Collected Miscellany

Too big time lit bloggers made news this week. In case you missed it, Mark Sarvas’s novel Harry Revised hit the books stores this week. And even as I type it is winging its way to me via the magic of online bookstores (I had hoped for a Kindle version, but alas will have to read it in dead tree version).

Mark also appeared on the Bat Segundo show for its 200 episode.

Congrats to both for their success. I look forward to reading Mark’s novel and listening to their conversation. You would do well to do the same if you haven’t already.

Much like Quiver, Quicksilver by Stephanie Spinner is a retelling of various Greek Myths in the form of a young adult novel. This time the central character is Hermes.

Quicksilver starts out rather lightheartedly as Hermes runs various errands for his father Zeus and cracks jokes along the way. It takes a darker turn when discussing the Trojan war, but soon returns to happier times as it tells of his falling in love with Calypso.

As I noted with Quiver, these books are interesting and entertaining as sort of fictional tour guides through the world of Greek mythology. Spinner has crafted a very accessible way to become familiar with the characters and stories of the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece.

But for me, the stories never quite take on a life of their own. Quiver at least had a strong heroine and the plot surrounding her marriage suitors, but Quicksilver’s plot is less focused because Hermes is not a central character in the myths. The result is story line that jumps from one episode to another without a central plot.

But these books are not likely to be read for their action or suspenseful plot. Rather, what Spinner does well is imagine the gods and goddess as people with all the emotions and challenges that involves. For example, Hermes desperately wants to please his father and misses his brother Apollo when they are separated for extended periods. He feels guilt and jealousy, love and desire, despite having supernatural powers. Spinner does a good job of brining the pantheon to life.

I don’t mean to be to harsh here. Not every book you read can be in the “wow” category. All in all, these books are well done re-tellings of classic myths in an accessible – if unsophisticated – format.

Continuing my fascination with Greek Mythology we move from an adult modern retelling to a young adult more traditional retelling in Quiver by Stephanie Spinner. Quiver weaves the various myths and stories of Atalanta in this short but competent novel.

Here is the overview from School Library Journal:

Atalanta, a skilled archer and a runner, has dedicated her life to Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt. She has grown up among hunters, and is as good or better than many of her male counterparts. When strangers appear and command that she return with them to her father, the king, she is shocked and dismayed. King Iasus, who abandoned her at birth, now demands that she marry and produce a son, since he does not have an heir. She balks at this idea, since she has vowed to remain chaste, and poses a challenge: she will only marry a man who can outrun her in a race; all others must die. To her dismay, many accept the challenge and fail. However, when Hippomenes enlists the help of Eros and the Golden Apples of Aphrodite, Atalanta cannot force herself to outrun this man and have him die. Staying very close to the known story, Spinner gives this Greek myth a fresh face and makes Atalanta a strong heroine. The gods are ever present, advancing the plot and commenting on the lives of the characters. The setting is well done, putting readers easily into the ancient world, and the language is refreshingly unmodern.

This book is very much in the vein of The Great God Pan, a well done fictionalization of classic mythology that somehow lacks enough depth or creativity to rise above its limits. These works seem like effective ways to introduce young readers to Greek myths but their simplicity limits the power they have as literature.

Spinner paints a picture of a heroine with unique talents but who is still trapped in a world dominated by men and where those who run afoul of the gods can pay a heavy price. She captures the precarious and often brutal interaction between gods and mortals – and between fellow mortals – in the ancient world as described in mythology. As the above review notes, Atalanta is an interesting and well drawn heroine and Spinner captures the ancient setting well. But overall the story just didn’t grab me.

It was interesting, and educational in the sense of fleshing out the myth, but as a story on its own it seemed a little flat or shallow. Almost a vignette rather than a complete story. But again, this may simply be the limits of reading YA fiction as an adult.

For those looking for a quick and easy to read retelling of the myths surrounding this character, Quiver will fit the bill. Those looking for deeper insight and a more powerful story might be disappointed.

Here are some interesting book links that have come my way of late:

– A Christian America? A secular America? Steven Waldman argues the founders had in mind something else entirely.

– How to Save the Christian Bookstore (Hint: Stop making it so religious.)

– Channeling Norman Mailer by Liz Smith

– Join Robert Alexander’s Live Book Club.

– Open Letters Monthly April Issue.

I have long been fascinated by myths and legends. It has always seemed that part of being an educated person meant a basic knowledge of Greek mythology. So when I stumbled upon Gods Behaving Badly at a local library sale for a couple of bucks I picked it up. Sure, Marie Phillips debut novel isn’t exactly a primer on Greek myths but who doesn’t like a little light humor with their mythology?

The hook for this particular take on the ancient Greek gods and goddesses has them living in a flat in London down on their luck with the world having forgotten about them. This lack of worship has weakened the gods and severely limited their powers. Aphrodite is a making ends meet as a sex phone operator. Dionysus operates a sleazy bar. Artemis is a dog walker. Apollo is trying to get his acting career off the ground by staring in a psychic TV show.

Despite their modern – and reduced – lifestyle the gods are still bickering and backstabbing each other like they have for centuries. In this way Aphrodite gets Eros to shoot Apollo with an arrow and cause him to fall in love with a rather shy cleaning lady named Alice. Alice is really in love with the equally shy Neil. When Artemis hires this same Alice to clean the god’s house it set off a chain reaction that threatens the mortal world. Neil is forced to play the role of hero. But first he has to believe the gods really exist.

Gods Behaving Badly is a romantic comedy with a Greek twist. And as such it is entertaining. The premise is creative and Phillips has fun with the concept. She has a light touch and quick wit. But despite its charms it left me disappointed.

I think perhaps I expected too much. As Ron Charles noted in his Washington Post review:

“The tension doesn’t ratchet too high; it’s a romantic comedy, after all. The key is to fly through a book like this very fast — on Hermes’ wings.”

But after awhile the initial premise isn’t enough to carry the novel and it feels flat. Phillips does attempt to bring the story to an eventful conclusion but the ending spoils it by being too pat and easy. Sure it is a comedy, but the ending is neither funny, nor imaginative, but predicable and with syrupy sweet postscript.

This strikes me as an example of “beach reading” light and fluffy and doesn’t require too much thought. If you approach with this in mind, and it matches your sense of humor, then you might enjoy it. For me, it was just a little too much fluff.

Continuing on my Kindle tour of Neil Gaiman (see here and here), I next turned to Neverwhere Gaiman’s first full length novel. The book started out as a screenplay for a BBC miniseries but Gaiman developed it into a full length novel so he could enjoy the total control that comes from being a stand along author rather than part of the film making process.

Here is the basic plot: Richard Mayhew is your average young businessman working in London. He has a job, an apartment, and an attractive – if high maintenance – girlfriend. An the way to a date with his girlfriend and her boss he stops to help an injured young woman and ends up bringing her back to his apartment to recover.

This simple act, plunges him into a frightening new world known as the London below; a shadowy surreal world somehow below and beyond the London he knows. The young women soon disappears but Richard’s life will never be the same. Somehow his regular life has been erased. He is no longer visible by those around him. His apartment is rented out from under him. His credit cards no longer work. He is a non-person as far as the world he once inhabited knows. In order to have any hope of getting his life back he must track down the women he helped and join her quest in this mysterious and dangerous world.

Like all of Gaiman’s work, Neverwhere is an imaginative and creative story and it posits an alternative world in which his lead character must complete a quest. But for some reason this book didn’t really grab me in the same way the others did. This one seemed to mirror my reaction to American Gods: interesting but a little messy and not quite as captivating.

I will admit that it could have been that I was distracted, but something I wrote about American Gods applies: “It was as if the journey was interesting but I am not sure I would want to take the same trip again.” The story itself was interesting and their were twists and turns to keep up the suspense. There were lots of interesting characters and some of them particularly well done (the Marquis for example or the heavies Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar). But all of the ingredients didn’t come together in as satisfying way for me. With Stardust I was always want to block out some time so I could read it. With Neverwhere it wasn’t like I struggled to keep reading but it wasn’t something that was always on my mind; it wasn’t one of those books that I always wanted to be reading it.

As this was his first novel, it seems likely that he honed his craft and that his later books benefited from that. On the other hand, maybe this one just didn’t strike a nerve with me. But even so, Neverwhere is an entertaining read. Just for the imagination and creativity involved. Gaiman is certainly an author whose latest work I will always want to check out. And for that reason alone, I am glad I read Neverwhere so I can better appreciate the arc of his overall career.

Obviously, Gaiman fans will have read Neverwhere long before I stumbled upon it. If you haven’t yet read any of his work you might choose to read chronologically. Or you could just dip in randomly like I did. Either way, I am glad I decided to read more of this by now world famous author. He is one of those few hugely popular figures whose popularity seems deserved.