Anansi Boys

I’m well on my way toward completing my two challenges way ahead of schedule :  Spring Reading Thing 2010 and Once Upon A Time IV.    Anansi Boys is my fourth book in a list of five.

Author :  Neil Gaiman

First Edition’s Publication Date : January 1, 2005

First Edition’s Publisher :  Harper Collins

This Edition’s Publication Date :  January 22, 2008 (Paperback)

This Edition’s Publisher :  Harper Perennial

ISBN-10: 0061342394

ISBN-13: 978-0061342394

No. of pages :  368

The Story :

Fat Charlie’s (who really isn’t fat) humdrum, safe, comfortable life goes out of whack the moment he learns of his embarrassing father turning up his toes  on a karaoke stage.  Charlie Nancy had no idea his father was a god; neither the fact that he had a twin.  Now brother Spider, the hip, dashing, cool side of the family has turned up to say hello and is determined to stay.  Problem is, Spider has Charlie’s fiance all starry eyed with him and his boss, seething with murderous revenge.

Charlie just wants Spider to go away.  So he dabbles in some magic which backfires on them both.  Now, Spider and Charlie have to face the consequences and dredge their strengths from within.

The Review :

I have never read a Neil  Gaiman novel before… I mean one where he is the sole writer.  Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch was from a Gaiman-Pratchett tandem so I couldn’t tell where Gaiman was or Pratchett began as I’ve never read a Terry Pratchett either.  Now, I understand all the hype about Neil Gaiman.  He is an original, if not a very good mish-mash of perhaps a lot of  influences, who had morphed into a writer altogether of his own kind.  He has a unique way of writing which marries well with his peculiar imagination.

With Anansi Boys, Gaiman  takes the Caribbean folk god, Anansi and weaves his own creative legend around Anansi’s two sons.  The premise is simple, that of a man coming to terms with his lineage.  But Gaiman is a writer who is anything but simple.  So the fundamental premise is layered with lots of other threads: sibling rivalry, filial love, forgiveness, dualism, and self-actualization.

Gaiman here is not given to being serious, though.  His writing imposes a lot of humor, levity, charm, quirkiness and  of course that bit of surrealism that,  I think, marks his style.  Part of his forte here is his characters who he fashions into people we can like or at least pay sustained attention to.  You may not identify with them but somehow  he can make them interesting in their own way.  Take his lead, Fat Charlie, who is something like a push-over, rather passive and calm, painted as boring and yet you get to like him for what he is and how he is developed.  Even the cantankerous mom-in-law-to-be is an amusing figure who will, strangely, get on your good side as well.

To Read Or Not To Read :

Anansi Boys is strange and funny at the same time, but I suspect, with  the author’s piles of accolades, this is isn’t the best of his work.   Perhaps I should get hold of more of  his novels to experience him at his best.  But as an introduction to him, Anansi Boys doesn’t fail him, although it may not effectively goad some new readers to shell out for another one of his novels, unless they can tell from the book that the author has a lot more to offer.

Although this seems like a YA novel, the youngest readers who would probably appreciate this book fully would be in their late teens.  The more mature, the better of course because of a bit of complexity in Gaiman’s concepts and writing style.

On the whole, Anansi Boys is a rather enjoyable book.  Just be in the mood for some eccentricity and you’ll have a nice solo time with this one.

My Mark :  Very Good

 

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series (The Lightning Thief; The Sea of Monsters; The Titan’s Curse; The Battle of the Labyrinth; The Last Olympian)

Book 1

My, this summer is sizzling HOT! The grass on my lawn is tanned to a crisp and  ice cubes aren’t being formed fast enough to satisfy our lust for cold, cold drinks.  The heat has made me lethargic and so this blog has been  dozing on its virtual hammock as well.

Amid the El Nino heat though,  Percy Jackson was good company for ice cream binges and beach trips.

Author :  Rick Riordan

Publication Dates :  2005-2009

Book 2

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

The Review :

I’m opting for not writing a synopsis this time, as I have given one for the first book, The Lightning Thief, several weeks ago.  (My review here. ) I find that giving a summary of a book in a series (other than the first one)  sometimes gives away the ending of the plot before it.  So, it won’t do to spoil anyone’s reading pleasure with some guess of a previous book’s ending now, would it?

On this note,  I shall review the series as a whole, which is a set of five action-packed books for kids aged 9-12 years.  However, the story is so interesting that even li’l ole me was hooked from page one!

Book 3

Despite being written as a children’s series, the story actually appeals to a wide age range, from kids to their parents; hey, maybe even grandparents!   Why the appeal?

First of all, the books are hip, fast and made for light reading.  Riordan makes sure he tickles his young readers’ funny bones with humor specifically geared toward the target age bracket.  Although some of his jokes may seem too corny in some places for mature readers, these I’m sure sit quite well with those in their preteens and early teens.  But hey, he does have some well-placed wit that would make anyone chuckle from time to time.

Second, the interesting concept of Greek mythology modernized with 21st

Book 4

century culture is just too different to pass up.  Kids and adults alike have an enjoyable time escaping in a world where Olympus is the invisible 600th floor of the Empire State Building; Poseidon’s son is a regular kid at school with a ballpoint pen for a sword; Hermes has winged sneakers; Dionysus wholly drinks diet soda ; or one of The Furies may just be your strict, scary pre-Algebra teacher.

Third, there seems to be something for everyone.  Stuffed with scrapes and adventures , the story  revolves around characters who rely on their individual powers and magical stuff to make fights and getting-out-of-tight-spots interesting and fun.  Those inclined toward Greek mythology would have an amusing time with Riordan’s  modern take on them.  Those who don’t have a clue would actually find they have missed out on some really great ancient  legends and perhaps get themselves to surf on who these dudes were :  Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, etc.    Then, there’s a budding romance to delight young girl readers.  However, parents would be so relieved to note that this series is quite wholesome.  There isn’t a whiff of mature content, implied or stated, that sometimes sneakily plague a great many YA books.

