Jan 03 2017

Landscapes of Communism by Owen Hatherley

Owen Hatherley places Landscapes of Communism at an intersection of several modes: serious but not academic architectural criticism; political and social history, as reflected in a region’s built environment; companion for both travellers and residents; and thoughts on living in cities shaped by different social systems. Hatherley writes early on that he uses the term “communist” largely as a matter of convenience. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe ruled by socialist party-states look different from their counterparts in Western Europe, their cities have different landmarks and features. Although “communist” is hardly satisfactory as a descriptor, alternative terms are even worse: “Stalinist,” “state socialist,” “state capitalist,” or even just “Soviet.” This initial choice could stand in for much of the rest of the book. Hatherley is trying to put his finger precisely on things that are difficult to put one’s finger on, and the terminology is slippery across both space and time.

“The paradoxical nature of architecture in the Soviet Bloc, with its sharp, sudden zigzags of official style — from Modernism to classicism to Baroque to a bizarre despotic Rococo to Modernism to Brutalism and back — has long puzzled historians.” (p. 30) Indeed. Hatherley’s careful text, informed by personal experience of almost all of the sites discussed, and copious photographs (three cheers for the digital photography and advances in printing technology that have made this possible and affordable) begins to make sense of the paradoxes involved. Because building in communist countries was always “an architecture parlante, a speaking architecture — one that constantly tells you about the state it represents,” (p. 30) speaking sensibly about what was built requires knowledge of both the history and the politics of the Bloc. Hatherley borrows a framework from Soviet architectural historian Vladimir Paperny, who proposed two cultures competing within the system across time, opposed to each other and supplanting each other in turn as personalities and doctrines in the communist parties fought for ascendancy. Paperny “called the Stalinist style ‘Culture Two,’ contrasting it with the future-oriented ‘Culture One’ of Modernism.” (p. 30) The changing dominance among the two over time, their dialectic as it were, explains much about cities under communism. “Culture one was obsessed with movement, wanting its cities to be fast, instant, disposable, dynamic; Culture Two was equally fixated with immobility, preferring its buildings to be monumental, solid, massive, immovable. Culture One built horizontal blocks of flats, long, low and linear; Culture Two opted for the vertical, creating skylines of spires and state offices which rose, step by step, like pyramids and ziggurats.” (p. 30)

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Jan 02 2017

Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice (The Austen Project #4) by Curtis Sittenfeld

Quite charming, and for the most part a note-perfect retelling of the classic for modern times. There were really only two false notes for me: the first was the laughable idea that, as a writer-at-large, Lizzy Bennett earns $105k a year, and the second was the last marriage proposal of the book, which I thought came a little too soon in that relationship, modern-day updating notwithstanding. Otherwise, it was quite interesting to see the parallels Curtis Sittenfeld drew between Eligible and the source material. I particularly enjoyed how she “split”, for lack of a better word, the original’s Wickham character to make for more interesting, topical reading. In addition, the coda as to Mary’s life was quite refreshing to read, even as someone who is quite happy to be coupled up (and has, on occasion, been lovingly accused of being boy-crazy.) It was nice to read a defense of singlehood in a book teeming with marriage plot upon marriage plot.

And for some reason, I suffered from the vague notion that this and Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed were from the same series, which I only cured myself of about 70% of the way through. Both excellent retellings, of course, but from quite different oeuvres.

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Jan 02 2017

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett


Twenty books into Discworld, Terry Pratchett has set up enough pieces of furniture in the various fictional rooms on the Disc that moving just a few of them around is bound to produce something interesting. In Hogfather, he has Death, Death’s granddaughter Susan, a member of the Assassins’ Guild who’s too good at what he does and enjoys it too much, and some of the senior faculty of the Unseen University. Pratchett also tries out one of the classical unities, setting the novel’s action almost entirely in one night, although some of the characters’ abilities mean that time does not behave in a strictly linear fashion when they are around. The particular night is the longest one of the year, when according to Disc tradition, the Hogfather speeds around on his sleigh (drawn by flying pigs) distributing gifts to children.

Only this year, something seems to have gone seriously wrong, and the Hogfather is nowhere to be found. His usual stand-ins are there for the commercial frenzy leading up to the holiday, but the jolly man in the red suit is not where he is supposed to be. That is the first sign that all is not well in the lattice of superstition and belief that supports much of the doings on the Disc. Death steps in to fill part of the gap, but he has to learn the role as he goes.

