Tag Archives: Genres

Noir and Protest

download (4)I’ve said it before–I love noir fiction.

 

161c052a2e6d1d578f3bcec6f6ee7218I love everything about it–from the original hard-boiled, cynical detective novels, like Sam Spade, to the films of dim, foggy streets, shadows, and moral conundrums, like The Maltese Falcon.  Part of it, I think, is because I am an intensely wordy person (which, I am sure, comes as no surprise here), and the fact that noir fiction, traditionally, manages to cram so much meaning, emotion, and significance into the shortest of sentences is a marvel to me.  I also love the traditional noir hero (and the occasionally heroine, too!) whose heart is usually made of solid gold, but who has been so beaten down by the heartlessness of the world that they end up standing outside it–and, often against it.  There’s a reason why noir protagonists are private detectives, assassins, vampires (no, seriously), and generally loners–there is no place for them in the world, so they have to stand outside it and find a way to challenge it alone.  And while I enjoy the mysteries that make up the plot of many noir novels, I love the deeply personal character development that comes from the character’s almost mythical quest to take on all the darkness of the world around them.

So when I saw this article published in Electric Literature, titled “Noir Is Protest Literature: That’s Why It’s Having a Renaissance” I was thrilled.  It’s absolutely true that noir fiction is having a renaissance–from True Detective and Breaking Bad to popular authors like Charlie Huston, Denies Mina, and Adrian McKinty…but I never really thought about why.

Nicholas Seeley does a magnificent job pointing out that noir fiction has always been a form of protest, first and foremost against the traditional Anglo-American crime novel where a detective of some sort restores order to society that has been disrupted by a crime, and isolates and excises the evil from society.  But, especially in the years after the Second World War, the idea that evil could be expunged seemed ludicrous, and noir fiction directly confronts this.

Noir stories gave the stage to criminals and their motivations, which range from unspeakable passions to a firm conviction that their particular crime serves a greater good. A detective may pursue such a criminal, but noir reveals the line between them to be a product of chance and circumstance—if, indeed, such a line exists at all.

crimefiction2But even as noir rejected ideas of the world as it “should be” in favor of the world as it really was, it still remained the domains of very traditional heroes.  As Seeley notes, “Classic noir presented worlds of corruption and inequality, but it was still primarily inequality between white men. Women remained cutouts…Racial and sexual minorities fared even worse: they were cast mostly as set dressing, or as villains, tempting innocent white people into depravity.”

Thankfully, admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it, and, with the resurgence of noir, there is the potential for making it the truly subversive, defiant genre that it can be, taking on not just issues of white-bred corruption, but themes of race, sex, gender, and class identities.  Once again, to quote Seeley:

Light can slant harshly though Venetian blinds in most any neighborhood on the planet; tough-as-nails private investigators can come in any gender identity or color of the rainbow; doom-driven crooks can ride from first kiss to gas chamber with a member of the same sex as easily as the opposite.

So, in honor of this fantastic article, which you should definitely read in its entirety, and in honor of the wonderfulness that is the noir genre as a whole, that I’d offer you a few atypical noir novels to get you started down your dimly-lit and dangerous path into the world of noir fiction…

2672653The Mystic Art of Erasing All Signs of DeathCharlie Huston, as I mentioned above, is a stupendous noir author, who brought the genre into the realm of the paranormal, as well as into the world of blue-collar works.  In this book, habitual slacker Webster Fillmore Goodhue finds  his teaching career destroyed by tragedy and, without any other options, joins the Clean Team, a company assigned to clean up some of L.A.’s grisliest crime scenes.  But when a dead man’s daughter asks for his help, Web finds himself in the middle of a war between urban cowboys and rival cleaning teams that forces him to make the first–and perhaps the most significant–choices of his life.  Huston was actually my first real entrance into noir, but he remains one of my favorite because he’s just so good: he conveys the voices of his diverse and varied cast with pitch-perfect accuracy, and brings the seedy, grim world they inhabit to life so vividly that you really want to wash your hands while reading.

