icon. (Her ego is the size of Hogwarts; you can fill it, Artemis – just don’t awaken Hurricane Annie). You are perhaps one of the best cases of fiction meeting reality I have come across in my study of humans fearing other humans for their limitless capacity to hurt. I possess magic, you have no supernatural abilities whatsoever - which is pretty remarkable for a Stephen King baddie - but I fear and respect you for how real you seem, how easy you are to picture in the heads of millions of readers. You are a person who can exist, and that's what makes you so scary, and what makes you work as a demented psychopath that people will never forget. Your sickness knows no bounds, and it is both uneasy and glorious.
ANNIE:...
ARTEMIS: (Let’s hope she’s still listening and not off in her own dream land) Now tell me, Annie, doesn't that sound a lot more interesting than being a character in the books you love to read? Hey, here's another reason to hold you in such high regard: you're a book lover. There's one thing we have in common at least.
ANNIE: Do... people really like me?
ARTEMIS: Yes, Dragon Lady. You are living, dreaming proof that you can like and yet fear someone shitless at the same time. Like the mountainous, African goddess Paul Sheldon hallucinates you as. You are complex, fascinating. Stage plays and a film have been made about you and your isolation, your imprisoning poor, scarred Paul-
ANNIE: Who I saved from a car crash in a cockadoodie blizzard, by the way.
ARTEMIS. Yes, yes of course. The way you treat the writer you love in your own sick, twisted way and whom you like to chop to pieces – horrific, unforgettable. Bravo. Kathy Bates even won an Oscar for playing you in the film version. So there’s nothing for you to be angry or depressed about.
ANNIE: Oh, oh my... Oh, oh no you don't. If you know so much about me, then you know that I may be crazypants, but I am not a fool. You are trying to stall me, you dirty-mouthed, intruding witch bitch. You are planning a spell right now.
ARTEMIS: Oh great Odin above, no. I wouldn't dream it. (Heh heh, I literally am dreaming, right here). But seriously, you could join Dolores Umbridge for a tea party. You'd get along like a house on fire. (Oops, gone too far there). Stand side by side with Voldemort too.
ANNIE: Humph. I hope they have better manners than you, missy.
ARTEMIS:... So...
ANNIE: Oh, all right, I know my bedside manner (Trust me on that). Looks like I won't have to make you do anything to keep yourself alive here after all, as long as you don't intrude on my lovely plane again.
ARTEMIS: YOUR plane? Oh shi-
ANNIE: Even with your potty-mouth and witchcraft-
ARTEMIS: You're the one with an axe, chainsaw and killer lawnmower...
ANNIE: You do appear to be someone who isn't a cockadoodie vermin of the world. And anyone who loves romance books can't be bad at all.
ARTEMIS: Uh, actually... (Steady, don't fuck it up now for Selene's sake!) I love all sorts of books and write quite a bit myself, but I don't really go for romance. (Can’t stop now. After all, I’m also a reviewer). Mills&Boon and the like generally-
ANNIE: WHAT!? ULTRA-COCKADOODIE!!! DIRTY FUCKING BIRDIE!!! YOU ARE A WRITER!!! WRITE A ROMANCE ABOUT MISERY FOR ME AND ONLY ME OR SO HELP ME-
At long last, Artemis Crescent is free of her nightmare fear long enough to Apparate out of the ghastly realm, before Annie Wilkes's axe finds her head.
END.
So concludes my tale, describing my experience of reading 'Misery', a claustrophobic, timeless masterpiece. A cold and solid story-within-a-story, set mainly in one place but never drags or gets boring. It is a writer's guide - reflecting truths in both technique and criticism, taken to horrific extremes. I love it like I do a blood red moon in a black, starry sky.
Stephen King's writing is at its strongest in this yarn, and I'll be reading more of him soon. He is inspirational...
Final Score: 5/5
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
LONDON STREET. THREE AM. BEFORE THE ECLIPSE.
It is quiet after midnight. ARTEMIS CRESCENT, self-proclaimed Internet Witch and Fantasy Feminist, walks down the grimy, silver street, to the starlit, sleepy crack between our world and the dream world, the unconscious made conscious.
She travels to the realm of nightmares in order to collect data, to better define fear and the nightmare’s connection to the horrors thought up in the real world. For even the various fantasy realms she has visited over the years have no better link to the magnificent, the terrible, and the sickening macabre of nightmares than in the seemingly plain, ordinary earth.
