Stardust Read-Along: Second Half

Time for the second half discussion of Stardust by Neil Gaiman. As was the case last week, there will be spoilers in the answers.

1. In the first part we saw a naive, wool-headed and self-involved Tristran. What are your thoughts about Tristran and his personal journey now that the book has ended?

I really liked Tristran all through his journey. Even when he was young and naive, he was earnest and hopeful. And then he was cautious but still honest and he truly seemed to enjoy all of the new feelings and new experiences he had. It was a bit callous that he left his father and family forever in the end but he was changed enough by Faerie that I don't think he could have gone back to life in Wall.

2. The star, who we now know as Yvaine, also experienced a transformation of her own. So I ask the same question, what are your thoughts about Yvaine and the journey she took?

I also liked Yvaine through the whole story. Her initial reactions were understandable and I don't think she ever did anything unreasonable. I did feel sad for her in the end, that she lived so long, alone. It was unavoidable but I really hoped for a fairy tale ending to this fairy story. Still, she got a chance to live and love and not be hacked to pieces so that's always nice.

3. The villains of the story came to interesting ends, but not necessarily expected ones. How do you feel about Neil Gaiman's handling of the Stormhold brothers (who had remained at the end of Part 1) and the two witches, the one Lilim and Ditchwater Sal?

It's strange but I felt sad for the brothers even though they were, well, murderous. They never saw their fates coming and, truly, I didn't see them as villains. They were only acting out what their heritage demanded of them. The witches, however, were definitely villains. The Lilim sister definitely got what she deserved. It was satisfying to see her destroyed and decrepit. Ditchwater Sal was more of a passive villain but I definitely think things ended for her in an acceptable way.

4. Were there any descriptions, characters, settings, plot threads that stood out to you personally during this second half of the book?

The idea of Tristran and Yvaine ending up on a cloud and then being picked up by an airship? Amazing. And then this description of being on the clouds --

"Looking out over the world from above, he could never remember feeling so alive as he did at that moment. There was a skyness to the sky and a nowness to the world that he had never seen or felt or realized before."

5. At the very end of the book we see that Tristran and Yvaine's relationship and fate echoes that of Aragorn and Arwen from The Lord of the Rings. If this question makes any sense to you (lol), what comparisons and/or contrasts do you see, especially in the fates of Yvaine and Arwen?

Love is stronger than death, I suppose. However, Arwen chose to give up her immortality for a life with Aragorn whereas Yvaine didn't seem to have a choice or a death. She already had lost her position in the sky before she met Tristran and she retains her "sparkle" and immortality even as the years pass. I think that Yvaine's situation is much sadder than Arwen's.

6. What are your overall impressions of the story now that it is done?

I liked this book the first time I read it but now I think I love it. It's a perfect balance of fairy tale and adult story with actually quite realistic events and consequences when you think about it. Tristran ends up with a damaged hand, Yvaine retains her limp. There's no perfect ending but there are plenty of perfect moments.

7. If Gaiman were to return to Wall/Faerie, would you take another journey there? If so, are there any adventures hinted at in Stardust that you would like to see Neil expand on?

I would love a story about the lightning collectors. I'm curious about Mr. Bromios' story too. The modern day Wall story that Neil was originally going to tell doesn't interest me as much though but I'm sure I would read it (and probably love it).

Watching the stars,

K

Breaking for Spring

photo by k

We might be the last ones in the country but it's finally time for our Spring Break (as of 3:05pm today!). As we're having family up from California to visit for a few days and will be trying to get some much needed relaxation in, I'll be taking a break from the blogging for the next week or so. You'll still see my second Stardust post on the 17th and I'll have another chapter book post up at The Estella Society on the 15th (The Secret of NIMH). Otherwise, I'll be crossing my fingers that it will stop raining at least a little so that we can enjoy the outdoors!

Shuttering the shop,
K

Stardust Read-Along: First Half

As part of the Once Upon a Time VII Challenge, Carl is hosting a Stardust Read-Along. It's a fairly short book so we're writing about the first half today and the second half next week. If you're not familiar with this book, it's about a boy, Tristran Thorn, from a town called Wall, located on the border of Faerie. To please a girl (who perhaps doesn't deserve his attentions), he sets off into Faerie one day to search for a fallen star. The story is full of colorful characters--both good and evil--and strange lands.

Now, since this is a read-along discussion, there be spoilers ahead. So, if you haven't read the book yet, leave now and take this time to add Stardust to your TBR or place a library hold.

1. We have spent a little time with Tristran and even less time with the star. What are your initial thoughts/impressions of our two protagonists?

I feel like Tristran had a lot to learn about the human world so it was strange that he went to a place that he knew even less about. So far, he's very trusting and that will likely get him into trouble -- even more than he's already experienced. But, he also seems to have a gift that will hopefully help him and balance it out. The star, on the other hand, seems very worldly and wily for someone who has just arrived hours before.

