Fantasy Quote of the Week

“But you love these stories!” Atticus said. “You love them as much as I do!”

“I do love them,” George agreed. “But stories are like people, Atticus. Loving them doesn’t make them perfect. You try to cherish their virtues and overlook their flaws. Their flaws are still there, though.”

“But you don’t get mad. Not like Pop does.”

“No, that’s true, I don’t get mad. Not at stories. They do disappoint me sometimes." He looked at the shelves. "Sometimes, they stab me in the heart.”
--Matt Ruff, Lovecraft Country

Courtesy of the For the Gothic Heroine website.

Book of the Week

As you all might have guessed by now, I have a bit of a soft spot for the literary work of Matt Ruff. However, with this latest novel of his, it seems like others are liking his work as well. In fact, I just read that it has been chosen to become the inspiration for an upcoming HBO TV series.

Even if you aren't into HBO, the book makes for an interesting read. After all, critics have been justly dissing H. P. Lovecraft for his racism for years but Matt Ruff seemed to be one of the few writers who have dared to make literary lemonade from Lovecraft's sour prejudices. And he tells a good story too -- so good I dare not tell you too much for fear of spoilers.

Book of the Week

Given the popularity that the alternative history genre has had among American readers for at least two decades now, it was probably inevitable that we get a novel that attempted to tell an alternative history of the 9/11 attack. Indeed, I am a bit surprised that it took this long.

Author Matt Ruff, of course, doesn't just stop there. He also gives us readers a surprisingly convincing account of a world where the Muslims in the Middle East are an united people who dominate the globe and the Americans are a bunch of disunited political entities who are rebelling against foreign occupation -- an occupation which is being carried out, naturally, by the -- ahem -- Muslims.

Ruff's novel isn't quite science fiction -- towards the end, he brings in an element of obvious fantasy that most readers might wish to take with a grain of salt -- but it is interesting and entertaining. It even includes an alternative universe version of 24 protagonist Jack Bauer. Of course, Matt Ruff's version of Jack Bauer is still a fictional character in the eyes of the characters of this novel and rarely gets more than an occasional reference. But then I'm not sure that most cultural conservatives in the U.S. really would want to see an entire novel devoted to that version -- especially since he is a Muslim.

Literary Quote I Like

“Hi,” I said. “Omnes mundum facimus.”

“That's all right. I don't need the magic phrase. But as long as we're on the subject, have you worked it out yet?”

I had, finally. “It's a comeback,” I told him. “To that thing people say when they don't want to be blamed for a bad situation: 'I didn't make the world, I only live in it.'”
--Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys

Quote of the Week

Omnes mundum facimus. (We all make the world.)
--Matt Ruff, Bad Monkeys

All the Not So Classic Books That I Have Read, Part Three

1. Bad Monkeys (2007) -- Matt Ruff.

Conspiracy thriller for people who hate conspiracy thrillers.

2. Auntie Mame (1955) -- Patrick Dennis.

Inspiration for the classic movie of the same name. The story of an orphaned boy raised by an eccentric aunt. Oddly dated but in a good way.

3. Around the World with Auntie Mame (1958) -- Patrick Dennis.

A sequel -- and in some ways, a prequel -- to Auntie Mame.

4. I Capture the Castle (1948) -- Dodie Smith.

The daughter of an eccentric writer comes of age in an impoverished household. Better and more interesting evocation of the bohemian lifestyle than Auntie Mame.

5. The Town in Bloom (1965) -- Dodie Smith.

An onetime aspiring actress looks back upon her life after a brief reunion with friends.

6. The Hundred and One Dalmations (1956) -- Dodie Smith.

Not a novelization of the Disney movie of the same name but the original source for said movie.

7. The New Moon with the Old (1963) -- Dodie Smith.

A young woman starts work as a servant at a house filled with eccentric young people -- people who are forced to mature when their father unexpectedly leaves the household.

8. The House on Mango Street (1984) -- Sandra Cisneros.

A young Mexican-American woman grows up in a “transitional” neighborhood.

9. Blast from the Past (1998) -- Ben Elton.

A British woman gets an unexpected visit from a former lover that proves to be more complicated than she or he anticipates.

10. The First Casualty (2005) -- Ben Elton.

A confirmed pacifist finds himself drafted during World War I to investigate a murder case involving a British soldier.

All the Not So Classic Books That I Have Read, Part Two

1. Voltaire! Voltaire! (1961) -- Guy Endore.

Not quite a novel. Not quite a history book. An account of French philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire and the odd relationship between them. Very interesting.

2. King of Paris (1956) -- Guy Endore.

Endore does for Alexandre Dumas, Sr. and Jr., what Voltaire! Voltaire! did for Voltaire and Rousseau. A very entertaining book. However, it does bring up the question of why no movie maker in this country has ever tried to make a movie about either member of the Dumas family. It's certainly not because the two of them are uninteresting.

3. Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls (2003) -- Matt Ruff.

A young person with MPD discovers a kindred spirit.

4. The Gun Seller (1996) -- Hugh Laurie.

A comic novel that actually lives up to its rep. And yes, its author is the same Hugh Laurie who starred in Blackadder and House.

5. Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004) -- Jeff Lindsay.

A novel about a heroic serial killer--yes, you read that right. Inspiration for the current Showtime TV series Dexter.

6. Red Dragon (1981) -- Thomas Harris.

The first of the Hannibal Lecter novels.

7. State of Fear (2004) -- Michael Crichton.

Crichton's controversial take on global warming and the “true” menace to society--eco-terrorists.

8. Aztec (1980) -- Gary Jennings.

A long but interesting novel about an Aztec who lives through the Spanish Conquest of Mexico.

9. The Journeyer (1984) -- Gary Jennings.

The uncensored life of Marco Polo.

10. Spangle (1987) -- Gary Jennings.

A pair of Civil War veterans join a circus that goes on a tour of post-Civil War America and Europe.