2403661The Song Is YouMegan Abbott was one of the first female authors to tackle the hard-core noir genre (the sensational cover art alone immediately recalls some of the mid-century’s best noir pulp novels), but she remains one of the best, because she doesn’t back down from very modern themes of sexism, violence, and class prejudices.  In this break-out novel, she re-imagines the infamous Black Dahlia case of 1947, as Hollywood publicist Gil “Hop” Hopkins finds himself confronted by a friend of Jean Spangler, a woman who vanished in a presumed murder two years previously.  Driven by guilt (and by the fear of blackmail), and by the persistence of a female journalist on the case, Hop descends into the underbelly of Hollywood in search of answers to Jean’s disappearance–and, inevitably, about himself, as well.  Abbott gets the historical details here to a “T”, but brings a modern sensibility to her work that makes these books feel at once familiar, and endlessly new and inventive.

2698306Black Noir: The sad truth is that there are very few detective novels written by (or, for that matter, about) African Americans.  NPR has offered some theories why, which you are welcome to read, but the fact is that, even though there were authors, as early as 1900 in the case of Pauline E. Hopkins’s tale “Talma Gordon”, they weren’t getting the same audiences or publicity that white authors were.  This anthology marks an attempt to rediscover some of the crime, mystery, and noir fiction composed by African American and Black writers from the 20th century.  While there are some well-known names here, like Walter Mosley and Chester Himes, this collection also gives readers the chance to meet new marvels like Edward P. Jones (whose story “Old Boys, Old Girls” is stunning) and Eleanor Taylor Bland, and is guaranteed to give them a chance to realize the real potential for noir fiction going forward.

The Nebula Awards!

Guess what, dear readers?!

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Recall, in the past year, how we have talked about book awards, gender, and the discrepancies between the number of women authors in the world, and the lack of recognition they receive?

To recap, briefly, a number of statistics have shown that books about male characters win more awards than books about women, and books by male people tend to win more awards than those written by female people, despite the fact that women are publishing more books overall.  See this graph from The Huffington Post for further details:

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This graph only points to one award (though the Pulitzer is certainly a significant award), and doesn’t even hint at the lack of diversity in mainstream literary awards in terms of identity, sexuality, or religion…anyways, the point is that awards, as a whole, need to be doing a much better job.

And today….they did.  Or, at least, one did.  Because yesterday, women writers swept the Nebula Awards!

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The Nebula Awards are handed out by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.  All members are allowed to suggest books for consideration, and only members can select nominees.  This means that those invested in the genre and its success are responsible for nominating books, and also that publishers, agents, or any other other outside entity cannot tilt the scales in their favor through any kind of promotional or financial influence.

download (4)For several decades, science fiction and fantasy have been in the position to examine issues of identity, prejudice, and belonging, often in a way that more reality-based fiction genres cannot.  For example, in an interview with The Paris Review, Ursula K LeGuin mentioned how her seminal novel, The Left Hand of Darkness was inspired by emerging debates on gender and identity, saying “We didn’t have the language yet to say that gender is a social construction, which is how we shorthand it now…Gender had been thrown into the arena where science fiction goes in search of interesting subjects to revisit and re-question.”  Similarly, author Octavia Butler, who has made her career out of using science fiction to question issues of gender, race, and identity, noted to Democracy Now that “I think I stayed with [science fiction] because it was so wide open, it gave me the chance to comment on every aspect of humanity. People tend to think of science fiction as, oh, Star Wars or Star Trek, and the truth is there are no closed doors, and there are no required formulas. You can go anywhere with it.”

So it isn’t terribly surprising that the SFWA would be so open to nominating and supporting women, and the challenging, imaginative, and daring books that they write.  But recently, there has been an enormous backlash against women and people of color in the science fiction genre (as represented over the horrible debacle that was the Hugo Awards, but more about that later), so the fact that the SFWA is clearly reaffirming its support of diversity of both authors and books is enormously gratifying, and offers readers a whole new opportunity to discover some fantastic stories!

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So, without further ado, here are the nominees and winners of this year’s Nebula Awards!  Check out the Library this week to discover these phenomenal books for yourself (links are provided below for stories available online)!

