SASSY LOST CHILD

Review on The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola

I read this in a collection along with My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. For some inexplicable reason, My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was printed first in that collection; if you take anything away from my review, please let it be that The Palm-Wine Drinkard should definitely be read first!

Rating: ★★

Tutuola's writing style definitely takes some getting used to, but part of this book's charm is how utterly unique it is. From the narrative structure (or, maybe, lack thereof) to use of language, this book stands apart from any other I've read. The story's introduction actually helped me a lot with understanding the style's eccentricities (for example, the sometimes tiring use of repetition) as an adaption of the medium of "folk operas". It also provided really useful context for Amos Tutuola's personal relationship with both Christianity and Yoruba tradition, which added a lot of depth to the dynamic of those two beliefs in this story.

My personal favorite vignette was the tale of the Complete Gentleman; I'm a sucker for wordplay and unexpected twists. And in general, the myths and folklore never ceased to surprise and intrigue me throughout. Though, honestly, my favorite part of this book was the introduction.

Recommendations:

My Life in the Bush of Ghosts by Amos Tutuola. I know it's a bit cheap to recommend a book by the same author, but, in all honesty, if you loved The Palm-Wine Drinkard there is no better follow up. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts continues in the same world, and is in many ways a heightening of the Palm-Wine Drinkard. A deeper dive into Yoruba folklore, an even more experimental narrative structure, and even more stylistic prose style. To be totally honest, this one was a bit too stylistic and experimental for me, but if that's what you like, this is the book for you.

Review on Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I didn't even mean to read this book (yet), but picked it up in the bookstore and couldn't stop til I'd finished that same day! Let's get into it.

Rating: ★★★★★

First off, I thought this book was brilliantly paced, especially for such a short novel. Gaiman starts and ends the story at the perfect time, without wasting any page space on unneeded context. I can see this being especially important to access a younger audience who needs to be engrossed from the very first page. And I definitely was! I'm always so impressed by how Gaiman balances the most rich description with efficiency of storytelling.

I've always heard that Gaiman began writing this novel as a transcription of the stories he told his children before bed, and that came through in the writing in the most lovely way. I can totally picture reading this aloud to a group of kids; I could practically hear the character voices in my head the whole time. Also, I appreciated how Gaiman never once spoke down to his audience. While everything is accessible to a child's perspective, he doesn't feel the need to spell out absolutely everything, and let's the audience solve some of the puzzles all by themself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It worked well both as a cleverly told, engaging horror novel, and an excellent children's story. I liked reading it even more than I loved the movie as a kid (though I totally heard Keith David's voice for all the cat's dialogue).

Recommendations:

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. While definitely a divergence from the horror genre, Hollow Kingdom is another book that deals with darker subject matter through the eyes of an optimistic and naive protagonist. Hollow Kingdom has a much more humorous tone than Coraline, but still tells a very heartfelt story of a protagonist learning to defend the home and people they love-- people who should, perhaps, have been defending them. Also, if the sarcastic talking cat was a highlight of Coraline for you (as it was for me), Hollow Kingdom is seriously the book for you.

Review on frank: sonnets by Diane Seuss

I'll be the first to admit I don't typically seek out poetry books, but this one came highly recommended to me by a professor, so I gave it a shot!

Ranking: ★★

For me, this collection started out really strong. The in-the-moment sequence of poems of her approaching the lighthouse were clever and resonant, with a good balance of humor and self-reflection.

However, she really lost me in the rehashing of her life story. It felt like she was trying to paint herself as a prototypical tortured artist, constantly trying to prove to the reader that she was born with some inherent poetic drive. It just didn't feel honest to me.

My favorite poem in this collection was "I Wanted to be Like the Boy in the Book." To me, this poem was immensely interesting and resonant. Rather than a rehashed cliche, I felt like Diane Seuss was tackling an incredibly personal, genuine struggle that I think many can relate to, though it is not often discussed.

It's possible I'm too harsh, or just don't understand this type of poetry. But in a book of 127 poems, she only spoke highly of another woman once. This felt like a life story told through the men in her life; often it felt like she was using their treatment of her as evidence of her worth. Furthermore, and this is a personal gripe, but I find the sentiment of "I haven't experienced love, so it must not be real and everyone else is deluding themselves/dumber than me" very juvenile and was actually surprised to see it so frequently in a book written by someone later in life.

