A little more Gaiman

I was just jumping around on the internet when I stumbled on a little more Gaiman info. "Neverwhere," which is about an Underground London, very similar to Bod's graveyard, was a TV series in 1996! I have no clue how good this was, but I'm definitely going to check in on it. Also, for anyone who isn't quite ready to delve into the truly crazy world of Gaiman's writing, I highly suggest you read "Good Omens." It's an easy and hilarious read. I added a link in the title to a picture of Gaiman's Death from Sandman. The man on the left is Dream, or the Sandman. He looks a LOT like Gaiman, though I've never really looked much into it.

Coming of Age

So, I have to say this was one of the best read's we have had this semester. I also really liked the very unusual plot of this story. It was a pretty typical coming of age story as far as plot events go, but by having the typical horrific elements actually being the protagonists was very refreshing twist on the coming-of-age genre. All in all it reminds me a little of Casper.

And then once you call it a coming of age story, there are little ironies thrown all around, like the simplest/most blatant one being the fact its focus on the graveyard and the dead, which usually reflect the end of life, where as coming of age stories reflect the beginning of life.

In sum, all and all, it was a very excellent story that I greatly enjoyed.

Graveyard book

Just wanted to say I loved this book. Anyone have recommendations for more of his stuff? I totally agree with the prequel highlighting the Honour Guard; I would love to know more about Silas especially. I loved the way he made the dead into the protagonists as opposed to pretty much every other story in which the dead are the scary antagonists. One question I was left pondering was what were the Sleer guarding in the tomb under the hill? I know it was a cup, a knife, and an apparently priceless brooch, but I want to know more about their significance and where they came from.

Graveyard book

I definitely loved this book, a very fast and enjoyable read. Shauna already brought this up in her post, but I really like the idea of the ghosts and witches and other beings in the graveyard being the "good guys" who keep Bod safe, while almost all the living people he encounters are enemies of his.

But I have to say it seemed like it wrapped everything up in the end slightly more quickly than I would have liked, not so fast that it ruined the story or anything like that, it was still a good ending, it just felt a little bit quick to me. Really I just would have like for this book to be abit longer, just about anything in this book could be expanded even further to be even more interesting. Overall, a great book.

Anxiously awaiting for class

I think today's class discussion is going to be great. For once I'm certain everybody loved the book we read this week and we'll have plenty to talk about. The Graveyard Book is probably my second favorite so far this semester. So I want to pose some questions before class:

What do the illustrations add (or possibly take away) to (from) the story? Sometimes with illustrations or even movies I get irritated because I would rather form my own images for books that I read. But I think the sketches for this book were perfect. Not too much, not too little. They were simple enough to not detract from the images in my head, and happened to perfectly match what I had pictured.

What was with the Jacks of All Trades? They were so concerned about this kid ruining them, that they actually caused their own downfall by going after him. Sure, this means the prophecy they heard was true, but it wouldn't have been if they hadn't pursued him. Plus they're just an odd concept in general. I was kinda freaked out by the man Jack from the beginning, but when I found out it was basically a cult of men named Jack I couldn't help but wonder where the heck Neil Gaiman got that idea.

I think that's about it for this morning...I'm excited to see how everybody feels about it in class this afternoon. Now off to shower and attempt to read some of Under the Dome before classes :-)

I ❤ Graveyards!

I have to say that The Graveyard Book just might be my favorite book this semester. I love how this book is for people of all ages, and how a graveyard is the safe place. In today's world we normally fear graveyards and think about ghosts haunting them, zombies rising, or vampires lurking. I've always felt safe at graveyards, and peaceful there. My mom and I will sometimes go to the graveyard down the road from where we live and walk around in the afternoons/ night looking at tombstones, flowers, and remembering loved ones, so to have a graveyard as a place of safety made me feel not so weird. I easily connected to Bod, and felt as though I were leaving my home when he left in the end. I've never read any of Gaiman's stuff before now, (though an obsessed friend of mine has begged me to for years) but I think I might just start. How do you guys feel about graveyards?

On The Graveyard Book

My dear classmates--I am currently on a grad school visit to Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, and will not be in class tomorrow (because I will still be here). And so I thought I would share my thoughts on The Graveyard Book...

As Children's Lit

This was probably the most interesting aspect to me. I'm in a children's literature class right now, and of course we study a lot of works that push the limits. (E.g. Dr. Seuss: A central idea in his works is pushing the limits and wanting people to question the ways of society etc.) I felt that The Graveyard Book had a very children's-lit vibe to it, what with the large print and the flowy illustrations. Of course I know that illustrations does not automatically mean children's lit--I do read manga, after all--but the tone that Gaiman takes and, I suppose, just the way Bod goes about doing things felt like it was designed for a younger audience.

And yet it pushes the limits in interesting ways in that it is a story that is very much about death. We wouldn't think, right off the bat, that death is a very common thing to discuss with young kids--though nursery rhymes used to be very dark, the darkest ones don't tend to be used anymore, and there's a certain kind of expectation in mainstream children's lit. Gaiman's Bod is a bit questionable, maybe--he gets the bad guys, but like Scarlett questions, does that make him a good guy if the final Jack is as good as dead? Etc. It just raises interesting questions.

As a Hybrid

Considering my idea of Gaiman's work is that it appeals to both children and adults equally, when you look at The Graveyard Book as a book for older readers, the illustration aspect is certainly interesting. Because we, as older readers, recognize that the topic is not exactly the most... children's-y. (Yes, that's a word.) We have illustrations, but all of very gaunt, severe kinds of people, all kind of dark and reminiscent (to me) of Chinese ink drawings with swirls and shades of black and gray... Really it was delightful, though I tried to read over the illustrated pages extra fast when I was in public places so no one would see me reading a picture book and give me funny looks.

