time, ladies. i keep cribbing about it because i genuinely ain't got none.
on the other hand, someone tell me what to read? i miss reading.
predictable fantasy
is the most amazing thing. it's my go-to filler reading, okay?
(also, I can't wait for May! when I can start reading normal things again! and possibly writing! Yay!)
I've been saying this too much - but Mr. Eliot was right. April is the cruellest month, even if not for the reasons he gives.
Anyway, case in point - The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay.
It's like he wrote it because he wanted to write a Wheel of Time + Other Generic Swords and Sorcery Fantasy mashup. Without any real originality, either. And with high levels of predictability. It's not like he even has an excuse, okay? He wrote it in 2001, by which time Wheel of Time was pretty cult. He couldn't have been catering to those fantasy nerds with limited fantasy worlds without having read Wheel of Time. So what's with the good v. evil story with the tapestry weaving as the tapestry will? I mean, did you forget that you also wrote Tigana? Which is crazy awesome?
But because I'll take a (good) 14000 page series with a Dark One anyday, I think it was imperative for me to invest time and energy into a similar series by an author I love.
I'm basically saying that because he's awesome (yes he is) I just hadta read it alllllllll. So sue me.
(also, I can't wait for May! when I can start reading normal things again! and possibly writing! Yay!)
I've been saying this too much - but Mr. Eliot was right. April is the cruellest month, even if not for the reasons he gives.
Anyway, case in point - The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy by Guy Gavriel Kay.
It's like he wrote it because he wanted to write a Wheel of Time + Other Generic Swords and Sorcery Fantasy mashup. Without any real originality, either. And with high levels of predictability. It's not like he even has an excuse, okay? He wrote it in 2001, by which time Wheel of Time was pretty cult. He couldn't have been catering to those fantasy nerds with limited fantasy worlds without having read Wheel of Time. So what's with the good v. evil story with the tapestry weaving as the tapestry will? I mean, did you forget that you also wrote Tigana? Which is crazy awesome?
But because I'll take a (good) 14000 page series with a Dark One anyday, I think it was imperative for me to invest time and energy into a similar series by an author I love.
I'm basically saying that because he's awesome (yes he is) I just hadta read it alllllllll. So sue me.
this year thus far
1. um, without realizing it, i seem to have read almost everything guy gavriel kay has written. this is pretty cool, except i haven't made any notes about any of his books. i only have the fionavar tapestry left, i think. slow and steady?
2. books i started but haven't finished: the luminaries (it's long and difficult to carry around okay?)
moons of jupiter - alice munro and
insects are like you and me - kuzhali manickavel (short stories are difficult to do in one go)
vasudeva's family - vaidehi (i forgot it in a friend's house. too lazy to retrieve it)
once upon a time in scandinavistan - zac o yeah (it offended too many of my sensibilities to go forward with it).
3. books i read very slowly: we need new names - noviolet bulawayo (too much emotion, but beautiful)
hired man - aminatta forna (took me a while to get involved in it)
4. books i swallowed:
a tale for the time being, ruth ozeki (book of the year, yet)
god in every stone, kamila shamsie (need to read more by her to make up my mind)
the foreigner, arun joshi (a love letter to arun joshi is forthcoming)
everything by guy gavriel kay (sigh)
it's been a slow quarter-of-a-year fiction-wise, but only because i've been too busy to do any reading. any reading i have done has been largely guilt-inducing, and this is never good. come may, i promise to turn into a book monster. :)
2. books i started but haven't finished: the luminaries (it's long and difficult to carry around okay?)
moons of jupiter - alice munro and
insects are like you and me - kuzhali manickavel (short stories are difficult to do in one go)
vasudeva's family - vaidehi (i forgot it in a friend's house. too lazy to retrieve it)
once upon a time in scandinavistan - zac o yeah (it offended too many of my sensibilities to go forward with it).