2. There are some very interesting potential villains introduced in this first half of the book. Do any of them particularly stand out to you? If so why or why not?

The villains in this book are chilling and creepy. I think they all stand out, maybe more than the protagonists at this point. The brothers Septimus and Primus have said little but their singlemindedness is obvious. The sisters Lilim are much more chatty and catty and are disturbing, verging on terrifying. Together they are very strong and I have vague memories of what is to come in the second half and I'm not particularly looking forward to reading some of it!

3. In Chapter Three, just after the section with the brothers in Stormhold, Neil Gaiman gives us a description of Faerie that includes "each land that has been forced off the map by explorers and the brave going out and proving it wasn't there...". What imaginary lands do you then hope are a part of Faerie?

This line stood out to me too. It's beautiful and I didn't think of it so much as related to imaginary lands but more of "lost lands" like the American prairies full of buffalo and wolves and wild horses or the oceans full of gentle whales and non-bleached coral, and even pollution and dam-free rivers throughout. There are, of course, unicorns and, hopefully, dodos and tasmanian tigers and all of the other species that have been "forced off the map".

4. We do not get to spend a great deal of time in the market but while there we are given a number of interesting descriptions of the wares being bartered or sold. Which if any of them caught your eye, either as items you would like to possess or ones you would most certainly hope to avoid.

Everlasting lavender sounds wonderful. The line about coats ("Coats of night! Coats of twilight! Coats of dusk!") sounded like a description of the contents of Neil Gaiman's hall closet. ;) And, after vacuuming gobs of cat hair today, the crystal cat sounds nice right about now.

5. If you have read much of Gaiman's work, particularly his short fiction, then you have come across some rather graphic and disturbing portrayals of sex. Gaiman offers up something very different in the way of a sex scene early on in Stardust. What are your feelings of the scene either in general or as a contrast to other Gaiman-penned scenes involving sex?

gratuitous Ben Barnes picture

It was strange because I've read this book before but I remembered it as much more tame than it really is. I had completely forgotten this sex scene -- which is probably a good thing because the ones that tend to stick with me are Gaiman's more horrific or graphic ones (like the beginning of American Gods). I still get really uncomfortable every time I read one of his sex scenes. His mild-mannered exterior hides a very graphic imagination, doesn't it?

6. I suspect Neil Gaiman is influenced by a number of fairy and folk tales in Stardust. Are there any elements of the story that made a particular impression and/or reminded you of other fairy stories you have read or are familiar with?

I am terrible with specific fairy tales but so many of the general ideas are there -- maidens and unicorns, long-distance travel by candle (similar to seven-league boots), witches, forests with evil intent. It's all somewhat familiar but also presented in a way that feels fresh and different.

7. And finally, which of the many side characters introduced have caught your eye and why? Or what else about the story thus far is of interest to you?

I really like the "little hairy man", Tristran's first companion in Faerie. He seems honest and kind and a bit lonely. He repays a decades old debt in an uneven manner -- meaning the things he does for Tristran seem to be of much more value and breadth than just a place to sleep, which is what he was given by Tristran's father. I hope to see him again in the second half though I don't know how Tristran will get back to him.

I'm really excited to read the second half of this book. It's a much different experience than I remember from the first time, possibly because I've read even more Gaiman now and I just feel like this strange land is still somehow familiar.

Prepping for more adventure,

K

Fun With Poetry, Penguin Style

April is National Poetry Month and Penguin is celebrating with a new iOS app -- Poems By Heart. It's a free download with two poems already loaded onto it and you can buy more packs of 4 poems for 99 cents each. Z and I chose the Adventures and Gothic Tales packs, including poems by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Edward Lear, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, Lewis Carroll, Dante Alighieri and Alfred Tennyson.

First the app reads you the poem in a pleasant voice (you can choose male or female). Then you start the steps to memorizing the poem, concluding with recording a poem recitation. Each poem has a rank from EASY to VERY HARD based on, from what I can tell, vocabulary and length. Z and I have decided to be ambitious and try to memorize Jabberwocky (hard) and The Raven (very hard). These are two of our favorite poems ever but we've only ever memorized stanzas. This is going to be fun!

'Twas brillig and the slithy toves,
K
(Once upon a midnight dreary,
Z)

New Release: Unknown Pleasures

When Peter Hook's book, Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, showed up at my house, I squealed with delight at the gorgeous black cover, demi sleeve and black page edges. Then I noticed that the front of the book had faint lines imitating the pattern of Joy Division's first album. It blew me away before I even opened the book. (Well done, It Books.)

