Intriguing tale of an alternate England whose global empire rests on the magical use of language, words engraved on silver bars. The style is semi-schIntriguing tale of an alternate England whose global empire rests on the magical use of language, words engraved on silver bars. The style is semi-scholarly and employs footnotes, similar to the way Susanna Clarke does in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which I always enjoy :)
Other reviewers have complained that the author is too politically heavy-handed, and that the book reads rather like a polemic rather than a novel, but I disagree. Separating the British Empire's colonial exploitation from its real-world historical basis lets it be examined in a different way, makes it stand out more vividly somehow, kind of like how a scientist might isolate one component out of many to be able to look at it more closely.
The four main characters, all of whom are "outsiders" in different ways, are each distinct and believable in their actions and motives; so is their friendship, and how it evolves and changes (and eventually is broken). The ending wasn't at all what I expected -- it was much more...dramatic, I guess, and momentous, in that it was far beyond what you'd expect from a bunch of college kids. But sometimes, it seems, a revolution requires revolutionaries....more
Not bad, but I suspect the chapters of having been published separately as individual papers and then put together for a book, as there's quite a bit Not bad, but I suspect the chapters of having been published separately as individual papers and then put together for a book, as there's quite a bit of repetition and redundancy. Not all of it is well argued; perhaps unsurprisingly, the chapters on the Gothic are the strongest and she makes some interesting connections, while the digressions about Calvinism are just confusing. There are a few places where Strengell contradicts herself and one or two where (IMO) she's just plain wrong. She gets a few minor points about The Stand wrong; they don't affect her argument but it does pay to get the details right. All in all, though, the book is thorough and workmanlike. Strengell does a good job of synthesizing the extant lit crit on King's work, and the bibliography is highly useful for future reading....more
A terrific personal tour of the horror genre, by a master thereof. I enjoyed the personal anecdotes interjected, and came away with a rawther lengthy A terrific personal tour of the horror genre, by a master thereof. I enjoyed the personal anecdotes interjected, and came away with a rawther lengthy list of books and movies I need to read/watch. Thank you, Stephen King, from one of your Constant Readers....more
The premise -- that language, particularly children's language, somehow becomes toxic to adults -- waDeeply weird, and not at all what I was expecting
The premise -- that language, particularly children's language, somehow becomes toxic to adults -- was fascinating. I love books about language: what it can/can't do, how it came about, how we use/misuse it (e.g. 1984), how it can lead us astray (e.g. The Sparrow). But the narrative itself seemed to be dealing with something else (thought I'm not sure what). It's almost like the story wasn't about what it was about. I didn't understand all the Jewish stuff (e.g., the forest Jews, the weird wetware thing that let them "hear" this mysterious rabbi, why they can't talk about it, why the plague started with Jewish children) -- these might be references to Jewish folklore or religion, or it might be Marcus making some kind of comment on Judaism, I have no idea. The characters weren't very sympathetic either; their daughter was a nasty piece of work, the parents were weak/uninteresting, and the constant references to physical deterioration were gratuitously icky.
Other reviewers who gave it five stars have used phrases like "indexical acrobatics" and "apedotropic" which should tell you something right there....more
Loading...