3. books i read very slowly: we need new names - noviolet bulawayo (too much emotion, but beautiful)
hired man - aminatta forna (took me a while to get involved in it)
4. books i swallowed:
a tale for the time being, ruth ozeki (book of the year, yet)
god in every stone, kamila shamsie (need to read more by her to make up my mind)
the foreigner, arun joshi (a love letter to arun joshi is forthcoming)
everything by guy gavriel kay (sigh)
it's been a slow quarter-of-a-year fiction-wise, but only because i've been too busy to do any reading. any reading i have done has been largely guilt-inducing, and this is never good. come may, i promise to turn into a book monster. :)
a god in every stone
by Kamila Shamsie
I don't have the time to write something longer, but I have to note these down or I'll forget.
1.
The anticipation of love: The whole book is full of it. It is always
standing around at the edges, teasing you, testing you, seeing if you'll
fall for it. I did, convincingly, every time. I fell for every
character meant for love, whether or not anyone in the book actually
did. I fell for Qayyum Gul (with his hands behind his head alone on a
berth in a train; one eyed Qayyum, sure yet so very unsure of himself.)
And I kept hoping she would too. I kept looking for it - Now it will happen, oh, now she will recognize him, wait this is the moment. A moment. I can't say if I loved the book for the anticipation of love, or for the love there actually is.
2.
Reading Shamsie is like reading a non-fantasy Guy Gavriel Kay. It
feels like you're really reading a book on history in story form. It's
well-researched and a terrific pleasure. Makes you want to read up on
little things. (May be I'm drawing this comparison because I've been
reading Kay like a beast. But if you read Kay and Shamsie in succession,
I dare you not to make it too). I loved her account of wartime Britain
for its little details, the politics, the opinions. I loved how Vivian
grows through the book: I love her idea of service to a nation in
wartime, and how it changes as she becomes her own person. I love the
tension in the book when the man from the government comes to meet her.
You know she can't be that silly, you want her to not be that silly. When she is, you're immediately heart-broken. You know what is coming, it's an inevitability. But you hope because she hopes.
3. I really really want to go to Turkey.
4. My southern school education somehow missed out on the immediacy and intimacy of the history of partition, and I think this is true of many of my South Indian friends. A lot of North Indian friends of mine have a romantic notion of Pakistan - they have roots there (a grandparent who left, lands, families, that sort of thing). To me, it has always been a different culture, a different people. When I found out that they have a Punjab too, somehow Pakistani butter chicken became something I had to try. (I was 11. Not much has changed). So when I read Pakistani writers, I read them as I would read any other writer. Suddenly little unexpected things pop out at me and I think aha, there's something I didn't expect you to be like. With Mohammed Hanif's Alice Bhatti, I kept thinking that way about caste. About how I understood its perpetuation without really thinking about it as different/Pakistani.
3. I really really want to go to Turkey.
4. My southern school education somehow missed out on the immediacy and intimacy of the history of partition, and I think this is true of many of my South Indian friends. A lot of North Indian friends of mine have a romantic notion of Pakistan - they have roots there (a grandparent who left, lands, families, that sort of thing). To me, it has always been a different culture, a different people. When I found out that they have a Punjab too, somehow Pakistani butter chicken became something I had to try. (I was 11. Not much has changed). So when I read Pakistani writers, I read them as I would read any other writer. Suddenly little unexpected things pop out at me and I think aha, there's something I didn't expect you to be like. With Mohammed Hanif's Alice Bhatti, I kept thinking that way about caste. About how I understood its perpetuation without really thinking about it as different/Pakistani.
It
happened with Shamsie too, but not in the same way: With her, it was
about the cultural references. The train stations, the quaint streets,
the clubs. (In my head, they look like old Hyderabad, and I can say with
some certainty that the clubs are the same everywhere. I've been to
Gymkhanas all over the country, and if they haven't changed between
Hyderabad, Bangalore, Calcutta and Delhi, I doubt they're largely
different or the sandwiches are much better in Pakistan).
2013
10 Books of the Year, off the Top of My Head.
1. Cronopios and Famas, Julio Cortazar
One of the most amazing books and authors I have ever read, possibly. I will write about him when I can. If I can. Ever.
