![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
juushikaTitle: I'm Thinking of Ending Things
Author: Iain Reid
Narrator: Candace Thaxton
Published: Simon Schuster Audio, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 230
Total Page Count: 280,355
Text Number: 908
Read Because: mentioned here, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: On a drive to her new boyfriend's family home, a woman contemplates the end of things. If someone told me a twist were "dissociative identity disorder, then they kill themselves," I'd expect something in line of that forgettable Johnny Depp movie: a dumb, pulpy thriller; disrepectful and misrepresentative of the condition depicted. I'm Thinking of Ending Things doesn't feel like that. The bulk of the writing is good, unsettling, ominous, using repetition as an effective narrative and thematic tool; the digressions into the nature of thought are unsubtle, some promising imagery is left undeveloped, but the atmosphere is superb. I saw this compared to Schweblin's Fever Dream, and I concur: it has a twisting, slipping, nonetheless intuitive logic which is works well in a short text; I enjoy it and would love to read more in the same vein.
But can we overlook not just the concept of a twist ending, which is always something of a gimmick, but in particular this tried-and-true, bargain-budget, outdated twist ending? Which can be used well, or at least be less offensive, when it's more exaggerated, metaphorical—Fight Club comes to mind. And it's not as overtly problematic here as it could be—no "mentally ill people pose a danger to others," which is nice. But I'd thought we'd moved beyond such predictable and exploitative use of mental disorders. I wish we had.
Title: Conrad's Fate (Chrestomanci Book 6)
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrator: Gerard Doyle
Published: Recorded Books, 2005 (2000)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 280,735
Text Number: 909
Read Because: continuing the series, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A boy with bad karma searches for the source of it at a magical estate, and stumbles into the company of a young Christopher Chant. This is the first in Chrestomanci book (and, IIRC, the first DWJ book I've read) to be in first person; I don't actively dislike the switch, but nor does it add any particularly distinct narrative voice. The upstairs/downstairs estate setting is lively, and DWJ as always nails the lived details and critical humor which make it work; I wish the final reveals hadn't undermined the commentary on class and social roles in search of a funny twist. The magical elements are significantly more successful, wondrous and humorous in turns, evocative in unique ways that complement the focus on place and class. So Conrad's story itself is decent; more interesting is the exterior view of Christopher, and a young Christopher no less. He's a phenomenal character, identifiable, stylized, but complexly rendered, and there's a lot of him to enjoy in this book. This was a middle Chrestomanci, for me, engaging but somewhat flawed; better than The Magicians of Caprona, but nowhere near as perfect as Charmed Life or The Lives of Christopher Chant.
Title: A Question of Ghosts
Author: Cate Culpepper
Published: Bold Strokes Books, 2012
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 265
Total Page Count: 281,000
Text Number: 910
Read Because: mentioned here, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: When Becca hears her dead mother's voice, she reaches out for help from an expert in the supernatural. I admire this on paper—the protagonists have a genuine chemistry, and I love that they're older, with storied, atypical backgrounds and identities; the cast is diverse, the Seattle setting convincing, and it has a fun, kind energy. But in practice, this never worked for me. The social elements are too delineated—characters disclosing information unnaturally, bonding too readily—and I don't buy the final reveal at all; I couldn't grow invested. And this lacks atmosphere, despite the potential for it (particularly in the cover image and the statue's role in the book). The supernatural feels too commonplace, foregoing tiresome disbelief but also losing tension and atmosphere. I tried to like this, but it probably just wasn't the book for me.
Author: Iain Reid
Narrator: Candace Thaxton
Published: Simon Schuster Audio, 2016
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 230
Total Page Count: 280,355
Text Number: 908
Read Because: mentioned here, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: On a drive to her new boyfriend's family home, a woman contemplates the end of things. If someone told me a twist were "dissociative identity disorder, then they kill themselves," I'd expect something in line of that forgettable Johnny Depp movie: a dumb, pulpy thriller; disrepectful and misrepresentative of the condition depicted. I'm Thinking of Ending Things doesn't feel like that. The bulk of the writing is good, unsettling, ominous, using repetition as an effective narrative and thematic tool; the digressions into the nature of thought are unsubtle, some promising imagery is left undeveloped, but the atmosphere is superb. I saw this compared to Schweblin's Fever Dream, and I concur: it has a twisting, slipping, nonetheless intuitive logic which is works well in a short text; I enjoy it and would love to read more in the same vein.
But can we overlook not just the concept of a twist ending, which is always something of a gimmick, but in particular this tried-and-true, bargain-budget, outdated twist ending? Which can be used well, or at least be less offensive, when it's more exaggerated, metaphorical—Fight Club comes to mind. And it's not as overtly problematic here as it could be—no "mentally ill people pose a danger to others," which is nice. But I'd thought we'd moved beyond such predictable and exploitative use of mental disorders. I wish we had.
Title: Conrad's Fate (Chrestomanci Book 6)
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Narrator: Gerard Doyle
Published: Recorded Books, 2005 (2000)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 380
Total Page Count: 280,735
Text Number: 909
Read Because: continuing the series, audiobook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A boy with bad karma searches for the source of it at a magical estate, and stumbles into the company of a young Christopher Chant. This is the first in Chrestomanci book (and, IIRC, the first DWJ book I've read) to be in first person; I don't actively dislike the switch, but nor does it add any particularly distinct narrative voice. The upstairs/downstairs estate setting is lively, and DWJ as always nails the lived details and critical humor which make it work; I wish the final reveals hadn't undermined the commentary on class and social roles in search of a funny twist. The magical elements are significantly more successful, wondrous and humorous in turns, evocative in unique ways that complement the focus on place and class. So Conrad's story itself is decent; more interesting is the exterior view of Christopher, and a young Christopher no less. He's a phenomenal character, identifiable, stylized, but complexly rendered, and there's a lot of him to enjoy in this book. This was a middle Chrestomanci, for me, engaging but somewhat flawed; better than The Magicians of Caprona, but nowhere near as perfect as Charmed Life or The Lives of Christopher Chant.
Title: A Question of Ghosts
Author: Cate Culpepper
Published: Bold Strokes Books, 2012
Rating: 2 of 5
Page Count: 265
Total Page Count: 281,000
Text Number: 910
Read Because: mentioned here, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: When Becca hears her dead mother's voice, she reaches out for help from an expert in the supernatural. I admire this on paper—the protagonists have a genuine chemistry, and I love that they're older, with storied, atypical backgrounds and identities; the cast is diverse, the Seattle setting convincing, and it has a fun, kind energy. But in practice, this never worked for me. The social elements are too delineated—characters disclosing information unnaturally, bonding too readily—and I don't buy the final reveal at all; I couldn't grow invested. And this lacks atmosphere, despite the potential for it (particularly in the cover image and the statue's role in the book). The supernatural feels too commonplace, foregoing tiresome disbelief but also losing tension and atmosphere. I tried to like this, but it probably just wasn't the book for me.