Artemis has been here a scattering of times, both physically and in her walking dreams, always content, because no matter what images humans conjure up in their sleep, no matter how awful and depraved, she takes comfort in knowing they are not wholly real. Dreams can't kill you. They are intangible. Nothing supernatural. Nothing really there. She is confident that nothing in the realm of nightmares can affect her mental and emotional state.
She is wrong.
Oh, so wrong.
Artemis has read many horror stories. She even once escaped with a dragon egg in a fantasy world; one with giant killer bees. But she has yet to know what it truly means to be afraid.
It is on this visit to the nightmare realm that she encounters a plump, smiling, matronly lady in an apron. Holding a needle. And an axe.
A chainsaw and a riding lawnmower lie further up the dream mountains. Artemis knows that with a single thought ANNIE WILKES will summon them and, as is also common in nightmares, the woman who is meant to be a witch will be paralyzed, unable to move away.
Artemis breathes deeply, thinking screw it to the nightmare world not being able to hurt you. Like Paul Sheldon, she has to seriously consider her options. Plan how she will get out of this. To use her vivid imagination to her advantage.
All chipper, she meets one of Mr King's greatest creations, Annie Wilkes, eye-to-eye.
ARTEMIS: Oh, I suppose you want me to conjure a spell to send you into the real world.
ANNIE: The real world?
ARTEMIS: Or else you'll draw my blood and try to make the circle yourself, even though you have no-
ANNIE: I don't care for any of that! Fiction is where the passion lies. Where the truth is. Real life is horrible. Full of cockadoodie birdies! Too many people judge me.
ARTEMIS: Well, I think they have good reason to-
ANNIE: What?!
ARTEMIS: And you are a prominent figment here, in the plane of human nightmares. There is a reason why you are widely feared and considered to be one of the greatest literary villains of all time. No one’s out to get you, you scare them too much.
ANNIE: Hmm. Well I... do have quite a temper, I admit. And I suppose I am a little crazy-
ARTEMIS: A little? You're fucking insane.
ANNIE: Language! I hate it when people swear. Effing this and effing that! There's already enough of that in books, especially nowadays.
ARTEMIS: Well, you do swear a bit yourself, when you are really mad and drop the cockadoodie bollocks. (And how do you know there's a lot of swearing in modern lit when you're here? Though I guess you do mostly show up in the dreams of modern readers). But anyway, to get back on track, I did not mean fucking insane to be an insult to you, Annie.
ANNIE: But... but you-
ARTEMIS: Because it isn't. Here's the thing, you wouldn't want to hurt me at all. Because even though, like many others, I do fear you, I also deeply admire you. The way you love a literary heroine, Misery Chastain, who in truth is a poster-child nineteenth-century doormat, passive despite being the main character, always having to be rescued by two unrealistically handsome men-
ANNIE: AAAHHHH! YOU WILL NOT INSULT BEAUTIFUL, LIVING MISERY YOU BITC-
ARTEMIS: But you, Annie Wilkes, are a much better literary icon. (Her ego is the size of Hogwarts; you can fill it, Artemis – just don’t awaken Hurricane Annie). You are perhaps one of the best cases of fiction meeting reality I have come across in my study of humans fearing other humans for their limitless capacity to hurt. I possess magic, you have no supernatural abilities whatsoever - which is pretty remarkable for a Stephen King baddie - but I fear and respect you for how real you seem, how easy you are to picture in the heads of millions of readers. You are a person who can exist, and that's what makes you so scary, and what makes you work as a demented psychopath that people will never forget. Your sickness knows no bounds, and it is both uneasy and glorious.
ANNIE:...
ARTEMIS: (Let’s hope she’s still listening and not off in her own dream land) Now tell me, Annie, doesn't that sound a lot more interesting than being a character in the books you love to read? Hey, here's another reason to hold you in such high regard: you're a book lover. There's one thing we have in common at least.
ANNIE: Do... people really like me?
ARTEMIS: Yes, Dragon Lady. You are living, dreaming proof that you can like and yet fear someone shitless at the same time. Like the mountainous, African goddess Paul Sheldon hallucinates you as. You are complex, fascinating. Stage plays and a film have been made about you and your isolation, your imprisoning poor, scarred Paul-
ANNIE: Who I saved from a car crash in a cockadoodie blizzard, by the way.
ARTEMIS. Yes, yes of course. The way you treat the writer you love in your own sick, twisted way and whom you like to chop to pieces – horrific, unforgettable. Bravo. Kathy Bates even won an Oscar for playing you in the film version. So there’s nothing for you to be angry or depressed about.
