Two short book reviews
May. 6th, 2011 14:10![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starladyMonette, Sarah. Unnatural Creatures. 2011.
This chapbook was published in a limited edition of 169 for a charity fund-raiser earlier this year. It collects the four Kyle Murchison Booth stories not in The Bone Key, which is being reissued in a gorgeous new edition later this year. I'd read the strongest story in the collection, "White Charles", online already, but most weren't available online at all, and I was glad to get them. In particular, "The World Without Sleep" is also very quietly hilarious, wrenching, and also brilliant.
I like Booth. I think the best way to describe his world is to swiperushthatspeaks' formulation in this review, which being a rush review is excellent, and say, It's like the subtext in H.P. Lovecraft was turned textual in a way that was well done. And it is. I don't generally enjoy horror in any medium, but there's something cold and intriguing about the world that Monette has built here, and Booth is the kind of protagonist with whom I sympathize effortlessly and whom I read about thinking, There but for the grace of the people around me go I… It's not a comfortable thing, being in Kyle Murchison Booth's shoes, and it's an ongoing struggle for him to recognize his own and others' humanity, and to deal with it in a befitting way. But he is changing, and does generally choose the struggle over the easier path, and as a nerd for whom how to be social in general society was a painfully learned behavior, I appreciate just how much trouble that can be. And I'm looking forward to seeing where Booth and Monette go in the future.
VanderMeer, Ann & Jeff. The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals. San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2010.
I got this at FogCon because I forgot my copy of Fast Ships, Black Sails for the VanderMeers to sign. It's a bestiary very much in the tradition of Jorge Luis Borges' The Book of Imaginary Beings, with the twist that it's a guide to whether or not said imaginary beings are kosher or not. As you might imagine, it's pretty hilarious. And as a bonus, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes weighs in at the end as to how best to serve said creatures. If you like bestiaries or have concerns about eating kosher in fantasyland, this one's for you.
This chapbook was published in a limited edition of 169 for a charity fund-raiser earlier this year. It collects the four Kyle Murchison Booth stories not in The Bone Key, which is being reissued in a gorgeous new edition later this year. I'd read the strongest story in the collection, "White Charles", online already, but most weren't available online at all, and I was glad to get them. In particular, "The World Without Sleep" is also very quietly hilarious, wrenching, and also brilliant.
I like Booth. I think the best way to describe his world is to swipe
rushthatspeaks' formulation in this review, which being a rush review is excellent, and say, It's like the subtext in H.P. Lovecraft was turned textual in a way that was well done. And it is. I don't generally enjoy horror in any medium, but there's something cold and intriguing about the world that Monette has built here, and Booth is the kind of protagonist with whom I sympathize effortlessly and whom I read about thinking, There but for the grace of the people around me go I… It's not a comfortable thing, being in Kyle Murchison Booth's shoes, and it's an ongoing struggle for him to recognize his own and others' humanity, and to deal with it in a befitting way. But he is changing, and does generally choose the struggle over the easier path, and as a nerd for whom how to be social in general society was a painfully learned behavior, I appreciate just how much trouble that can be. And I'm looking forward to seeing where Booth and Monette go in the future. VanderMeer, Ann & Jeff. The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals. San Francisco: Tachyon Publications, 2010.
I got this at FogCon because I forgot my copy of Fast Ships, Black Sails for the VanderMeers to sign. It's a bestiary very much in the tradition of Jorge Luis Borges' The Book of Imaginary Beings, with the twist that it's a guide to whether or not said imaginary beings are kosher or not. As you might imagine, it's pretty hilarious. And as a bonus, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes weighs in at the end as to how best to serve said creatures. If you like bestiaries or have concerns about eating kosher in fantasyland, this one's for you.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-06 21:26 (UTC)SERIOUSLY. MY LIFE. WHY DOES THE KASHRUT OF UNICORNS COME UP SO OFTEN?
(Real conversation I had recently:
"Horses aren't kosher. So unicorns aren't kosher."
"Why do you think horses and unicorns have the same anatomy?"
"They look alike, except for the horn."
"Yeah, but unicorns are magical. So you never know, they could be kosher."
"Good point.")
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-06 22:24 (UTC)Though oddly enough, it doesn't have an entry on unicorns. But it does have entries on Ziz and the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, among others…
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-07 01:50 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-07 17:34 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-07 04:38 (UTC)~ c.
(no subject)
Date: 2011-05-07 17:36 (UTC)Yeah, I think it would work. It seems pretty age-appropriate (there's a few creatures that are creepy, but nothing too horrible), and I think with a dictionary or a parent close by, it'd be pretty understandable.