2. Adi Parva, Amruta Patil
Wrote about it already, but it is the questions that stay with me. A book whose writing is better than (if possible) the art. What a beautiful, beautiful book.
3. Tender is the Night, F Scott Fitzgerald
I read this a few months before I watched The Great Gatsby. It made me cry, which only one other book in recent memory did. But also, it made me marvel at sentence after sentence; re-read chapters, paragraphs, and the whole book. Because Fitzgerald makes reading prose seem easy and light. After I watched the film, I was able to see this book in a new light. I saw what he was saying about wealth and the middle-class, why it was important for him to write it the way he did (in the order he did, I mean), and about loving (not outside the context of wealth).
4. My Tender Matador, Pedro Lemebel
Dance with it. See its beauty. Let it tear you apart.
It will.
5. Numbers in the Dark, Italo Calvino
There's a reason this is one of the best compilations of short stories ever. Or several.
6. Book Thief, Markus Zusak
I cried a lot. That's what this book is about. In a good way?
7. (Much as I'd hate to admit it) Towers of Midnight, Sanderson and Jordan
Over! Yay. (Okay, in all fairness, it was a decent book. Obviously Mat and Tuon were my favorites. It was a little too cut and dry, but if it was anything else, there would have been no point to it. It ties up every single loose end in the way you expected it to end about six books ago. So if, like me, you like your fantasy to be happy and predictable, you'll probably like this book. But if you have to read thirteen other books to get here, you probably won't get this far. So um.)
8. Ka, Roberto Calasso
I've never seen Indian mythology in this way. Roberto Calasso is almost academic in so many places, that this book is sometimes tedious to get through. It is definitely not one of those things you can read in one go. But it is also one of the most rewarding reads of the year.
9. Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker
Oh! The! Footnotes! Just that. If not the whole damn book.
10. Em and the Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto
Also wrote about it already, sort of.
I might cheat later, but this is it for now.
I forgot! 11. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz!! (Also see - http://www.salon.com/2012/07/
12. Shadow Lines, Amitav Ghosh (Which I've been saving up for ten years and finally fell in love with.)
1. Cronopios and Famas, Julio Cortazar
One of the most amazing books and authors I have ever read, possibly. I will write about him when I can. If I can. Ever.
2. Adi Parva, Amruta Patil
Wrote about it already, but it is the questions that stay with me. A book whose writing is better than (if possible) the art. What a beautiful, beautiful book.
3. Tender is the Night, F Scott Fitzgerald
I read this a few months before I watched The Great Gatsby. It made me cry, which only one other book in recent memory did. But also, it made me marvel at sentence after sentence; re-read chapters, paragraphs, and the whole book. Because Fitzgerald makes reading prose seem easy and light. After I watched the film, I was able to see this book in a new light. I saw what he was saying about wealth and the middle-class, why it was important for him to write it the way he did (in the order he did, I mean), and about loving (not outside the context of wealth).
4. My Tender Matador, Pedro Lemebel
Dance with it. See its beauty. Let it tear you apart.
It will.
5. Numbers in the Dark, Italo Calvino
There's a reason this is one of the best compilations of short stories ever. Or several.
6. Book Thief, Markus Zusak
I cried a lot. That's what this book is about. In a good way?
7. (Much as I'd hate to admit it) Towers of Midnight, Sanderson and Jordan
Over! Yay. (Okay, in all fairness, it was a decent book. Obviously Mat and Tuon were my favorites. It was a little too cut and dry, but if it was anything else, there would have been no point to it. It ties up every single loose end in the way you expected it to end about six books ago. So if, like me, you like your fantasy to be happy and predictable, you'll probably like this book. But if you have to read thirteen other books to get here, you probably won't get this far. So um.)
8. Ka, Roberto Calasso
I've never seen Indian mythology in this way. Roberto Calasso is almost academic in so many places, that this book is sometimes tedious to get through. It is definitely not one of those things you can read in one go. But it is also one of the most rewarding reads of the year.
9. Mezzanine, Nicholson Baker
Oh! The! Footnotes! Just that. If not the whole damn book.