Recommendations:

Now, it feels a bit strange giving recommendations based on a book I didn't like, so instead I'll give some recommendations of poetry and short fiction that I did like.

Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. These are two collections of short stories and poems written by Neil Gaiman. Gaiman has a (to me, at least) unique style of poetry with a more narrative approach, which makes it very accessible and engaging. Also, these collections contain some seriously amazing short stories, including my favorite of all time, The Goldfish Pond and other Stories. Genres vary from lovecraftian horror, to modern fantasy, to fairy tales.

Introducing myself through five favorite books!

Favorite Classic: Bram Stoker's Dracula

There's so many reasons why this is one of my all time favorites, but the part that really sticks with me is the characters. Each of them were so different from each other (a cowboy, a professor, a doctor, a school teacher, and an aspiring lawyer!) but their friendship still felt so true and genuine. One of my favorite adventure novels, so hopeful and sweet but not afraid to take dark twists. To me, this book is the definition of classic.

Favorite New Book: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

I know I'm using "new" loosely (can't believe 2017 was seven years ago...) but at the very least, this book is new to me! I thought this was such a clever take on the fantasy genre, which is my favorite. It kept all the classic aspects of wizards, flying ships, and even owl bears, while reframing them in terms of the modern music industry. I love old and new music, specifically punk and nu wave, so I really enjoyed all the little nods to it. Plus, the storyline of aging heroes reconvening to relive their glory days was just amazing.

Favorite Nonfiction: On Writing by Stephen King

To be totally honest, I'm not usually one for nonfiction. But this book was genuinely a page turner. While it's often touted as a must-read for aspiring writers, I don't actually think that's where this book shines. For me, personally, the most interesting parts were the beginning and end, learning how Stephen King grew up to be such a successful author, and learning about how he overcame the accident he was in and got back into writing afterwards. Also, his prose is just so entertaining I think it'd be hard not to enjoy.

Favorite Graphic Novel: Uzumaki by Junji Ito

I'm a horror lover, and this manga might be the most unique horror media I've ever experienced. Junji Ito really makes the most of the visual medium, and his art is incredible. I wish I could plaster my apartment with these pages, seriously. Beyond that, he finds such creative and fresh topics to explore, I think I left this book with all new fears. Seriously, my terrarium (as seen in the pic) is full of snails, and ever since I read this book I've been scared they'll escape.

Favorite of All Time: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

No book has impacted me so much as American Gods. It'll be hard to keep this short, as I genuinely think I could write a thesis on the complexities and lore of this book. But overall, I'll say I love folklore, and reading this book, I could genuinely believe Neil Gaiman knows more folklore than I could ever hope to learn in my entire life. Every scene and inclusion is so well crafted and thought out; reading this book probably took my twice as long because every chapter I finished made me want to read at least three wikipedia pages. Also, Shadow is one of my favorite protagonists I've ever read. Between his appreciation for the bigfoot magazine cover and constant attempts to entertain kids with coin tricks (which doesn't work out as often as it should!) I absolutely fell in love with him.

In honor of the annual Dracula Daily Day, I thought I'd write my first review on one of my favorite novels! I know I'm a day late, but posting while Jonathan's paprika hendl is still hot!

Ranking: ★★★★★

I loved this novel so much more than I thought I would going into it. Ironically, I don't think it holds up particularly well as horror (in the modern sense), but more as a heroic adventure; of which, this is one of the best I've read!

The thematic good-vs-evil struggle is very classic, but executed with such genuine ernesty that it made a huge impact. I love the cast of characters, each with their own unique brand of chivalry, bravery, and so-very-human goodness. Quincy was my personal favorite, but I always love a cowboy.

From the structure to the characters to the themes, every part of this felt like a quintessential classic novel. And yet each element was so charming and heartfelt that it stood on its own and resonated very truly.

Recommendations

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly: I know this is probably the most predictable recommendation, but these two books pair together far beyond the superficial "universal monsters" connection! Their structures are very similar (Dracula being told as a series of letters, Frankenstein as a series of recursive stories). The main difference between these two books, in my opinion, is that, while Dracula is ultimately a hopeful, heroic tale, Frankenstein is a good deal darker in tone, with a bleaker outlook on humanity. Still, though, who doesn't like a melancholic, can't-help-but-make-everything-worse protagonist? And who doesn't like TWO?

How to say the world`s most accepted word coffee.