(Bold indicates category winner)

Novel

Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

Novella

Novelette

  • ‘‘Our Lady of the Open Road’’, Sarah Pinsker (Asimov’s 6/15)
  • ‘‘Rattlesnakes and Men’’, Michael Bishop (Asimov’s 2/15)
  • ‘‘And You Shall Know Her by the Trail of Dead’’, Brooke Bolander (Lightspeed 2/15)
  • ‘‘Grandmother-nai-Leylit’s Cloth of Winds’’, Rose Lemberg (Beneath Ceaseless Skies 6/11/15)
  • ‘‘The Ladies’ Aquatic Gardening Society’’, Henry Lien (Asimov’s 6/15)
  • ‘‘The Deepwater Bride’’, Tamsyn Muir (F&SF 7-8/15)

Short Story

Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation*

  • Mad Max: Fury Road, Written by George Miller, Brendan McCarthy, Nick Lathouris
  • Ex Machina, Written by Alex Garland
  • Inside Out, Screenplay by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley; Original Story by Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen
  • Jessica Jones: AKA Smile, Teleplay by Scott Reynolds & Melissa Rosenberg; Story by Jamie King & Scott Reynolds
  • The Martian, Screenplay by Drew Goddard
  • Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Written by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt

Additioanlly, Sir Terry Pratchett was posthumously awarded the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, and C.J. Cherryh was named a Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master, both awards of lifetime achievement voted on by the SFWA.

Congratulations to the winning authors, and to the SFWA for recognizing such a sensational selection!

*The Ray Bradbury Award is not considered a Nebula award, but is handed out at the same ceremony

Celebrating the Shirley Jackson Awards!

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Readers of the Free For All will know that I am rather an enormous fan of dark fantasy, horror, and all the odd things that boggle and beguile the imagination.  So it was, naturally, with great interest that I read of this years nominations for the Shirley Jackson awards, which were established in 2007 specifically to celebrate specifically those creepy, unsettling, imaginative, and somehow wondrous books that keep us up and night…for a number of reasons.

ShirleyJackThough her work was popular during her lifetime, Shirley Jackson’s novels only really began to get the attention and appreciation they deserve after her death in 1965.  Part of the reason for this may be because Jackson’s stories are so ambiguous that readers were desperate to get a simple explanation of what they meant, rather than appreciating their full effect, and the skill it took to produce such an unsettling effect on readers.  When her short story “The Lottery” was published in the New Yorker in 1948, it produced, quite literally, a flood of letters, that Jackson herself described as full of “bewilderment, speculation, and old-fashioned abuse”.

Another part of the reason for the late recognition of Jackson’s genius was that she refused to talk about her work–or talk at all to the many requests for interviews or sound bites that poured in.  As her husband, acclaimed editor Stanley Edgar Hyman explained after her death, “she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years.”  As a result, any number of odd stories popped up to fill Jackson’s personal silence…that the darkness in her stories were the result of her own personal neurosis…that she was a recluse…that she herself was mad….

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The truth of the matter was that Jackson was a lovely lady, and, by all accounts, she and her husband were loving parents and very friendly hosts, and dedicated readers (their personal library was estimated at over 100,000 volumes).  But Jackson was also a perspicacious individual who was deeply conscious of what was going on in the world around her.  One of her first literary successes was the novel Hangsamanpublished in 1951 (and a short story called “The Missing Girl“, which wasn’t published until well after her death), a book that was deeply influenced by the (still unsolved) disappearance of a Bennington College sophomore named Paula Jean Weldon, which Jackson developed, adding her own experiences of her years at Bennington College, and her knowledge of the area where Weldon was said to have vanished (her family owned a house very nearby).  Later, she used news about the Cold War, America’s growing and pernicious xenophobia, and worldwide fears of nuclear and atomic energy to create stories as inspiration for her works.  She was actually delighted that “The Lottery” was banned in the United States because, she said, it meant that the government had finally realized what the story was really about.

2663371It was her uncanny ability to turn her readers’ fears against them, and to manipulate their own very real feelings of insecurity as the basis for her work that made Jackson such a noteworthy–and unsettling–storyteller.  Anyone who has read The Haunting of Hill House, and felt that ghostly hand creep into their own will know precisely of what I speak.  And, since 2007, when her estate established an award in her name, it is precisely these kinds of works that are honored with recognition from the Shirley Jackson Award.

