Archive for December, 2009

Redwall by Brian Jacques

ISBN: 0441005489
352 pages
published in 1986.

I loved these books as a child. Recently, my boyfriend and I have been getting back into them. We just finished this one tonight (we like to read aloud to each other) and we’re very excited to move on through the rest of the series. I didn’t read all of the books that had been published when I was younger, but I did read quite a few of them. I believe there are 21 in total right now (as one is due to be published in February). It’s really mind-boggling that Jacques continues to publish as I believe he is 70 by now!

Redwall is the first book in the world-famous Redwall series of books, about various woodland animals (most typically mice, badgers, otters, rats, foxes, etc.) This particular story takes place at Redwall Abbey in Mossflower Wood, where a community of peaceful mice live deep in the forest, caring for the animals that live around them and generally promoting peace and prosperity in the land. An infamous evil rat shows up and threatens to take over their home, and the peaceful mice and their allies must fight back to defend themselves. At the heart of the conflict is Matthias, a young mouse from the abbey that longs to be as strong as Redwall’s mythological hero, Martin the Warrior. Given the opportunity to prove himself, Matthias struggles to find Martin’s sword and fight for his home.

The storytelling is wonderful. The description is vivid and beautiful. The characters are charming and well thought out. Each one of them is distinct, even the minor characters. The only major problem I have with this book, and furthermore, the series, is the way that creatures are divided by species as “good” or “evil” and rarely (really — never) cross that line. Rats are always evil, mice are always good. There is no grey. Jacques has confirmed this himself in his answer to a question that was sent in by a fan on his website, and this left me with a bit of a sour taste in his mouth. However, it doesn’t detract from the quality of the novels and I’m excited to relive the ones I know and discover the ones that are new to me.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

ISBN: 1595141715
304 pages
published in 1996.

I am really so surprised by this book. I had only heard the best things about it and so when I found a brand new copy at the store for $4 I snatched it up right away. I hadn’t had a chance to read it though until recently due to my busy schedule, but I managed to read the whole thing through on Sunday and had to put it down for a few days after that in order to think it through.

On the one hand, I can see what Asher wished to accomplish with his story — unfortunately, wishes do not always come true, and the reality of the book is a poorly thought-out, badly-messaged mess of an idea. That’s not that it didn’t have potential — it did, especially towards the beginning of the book. However, once I learned more about Hannah & her character, the empathy factor plummeted. Not only were her problems petty at best, but the manner in which she decides to express her feelings is alarming. It’s not just the suicide thing — it’s the fact that everyone else in this novel is responsible for Hannah BUT Hannah. It was suicide, not homicide, and literally every time Hannah recalls being met with a person who seems legitimately concerned for her, she pushes them away in a dramatic sweep of teen angst.

Honestly, if this is the message being sent to young adults about suicide, I am a bit appalled. This book not only glamorizes it, but does so in a way that insists on lining up the other kids in the book by varying degrees of guilt. Yes, Hannah no longer has to deal with being picked on like every other teenager in America, but the people that were in her life now have to deal with a guilt that is entirely undeserved. Kids are stupid. Certainly some of the things done to Hannah were nasty — a couple even downright scary — but nothing out of the realm of commonly heard highschool horror-tales.

The only redeeming quality of the book is its style, which was what lured me into the novel to begin with. It’s disappointing that Asher should fall so far short of the story’s promise.

Clockwork by Philip Pullman

ISBN: 0590129988
128 pages
published in 1996.

I was browsing through the children/YA section of my university library to find a few books to read as a reward for finishing this grueling paper I had to write for my Modern Brit Lit class last week. The cover to this book intrigued me so I took it off the shelf and read the first few pages. The book is very, very short. The description and simplicity of the book was engaging enough to make me check it out. I finished it in about an hour once I got back to my dorm.

The story itself is very fairy-tale like. It’s very obviously based off of that, and it’s actually this trait that makes both the good and bad points of this little novella (I simply won’t call it a novel). It aids it in the sense that it gives it a very familiar, bedtime-story like quality that, as the bedtime-stories of your childhood did, entice you to keep reading/listening until the end.

The story centers around (surprise coming) clocks, and the nature of clockwork itself — as well as storytelling and some “horror”-esque qualities. It takes place in a small German town, in which a young apprentice clock maker should be preparing for his big day, in which his training ends and he displays a new figure of his own work into the town clock, but because he was intimidated by the project, he’s put it off until last minute and has nothing to show for it. Understandably, he’s horrified and embarrassed — as this is a large event for the town where he lives. So, he is basically drowning his sorrows when the town’s storyteller comes into the pub and begins a new story about some evil man who steals people’s souls or whatever. Anyway, this all centers around clocks, and is actually quite creepy — however, this leads to the downfall of the style of writing Pullman uses.

It’s too simplistic to actually gain anything of substance from the story other than just a brief period of entertainment. That’s not to say that it’s necessarily a POOR book, but it does seem almost like a lazy book, and considering the originality of the idea — even in the traditional style — it’s somewhat disappointing.