See what I mean?

As a Ghost Story

Ha ha. The Graveyard Book kind of amuses me when I think of it "as a ghost story" because a better way to put it would be to think of it "as a people story." Because, when you talk of a ghost story, usually you have a cast of living, breathing humans who encounter a ghost; but in this case you have a cast of ghosts who encounter a human. It is set up as if ghosts are the norm and people are strange rather than the other, commoner way around--and I find it delightful. Delightful in style, in how it turns norms upside down, etc... I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Speaking of Gaiman...

Do any of you like Doctor Who? I know Andy does, and we watched a couple episodes in last semester's Sci-fi class...

Gaiman has written an episode, titled "The Doctor's Wife," to be aired as the fourth episode in the upcoming sixth series of the show. There's a link to a tiny bit more information in the post title, but I don't think much more is known right now. Still. Pretty exciting!

The Graveyard Book

Hi fantasy f(r)iends!

So I've recently returned from Europe, with many exciting tales and pictures to show you guys when I get the time to put them up.
But first off, I want to say that I loved The Graveyard Book! I think others have expressed similar feelings. It was definitely one of the most entertaining and easy reads we've had so far this semester. I really really really want Gaiman to write a prequel of sorts and delve a little deeper into Silas and the Honor Guard, am I right?

In fact, I tweeted this to Neil Gaiman, in a silly hope that I might catch his attention and add to the praise he's no doubt gotten from many other fans. And whattaya know, he tweeted me back! I had seen that he was doing a discussion with a class somewhere, and joked that he should do one with OUR class, and he asked if Andy was still blogging everything. So, I sent him the link to our blog. Careful what you say-- you never know who's lurking in our Graveyard of posts. If you'd like to tweet him your thoughts as well, I linked his account in the post title.

So, what did you all think of the book? (As if you'd say you hated it now that I let you know this, right? but really, be honest, please.)

It actually got pulled into my mind yet again today, as we were discussing a piece of literature in my English class written by Irish poet William B. Yeats. The poem is called "The Stolen Child," and it's all about a young boy who was stolen away by faeries, tempted into going with him and becoming one of them, in a sense. He is still technically human, but gains some of their powers and becomes essentially immortal. But later in the poem, he longs for the human life he never really knew. Pretty familiar sounding, no? Here's a LINK to the poem, if you're interested, as well as a SONG VERSION of it by the Irish group, The Waterboys.

I wonder if Gaiman has read this? Probably. It's pretty famous. Maybe it influenced his idea for Bod and The Graveyard Book? The only major differences are that the boy in the poem is replaced in his home by a faerie pretending to be a boy.
Thoughts? Ideas? Random bits of useless information? I welcome all of it.

Where do you read?

Alright everyone, I've got an important question for all of you. Where is it that you read (especially the books for this class)? Most of the time I do my reading in bed before I go to sleep at night as a way to wind down (not a great way to read any particularly exciting books, however), but this time I mixed it up a bit. I read a significant portion of The Graveyard Book in an actual graveyard. I sat on a bench set up in one of the family plots in Evergreen Cemetery (the one behind the stadium) and just went for it. I have to say that it really added something to the experience. The right setting, you know? Helps with the visualization.

So do any of you read in a particularly special place? Do you mix it up for the story you are reading?

Good God, it took him long enough!

I don't know how interested yall are in the Inheritance cycle by Christopher Paolini but it was something I picked up many years ago (Eragon was published around 2002-2003 when I was 12). I love dragons and magic and really enjoy this series. I think he gets better with each novel and after Brisingr came out I was more than a little impatient for his FINAL installment. Dadgum it, it feels like it's taken forever! 3 YEARS!!! But he recently announced that the final book, Inheritance, is coming out November 8. Is anyone else excited? Yall, I have been checking his site religiously hoping I'd get a release date. It's beyond pathetic.

Two Amazing Authors

Since we will be talking about Neil Gaiman in class tomorrow, I thought I'd bring up what I think is awesome news. A British company has decided to make a TV series out of Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's "Good Omens"! The link about the article is in the title. Gaiman mentioned this on his journal last week. Of course, it will be overly British, I'm sure, but so was the book. I think the inclusion of a former Monty Python writer will lead to a very interesting show. On a sadder note, when I was looking for Gaiman's journal entry, I saw what he had posted on Sunday. He wrote a long, beautiful goodbye to a friend and great writer, Dianna Wynne Jones. I have never read as much of her writing as I would like, but what I have read, I have enjoyed. She seems to have had a large impact on Gaiman's life. I know he and the fantasy world will miss her.

Game of Thrones

I can't sleep so I'm watching all the HBO on demand stuff about the upcoming series Game of Thrones. If you aren't familiar with the title, it is the title of George R. R. Martin's first book in his series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and will be based on the series. To my delight and dismay, the series is still unfinished after four books. This series got me back into reading after a while off so that plus the fact that it is probably the best series I have read makes these books some of my most favorite. In fact, I am thinking of re reading the first book before the series comes on and hopefully will if I find the time. Needless to say, I am pumped for this series to come on HBO and I wanted to see if anyone else was?

Antarctica

So I saw the movie Whiteout recently and it got me thinking about a great setting for a ghost story. If you haven't seen it, it's about a series of murders in Antarctica and a female US Marshal, a very good looking one, who is trying to catch the killer before winter, and 6 months of night, comes. The movie was just alright, but it made me think about the fact that someone could write an awesome ghost story with 6 months of no sun to work with.

Am I a little strange for liking The Little Stranger?