ANNIE: Oh, oh my... Oh, oh no you don't. If you know so much about me, then you know that I may be crazypants, but I am not a fool. You are trying to stall me, you dirty-mouthed, intruding witch bitch. You are planning a spell right now.
ARTEMIS: Oh great Odin above, no. I wouldn't dream it. (Heh heh, I literally am dreaming, right here). But seriously, you could join Dolores Umbridge for a tea party. You'd get along like a house on fire. (Oops, gone too far there). Stand side by side with Voldemort too.
ANNIE: Humph. I hope they have better manners than you, missy.
ARTEMIS:... So...
ANNIE: Oh, all right, I know my bedside manner (Trust me on that). Looks like I won't have to make you do anything to keep yourself alive here after all, as long as you don't intrude on my lovely plane again.
ARTEMIS: YOUR plane? Oh shi-
ANNIE: Even with your potty-mouth and witchcraft-
ARTEMIS: You're the one with an axe, chainsaw and killer lawnmower...
ANNIE: You do appear to be someone who isn't a cockadoodie vermin of the world. And anyone who loves romance books can't be bad at all.
ARTEMIS: Uh, actually... (Steady, don't fuck it up now for Selene's sake!) I love all sorts of books and write quite a bit myself, but I don't really go for romance. (Can’t stop now. After all, I’m also a reviewer). Mills&Boon and the like generally-
ANNIE: WHAT!? ULTRA-COCKADOODIE!!! DIRTY FUCKING BIRDIE!!! YOU ARE A WRITER!!! WRITE A ROMANCE ABOUT MISERY FOR ME AND ONLY ME OR SO HELP ME-
At long last, Artemis Crescent is free of her nightmare fear long enough to Apparate out of the ghastly realm, before Annie Wilkes's axe finds her head.
END.
So concludes my tale, describing my experience of reading 'Misery', a claustrophobic, timeless masterpiece. A cold and solid story-within-a-story, set mainly in one place but never drags or gets boring. It is a writer's guide - reflecting truths in both technique and criticism, taken to horrific extremes. I love it like I do a blood red moon in a black, starry sky.
Stephen King's writing is at its strongest in this yarn, and I'll be reading more of him soon. He is inspirational...
Final Score: 5/5
Sunday 22 March 2015
Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers' by Renni Browne and Dave King
It's not even 200 pages but 'Self-Editing for Fiction Writers' is one of the most effective books on writing - and the first on specific editing - I have ever read. Amazing how the simplest, most obvious advice can be so easy to overlook when writing anything. As engaging as its reading excerpts, 'Self-Editing' can be read and understood in one sitting, and it's a great tool to get back to when polishing your manuscript.
Some of the useful things I’ve learnt from it are:
Less is more, for everything from description to dialogue, in your paragraphs;
Narrative summaries or immediate scenes? Depends, but it is best to get the readers engaged and thrown into your story right away, leaving room for backstory later on;
Avoid repetitions and going off on tangents – often once is enough, but not always. It depends on your intended effect;
Respect your reader’s intelligence and use of imagination, so avoid mundane descriptions and telling them how a character is feeling and why;
There are ways to both tell and show;
Speech adjectives – and any adverb – can take away from and replace the emotion of a scene rather than help it, making it look cluttered and artificial;
Beats help to relax dialogue exchanges in paragraphs, but overdoing them can distract from the dialogue itself and its intended purpose;
Overuse of exclamation marks and italics are a big no-no – it’s a tool for telling instead of showing, and all it shows is a lack of confidence on the part of the author;
The individual voices of your characters and of your own narration are found naturally as you work harder and pay attention to your own writing;
There are always exceptions to the rules – in fact there are no rules to writing and finding your own voice. Just write what feels right;
Read aloud everything you have written – hear rather than see if it sounds authentic;
White space and "said" are your friends.
Final Score: 5/5
Some of the useful things I’ve learnt from it are:
Less is more, for everything from description to dialogue, in your paragraphs;
Narrative summaries or immediate scenes? Depends, but it is best to get the readers engaged and thrown into your story right away, leaving room for backstory later on;
Avoid repetitions and going off on tangents – often once is enough, but not always. It depends on your intended effect;
Respect your reader’s intelligence and use of imagination, so avoid mundane descriptions and telling them how a character is feeling and why;
There are ways to both tell and show;
Speech adjectives – and any adverb – can take away from and replace the emotion of a scene rather than help it, making it look cluttered and artificial;
Beats help to relax dialogue exchanges in paragraphs, but overdoing them can distract from the dialogue itself and its intended purpose;
Overuse of exclamation marks and italics are a big no-no – it’s a tool for telling instead of showing, and all it shows is a lack of confidence on the part of the author;
The individual voices of your characters and of your own narration are found naturally as you work harder and pay attention to your own writing;
There are always exceptions to the rules – in fact there are no rules to writing and finding your own voice. Just write what feels right;
Read aloud everything you have written – hear rather than see if it sounds authentic;
White space and "said" are your friends.