At a department store, a child has just agreed to be good in exchange for a toy castle, a play army

—and a sword. It was four feet long and glinted along the blade.
The mother took a deep breath.
“You can’t give her that!” she screamed. “It’s not safe!”
IT’S A SWORD, said the Hogfather. THEY’RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.
“She’s a child!” shouted Crumley.
IT’S EDUCATIONAL.
“What if she cuts herself?”
THAT WILL BE AN IMPORTANT LESSON.
Uncle Heavy whispered urgently.
REALLY? OH, WELL, IT’S NOT FOR ME TO ARGUE, I SUPPOSE.
The blade went wooden. (pp. 142—43)

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Jan 02 2017

Taking Stock of 2016

In reading, as in so many things, 2016 did not end quite the way I had reckoned it would. About halfway through the year I noticed I was near the end of several series, with more on the to-be-read shelf that I could knock out and clear space. That bookcase nearly full, double shelved, so I clearly need to get with the reading and do less of the buying. I had visited Goethe’s and Schiller’s houses in Weimar earlier in the year, and figured that reading about one Schiller play per month was a good and achievable way of closing up an odd gap in this German major’s education. I also figured that a Discworld book per month would be both fun and a way to make steady progress through the series.

Not much of that happened.

A death in the family, the electoral crisis, this that and the other, all put reading and writing toward the back of the queue.

I did finish some series: Naomi Novik’s Temeraire books, Jo Walton’s Thessaly trilogy, re-reading Barry Hughart’s tales of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus, Ferrol Sams’ trilogy about Porter Osborne, Jr. I’m almost there with Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland books. I’m up to date (save one, which is not out in paperback) on the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, current on Dave Hutchinson’s Europe books, and on Charles Stross’ Laundry chronicles. Looking forward to what happens next in all three of those. I’ve got two more Witcher books to catch up with what’s been translated into English. I may yet read the last Fandorin books in German, since he never caught on enough for the final volumes to be published in English. Grr. My Russian, to say the least, does not extend as far as reading full books.

Filling in gaps turns out to have been a theme of 2016. I finally read The Left Hand of Darkness, and was amazed. I finally read part of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, and will pick up some more as the opportunity presents itself. I finally read one of Schiller’s major works, and can see how it shaped German drama. I finally read Catch-22, and agree that it’s a modern classic.

This past year, I read two books in German, four graphic novels, eight Discworld books, and one book-length work-in-progress by a friend. I read one book about the history of Fascism, and joked that my picking it up again was a sign of zeitgeist. I re-read three books. I read three books in translation (one from Russian into German).

Best Hamilton mention by someone other than Lin-Manuel Miranda goes to Naomi Novik, on page 157 of Blood of Tyrants. Best application for asylum goes to Charles Stross, at the end of The Nightmare Stacks. Best Victorian sentimental novel of cannibalistic dragons goes to Jo Walton, for Tooth and Claw. Best musical contest also goes to Jo Walton, for the dramatic climax of The Philosopher Kings. Best Discworld book is a close contest between Men at Arms and Maskerade. Best non-fiction were Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow and The Vanquished by Robert Gerwarth, although I enjoyed arguing with The Collapse by Mary Elise Sarotte as I went along. In the second half of the year, I spent a lot of time with Postwar by Tony Judt and Landscapes of Communism by Owen Hatherly but did not finish either by the end of 2016.

Full list, roughly in order read, is under the fold with links to my reviews and other writing about the authors here at Frumious.

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Dec 31 2016

Fables: The Deluxe Edition Vol 10 by Bill Willingham et. al.

While I’m going to review the rest of the series as a whole, I thought this book merited its own review, as it contains the entirety of the crossover with Jack Of Fables and has a distinctly different tone from the preceding books, being very much more a metaphysical caper and thus closer in theme to the JoF series. That said, it also contains the entirety of Werewolves Of The Heartland, which I reviewed as its own book and which seems, honestly, a bit like filler. Extra material, if one is feeling generous, and saves the purchase of the standalone, if one hasn’t purchased it already.