I really kind of liked this novel, unlike everyone else. I think part of it might have to do with the fact that I'm a HUGE Sarah Waters fan. I've read Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith, and The Night Watch many, many times. I was excited going into this book, because of who wrote it and maybe that made a difference of opinion. I'm kind of used to her writing style, so I didn't necessarily find it to be too detailed (then again I like Tolkien and he can spend 3 pages describing a biscuit.) Unlike Pretty Monsters I was satisfied with the cliffhanger, because I was given enough information to conclude an ending for myself. I personally thought Faraday was "you" because he seemed to be obsessed with the house since his childhood, and when Caroline calls off the engagement he kind of snaps.

I also found this really cool interview with Sarah Waters about The Little Stranger.

The Little Stanger

I don't want to beat a dead horse but like pretty much everyone else has mentioned I really did not enjoy this book. My reasons have all already been highlighted (length, too much pointless detail, boring, etc) but I think that these things cannot be separated from the book. I think the extravagant attention to detail goes hand in hand with the story and, although much of it isn't central to the story, I think the story needs most everything in it. To me, the writing style almost mirrored Hundreds Hall in that it was huge and filled with many things not central to the families needs, hence why they sold so much off so easily, but that opulence was what made It the home of a wealthy family. Did anyone else get this feeling?

I also didn't like the way the book ended. I understand it and I know some people appreciate mystery but I definitely don't! I wanted to know who "You!" was although, like the mother, I attributed everything to the eldest daughter that died of diphtheria (right disease?). Do you think that leaving a story open ended makes a book better or worse?

I found the fact that fire was involved in Roderick's descent into madness was interesting because I always think of fire as a symbol of knowledge or illumination although I know that it can be very destructive as well. I do think that you could interpret it as either and perhaps Roderick became aware of the ghost which triggered his mental breakdown. Thoughts?

Overall I'm very excited to move onto the next book in our class if only to be done with this one haha

Go, go little strangers!

Did anyone else get the sense that this book was older than it really is? I mean, the historical setting probably (nay, certainly) contributes to that fact, but I didn't really feel like this was a modern horror story. It was published in 2009, right in the midst of Twilight-movie fever and the perpetual recreation of old horror classics (or ideas stolen from Japan) with lots of jump scenes and gore. Now, I admit that I'm not very up to date on horror literature, with little more than a few King and Lovecraft stories from years ago under my belt. Most of my horror exposure comes from the lovely moving-pictures of the cinema, but this story still could have had "1960 or earlier" on the copyright page, and, for the most part, I wouldn't have been surprised. This is an oldschool ghost story, the way Haunting of Hill House is. It doesn't feel like what I expect today's dark fantasy to feel like, and maybe that is why it has been so well received (if not by the class, at least by critics). Did anyone else get this sense?

And I will say that I didn't outright dislike this one the same way others have. That is not to say that I loved it either (I just finished the Graveyard Book, so it is up against some stiff competition). I think I was just a little let down by my expectations of modern dark stories, which seem to have more humor, more violence, or more darkness than The Little Stranger had.

The good things?

So, we all have mentioned what we've seen as the short comings. But is there much good in this book?

It is very similar to a lot of our other stories, like Haunting of Hill House and such where it makes you think and ask "Is this real, or is it due to crazy people?".

You cannot say it lacks for detail, which I feel sometimes does lead to being a negative...

I am impressed that Waters can switch genres and still make a decent story (I sadly cant say a good story, but Ill give her decent), as this was her first ghost story if what I read on her was correct.

What else was good in this book?

The Little Stranger

I, like several others, found this to be SO DULL. The monotonous detail was reminiscent of the Once and Future King to me. I remember reading that novel and thinking how could you turn King Arthur into a complete bore? The answer is one of the problems in The Little Strangers: there is far too much pointless detail. For such a potentially good novel, this really killed it for me. I had to skip certain parts because I just could not handle anymore.

My complaints are the same as the others: too much detail, lack of action, the characters were hard to like. I doubt I can add anything new to the discussion. It reminded me slightly of The Haunting of Hill House in that there could be debate over whether the house was haunted or it was a mental issue. Thoughts? I tend to agree more with the house being haunted mainly because I needed the supernatural element to get me through the novel. I could pretend I was interested.

I know I mention Harry Potter too often so I apologize for this next reference. Because I was so bored with this book, I started to think of the Ayreses as the Gaunt family (Slytherin's last living relatives and Voldemort's mom's family). The upper class falling is how I related it. What happens when those with money lose it. Also the brother (Morfin) was crazy much like Roderick was, Voldemort's mom (Merope) was ugly and couldn't find love (I realize Caroline did to a degree but go with me here) similar to Caroline and the father (Marvlo) just couldn't let go of what had been, of former grandeur like Mrs. Ayres. There stories are NOT the same, I realize, but I had to make the story interesting for myself in order to make it through.

Unimpressed

So it's not that I necessarily disliked The Little Stranger. I actually thought it was well-written and enjoyable to read. However, the plot line left me wanting. I was thoroughly unimpressed. Normally I like books with a lot of detail. It's actually one of my biggest problems with Neil Gaiman. His stories don't have enough detail for me. The Little Stranger has the opposite problem. There is simply too much going on with nothing actually happening, if that makes any sense. Every tiny little thing is explained in so much detail that, at times, the book became too monotonous for me to read.

I am also not a fan of stories where the supernatural part is so insignificant or easily explained that even a hardcore ghost fan like me has trouble believing that there was anything supernatural going on to begin with. Of course, that's personal preference, but I really like it when the horror jumps out at me. That's why I enjoy the genre. Without an obvious ghost, or whatever, its just a creepy old house. Nothing special. I like to read to escape the real world and this book did not do that for me.

Other than that, I don't really have much to say about it.

