Rut Guðnadóttir's Blog: Everything book: reading, reviewing, and writing

Tiltölulega grótesk frásögn sem jaðrar við að bjóða við lesendum með ítarlegum lýsingum sínum á líkamsstarfsemi. Sjónarhorn sögunnar er skipt í tvennt: fyrstu persónu frásögn Emils, aðalpersónunnar, og þriðju persónu lýsingar á mótleikara hans, Hávarðar, sem er vægast sagt ógeðslegur karakter. Það er ekki það að fólki stafi bókstaflega, líkamleg hætta af Hávarði (ekki í beinni lýsingu) en ýjað er sterklega að því í baksögu hans eins og henni er lýst af Emil. Persónusköpun Hávarðar er svo snilldarleg því Bragi kemur því gjörsamlega til skila hvað návist hans er yfirgnæfanlega óþægileg. Í kjölfarið er hægt að lesa mikla ádeilu á kurteisistilhneigingu fólks því hvernig á það að réttlæta fyrir sjálfu sér viðbjóð sinn á manneskju sem miðað við þeirra samskipti er í besta falli "krípí" án þess að hafa raunverulega "gert" nokkurn skapaðan hlut (sem það veit af). Á móti kemur að lesendur upplifa Emil sem algjöra dyramottu, gott dæmi um andhetjuna, sem kemur sér í skelfilega vandræðalegar aðstæður og getur ekki losað sig úr þeim án þess að verða sjálfum sér til skammar, og rímar það vel við kurteisistilheiginguna, allt er ímynd.

Lokahnykkur sögunnar rammar skemmtilega inn upphafið, hvað varðar fantasíur Emils. Án þess að eyðileggja endinn of mikið er hann algjör cliffhanger og lesendur þurfa að ráða í endalokin. Sjálfri fannst mér endirinn tær snilld ... en alltof snubbótt komið að honum. Það er eins og Bragi hafi áttað sig á því tíu síður fyrir lok bókar að já, alveg rétt, hann ætlaði að enda hana svona! og svo rumpað henni af í flýti. Ákveðinn viðsnúningur á sér stað í hegðun einnar persónu sem mér finnst ekki nægilega sannfærandi.

Sagan er samt undarlega spennandi þrátt fyrir að fjalla um mjög hversdagslega hluti á yfirborðinu (undirliggjandi söguþráður er þó nokkuð sturlaður en af því sá hluti er löngu liðinn og sagt frá með endursögn og minningum er hann ekki eins mikið í öndvegi og ef sú frásögn væri í nútíð). Bragi byggir kaflana upp með ákveðnu togi því raunveruleg tenging titilsins, Gæludýrin, kemur í bútum svo lesandi getur ekki látið bókina niður - maður verður bara að komast að því hvað gerist.

Skemmtileg, ógeðfelld og spennandi en með nokkuð ófullnægjandi endi að mati þessa lesanda.

Gæludýrin

Full disclosure, I read this book for a BA class
and probably wouldn't have started (and definitely not finished) it it weren't for that reason. This was my first exposure to what I'd call "Classic Horror". I am thrilled that I managed to complete it, even though the rambling style was quite boring and slow-paced. The story is told through diary entries, news-clip articles, and such, which I think lessen the story although it's definitely "an interesting, artistic" choice. I seem to be a bit of a pleb when it comes to the arts, preferring generic, straight-forward, popular story-telling.

However, the history of the novel is fascinating, delving into the meaning and interpretation of the book (for a class project) I found my eyes widening. Every single book or story has the potential to blow anyone's mind if you only bother to dig deep enough - one of the reasons why I think literature courses are so important, listening to other people's thoughts and opinions on books can often enrich your own understanding.

My interpretation was queer-centred, focusing on the way Dracula himself represents the "otherness" that has been read through many lenses: gender, sexuality, hatred of Jews, immigrants and more. There are hundreds of articles exploring each that I highly recommend to anyone interested. For me the story's message can be read as a criticism of gender-roles and the suppression of women and their sexuality, living in the closet as a queer person (very popular in analysis given Stoker's relationship with Oscar Wilde), and the battle between what is defined as "good": England, patriotism, firm gender-roles, and the "bad": Dracula's invasion, open displays of sexuality and looser morals. Each reader must come to their own conclusion.

In any case this book was massively influential to me, sparking a rich interest in the horror genre, bubbling up questions of what it is that we find horrific during which time periods and what the monsters in our stories represent.

The book is long and rambling but absolutely worth the read for those who wish to familiarise themselves with one of the works that helped originate horror as a literary form. It's fantastic for analysis and an important history artefact. The book itself wasn't truly entertaining to me but the world it opened was, and continues to be.