The Shirley Jackson Award celebrates “outstanding achievement in the literatdownload (2)ure of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic”–and the nominees very frequently address the very real fears that permeate our own society, just as Jackson did in her own work.  This year is no different.  It’s remarkable to see how a diverse selection of authors grapple with issues of homosexuality and identity, racism, feminism, ageism, abuse, love, hatred, in ways that are beautifully human, terrifyingly real, and chillingly imaginative.  What’s even more interesting is how many small, independent, and diverse publishers are recognized in these years nominees.  More than most literary awards, which, as we’ve noted, tend to stick to the tried and true, the Shirley Jackson Awards are on the cutting edge of publishing, writing, and social issues, and, for that–not to mention the fact that these stories are all cracking good reads–they are definitely worth some attention.

Here is a list of the nominees…we are working to get some more on the shelves of the Library, but if there are titles below without a link, feel free to give us a call or stop by and we’ll find them for you in the meantime!

The nominees for the 2015 Shirley Jackson Awards are:

NOVEL

Eileen, Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Press)
Experimental Film, Gemma Files (ChiZine Publications)
The Glittering World, Robert Levy (Gallery)
Lord Byron’s Prophecy, Sean Eads (Lethe Press)
When We Were Animals, Joshua Gaylord (Mulholland Books)

NOVELLA

The Box Jumper, Lisa Mannetti (Smart Rhino)
In the Lovecraft Museum, Steve Tem (PS Publishing)
Unusual Concentrations, S.J. Spurrier (Simon Spurrier)
The Visible Filth, Nathan Ballingrud (This Is Horror)
Wylding Hall, Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing-UK/Open Road Media-US)

NOVELETTE

“The Briskwater Mare,” Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)
“The Deepwater Bride,” Tamsyn Muir (Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, July-August 2015)
“Even Clean Hands Can Do Damage,” Steve Duffy (Supernatural Tales #30, Autumn)
“Fabulous Beasts,” Priya Sharma (Tor.com, July 2015)
“The Thyme Fiend,” Jeffrey Ford (Tor.com, March 2015)

SHORT FICTION

“A Beautiful Memory,” Shannon Peavey (Apex Magazine)
“Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers,” Alyssa Wong (Nightmare)
“Seven Minutes in Heaven,” Nadia Bulkin (Aickman’s Heirs)
“The Dying Season,” Lynda E. Rucker (Aickman’s Heirs)
“Wilderness,” Letitia Trent (Exigencies)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, Stephen King (Scribner)
The End of the End of Everything, Dale Bailey (Arche Press)
Get in Trouble, Kelly Link (Random House)
Gutshot, Amelia Gray (FSG Originals)
The Nameless Dark – A Collection, T.E. Grau (Lethe Press)
You Have Never Been Here, Mary Rickert (Small Beer Press)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY

Aickman’s Heirs, edited by Simon Strantzas (Undertow Publications)
Black Wings IV, edited by S.T. Joshi (PS Publishing)
The Doll Collection, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)
Exigencies, edited by Richard Thomas (Dark House Press)
Seize the Night, edited by Christopher Golden (Gallery)

Single Serving Readings, Both Near and Far

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When it comes to books, size does matter….

281For those of you out there who love big, meaty books, with immersive details, deep, complex characters, and long journeys that allow those characters to develop within that scenic world…I have some good news.  A recent study (by a group called Vervesearch on behalf of an interactive publisher called Flipsnack) analyzed the page counts of recent best-sellers and discovered that print books are getting bigger.  In a fairly significant way, at that, with the average best-seller growing from 320 pages in 1999 to 400 in 2014.  This implications of this are not clear at all; few studies of the present are.  But, as we approach the “beach reading” season, those of you who want a good, sturdy book to take with you, I celebrate this news on your behalf.

There are those of us (and I definitely count myself in this group more often than not) who can’t always handle the commitment of a big book.  As a self-professed adulterous reader, I often have three or four books going at once…for a number of reasons, which we can discuss later….but anyway, the point is that sometimes, for some of us, big books can be a real turn-off.

But there is good news!  E-books have forced the publishing market to diversify their products in ways that haven’t been seen since the evolution of the paperback in  1935.  And that means that new genres, new characters, and new types of books continue to emerge with startling speed.  Just one of these options is the novella.