Anyway, this is a playful look at literacy and its attendants, and is quite charming but, in my opinion, devoid of any pathos, which I find quite a necessary part of a complete literary experience. It will also make not the most sense to people who don’t already follow Jack’s solo book, so while it is an interesting addition to the canon, I would not call it essential unless you really want to know what happens with Kevin Thorne, the world’s most annoying writer. But it’s witty and dreadfully meta, which carries a lot of weight with some types of reader.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/31/fables-the-deluxe-edition-vol-10-by-bill-willingham-et-al/

Dec 28 2016

Death’s End (Remembrance Of Earth’s Past #3) by Liu Cixin

To give you a good idea of how enraging this book was, about 75% of the way through, my nerve broke and I started ranting about it in Bookclub chat, because I just couldn’t take it any more. I could overlook the utterly contemptible “she’s a woman, not a warrior” misogyny that permeates the book, I could even forgive the unrelentingly pessimistic view of humanity and our place in the stars and amidst alien civilizations. What I could not set aside was the smug philosophical laziness that permeated all the socio-political thinking. Aside from the gross misrepresentation of military discipline as totalitarianism, Liu Cixin not only paints space-going humanity as irrevocably tainted by totalitarianism, but espouses terrestrial (or solar system, really) totalitarianism as not only acceptable but admirable! What the fuck with this convenient flip-flopping, dude?! The tone is too sincerely cynical, like that boring af guy you meet in freshman year in college who thinks he’s God’s gift to politics because he’s read Mein Kampf critically, to leave room for interpreting this as commentary on the fickle nature of the human condition. I wanted to beat Mr Liu about the head and shoulders with the collected Vonnegut, in hopes of some of that wisdom and style passing to him by osmosis, because Death’s End is just a determinedly nihilistic and thus highly unrealistic view of how human societies actually function. Survival is the basis of our collective humanity: Escapism and all that shit would never be outlawed.

And even the science, which I found breathtaking and gorgeous in the previous books, fell short for me here. Sure, there are some interesting theories towards the end, but when Ice pronounces the solution to their (very obvious, Jesus Christ) problem, I literally yelled out, “Duh!” They spend so much time literally exploring escape velocities that only someone completely unfamiliar with foreshadowing would miss this incredibly obvious answer. And whose fault was it that they didn’t have that answer, btw? Our fucking idiot heroine’s, Cheng Xin’s. You guys, she is the worst. She fucks up humanity not once, but twice, due to what Mr Liu characterizes as “mother love” and which I, as a mother, am completely offended by. Bitch, do your duty! And if you’re not going to, at least fucking own up in the end, instead of going off on an incredibly stupid and, again, lazily inconsistent meditation on the role of duty in your life. I did feel a little pity for her the first time, even as I thought the charges of mundicide against the previous Swordholder absurd (seriously, there’s no corpus delicti in the future?) I spent most of the book waiting for her to die, as better people than her have been so casually offed in previous books in the series, but kept being assured that her fate was worse than death… until it wasn’t. Vomit. I suppose if you like her character, you will like the book. As it was, I found both her and the book repulsive.

Maybe I’m too much of an optimist, a believer in both survival and elevation through cooperation. Honestly, I liked the ending. I wasn’t at all bothered by the effects of the light tomb towards the end: bad shit happens, and we should all do our best in the little time we have. I just find it too hard to reconcile the note of hope in the ending with the “everyone is out to kill us” tone of the rest of the book. It’s lazy and stupid and just reads like Mr Liu wants to impress with flash instead of substance. A fucking terrible coda to a dazzling first novel and problematic but brilliant second.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/28/deaths-end-remembrance-of-earths-past-3-by-liu-cixin/

Dec 24 2016

Fables: Werewolves Of The Heartland (Fables #17) by Bill Willingham et al

Not a great jumping on point for new readers, no matter what the press may say. I enjoyed it as a bit of filler story for Bigby on the road, and it answers a few questions raised by his time fighting in WWII, but I didn’t feel it was an essential part of the Fables canon. It was very interesting in its examination of insular white communities in the Midwest, tho it was all strictly allegorical. I dunno. Maybe that would have been enough back when it was published, but it doesn’t seem enough in these frightening times, with Nazis and anti-Semites rising to national prominence — and, horrifyingly, credibility — and threatening physical harm to Jews in small towns in Montana and Pennsylvania. I’m still coming to terms with the politics of Fables, and I won’t be able to write well about it till I’ve read the entire canon, so we’ll see. Obviously, Bill Willingham et al’s stance is commitedly anti-fascist. There’s a lot to parse, is all, in this examination of freedom and survival.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/24/fables-werewolves-of-the-heartland-fables-17-by-bill-willingham-et-al/