Final Score: 5/5
Friday 20 March 2015
Wednesday 18 March 2015
Book Review - 'The Giving Tree' by Shel Silverstein
2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
It is a sad book. Made sadder by the fact I've only just read it today for the first time in my life. Although I can imagine how it would have scarred me as a child.
'The Giving Tree' is a delicate, articulate, mystifying, deceptively simple and alarmingly complex picture book, with a message-within-a-message as old as time; like a message in a bottle in the ocean. The understated illustrations on a plain white background are perfect.
'The Giving Tree' is either a romantic fable, a sweet yet sad fairy tale about growing up, or a tragedy. The reason why I do not rate it five stars, despite how much I get misty-eyed whenever I think about it, is because I'm just not sure what the author's intent was; what the core moral is, if it has one. I know the theme is of love and giving and taking, and I am all for multiple layers and interpretations in stories. But this simply-presented tale becomes confusing to me the more I think about it, and the less I feel for it with my sensitive heart. I wonder whether I'm being manipulated.
'The Giving Tree' is either a tragedy about how blind love is and how it can make you just give and give and give until you're be left with nothing, not even a thank you; as nothing but an old stump. Or it's about how love, regardless of what gets in your way in life, is persistent and unending; something that never wavers or demands much in return, because it's unconditional.
The tree is an innocent soul full of compassion and the need to make the one she loves happy, but with those traits alone she is a complete doormat. Perhaps she symbolises a doting parent? An abuse victim? Someone who, like a real tree, is unmoving and stuck in one place forever due to being dependent on one who takes advantage of her and is toxic and ungrateful. And the boy, as he grows older, only visits the tree when it's convenient for him, and he just takes and takes and takes from the tree without so much as a thank you or any sign he truly loves and respects her in return.
Not once in the book is this relationship presented as being healthy or happy in of itself, and indeed it shouldn't be, because it clearly isn't. Is it to show how ungrateful most people are, towards other people and the earth? Is it an environmental story as well as a love/tragedy fable?
I don't know. Maybe it's meant to show how much really can be taken from it...
'The Giving Tree' has an amazing quality where on the surface it is a simple and easy - and beautiful - book to follow, where you'll be left weeping by the end. But what lies underneath is so much subtext that it seems to be confused overall. Quite an unsettling quality for a children's book to have.
But I prefer to see it as a tragic love story for children, with an important message about being grateful to others and that love should be a partnership between equals. In whatever context, the ultimate power couple should be about a balance of giving and taking on both sides - materially and emotionally. The tears I shed upon reading 'The Giving Tree' are at the unfairness of it all, and I like to think that that's just right.
Final Score: 4/5
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
It is a sad book. Made sadder by the fact I've only just read it today for the first time in my life. Although I can imagine how it would have scarred me as a child.
'The Giving Tree' is a delicate, articulate, mystifying, deceptively simple and alarmingly complex picture book, with a message-within-a-message as old as time; like a message in a bottle in the ocean. The understated illustrations on a plain white background are perfect.
'The Giving Tree' is either a romantic fable, a sweet yet sad fairy tale about growing up, or a tragedy. The reason why I do not rate it five stars, despite how much I get misty-eyed whenever I think about it, is because I'm just not sure what the author's intent was; what the core moral is, if it has one. I know the theme is of love and giving and taking, and I am all for multiple layers and interpretations in stories. But this simply-presented tale becomes confusing to me the more I think about it, and the less I feel for it with my sensitive heart. I wonder whether I'm being manipulated.
'The Giving Tree' is either a tragedy about how blind love is and how it can make you just give and give and give until you're be left with nothing, not even a thank you; as nothing but an old stump. Or it's about how love, regardless of what gets in your way in life, is persistent and unending; something that never wavers or demands much in return, because it's unconditional.
The tree is an innocent soul full of compassion and the need to make the one she loves happy, but with those traits alone she is a complete doormat. Perhaps she symbolises a doting parent? An abuse victim? Someone who, like a real tree, is unmoving and stuck in one place forever due to being dependent on one who takes advantage of her and is toxic and ungrateful. And the boy, as he grows older, only visits the tree when it's convenient for him, and he just takes and takes and takes from the tree without so much as a thank you or any sign he truly loves and respects her in return.