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Novellas, by definition, are works of fiction that are longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel.  The word itself derives from the Italian work “novella”, which means “new”.  In reality, novellas are delightful, delicious, single-serving works of fiction that can be read in a single sitting…a train ride…a workout….whatever time or space you have to unwind for a bit is the perfect place for a novella.  And, thanks to the revolution  within the publishing market, novellas are becoming increasingly diverse, wider in scope, and increasingly more refined as an art form in and of themselves.   Even better, they are becoming increasingly easier to find in print form, as well as electronic form.

And, to heap goodness on top of all this goodness, any resident of Massachusetts has access to the Boston Public Library databases….and the Boston Public Library has a phenomenal and growing collection of novellas (as well as a completely insane collection of other works and resources).   Patrons can get a BPL library card online as well to have instant access to databases (including Overdrive!).  To find these great resources, head to the “e-Library” option on our home page:

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Then, click on “Articles/Databases”.  It’s the sixth option on the list.  Clicking that will take you to this screen:

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The highlighted option in the screen capture above (the fourth option on the page) is the link to the Boston Public Library database, where you can get your BPL card and begin going hog-wild:

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You can use the BPL’s catalog–and ours, as well–to find whatever reading material makes your heart skip a beat.  You can pick these books up where they live, at the BPL’s numerous branches and central library, or use ComCat to have it delivered to your home library–give us a call for more information!  For the sake of this particular post, let’s have a look at some of the novellas on offer–both through us, and via the BPL!

indexThe Ballad of Black Tom: It’s no secret that I have a thing for weird fiction, so as soon as I heard about Victor La Valle’s novel of Lovecraftian horror set in Jazz Age New York, there was nothing that was going to get between me and this 151 page thrill ride.  La Valle is a superb author, who works very complex and difficult real-world issues in to his intensely imagined, unsettling, and completely compelling fiction, and this book is a perfect sample of his talents.  Charles Thomas Tester may not be the best musician in Brooklyn, but he knows enough to put food on the table for him and his father, and knows the magic tricks to surviving in a deeply racist world.  But when he is hired by a reclusive, fiendishly powerful man from Queens, Tommy’s entire life changes.  Faced with unspeakable bigotry on one side and unimaginably dark powers on the other, only one thing is sure…Tommy will never be the same.  And neither will you after reading this haunting little book.

index (1)Chase MeTessa Bailey is a superb contemporary romance novelist all around, and I’ve never met a book of hers I didn’t love.  Though most of her works were published in e-book format only, her Broke and Beautiful series was released both electronically and in print, so you can savor these delightful stories in any way you wish.  Roxy Cumberland dropped out of college in order to follow her dreams of becoming an actress…but reality quickly stepped in, and now Roxy finds herself performing singing telegrams to make ends meet.  To add insult to injury, her very first client is a drop-dead handsome trust-fund Manhattanite in a giant pink bunny costume.  Louis McNally II has no plans to humor the absurd spectacle at his door, but the voice–and the face–of his singing visitor intrigues him, even if Roxy appears to want nothing to do with him, or his entitled lifestyle.  This opposites-attracting story is steamy, touching, and genuinely good fun from start to finish, and the perfect antidote for a gloomy day.

index (2)The Awakening: Melville House is a phenomenal publishing company (who also maintains a delightful website!), and their Art of the Novella series has really helped established the novella as a crucial genre in and of itself.  Among those works is Kate Chopin’s classic feminist novel about a woman trapped by marriage and her social situation.  At the time of its publication in 1899, the book was considered an irredeemable scandal that ended Chopin’s career.  Since then, thankfully, Chopin’s powerful prose and enduring message has become a classic, and readily available, thanks to Melville House and the BPL.  Check out all of the Art of the Novella books on offer, as well, in order to get a real sense of all the potential these books have to offer!

Everyday is World Poetry Day!

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Yesterday, March 21, was World Poetry Day, an event sponsored by theUnited Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the aim of recognizing “the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.”  According to Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, “By giving form and words to that which has none – such as the unfathomable beauty that surrounds us, the immense suffering and misery of the world – poetry contributes to the expansion of our common humanity, helping to increase its strength, solidarity and self-awareness.”

happy-world-poetry-dayWe here at the Free For All are big fans of poetry, and helping patrons everywhere to overcome their metrophobia and embrace all the beauty and wonder that poetry both captures and inspires.  So, in honor of our growing love of poetry, and also, because we missed the Official World Poetry Day (Arthur Dent couldn’t get the hang of Thursdays…I’ve never been able to get the hang of Mondays), we still wanted to take a moment to share some bookish poetry with you today, and encourage you, as ever, to broaden your reading horizons with a little bit of verse today.