Dracula: Bram Stoker

As much as I adored the Mortal Instruments Series I really disliked this one. I found the characters mostly flat, one-dimensional and stereotypical. The story is set in the middle of the Victorian Era so of course there are different codes of conduct but the level of melodrama is frankly ridiculous. The characters are either wholly perfect or completely evil leaving very little room for any kind of growth, and when a change in character does occur it's with such swiftness that it's unrealistic. The story reeks of pre-determined stance on morality with only one right way to view it, especially when it comes to guilt and female sexuality. I'm not implying that I as a reader agree or don't agree with that stance, I'm simply stating that it's insulting to readers to have it thrust so adamantly in their faces.

A personal bias comes into play, I am fully on board with fantastic creatures and supernatural beings but less enthusiastic about robots - even though they are connected with magic. I thought the use of mechanics was an attempt at showing the massive effects of the industrial revolution and a foreshadowing of the future (similar to the subplots of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr.) but that it does so clumsily.

The Clockwork Angel itself as an item in the story is equally disappointing and almost feels like cheating with its perfectly timed savings, serving as a sort of deus ex machina (an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.)

If this would have been the start of the world of Shadowhunters I never would have bothered reading the Mortal Instruments which would be a crying shame since that series I feel shares none of the flaws listed above. I am sorry if this review seems so angry and bitter but that is simply because when it comes to this series this reader is in fact quite angry and bitter.

Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess

There are few bad things I can say about The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare. I think it's moderately dramatic with a very well-rounded fantasy world and convincing, three-dimensional characters. The romantic subplots do however become a bit over-the-top and one might wonder if the series is a love-story first and fantasy second.

The switching from point of view of one character to the next can be difficult to handle but I found in this series it worked wonders. Although I of course had some favourite characters whose heads I would've liked to linger in longer.

The author clearly knows how to toy with readers' emotions, build drama and tension and expertly raises questions of morality, justice, law and righteousness that only fantasy stories are capable of. With the distance that comes with fantasy questions that are too hard to ask in "real-life" become more accessible and it is obvious that the author holds her young readers in high regard - that alone deserves applause since so many YA novels are belittled for the sole fact that they aren't aimed at fully-fledged adults. Children and teens deserve much more respect when it comes to entertainment created specifically for them, as do the creators of that entertainment.

I must admit that I rage-quit reading the novels when it dawned on me that the fifth book wasn't the finale. First I thought it was supposed to be a trilogy, settled on the fifth, and was furious with such a cliffhanger. However, once I'd finally cooled off I re-read the whole series and am grateful I did. It is well worth the journey.

In the last book a new character is introduced and given quite the space, which begs the question if there will be a spin-off series from her point of view. (There very well actually might be by now, since Cassandra Clare seems to exhale a novel every three seconds). I personally did not like this. I felt it was a bit of betrayal to the readers who had followed the story of the main characters for so long to now be thrust into the mind and perspective of a brand new character right at the end.

All in all, the series is one of my favourites, beautifully written (the language is gorgeous), with wonderfully flawed characters the readers can empathise with. The possibilities for interpretation of the story's moral are endless and perfectly suited to its audience who are much more capable of deep understanding than they are often told.

Mortal Instruments Series Cassandra Clare Collection 6 Books Bundle

The majority of this story is lovely. It's a wonderful and witty exploration of the treacherous side of human, every day life that is socialising. Having it said from the perspective of Eleanor Oliphant, whom as the reader soon discovers is absolutely not fine, shows the pitfalls of interaction that to others with better social skills seem to completely breeze by. It emphasises how difficulty is subjective and what some find comes naturally to them doesn't for others. In that regard the novel is quite considerate and empathetic.

The next paragraph contains spoilers, not explaining the ending in detail but exploring the type of ending it is which very well might ruin, or lessen, the experience of reading the book. Ye be warned.

Here is where we run into trouble: the tragic backstory of Eleanor is exciting and mysterious as it is unfolding but a bit unrealistic and over-the-top-dramatic when you put together all of the pieces. I felt that the "twist" was a bit of a cliché. The subplot of her obsession with the singer is entertaining but the fact that he's such a dick makes the moral of Eleanor's growth too obvious, I felt a bit beaten over the head with it. The same can be said about the romanticism in the story leading up to the ending which is just ... too happy, too simple. Eleanor Oliphant turns out to become completely fine. There aren't any loose ends, every obstacle is overcome. The change in her social skills is the least perfectified, although she improves significantly and is mostly "quirky" by the end - a lot of that development has to do with other people's consideration of her, a lovely moral aimed at society which could always be more empathetic towards people who for some reason or another are outside "the norm". But even that falls into the category of "too happy, too easy". Although an opposite interpretation could be that most of the pain Eleanor experiences is through her own negative lens, similar to Goob's experience of other people's interest in him as a child in the fantastic kids' movie, Meet The Robinsons: "They all hated me,". I personally agree more with the first interpretation.

In the end it's a lovely story, simultaneously cosy and bittersweet but I feel the idea was better than the execution.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine