Tuesday, September 6, 1994
Son Of Spellsinger
The seventh and last Spellsinger book.
Crammed
with Foster's inconsistencies and unexplained oddities, but it’s a good
story. The end, where the truth-making device is brought home, is
especially good.
Saturday, September 3, 1994
The Time Of the Transference
The sixth Spellsinger book. More of the human in the magic animal world. The humor was well-placed,
the characters good. But this time the females were domestic – Talea
didn’t go with Jon-Tom on his adventure, Weegee tries to “Tame” Mudge –
but the worst was that Jon-Tom left for years and Talea kept house for
him, waiting alone. That’s stupid, and not at all like her original
character. Enjoyable anyway, though I hate it when authors try to
impose their own insecurities and fantasies on their characters.
two stars
two stars
Thursday, September 1, 1994
Sartre By Himself
by Jean-Paul Sartre, Michel Contat, Alexandre Astruc
A transcription of a film of Sartre discussing various issues with fellow intellectuals. It’s an interesting look at his development from moralist, to realist, to moralist for the masses, and it also depicts him working at galvanizing the masses & protesting oppressive actions in the late ‘60s. There’s also a short analysis of works such as Nausea & Being and Nothingness, which I haven’t read – but it’s a start on understanding them, anyway. An intriguing book, if (necessarily, because it’s conversations) choppy and disjointed in structure.
A transcription of a film of Sartre discussing various issues with fellow intellectuals. It’s an interesting look at his development from moralist, to realist, to moralist for the masses, and it also depicts him working at galvanizing the masses & protesting oppressive actions in the late ‘60s. There’s also a short analysis of works such as Nausea & Being and Nothingness, which I haven’t read – but it’s a start on understanding them, anyway. An intriguing book, if (necessarily, because it’s conversations) choppy and disjointed in structure.
Thursday, August 25, 1994
No Exit and Three Other Plays
by Jean-Paul Sartre
"No Exit," translated by S. Gilbert. Three strangers, locked in a room. Can't really say anything about this brilliant allegory without revealing too much. It should be very widely read.
"The Flies," translated by S. Gilbert. A reworking of the Orestes/Electra story. I liked it better than Euripides'. Sartre made the characters multi-faceted and real; he also added Zeus as an adversary of Orestes who feeds on remorse. Orestes' refusing to repudiate his crime, create his own freedom and deny Zeus & nature, was very existential, I thought. Plus, perhaps, the killing could be identified with the workers' violent revolt which creates their own justice maybe. Anyway, a great, complex play, that also works as an anti-Nazi or anti-occupation message.
"Dirty Hands," translated by Lionel Abel. It was about an intellectual who yearns to act for the Communist Party, and is manipulated by them to such an extent that the man he is supposed to kill sees it all and even tries to reveal it to him. There’s a great, well-crafted argument scene about the process of power-taking and political machinations between the intellectual (Hugo) and his target (Hoederer). In the end, Hugo is convinced he acted for the right reasons, despite the party's re-writing of history. Like Sartre’s Orestes, he too refuses to repudiate his crime and makes his own destiny. A great, great play.
"The Respectful Prostitute," translated by Lionel Abel. It’s a short, very chilling, scathing attack on American corruption and racism. I don’t remember it from my previous reading as being this powerful, but it is – a nasty little piece of work.
[read twice]
five stars
"No Exit," translated by S. Gilbert. Three strangers, locked in a room. Can't really say anything about this brilliant allegory without revealing too much. It should be very widely read.
"The Flies," translated by S. Gilbert. A reworking of the Orestes/Electra story. I liked it better than Euripides'. Sartre made the characters multi-faceted and real; he also added Zeus as an adversary of Orestes who feeds on remorse. Orestes' refusing to repudiate his crime, create his own freedom and deny Zeus & nature, was very existential, I thought. Plus, perhaps, the killing could be identified with the workers' violent revolt which creates their own justice maybe. Anyway, a great, complex play, that also works as an anti-Nazi or anti-occupation message.
"Dirty Hands," translated by Lionel Abel. It was about an intellectual who yearns to act for the Communist Party, and is manipulated by them to such an extent that the man he is supposed to kill sees it all and even tries to reveal it to him. There’s a great, well-crafted argument scene about the process of power-taking and political machinations between the intellectual (Hugo) and his target (Hoederer). In the end, Hugo is convinced he acted for the right reasons, despite the party's re-writing of history. Like Sartre’s Orestes, he too refuses to repudiate his crime and makes his own destiny. A great, great play.
"The Respectful Prostitute," translated by Lionel Abel. It’s a short, very chilling, scathing attack on American corruption and racism. I don’t remember it from my previous reading as being this powerful, but it is – a nasty little piece of work.
[read twice]
five stars
Monday, August 22, 1994
The Paths Of the Perambulator
by Alan Dean Foster
The fifth Spellsinger book. A huge improvement over the last one; and maybe I expected too much from a fantasy series about magic anthropomorphic animals. The only sketchy parts for this one were two places where the humor bits were predictable. As for the rest, the book was imaginative, funny and extremely entertaining. (I would like just a little more realism in the characters' actions, more motivations than humor… but that’s a minor complaint.)
The fifth Spellsinger book. A huge improvement over the last one; and maybe I expected too much from a fantasy series about magic anthropomorphic animals. The only sketchy parts for this one were two places where the humor bits were predictable. As for the rest, the book was imaginative, funny and extremely entertaining. (I would like just a little more realism in the characters' actions, more motivations than humor… but that’s a minor complaint.)
Saturday, August 20, 1994
The Moment Of the Magician
by Alan Dean Foster
Look, I don’t mind that ungulates are non-sapient in one book and intelligent in the next, or that the race of the police changes, or that the social standing of rodents changes --- but when most of the plot or dialogue serves only as comic effect, it makes the reality of the characters, their dialogue, disappointing. I’d like more of the starkness of the original book; this series is getting more and more cartoony. Still an intriguing main plotline, though.
two stars
Look, I don’t mind that ungulates are non-sapient in one book and intelligent in the next, or that the race of the police changes, or that the social standing of rodents changes --- but when most of the plot or dialogue serves only as comic effect, it makes the reality of the characters, their dialogue, disappointing. I’d like more of the starkness of the original book; this series is getting more and more cartoony. Still an intriguing main plotline, though.
two stars
Thursday, August 18, 1994
The Day Of the Dissonance
by Alan Dean Foster
The third Spellsinger book. Still contradictory and jumpily written, although the idea behind the plot was fantastic. Hugely enjoyable and readable - I read this book and its predecessor on the same day.
[read twice]
The third Spellsinger book. Still contradictory and jumpily written, although the idea behind the plot was fantastic. Hugely enjoyable and readable - I read this book and its predecessor on the same day.
[read twice]
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