As our dear friends at Reading Rainbow have pointed out, poetry is not only a “high art” form that is accessible to a select few–it very often is our first introduction to language.  Sing the ABC’s.  Hum “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.  You’ll see what I mean.  We’ve also pointed out that reading poetry can help with stress by regulating your heart and your breathing, so it’s a delightful way to unwind no matter where you are.

So here are a few poems to make your day a little brighter, and, hopefully, a little easier.  Enjoy!

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Notes on the Art of Poetry
by Dylan Thomas

I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on
in the world between the covers of books,
such sandstorms and ice blasts of words,,,
such staggering peace, such enormous laughter,
such and so many blinding bright lights,, ,
splashing all over the pages
in a million bits and pieces
all of which were words, words, words,
and each of which were alive forever
in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.
(From The Poems of Dylan Thomas, New Directions, 2003)
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There is no Frigate like a Book (1286)
By Emily Dickinson

There is no Frigate like a Book
To take us Lands away
Nor any Coursers like a Page
Of prancing Poetry.
This Traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of Toll;
How frugal is the Chariot
That bears the Human Soul!

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Where My Books Go
By William Butler Yeats

All the words that I utter,
And all the words that I write,
Must spread out their wings untiring,
And never rest in their flight,
Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,
And sing to you in the night,
Beyond where the waters are moving,
Storm-darken’d or starry bright.
(From the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1919)

Some words on Gaslamp Fantasy, Good Friends, and Great Fiction

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If you haven’t been able to tell as yet, we here at the Free For All really enjoy talking about books–books in general, books we love, books we really need to read soon, and books that should exist, but don’t…yet.  And while this blog provides a beautiful outlet for those discussions, stories, and experiences, those discussions also spill over into Real Life.

Some time ago now, Lady Pole and I were talking about our love of books with historical settings that feature magic, magicians, and usually, a fair bit of mayhem.  And I wished out loud that there was a name for that category of books, so that they would be easier to find, and thus, to devour.

“There is!” Exclaimed Lady Pole, in all her bookish wisdom.  “It’s called Gaslamp Fantasy!”

And then I got so excited I fell over.
(Not really…but almost.)

62d92e28ef11c49995b50e9a3c8a3fc2Because it turns out, Gaslamp Fantasy is a thing.  And it is a beautiful thing, indeed.  According to the experts at the New York Public Library, Gaslamp Fantasy is an offshoot of the Steampunk Genre.  However, Steampunk deals with an alternative 19th century where steam (rather than coal) grew to be the dominant form of energy, resulting in a new world of science and gadgetry.  Gaslamp, instead, deals with an alternative 19th century that thrives on magic, and is controlled by magicians.  These stories can be set anywhere from the Regency Era (broadly speaking, about 1795) to the outbreak of the First World War, and can feature any and all kinds of magic spells, fantastic familiars, and fairy or elfin intervention, and can take on the trappings of any other historic novel; gaslamp can be comedic, tragic, gothic, epic–in terms of plot, they are limited only by the authors’ imagination.

 

2260048Perhaps the most well-known example of this genre is the Free For All Favorite Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrellwhich features two “practical magicians” during the Napoleonic Wars, who begin by working to save England from the French, and end battling each other over the fate of English magic.  In addition to the spellbinding narrative and the so-real-you-miss-them-when-they’re-gone characters, what makes this book such a joy to read is the seamless blend of fantasy and reality–the very real fears in England of the potential of a French invasion are appeased by a massive fleet of ships conjured from the rain.  Mirrors (a fairly new invention at the time) can serve as a gateway to a host of other realms, just as easily as they can be used as a reflective surface.

And therein lies the real magic of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and gaslamp fantasy in general, particularly for those of us who believe that ghosts and fairies and elves are real.  They give us the chance to visit a world where such things are present and visible, and teach us how to see the wonderful and the magical in our own world, as well.  So feel free to come into the library and discover Gaslamp Fantasy along with us–I promise, it will be an adventure you won’t soon forget!