The Little Stranger

So I would just like to point out how appropriate the title of this book is: The Little STRANGER, because we have NO clue what the hell is going on almost the entire time. There were very few moments of clarity, the rest of the time we have to endure Dr. Pretentious drone on: "Ohhhh poor poor me, my parents are oh so poor, I'm a hick country doctor and everyone else has more moneyyyyyyy I have a man crush on Dr. Seely..." blah blah BLAH. I swear I wanted to bang my head against the wall for all the "my sad little bachelor apartment above my sad little surgery" references. Seriously. Every. Freaking. Chapter. For at least two pages. I understand that Waters was trying to create a story through a narrator not in the direct actions, but she really needed to work on not picking such a stick in the mud to narrate. Or cut down his WAY overly wordy descriptions of EVERYTHING.
I just couldn't get past this over narration to dwell on our "uncanny" events. However, I would also think that with a boring, over-narrating narrator we could have gotten some more juicy action, but the most insignificant and least attention grabbing things would happen. I pictured our story line as one big flat line rather than having rising actions and falling actions. It was one flat line tilted slighting upward, with no real satisfaction or true feeling of building actions.
Plus I found it to be far too predictable. I knew that Susan was our "little stranger" very early into the book, and it was far too obvious that Roderick and Mrs. Ayres would lose their minds, and that Caroline wouldn't get married and take her own life.
I know that was some hard-core bashing, but I found this book to be majorly disappointing.

The Little Stranger

Okay, so except for the fact that this book had about 300 more pages than necessary, I actually enjoyed it. When I wasn't reading a chapter long description, I thought it was a well written easy read.

It took me a while to figure out what was odd about this book. I finally realized that though it is a ghost story, it's not a ghost story from the perspective of those suffering. Every story we heard was from the other characters, not from the doctor. I don't think the doctor every actually sees anything, which allows him to keep up with the idea of mental illness. I thought this was a really clevel way to revamp the traditional gothic ghost story. I imagine it would have been filled with more action if we had heard the story from the family, but this narration allowed me to think more about how the family sounded to outsiders. I thought it was fun to see how the family's reputation changed even with just the doctor as they experienced these phenomena. Any thoughts on the author's choice of narrator?

I think Meg posted about the doctor's love for Caroline bothering her. I also found it weird and unsettling. However, I thought about the thing Caroline says to the doctor at the beginning about the house pulling you in and taking your time. I feel that the more time the doctor spent at the house, the more attached he became. If you were to say something supernatural actually occurred, then I guess you could say the house made the doctor love Caroline in a way to pull him further into the estate. Maybe this is a survival instinct that the house has developed. It pulls in people and money however possible. I think the doctor's sudden change from describing Caroline's ugliness to speaking about her lovingly could be used as proof for this idea of the house being alive.

I can easily see how this could have all been in the family's head, but the supernatural also seems at fault. Either argument can hold ground I think, however, I just can't decide who or what the ghost was. I do like the thought that it was the house itself similar to "Hill House". Maybe the house began to take care of itself when the world around it began to change. I guess it could have been the mother's dead child, but I cannot understand why the child would want everyone dead instead of just attaching the mother. The theory that ghosts are something projected by a person is pretty cool too. Maybe the ghost was the hatred the mother had for losing her money, status and friends. Thoughts?

Fear in real life

So for spring break this year I went down to visit a friend of mine in Miami, was a fun trip except for a few moments, except for a few moments. One of which was getting lost in a particularly bad area of downtown Miami, the kind of area where there are bullet holes in the building walls, we found our way out just fine, but while we were down there I was genuinely afraid something very bad would happen.

Anyone else have any moments in their life where they were genuinely afraid for their life?

Thoughts on The Little Stranger

Alright. I didn't like this book. Not really. But I also kind of did.

Starting off reading, it was DRIVING ME CRAZY. The first hundred (or two hundred?) pages or so were torture. Because I do not like gothic novels, and this was definitely in that style. I mean, Wuthering Heights drove me crazy with all its drama and everything, but GEEZ. Like everyone was saying, NOTHING WAS HAPPENING and I didn't give a CARE about any of these characters. The snooty old lady, her grumpy and tortured and war-scarred son, the really ugly and grotesque daughter--so what? It was all about class, and the doctor's "place," and all these interactions between two different social levels or whatever, and I didn't care. I'm not a fan of the whole "we're English and we have class distinctions" thing--I guess some people find it romantic or foreign, but when it takes up that much of the book as the ONLY DRIVING FORCE it's just plain boring.

Then... things started happening. I cried when they had to "destroy" Gyp. (Then I went and found my dog and hugged her. She was under my dad's computer desk and didn't seem to want a hug.) Then things happened... and happened... and I kept reading, and it went faster, but really it wasn't so much that I cared about the characters, as it was that things were getting sensational and I had to know what happened.

Reading the ending parts at night in my apartment I left my bedroom door open so I could hear the noise from my roommates' TVs, computers, etc. Just so I didn't start hearing knocking or seeing things move out of the corner of my eye... ^^; And then I realized that part of what was so creepy about the book was that stuff happened both in broad daylight and in the middle of the night. It wasn't a "we're safe as long as it's daytime" kind of ghost/poltergeist/"stranger"--it was there freakin' all the time.

Some points for discussion:

(1) Alright, I was pretty horrified when the doctor fell in love with Caroline. After all the time he took describing how absolutely ugly she was, I couldn't see her in a new light like he did. I was just like, "Ew. What's wrong with him?" Anyone else? ^^;

(2) This book reminded me a lot of the other things we've read in that it's got the whole "is it his/her imagination? or is it real?" thing going on, especially with all the psychological drama. I'm just wondering--as has been the case of nearly all the other books--if anyone believes it was all entirely in their heads and everyone in the family just went crazy. (I tend to believe that the entities are really there like the characters think they are, and the mental issues are a way of explaining away things that are truly unexplainable.)