Then I began reading and was swept away by Peter Hook (bassist extraordinaire) and his conversational style of writing. It felt as if I was actually able to sit down with him for a friendly chat about Joy Division and to finally learn more of the story of a band that was forced to dissolve in their prime, one day before an American tour. This isn't a tell-all--many juicy stories are hinted at but not told--which I believe shows the respect that Hook still has for his former bandmates and colleagues. Still, there's enough meat in the story to make any reader feel like an insider.

Peter Hook, Ian Curtis, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner

I came to Joy Division a bit backwards as a New Order fan, the band formed by Hook, Morris and Sumner after Curtis' suicide in 1980. But, as I was five when this happened, it's not unexpected. And still, after discovering Joy Division, I only ever really listened to their most well-known songs -- "Love Will Tear Us Apart", "Atmosphere" and "Dead Souls". So one of the best experiences of the book was reading Hook's two chapters covering Joy Division's studio albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer, with the instruction "I really recommend listening to the record while you read". I took his advice and listened to each track as I read his words about them and it was an amazing experience and I can say that I'm now truly a Joy Division fan.

If you want to learn more about Ian Curtis and Joy Division, you can watch the brilliant 2007 film Control by Anton Corbijn. Hook mentions it more than once in his book as being fairly accurate. It is, of course, sad as it deals with the death of a bright young man, husband, father and musician at the age of 23. Whatever caused him to do it (which nobody truly knows), it is obvious that it still haunts his friends and family. Hook doesn't even state it outright until almost halfway through the book, as if he can't bring himself to visit those painful memories until it is essential for the narrative. I also highly recommend this book for fans of British music as you will get numerous tidbits about other musicians/bands of the time like Sex Pistols, OMD (one of my all-time favorite bands, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark), The Cure, U2, Stephen Morrissey of The Smiths and more. It's also just a touching and funny story about four young men who put their hearts and souls into some of the most beautiful and haunting music ever written.

Don't walk away in silence,

K

New Release: Super Duper Cupcakes

If you are ever asked to review a book about cupcakes, say yes, because there's only one proper way to review a book of this sort and it's yummy. Super-Duper Cupcakes: Sweet and Easy Cupcake Decorating by Elaine Cohen is a new book from Sterling Children's Books that brings cupcakes back down to basics for kids.

This book has only two cupcake recipes -- Deep Dark Chocolate and Vanilla Heaven. And, thankfully,  it also says that it's perfectly acceptable to use store-bought cake mix or even to buy pre-made cupcakes and just decorate them yourself. For an overwhelmed parent, this takes away a bit of guilt during a busy week.

Z chose the chocolate recipe and helped me make the batter. It was really easy and came out super light and airy.

The cupcakes baked up perfectly though, as usual, I overfilled the cups. I just can't ever seem to stick to 80 percent!

Once they cooled, we used a store-bought frosting (Duncan Hines Frosting Creations -- mint chocolate flavor) and then gathered together some leftover Easter candy (yes ... leftovers before Easter because they were actually our pre-Easter candies ... don't judge) and started decorating!

The book has lots of great themes--animals, vehicles, holidays--but we went (mostly) with flowers. I also tried the technique of putting a cookie cutter on the top to make a shape from sprinkles (or in this case, Nerds). Sadly, I had to use a circular biscuit cutter because apparently I only have Christmas cookie cutters. I'm going to have to remedy that sometime before next spring.

Anyway, this book was easy to use and Z loved just looking at it and dreaming of cupcakes. The cupcake recipe was wonderful, making fluffy cupcakes with a rich chocolate flavor. I will definitely try the vanilla recipe next time. If you're starting to bake with your children and are overwhelmed by some of the other options out there (which are gorgeous but probably out of reach for the average home baker), give this one a try!

Licking the spoon (and the bowl),
K and Z

Once Upon a Time VII Kick-Off Post

Running from March 21st to June 21st this year is the seventh annual Once Upon a Time Challenge, hosted as always by the magnificent Carl of Stainless Steel Droppings.

I have, of course, already been reading fantasy for the last month during DWJ March but, going forward, I am choosing to attempt Quest the First -- to read five books that fall into any of the four OUaT categories -- fantasy, folklore, fairy tale, mythology.

First, I will be participating in the read-along of Neil Gaiman's Stardust. If you're interested, the details are here.

And here are the other books that I will choose from.

Advent by James Treadwell (fantasy) -- first in a trilogy
Rumo & His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers (fantasy) -- part of the Zamonia series
Greenwitch by Susan Cooper (fantasy, folklore, mythology) -- third in the Dark is Rising series
The Blood Binding by Helen Stringer (fantasy) -- novella from the Spellbinder series
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (fantasy) -- first in a series
Dream Angus by Alexander McCall Smith (mythology) -- from my Canongate Myths box set
The Song of the Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde (fantasy) -- second in a series

Are you participating this year? Have you read any of these? Is it strange that they're all series books or is that par for the course these days with fantasy?

Setting off on another fulfilling journey,
K