For those interested in Gaslamp Fantasy, check out the following selections:

3269619Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells: A literal smorgasbord of gaslamp fiction, this collection features some of the master of the genre, from Gregory Maguire and Leanna Renee Hieber to  Catherynne M. Valente and  Genevieve Valentine.  As Lady Pole has mentioned short stories are quite the under-appreciated art form, and this book offers some of the best in gaslamp fiction, and really showcases the range of styles and genres that nestle within that broader title.  Even better, you can use these stories to discover what aspects of gaslamp fiction you like best, and use them to help you find more books on our shelves (and we are more than happy to help you find more books, no matter what genre!)

3679669Sorcerer to the Crown: This is a sensational read on its own, but for those of you who also adored Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, this book is a perfect follow-up.  Zen Cho set her novel in a world very similar to that of Susanna Clarke’s–English magic is a unique form of magic that helps secure England’s pre-eminence in the world.  But in this novel, English magic is inexplicably fading away.  The task of restoring English magic falls to Zacharias Wythe, Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers, a man who was born a slave, and now finds himself at the pinnacle of his position, with plenty of rivals eager for his fall from grace.  His companion is the wonderfully complex and powerful Prunella Gentleman, herself an outsider in a society that values neither non-English people, and magical women especially.  But Prunella may hold the key to restoring English magic–if she and Wythe can navigate the trials of Fairyland and English society.  Not only is Cho’s story immediately arresting and consistently intriguing, but she also takes on issues of gender, class, and privilege with grace, wit, and a good deal of insight that make this book a rare treat for any genre.

3575642The Midnight Queen:  Sylvia Izzo Hunter’s tales of magic and true love center around the aptly named Merlin College, Oxford, where the noblest and most talented magicians in Britain learn their craft.  When a disastrous student prank lands the talented Gray Marshall in disgrace, he is ordered to spend the summer under the watchful eye of his professor, Appius Callender–and there meets Callender’s sheltered, but wonderfully wise daughter, Sophie.  Their meeting, and subsequent relationship sets off a series of events that will change them both for the better–and may have enormous implications on the state of British magic for good.  Like Cho, Hunter presents a heroine who has been prevented from realizing her true powers, and finds a way to set her free.  For those looking for a bit of romance with their gaslamp fantasy, Sophie’s relationship with the charming and introverted Gray is just delightful.

 

Saturdays @ the South: A Bibliophile Confession Gets Graphic

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Last week, I waxed about on and took a walk down memory lane over Susie Derkins because she was the first female character I encountered in my young reading life that was complex and relatable. In reflecting over last week’s post, I also thought it was significant that some of the most memorable of my early reading experiences, the ones that shaped my views of what reading could be were brought to me through a medium that many don’t even consider “real” reading. I learned valuable lessons about reading through a comic strip, a medium that is more pictures than words. Yet somehow, those experiences with comics still left an indelible mark on me and my future reading life (not to mention a lifelong soft-spot for stuffed tigers).

Calvin reading
Yup, this pretty much sums up my childhood Sunday mornings. Thank you, Bill Watterson!

I feel like this would be the perfect time to perch myself up on the soap box and talk about how comics are good for kids, good for readers, just plain good. And they are. There are studies that show kids reading graphic novels and comics are still engaging their minds in the complex thought processes in order to understand the text no less than they do in picture books. Librarians have often pushed for graphic novels in the collections as it has been used a successful method to engage reluctant readers. There are even those who believe that readers who have a difficult time comprehending text can gain confidence by reading graphic novels and comics because the images reinforce what’s happening in the text and aids comprehension. Therefore, this would be a great opportunity to talk about graphic novels and how they are amazing segues for people (both adults and children) who simply don’t always think in linear terms, about how the artwork represents a story in and of itself and can lead to an appreciation of so-called “higher art”. This would be a great time for all that except for one small problem… I have the hardest time reading graphic novels.

What is a graphic novel?
See all those curvy lines? They make my orderly reader-self VERY uncomfortable. Image from Drawing Words and Writing Pictures

For me, it may be that for a long time, I associated graphic novels and comic books with topics that I had no interest in, such as superheroes or galactic battles. So when I was a kid, I went straight for traditional books and never really “learned” to read graphic novels. I’m also very much a linear thinker; I think in terms of cause and effect and in step-by-step processes to reach a goal (no matter how many steps there may be in that process). So as an adult, with linear thought processes and linear reading experiences, I’ve found myself somewhat cut off from the ever-expanding world of graphic novels, despite their now having extensive content that does interest me.