(3) That was a really interesting theory of ghosts, the thing about how people send out a part of themselves etc.... I don't think I've heard that before. Has anyone else heard of that type of ghost--the "stranger" or whatever that's a part of someone living?

Um... that's all I've got right now. Looking forward to what people have to say.

Disappointed in Little Stranger?

I was honestly a little disappointed with the book. I didn't like how there wasn't much happening for the length of the book and at the end of the day, we don't even really know if anything happened at all. I feel that the book is more likely to be about mental instability from stress than from ghosts. It certainly didn't seem scary to me...

Anyone else a bit disappointed? or anyone else want to refute my claims?

A little early on the Wednesday blog class

The Little Stranger was a little frustrating to me. I was looking forward to something very creepy happening the whole time, but it kind of left me wanting. There was no closure for me. I would have rather had the narrator himself meet face to face with a ghost and be forever scarred than have the Ayres women die suspiciously because of what was going on. I assume Mrs. Ayres dead daughter was the one causing all the trouble, but it bothers me that we never got that confirmation. I think that's why I liked Heart-Shaped Box. It was very straight forward and gave me closure at the end. The Little Stranger was actually an easy read, despite the fact that for the most part nothing happened. I was in awe of Hundreds Hall the whole time and was expecting it to end with a bang. So more than anything else I'm disappointed with the ending.

On the other hand, I've started Under the Dome and it is NOT easy for me to read so far. I've fallen asleep on the book 3 times already. There are simply too many small stories going on at one time and the obnoxiously long details that make this book 1,072 pages long are COMPLETELY unnecessary. It does not take 150 pages to explain that this town is freaking out because a dome mysteriously cut them off. I got that from the cover! For those of you that have already read the book...please tell me it gets better and easier to get through. I've heard a lot of positive feedback on the book and I don't understand why I'm struggling so much with it. It's a good thing I started it so early, but I'm still doubtful of whether or not I can finish it.

Looking forward to everybody's thoughts

Scared

So I find that even though I feel like we've read scarier things and I didn't think it was scary at the time, the one thing that has stuck with me and continues to creep me out is the scence from "The Haunting of Hill House" when Eleanor thinks she's holding Theo's hand and she isn't. I'm not sure why this one detail is the thing that my mind has decided needed to be retained over stuff like the creepy monster in the window or the scary old man sitting in an old chair, but it has. I've even begun to keep my hands under my blankets or pillow when I sleep...haha.

Does anyone else have one thing that has stuck out in their minds as scary? How have you reacted to it? Any nightmares or whatnot?

My Spring Break

So while everyone else got to run off to fantastic vacation spots, I was here, working 40 hours at the animal shelter and cat sitting 3 different cats. I don't want to see another animal for about 3 months. Alas, I have to work today so my dream can't come true. Anywho....so in the few hours of free time I got between work and bed, I read for this class. I finished The Shadow Year and Heart-Shaped Box. I was not fond of the former, but absolutely loved the latter. Of all the books this semester, Heart-Shaped Box freaked me out the most. All in all, it's a ghost story. A very good one, at that. While reading, I was convinced I kept seeing ghosts/people in my apartment. Those turned out to be a stack of boxes that my mind altered in the dark. But when I was cat sitting, I had to stay in their houses. I was at one of the last ones on Friday night watching tv on the couch. From their couch, there is a perfect view of the doorway that leads to the hall with the bedrooms. I was in the middle of sending a text when I saw a tall male figure walk by that doorway towards the bedroom. I have never in my life been so freaked out by something. Not only was it not some object that I thought looked like a man, it was moving. I eventually convinced myself to get off the couch and search every room. I saw nothing. So apparently, after that and feeling something on my bed after reading The Haunting of Hill House, I have a weak psyche or something. Thought that would interest you all :D

What I thought the monster in "Monster" looked like

This is an image that made the rounds on the net at the end of last year (probably fake, but I've never seen any evidence to the contrary). Many of you have probably seen it, but I thought I'd share it in this context (link to an article about it in the title). This is almost exactly what I imagined the monster in Monster looks like. Thoughts?

Fascination with Ghosts

So I went to Key West for Spring Break and had a blast, but while there I saw that they had these buses that drove around giving a "ghost tour" of the town. I have seen similar tours in places like Charleston and Savannah but I didn't realize they had them in Key West as well. Upon investigation i found that Key West actually has a rich history in the supernatural that can be read about here: http://ghostsagogo.com/keywest.html. My question is why are people so fascinated by ghost stories? Our lust for scaring ourselves drives the horror genre of books and movies along with businesses like these that can be found in an incredible amount of cities across America. I wouldn't think that scaring people could provide employment for so many people when in fact it does. Just thought I would share my revalation with you guys and get your thoughts on it. Hope everyone had a great Spring Break!

Ghost at Shiloh

So, for the past few days, my family and I have been vacationing in Memphis. Both my parents are Civil War buffs. We have quite a few artifacts in the house: over a dozen buttons, two swords, and two guns.

So, my parents wanted to stop at the Shiloh battlefield. They've dragged us to many battlefields on these family vacations, so it was something that I was actually looking forward to. Its a very pretty area of Tennessee. For those of you who don't know about Shiloh and its history, here's a link to the Wikipedia page-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh

now, I had the Southern Values UH class last year, and we had to read Confederates in the Attic, which was a very good book and I would recommend it to anyone. The author visited Shiloh and a whole chapter is dedicated to it. He talked about rumors of ghosts, so, of course, I was paying extra attention when we visited, but I never actually expected to encounter anything.

