Andare, Partire, Tornare ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- every now and then, I do feel \"the flash\" I've been reading a lot recently - picked up Death Masks by Jim Butcher, then went on to reread the Emily of New Moon books by L.M. Montgomery. I love the Emily books - Anne of Green Gables could have been a friend, while Emily might not have been, but Emily and I share more things under the skin. (Pride, for one. The tendency to get drunk on words, for another). I've always been one of those who, despite the heavy foreshadowing that he was Not Good for her, been rather fond of Dean. Really, he's an unsettling character. He's intellegent and kind and learned, but he's also posessive, domineering, and patronizing. In the end, it costs him Emily, and I'm not sure how he's going to deal with the rest of his life. And while I like Teddy very much as a boy and young man, he sort of disappears in the last book until Emily hashes out her situation with Dean. Ilse and Perry are wonderful characters as well - strongly drawn, although we don't get too much of a sense of their internal thought processes. Best of all is the character of New Moon itself - Montgomery was always able to capture the spirit of a place, usually through the eyes of somebody who loves it dearly. But I love New Moon, via Emily, more than Pat loves Silver Bush - Pat's love always seems a little neurotic to me - a fear of leaving and change. Emily chooses against change by not going to New York, but she also realizes (with the help of Mr. Carpenter) that her writing voice is linked with where she is, physically. I think her writing would probably have smothered had she left for New York. Death Masks, being another sort of book entirely, was also fabulous. Jim Butcher started out well, although slightly unsure, but he's developed into a strong, tight, sure author who has an excellent, engaging hero in Harry Dresden, as well as a really good bunch of supporting characters. Susan, the Knights, Bob the Skull - all interesting and vastly entertaining. Plot plus cool worldbuilding - can't beat that with a stick. Start taking notes, LKH - the student has surpassed the teacher. 11:08 a.m. - 2003-08-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
||||||