Dec 24 2016

Witness In Death (In Death #10) by J. D. Robb

It’s weird, I feel like this should have been a more powerful story for me. All the plot points are there, plus it’s set in The Theatre, so this is exactly the kind of mystery I should love.

But there was something about it that was a little too overwrought, IMO. The killer’s little asides, in the form of a journal of some sort, felt jarringly out of character and not at all in step with the tragedy of the thing. And I really wanted to feel for Eve and for how this hit home and all that but… Idk, maybe if I hadn’t read it immediately after the self-pitying Conspiracy, if I’d had the sheer thriller of Loyalty as a buffer, maybe I would have liked this better. There’s a lot to be said for reading series fiction in order, after all.

Which makes the fact that I won’t have time to read more of this series before the latest comes out for review a greater pity. I rather like the sly subversiveness of the male-female relationships in re: physical attractiveness, and even if the initial coming togethers of the characters are the corniest things ever, the growth of the relationships afterwards are interesting to watch.

So many books, so little time! Would that my younger self had had this richness.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/24/witness-in-death-in-death-10-by-j-d-robb/

Dec 21 2016

Wrapping Up

Both reading and writing have slowed significantly since November 8, and not only because of the election, though that has certainly played a major part in my slowdown. Time for some short takes, to clear the desk for the coming year.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. I read this in the summer, and I’ve been searching ever since for something new, or at least new-ish to say about the book. I haven’t succeeded. It’s as great as its reputation: bleakly, mordantly hilarious, with a core of humanity amidst the random and heartless horror of industrial war. The edition that I read has a preface that Heller wrote in 1994, detailing the combination of hard work, crafty promotion and good luck that built the book’s initial success and opened the door to perennial sales. I found that fascinating for its insight into how culture is produced. I wondered about the character of Milo as an anti-Semitic stereotype; I’m still not quite sure what I think on that score. A major major book.

Necessity by Jo Walton. The third in her Thessaly trilogy, in which Apollo and Athena set up a society for people to try to live in Plato’s Just City. I’m glad that I read these three as they were released, because the beginning of each successive volume is a huge spoiler for the ending of the previous book. Knowing that there are three, and knowing a little bit about each in advance will change the experience of reading the set. (Like knowing there’s Before Midnight and Before Sunset that follow Before Sunrise.) The other two did more for me, especially The Philosopher Kings. I think that’s because in this third volume Walton, of necessity, widens her focus. I preferred the tight constraints of the first two stories; I found that they gave an emotional sharpness to the events. There are some terrific moments in Necessity, especially the style of writing taken up by one point-of-view character, but I think I am more likely to return to either of the first two books.

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Dec 18 2016

Conspiracy In Death (In Death #8) by J. D. Robb

Undoubtedly the weakest of the first nine books. I’m v glad I read this only after the ninth, as I would have strongly suspected the dreaded 8th-book slump and written off the rest of the series (well, excepting for the fact that I’m being paid to review the ninth, so would have read that anyway.)

The world-building is terrific as always but the intuitive leap that breaks the case made no Goddamn sense, and then there’s all the masochistic bullshit Eve puts herself through against the orders of doctors and her bosses. It’s one thing to understand her reactive stubbornness against her husband, Roarke, when he’s likely talking out of his ass half the time (and oooooh, that one scene where she goes to him looking for comfort and he’s a total asshole to her instead, on purpose, and I’m supposed to believe that this makes their relationship stronger instead of cracking a big fucking gap between them is toooootal bullshit) but to flay herself open despite the advice of experts in the field made me question all her judgment forever. Luckily, the next book, Loyalty In Death, does a much better job of having her not suck, so there’s that. Also? There’s absolutely nothing in this book that you have to read to make any sense of the next one, so I’d highly recommend skipping it.

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2016/12/18/conspiracy-in-death-in-death-8-by-j-d-robb/