10. Em and the Big Hoom, Jerry Pinto
Also wrote about it already, sort of.
I might cheat later, but this is it for now.
I forgot! 11. Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz!! (Also see - http://www.salon.com/2012/07/
12. Shadow Lines, Amitav Ghosh (Which I've been saving up for ten years and finally fell in love with.)
why do we like horrible movies?
I have spent at least the past three weeks being bothered by this. There is no easy answer.
I shall first give you context. When I was sick, I watched a lot of things on TV. Initially, I thought I would use this time productively, catch up on some good reading, all the TV shows I've been putting off and so on.
Instead, I discovered a new love for cheesy crappy, horrible telugu movies. I FF-ed through most of the violence and music, but the fact is that it is a legitimately new love. It bothers me that I find these films amusing, and that I was entertained by chauvinistic, violent, sexist, thoroughly feudal plot-lines. It bothers me that slapping Brahmanandam is what passes off for humour. (Dookudu, anyone?) I do have standards though. I discovered through trial-and-error that some films are too bad even for my taste. (R.. Rajkumar, for example).
I write about this today because I have reached a breaking point. I watched Dhoom 3 twice. Twice. And I will recommend it to anyone who wants to watch it. Happily.
One of the explanations I heard for why we like horrible movies is that we are socialized into it. It is an explanation I like, but can't prescribe. We grew up to the steadily deteriorating plots of Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna. As children, our parents let us like their songs and watch their films. How did we end up at nearly every hero marrying his maradalu and fighting for his family honour (any Prabhas, Ravi Teja, Pawan Kalyan film)? We like that these men can kill hundreds and talk about why not killing is a good quality to have in men. We like that their idea of recreation is being aloof from women, as some sort of power trip. But I see these problems with these films and like them anyway (Attarintiki Daaredi? Best mainstream Telugu film of the year, imho).
The thing is, I don't necessarily need films to have any of these elements (Godavari!! which is NOT a horrible film). I love films that aren't like this at all more. Which doesn't take away from the fact that I genuinely like horrible films.
So I seek another explanation.
Why did I like Dhoom 3? Because Aamir Khan is invincible, even in death. Because it's emotionally stupid, and has you rooting for a character. Because its "brilliant" moments are crazy. Because it is earnest and cute, and really the kind of movie I want to watch when I need to be cheered up. I'm not saying leave-your-brain-at-home. You don't have to. I like it because it's stupid and I find it silly because I like bad movies. Because he has a tush I want to slap. Especially when it is in the middle of the screen. (Is slapping someone's butt also something we like to enjoy because of bad Telugu movies? I don't know. Do we learn to sexualize from how we see sexualization? I don't know!!)
All these horrible Telugu and Tamil films are now being made in Hindi
too, so obviously there is an audience for films that think like this. Films like Chennai Express, Rowdy Rathore or any Sonakshi Sinha film really are either remakes or being written along these lines. Whether as satire or as films that are meant to honestly be like this, it is a disturbing phenomenon. I don't want to think that these films are getting produced over and over again because that's what people are like. I only say this because even I enjoy some of them, and I can't get over the fact that I do.
Why do we like horrible movies?
tigana and last light of the sun
by Guy Gavriel Kay
Sometimes, I have trouble thinking of Guy Gavriel Kay's work as fantasy. I suppose it is warranted, considering how rich it is in its historical research.
I read Tigana last month, and was thoroughly impressed by it. Almost every single review I have read makes a mention of its size, but not once through the book did I feel like I was reading a really large book. (It might have something to do with reading it as an ebook). I say this because of how crisp the writing was. I don't think there is a single sentence in the whole book that doesn't have to be there. It's a story that tells itself through how it is structured, adding layer upon layer to every tale told.
I finished reading Last Light of the Sun today, and while this book isn't as large as Tigana is, it is engaging and thorough as Tigana. Again, not a single sentence out of place, and a story whose structure is made for marveling at.
The most amazing thing about Kay is how he writes characters you always want to root for. In both books, he tells a story from several opposing points of view, and makes you love every person in the story. It takes real skill to pull something of such complexity off, and Kay does it.