Not once in the book is this relationship presented as being healthy or happy in of itself, and indeed it shouldn't be, because it clearly isn't. Is it to show how ungrateful most people are, towards other people and the earth? Is it an environmental story as well as a love/tragedy fable?
I don't know. Maybe it's meant to show how much really can be taken from it...
'The Giving Tree' has an amazing quality where on the surface it is a simple and easy - and beautiful - book to follow, where you'll be left weeping by the end. But what lies underneath is so much subtext that it seems to be confused overall. Quite an unsettling quality for a children's book to have.
But I prefer to see it as a tragic love story for children, with an important message about being grateful to others and that love should be a partnership between equals. In whatever context, the ultimate power couple should be about a balance of giving and taking on both sides - materially and emotionally. The tears I shed upon reading 'The Giving Tree' are at the unfairness of it all, and I like to think that that's just right.
Final Score: 4/5
Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' by Jen Campbell
So funny and so sad, especially if you are or have ever been a bookseller or customer in a bookshop.
Here, in this collection of quotes, you'll find some of the strangest utterings ever issued from human beings, to other human beings. They are made funnier and more baffling by the fact that they were once truly said, unironically (The homophobic quotes by customers are especially cringeworthy!). From what I'd gathered, to be a bookseller, as well as having an extensive knowledge and love of books, and wanting to help others to read as much as possible, another requirement is possessing the patience of a saint (upon realising just how many people may need to read). A few booksellers recorded in here are even sarcastic and witty, probably needed to preserve a sense of normalcy. Turns out the customer isn't always right.
'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' isn't mean or degrading, but a little gem that's put together just to make you laugh. You might also learn things about bookshops you perhaps didn't know beforehand. Such as: no, they do not usually sell cigarettes, gardening materials, ice cubes or illegal drugs; they're not a day-care center where you leave your kids while you dash off to the post office; they don't give refunds or ban books because of one kid's nightmares; the books don't fly off the shelves and eat the booksellers as far as anyone knows; their signed copies of books tend to be signed by said book's author; and multiple editions of the same book are from the same author - wow, who knew?
Final Score: 4/5
Here, in this collection of quotes, you'll find some of the strangest utterings ever issued from human beings, to other human beings. They are made funnier and more baffling by the fact that they were once truly said, unironically (The homophobic quotes by customers are especially cringeworthy!). From what I'd gathered, to be a bookseller, as well as having an extensive knowledge and love of books, and wanting to help others to read as much as possible, another requirement is possessing the patience of a saint (upon realising just how many people may need to read). A few booksellers recorded in here are even sarcastic and witty, probably needed to preserve a sense of normalcy. Turns out the customer isn't always right.
'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' isn't mean or degrading, but a little gem that's put together just to make you laugh. You might also learn things about bookshops you perhaps didn't know beforehand. Such as: no, they do not usually sell cigarettes, gardening materials, ice cubes or illegal drugs; they're not a day-care center where you leave your kids while you dash off to the post office; they don't give refunds or ban books because of one kid's nightmares; the books don't fly off the shelves and eat the booksellers as far as anyone knows; their signed copies of books tend to be signed by said book's author; and multiple editions of the same book are from the same author - wow, who knew?
Final Score: 4/5
Sunday 15 March 2015
Article on feminism online, and aside from the usual depressing comments are links like 'These Celebrities Are Not Aging Like Fine Wine', 'Bump Watch: Celebrity Babies Due in 2015', and 'Kim and Kate's Post-Baby Success, did they Cheat?' Who cares about any of this? And it IS 2015, so stop trying to shame women for living, and reducing them to their bodies. Let's read the important and intelligent articles instead :)
Sunday 8 March 2015
Book Review - 'Matilda Who Told Such Dreadful Lies...' by Hilaire Belloc (Writer), Posy Simmonds (Illustrator)
Another gruesome tale I remember from my first school days, and I loved it. The art is grey, dowdy, ugly and scary, but it wonderfully fits with the nasty-yet-brilliant (not to mention tragic) themes. It also made me develop a love for books in the poetic verse, with rhymes which stick forever in your mind. And if there is any story you want to read to children to scare them off lying for life, pick this one. Because no one believes a liar, even when they are yelling "FIRE!!!!" from a clearly burning building in front of a busy Victorian street.
Final Score: 4/5
Final Score: 4/5
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