Similar to our blogger-in-residence Arabella (who apparently linked minds with me this week on the topic of graphic novels – seriously this similarity was completely unplanned), I have made some attempts to rectify this in recent months because now I feel like I’m missing out on something. There are just too many graphic novels out there with amazingly cool concepts, characters, themes and stories for a bookworm like myself to remain segregated from this wealth of possible reading material. I’ve started with things similar to what I know and are familiar with, including books that are more like compiled comics, hearkening back to the bound Calvin and Hobbes collections of my youth. This has at least gotten me back into the groove of reading panels and words together. Also, much like my recommendations of easing past metrophobia, I also started with graphic novels designed for kids. Soon I hope to break down the barriers leading into some more content-heavy graphic novels.

If, like me, you’re looking to start somewhere to test the waters of more graphic formats of books, here are some options that might guide you:

3496473Hilda and the Troll by Luke Pearson

This may be intended to be a graphic novel geared towards children, but this book is AMAZING, regardless of your age. Hilda is a little blue-haired girl who encounters magic in her intrepid adventures to explore her world. Pearson has turned Hilda into a series which are all equally amazing. This is a great introduction to graphic novels as it’s straightforward in terms for story, but visually detailed and engaging without getting too disorienting in terms of varying format. And if you get courage from this series, you might want to give Luke Pearson’s adult work Everything We Miss a try, because that looks pretty amazing, too.

3699749Poorly Drawn Lines by Reza Farazmand

This book is decidedly adult, dealing with themes and language that children should not really be entertaining, but it’s also decidedly funny in an absurdly poignant way. If you’re a fan of The Oatmeal, this collection will most likely appeal to you. This is more on the comfort level of those whose forays into comics have been, like me, largely the Sunday funnies. But while most of these comics are episodic, some of them have storylines spanning pages, which means you have to get a bit more involved than the usual 4-panel strip to hit the punchline, so you’re getting a bit more practice in reading in a longer graphic format.

3654366Step Aside Pops by Kate Beaton

Beaton also writes comics, so this is less of a graphic novel and more of a bound collection of comics. However, Beaton’s illustrations (which are wildly detailed and yet still “cartoony” black-and-white sketches) easily have as much detail as some graphic novels, so it’s a good way to ease into detailed illustrations where there’s a lot going on, but in a familiar format. Her comics are often historical or feminist-based but they are all pretty hysterical. Plus, they have the added side-benefit of making you feel smarter for reading it because she takes actual, historical situations as material. So you either feel smarter for having recognized the historical characters, or feel smarter for now having the most basic introduction to talking about that historical situation.

3453223Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

Based on the brilliant website of the same name, Brosh’s book is a collection of wildly poignant essays that manage to be laugh-out-loud hysterical while being exceptionally heartfelt. These essays are more text punctuated by absurd images, but there are some graphic novel elements here as well, particularly when it comes to dealing with incredibly deep subject matter in a visual way. Her depiction of clinical depression is easily one of the most spot-on, heart-wrenching, genius depictions of the disease in literature to date. It’s worth picking up this book for that alone, but there’s a lot of great stuff in here and this could easily be someone’s foray out of “comics” and into other more graphically based books.

18594409Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

I’ve talked about this book before, mostly because it was an incredible reading experience. This was the first “official” graphic novel I read (even though it’s technically a graphic memoir). This takes the graphic format away from the episodic and into an extended narrative told with pictures and words. Chast’s honest and open discussion of the last few years of her parents’ lives is amazing to read and experience. Be prepared to laugh, cry, question and more.

I hope this tentative dip into the world of graphic books is helpful to easing you into the graphic novel format. For me, I feel like it’s built my confidence up enough to tackle something like Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series or Scott Snyder’s Wytches sometime soon. If you’ve had some great (or not-so-great) experiences with graphic novels, we’d love to hear about it in the comments! Until next week, dear readers, I hope you’re able to ease your way into something out of your usual comfort zone.