The other amazing thing about both books is how he tells a story that is set in a context he has researched extensively, but at no point does the story take a backseat to the research itself. One could treat it as an entirely imagined universe, and not miss anything (or if I did, I didn't really feel too bad about it).
One of the most interesting authors I've read all year, for sure.
Edit: Forgot to add, Tigana is absolutely completely heart breaking. THAT has to be in every review.
sick reading
I've spent the past six weeks at home, mostly in bed. (Before you ask, I am entirely well now. There was never anything to worry about). This post contains my brief observations about reading while sick.
1. When one is really unwell, reading is better time pass than watching television. This has something to do with the light hurting your constantly sleepy eyes, I think.
2. Contrary to what I used to think, even if one is doing absolutely nothing all day for weeks, it is difficult to spend much of that time productively. For me, this was because all I really wanted to do was sleep. (For the first couple of weeks, even listening to music was tiring. Cue - something profound about how much we take our energy for these things for granted).
3. When one is unwell, one wants to read crap. That's right. I didn't want to focus. I didn't want to think or worry or feel for characters or admire clever writing. I wanted to read crap. So what I appreciated the most is the Philippa Gregory book. And the Mills and Boons book.
3.1 When I felt horrible about what I was reading, I read a LOT of Terry Pratchett. I went through nearly my entire collection. It definitely made me feel better. And then I read every single thing Kate Griffin ever wrote (as Kate Griffin). Which completely erased my guilt while also making me happy.
4. Having access to other people's Kindle accounts feels like being in a candy store where everything is free. (This observation is also applicable to non-sick people).
5. Better than reading is watching Prabhas films. I am entirely serious.
1. When one is really unwell, reading is better time pass than watching television. This has something to do with the light hurting your constantly sleepy eyes, I think.
2. Contrary to what I used to think, even if one is doing absolutely nothing all day for weeks, it is difficult to spend much of that time productively. For me, this was because all I really wanted to do was sleep. (For the first couple of weeks, even listening to music was tiring. Cue - something profound about how much we take our energy for these things for granted).
3. When one is unwell, one wants to read crap. That's right. I didn't want to focus. I didn't want to think or worry or feel for characters or admire clever writing. I wanted to read crap. So what I appreciated the most is the Philippa Gregory book. And the Mills and Boons book.
3.1 When I felt horrible about what I was reading, I read a LOT of Terry Pratchett. I went through nearly my entire collection. It definitely made me feel better. And then I read every single thing Kate Griffin ever wrote (as Kate Griffin). Which completely erased my guilt while also making me happy.
4. Having access to other people's Kindle accounts feels like being in a candy store where everything is free. (This observation is also applicable to non-sick people).
5. Better than reading is watching Prabhas films. I am entirely serious.
book!
FULL WHOLE BOOK!
whee!
(It took me missing three whole deadlines to give up on looking at my laptop and read the first thing I got my hands on. Give it up for The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna!)
whee!
(It took me missing three whole deadlines to give up on looking at my laptop and read the first thing I got my hands on. Give it up for The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna!)
rereading
it's that time of the year again, ladies and gentlemen.
i'm rereading fantasy.
until last year, i spent my rereading fantasy time secretly and guiltily reading wheel of time. now, since that is pointless and patrick rothfuss is only two books long and abercrombie is only three and i'm not exactly sure about jim butcher and i have none of my jasper ffordes with me in delhi (and i'll probably go jump somewhere before i reread game of thrones), i'm looking for new and awesome fantasy things to read.
suggestions are welcome.
xo
i'm rereading fantasy.
until last year, i spent my rereading fantasy time secretly and guiltily reading wheel of time. now, since that is pointless and patrick rothfuss is only two books long and abercrombie is only three and i'm not exactly sure about jim butcher and i have none of my jasper ffordes with me in delhi (and i'll probably go jump somewhere before i reread game of thrones), i'm looking for new and awesome fantasy things to read.
suggestions are welcome.
xo
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