We had not been in the park long when we came upon one of the longer lines of Confederate artillery. My father loves cannons, so we stopped the car and got out. My brother ran off down the line. My mother, father, and I stood and read the plaque explaining that the line was originally made of 62 cannons and that they held their position for however many hours and so on, and that the artillery battalion next to us was from Alabama. Now, it had been overcast all day, but the wind either low or completely still. The line of cannons sits at the edge of a wooded section, so there were many leaves on the ground which would stir around with the wind.

However, as we were standing there, the wind died down abruptly and the air was very still. I would love to say that this was when i felt a chill in the air, or something equally as creepy, but I didn't. But, my father and I both turned our heads back towards the woods at the same time. Remember that there was no wind at this time. As I looked back, a few leaves swirled up, as if someone had kicked them, except there was no one there, of course.

"Oh, look," my father said, "There's a Confederate soldier." My mother rolled her eyes, but as he was talking, the a new set of leaves began to swirl as the others dropped, much like they would look if someone had been walking through them. They almost formed a tiny tiny whirlwind, only about 6 inches off the ground. And the whirlwind moved. Toward us. I stepped back, instinctively, but it passed us without pausing. No other leaves were moving, the trees were still, and there was absolutely no wind. The swirling leaves kept going past us for about 20 feet, moving slowly and deliberately, as if marching into battle, my father commented. Then, it paused for a few seconds near a large oak tree and eventually dissipated. All three of us stood and stared at the spot for a few minutes.

My father then quietly remarked that he must have been an Alabamian on his way to battle.

I know that when written, the story doesn't sound like much, but witnessing it was a very surreal experience, and I swear that later, I saw several flags moving through the woods and disappear without emerging onto an old road that was in their path.

It was kind of spooky, but more than that, it was reverent, to actually think of the peaceful field where we were standing as it had been 150 years ago in the middle of one of the bloodier battles of the Civil War.

its the first time that i have experienced something for myself that i have not been able to explain away logically.

Can you name them all?

I'm slightly addicted to sporcle and since we've talked about the Grimm fairytales I tried to name all of their stories. I didn't get many, 5 or 6 I think. Can you get them all?

http://www.sporcle.com/games/Meana/GrimmAY

Just for Fun: Hilarious Analogies

I found this earlier this evening:

http://www.losteyeball.com/index.php/2007/06/19/56-worstbest-analogies-of-high-school-students/

#48 reminded me of "The Faery Handbag," and #51 reminded me of "Monster" but also just the things we read in our class in general.

After that, they're all just plain hilarious. :)

Meg

The Faery Handbag

Hey everyone, the title of this post is the link to that analysis of the Faery Handbag I brought up in class. Check it out! It's really good, and I apologize to all of you and to Matt Hilliard if I misquoted or explained anything poorly in class.

Pretty Monsters

Overall I really enjoyed reading through Pretty Monsters, with the exception of one or two of the stories, I can't quite put my finger on what exactly, but there was something about the writing style that I was just really able to get into. However I do have one complaint, most of the stories felt very inconclusive or anticlimactic, like just as things were starting to really get going, there would be the end. I realize this was intentional, and we're meant to draw our on conclusions, and the stories can end pretty much however we want, but I still would like to have a more definite conclusion.

Having All the Answers

I find it interesting--everyone seems to be annoyed that they're not getting the "answers" they want out of Kelly Link's stories. From what I hear, parts of each story seem unnecessary to the plot, or the stories don't seem to go anywhere, or too many questions are left unanswered. There are extra tidbits here and there that may or may not be relevant, yes. Sometimes the stories kind of meander. And sometimes you're left wondering--what happened next? But really, is that so bad?

Now and then I would get frustrated with stories because I wanted more from them. Some of them seemed like bleak portraits that didn't take the reader much of anywhere--like the story I'm introducing, "The Wizards of Perfil." Maybe it's that I believe in literature, or maybe I'm a writer of more obscure things and I like to leave questions unanswered--but overall it just really makes me want to stick up for the collection when someone says, "I don't know what happened so I don't like it."

For example--who is The Specialist, and what exactly happens in that story? We're not sure. But from what we've discussed it class, it seems to me that writers of horror or fantastic stories sometimes take bits from other people's stories and work them into their own; if that's the case here, I like The Specialist. I like that Kelly Link has created some vague fantastic thing and we don't know what it is but we know kind of what it's like, maybe--it leaves so many possibilities open. Kelly Link invites the reader to imagine beyond her work. She's not going to do all the work for us.

In life, I am someone who wants the answers. I want to know what's happening next. I've been on edge for months waiting to hear from grad schools; and Monday I finally received a call that I've been accepted at Notre Dame. After I got over the initial shock and elation, I realized there were still a lot of questions--ok, so I'm in; now what? Where am I going to live? Where am I going to work? Is it really the right fit for me? How am I going to move to South Bend? etc. etc. Fiction, even when fantastic, must imitate reality--must have in it some element of truth--in order to be truly good. And so I can appreciate when you don't end up with all the answers. When you're not entirely sure what's grounded in reality and what's a result of a character's psychology. When you're left asking, "Who's The Specialist?" or, "What happened after the aliens showed up?" You're not going to have all the answers in life. Why should you have them in fiction, either?

/endrant

:)

Connection to real life

So, after reading these stories, a lot of them tried to connect to real life (mostly through using references to pop-culture such as Survivor, Buffy the vampire slayer, etc). I personally thought the continued use of pop-culture references in sum was too over the top and too blunt an attempt at connecting with the reader.

Many of our previous stories have not made an attempt at connecting directly to the readers real life. It may be due to their age or it may just be writer style.

However, in general, what do you think are good and bad ways to connect with the reader. Does connecting with the reader's real world result in a better story than one that doesnt?

The Specialist's Hat

As some have previously stated, I was also very disappointed in "Pretty Monsters." I expected some frightening aspects, but this was silly uncanny fiction. "The Specialist's Hat" felt to me as if it were a dream. Things were very random and moods changed constantly, as they do in dreams. Nothing was explained in depth and the excerpts of poetry, which I assume were from Mr. Rash, only made things worse. I thought from the beginning the twins were dead, but towards the end I felt as though they were just interacting with the spirits that were haunting the house until they actually died at the very, very end. There was also a lot of mention of snakes in the story, and snakes tend to mean evil. Perhaps their father had met a lady with "lips like snakes" and gotten bitted. He was being possessed by evil. Is the specialist always a father? Was the specialist the babysitter's father, Mr. Rash?

What do you guys think? Was the hat made by a buffalo bill type of serial killer and the devil himself came to collect the father who made it? Is the specialist the epitome of evil? Who is the specialist? Are the girls dead all along? Is the hat a continuing project created by many people who kill? Did the twins' father kill their mother and incorporate her into the hat? Did the "woman in the woods" kill the father and incorporate him in the hat? Who was the caretaker? What is his point in the story? Is he the specialist?

This left me with so many questions, which wasn't what I wanted. I love stories that leave you hanging and let you draw your own conclusions, but this just had too many questions that I had to answer. Because of all of those questions I felt it really hard to connect to the text at all.

Magic for Beginners

I have to say that overall, I'm pretty disappointed with "Pretty Monsters". I enjoyed the first story, but after that, they weren't very interesting to me. Some of the plots had their moments, but I feel like she didn't really finish a lot of the stories. It's almost as if she finished some of the stories quickly to meet a deadline or something.

As for my story, "Magic for Beginners," I enjoyed the plot, but still feel like she left a lot out of the story. It was an interesting twist to have the TV show connected to real life, but also obvious. I felt like a lot of the information given was unnecessary to the plot.

What do you guys think?

Pretty Monsters

I would like to say overall, I really liked this book. Link does an awesome job incorporating our world into the realm of possibilities of her world. Her language and the story, even if it is set in the past, makes these "modern" fantasy tales easier to read, and I think, easier to understand and really believe are possible.
On that note, I will lead the discussion tomorrow on "The Surfer." I really liked that this story gives off so much more of a Sci-Fi feel, and is one of those awesome examples of the blurring of the line between fantasy and sci-fi. It is believable because we have already had some experience with bad diseases breaking out and the quarantine scenes that may be in our future, but incorporating the aliens into this story takes it to another level. I love how she addresses the religious cult following of the guy, and the reality of him getting ill and dying. And then explores religion, as he almost becomes a god, but admits what an unlikely god he is.
More tomorrow!

What is it with machines?

So instead of working on my take home test today, I watched 9, one of the few movies I hadn't seen off of HBO's free on demand movies. If you haven't seen it, the movie is about these humanoid dolls struggling against robots in a world where robots have killed off all humans. It was pretty entertaining and I loved that it was only 95 minutes long, but it left me with one question. Why does technology always turn against the human race? There are countless books and movies about scientists who make amazing advances in technology only to be destroyed by their own creations. Is this theme something that scares you? Does anyone think that this is a possible situation that may arise in the future? Would you ever advocate against technological advances due to fear of this happening?

Pretty Monsters

When I read this book I was thoroughly disappointed. I don't think it had anything to do with the book itself as much as the fact that I was so tired of short stories that I could not get myself into reading it. The stories themselves were fairly good, but I could not get into them because I was looking for a solid novel to read.

"The Wizards of Perfil" bothered me a lot. Because of the odd character names like "Onion", I couldn't even keep track of who was male and who was female. That particular story dragged on and on and didn't give me a satisfying ending.

I hope everybody else was more satisfied with this book. The Graveyard Book and The Little Stranger were so much easier for me to read (even though Bailey was right when she said not a lot happens in The Little Stranger). I hope everybody is trucking along in the reading too. Gotta finish the little books and tackle Under the Dome soon!

Monster

Since it's early yet I don't want to spoil Monster but I just finished reading it and had to say something about how much I loved this story. It was scary in a weird way and I was literally laughing out loud as I read it. Pumped to discuss further in class haha.

Do you believe?

These Kelly Link stories, for the most part, seem to be a little different then the other stories we've read so far. Not only is the writing style unique compared to the "classic" fantastic stories, but they all seem so much more believable (at least to me). I've not read these stories and said, "Hmm. Maybe this character is just crazy, or this is all in their imagination." They don't seem to be chasing shadows, but they are really encountering spirits/monsters/fantastical events. Maybe it is the style of Link's writing, or maybe it is the stories or characters themselves, but whatever it is I find myself understanding, sympathizing, and believing (which leads me to liking) these stories more than many of the others. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Kelly Link stories to discuss Wednesday

First come first served; claim a story by posting a comment, please.  The paperback edition of Pretty Monsters includes:

• The Wrong Grave
• The Faery Handbag
• Monster
• The Wizards of Perfil
• The Constable of Abal
• The Specialist's Hat
• The Surfer
• Magic for Beginners
• Pretty Monsters
• The Cinderella Game

"The Cinderella Game" is missing from the hardcover edition, but my assumption is that you all have the paperback.  Those of you with the hardcover should feel free to borrow "The Cinderella Game" from someone else.  Thanks, all.

From Grimm's to Disney, with a Beastly twist

So, remember the post I did a while back about Grimm's fairy tales, and how Disney and others took those stories and made them much more ... kid-friendly, I guess? Happily ever after, and all that jazz. Well. Now look what's happening, with movies like "Beastly" and "Red Riding Hood" coming out back to back practically, both taking the tales YET AGAIN and now turning them a little more towards their darker roots.

Katy and I (along with my friend Clara) saw "Beastly" tonight, which is apparently a book as well though I have not read it. And I have to admit, it wasn't half bad. Yeah the acting was sub-par but I quickly got over it because the cinematography was beautiful, in my opinion. The modern spin on the very classic tale of Beauty and the Beast was excellently done, I think. Not to mention Neil Patrick Harris was in it... so yeah. Of course his character was great. Also, hooray for Mary-Kate Olsen for actually, I dunno... DOING something? Ahh childhood idols...

Secondly, I'm thoroughly excited about "Red Riding Hood," which probably pertains a little more to our dark fantastic theme. I'm really interested to see what kind of twist they put on the original story vs. the version we all know vs. what everyone expects.

Any other thoughts, ideas about the recent live action fairy tale theme we seem to be seeing in the movies, or about anything really. Comment away.

The effects of the Dark Fantastic

Does anyone else try to find supernatural elements in everyday life now due to this class? I am sitting here looking at a vase of yellow tulips and creating a random story with supernatural elements. If these tulips were in my class, what would there story be? Well of course they would eat people. They would entice people (girls mainly) to put their faces into them because the are so beautiful and then they strike! They bite your face off....

These are flowers and I should not be coming up with this stuff. So...please tell me I'm not the only nutter. Does anyone else see the supernatural in everyday, common things because he/she is in this class?

Is the media becoming more violent?

The media seems to think we are becoming more violent in the media we make. What I mean is, many games are receiving very high skepticism from the "critics" because of their use of violence. Games like Dead Space 2 and Dead Island are currently at the height of the criticism because of their use of children.

Are we making more violent media? If we are, do you think that is a problem either socially or mentally? What do you guys think?

What a week

I have to say, it was quite a transition going from the end of The Orphanage to finishing my paper on Nocturne last night (how uncomfortable...). But thats not the point. My point is about The Orphanage. Was anyone else at least a little disappointed in not scary story ending? I mean, it was building to something that could have scared the piss out out of me, but then it didn't deliver and everything was pseudo-happy. At least the end of Pan's Labyrinth was pretty epic. I don't know... I can safely say, though, that I didn't see that coming in a movie with a lot of predictable bits. Why does Guillermo del Torro like killing children? Maybe its ok since their "spirits live on" (maybe?) or whatever.

Another question: was it Simon or Thomas that Laura sees in the hallway and is pushed into the bathroom by? My girlfriend and I couldn't agree on this point. Thoughts?

Watching the Movies (...or Not Quite)

Confession: bits of the movies for this week I "watched" by means of my boyfriend--as I hid under a blanket and covered my ears, he'd observe and then report back to me at a quiet moment. I really couldn't take it. I didn't even want to finish The Orphanage at first, but I realized that I had to know what happened, even if it was going to give me nightmares.

I think what surprised me in the end, then, was that I WASN'T terrified to hear what had happened. I didn't want to watch it (not only was I under a blanket, the TV was on mute, so he was just reading the subtitles and telling me what happened now and then) because I couldn't take that feeling of suspense, of not knowing... but as soon as it was over and he told me I kind of wished I had. Because when I knew the ending, I realized I could've watched the whole thing again without being terrified (...though not that I particularly wanted to). Now, I'm not writing this to brag about how much of a wimp I am--I just find it interesting.

I had heard about Pan's Laybrinth (interesting that he seems to just be called "The Faun" in the Spanish title) and how it wasn't really scary, just creepy sometimes, so I was okay with that. And it felt more fantasy-ish than like a ghost story. But The Orphanage felt like a ghost story immediately, and I couldn't take the suspense anymore after the scene where the mother is lying in bed talking to her husband but then he comes out of another room so who was in the bed. (A poster just fell off my wall and scared me half to death. Seriously, you guys, this stuff isn't good for me. :P) I stopped watching because I assumed it was going to end like a ghost story, too, and I didn't want to give myself even more fuel for being awake in the middle of the night being afraid of every little sound.

In the end, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I was surprised how I had been made aware of the techniques used to make the movie seem scary and how we really get into the mother's psychological state when really thins aren't as they seem. I don't watch scary movies, so I don't know how typical this is, but it didn't feel like a very typical kind of ending and, in the end, I thought that maybe it wasn't entirely a horror movie.

Except the scene with Benigna and the baby carriage was just awful.

Also, people in Spain wear their wedding rings on their RIGHT ring fingers. I noticed that in both movies.

Meg

The Rite

I went and saw the movie The Rite recently and really enjoyed it. It was very applicable to my paper as the entire movie revolves around exorcism and possession. Without giving anything away the plot involves a young clergyman, who doesn't believe in possession, that is sent to Rome to learn under a priest who has performed an amazing amount of exorcisms. I've included a link to the trailer in the title and I recommend the movie to any who like this kind of movie. My question for you all, and it's a controversial one, is whether or not possession and exorcism is real? If not, do these people who are "possessed" suffer from mental conditions or does something else cause their ailment?

Luella Miller

The title is a link to a pretty interesting criticism of Luella Miller. It's pretty long, but if you're bored, then take a look. It discusses the 'addiction' exhibited by her victims. The author makes some interesting points about the story being horror not because of the deaths, but because of the "loss of self". He goes on to point out that Luella's victims follow the same path as many drug addicts, applying their lives to the drug, even possibly showing "mothering" actions toward it and finally losing all sense of self and dying (or going crazy from the drug). I think that's a pretty cool idea.

It also discusses a little about the depiction of single women as babies, unknowledgeable, unable to care for themselves and lacking a sense of self. The paper also makes Luella a victim in some ways.

The only thing that drives me insane about this paper is the author grabs the idea of vampires and proceeds to only give credit to the idea of vampires, despite the fact that he says she is not supernatural in any way. He even at one point says "she is obviously a vampire." Sorry, this bothered me a ton. A counter argument would have been nice.