Book 5 (The End)

Fourth, there are a lot of pretty cool characters to like and relate to.   Hey, even the monsters are great!

I feel Riordan’s strongest books were the first and last ones, where his writing style was most entertaining.    Moreover, he ended his series quite well.   Vastly entertaining for both young and old, this series is one of those you may not want to miss out on.

My Mark :  Outstanding

 

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

Snagged this book from the shelf for a light, easy read to tide me through a long car wash.   I was hooked from the first page and couldn’t let go.

Author :  Rick Riordan

Date of First Publication :  June 30, 2005  (Hardcover)

Published First By :  Miramax Books

My Edition’s Publication Date : 2006

My Edition”s Publisher :  Miramax Books-Hyperion

ISBN-10: 0786838655

ISBN-13: 978-0786838653

No. of Pages :  400

The Story :

Twelve-year old Percy Jackson thought he was a normal kid struggling in school with not so normal problems of dyslexia and ADHD.  With only a loving but harried mother to turn to from his smelly, nasty step-father, dismal report cards, and unpopularity, Percy has resigned himself to being a nobody with no future  until he is attacked by his pre-algebra teacher.    Suddenly his world turns upside-down and nothing seems as it once did.   Even his best friend isn’t normal!

Percy finds out that he is a demigod,  son of Poseidon.  But Percy’s problems aren’t over.  They have just begun.

Zeus is furious and accuses Poseidon of stealing his master bolt.   Since no god can directly steal from another, everyone in the immortal world suspects Percy of  having been put up to it by his father.  Unless the bolt is returned in ten days, Mount Olympus (address at the 600th floor, Empire State Building), will erupt in war and spell a terrible doom upon the Western world.

Percy, together with a satyr and Athena’s daughter, set out to find the bolt, discover the thief, and avert a catastrophe of mortal and immortal proportions.

The Review :

I made a good decision to watch the movie before I read the book.  I was quite happy with the cinematic version, which I found cute and different from other fantasy movie tie-ins out there for kids and young adults.    If I had read the book first, the movie would have been sort of a let-down because this book is brilliant!–simple, funny, and a totally absorbing read.    I spent a very blithe two hours at the car wash, immersed in Riordan’s  wonderful mix of Greek mythology and the 21st century.

However, many have been quick to point  this out as a Harry Potter-ish novel, drawing similarities with the threesome questing group; Camp (school) for half-bloods where they train their powers (the term “half-bloods is also used in this book); like Harry,  the main character Percy is unwanted by a step-parent/s;  as Harry, Percy is also charged with a mission to stop dark forces;  etc.

Now that it the similarities have been drawn, I admit they do exist.  However,  The Lightning Thief feels and reads so differently that I bet not many readers were aware of them (I, included)  until the fact was specifically pointed out.  So no, you will not be reading a Harry Potter-like novel with this.    Instead,  you get  a wonderful treat of getting lost in the world of  gods, goddesses, demigods, and immortals.

Now those who weren’t so particularly interested in Greek mythology would perhaps be drawn to know more about the deities after  seeing how Riordan breathes his own kind of life into them.  He incorporates the legends into our time so that they come out  fresh yet true to their own original stories…and a lot of fun!    Loads of wit  and  adventure plus charming characters simply compel you to want more of the escapism.   I wouldn’t be surprised if there has been a resurgence of interest in classic Greek myths.

To Read Or Not To Read :

Written simply, this is a book a nine-year old would undoubtedly take to.  However, so will his parents.  Riordan adeptly writes in that fine line that makes his stories so appealing to both young and old.    This should be a wonderful book for a parent to read and bond with young kids or a good thing to momentarily bridge the age-induced interest gap between parents and their teeners.    The appeal to a wide age range explains Riordan’s tremendous success with his series.

As of this date, Riordan has published a total of five books for the series.  Once you’ve had a taste of  The Lightning Thief, you’d surely want the savor the sequels.

In A Nutshell :

Hip, young, snappy, and funny, Riordan’s writing simply grabbed my attention from page one with the chapter title, “I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher”.     Who wouldn’t break into a smile on reading something like this :

Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster.  He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of Muscle Men magazine — bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other ‘ceps , all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin.  He wore no clothes except underwear — I mean bright white Fruit of the Looms–which would’ve looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary.    —- p.50

The Lightning Thief should be one of the best children’s books written this decade.  Easily a bookshelf gem!

My Mark :  Excellent!

 

Love Underground : Persephone’s Tale

Author: Alicia Fields
Release Date: July 5, 2005
Publisher: Signet
ISBN-10: 0451215826
Pages: 282

The prettiest girl in the village is young and naïve Persephone, who lives a very sheltered life in Hellas, a small Greek isle, too small to matter to the rest of the world. Most of the boys in her village are in love with her but are too scared of her mother, Demeter, a man-hater who rejects all suitors for her daughter’s hand. But as fate would have it, lonely Hades spies Persephone and instantly sees her as the sunlight to his underground existence. Knowing no other way to win her, he abducts Persephone and as any love-struck swain does, tries to win her heart…

Love Underground is the myth of Persephone and Hades retold with a more realistic flavor, but with a tidy bit of it still sprinkled with magic.  The myth is a great story and Fields’ idea of humanizing it could have made it better.  But, she just doesn’t succeed.

The author tries to “de-myth” the characters by drawing them on a more humanistic plane, while still keeping a glimmer of mystique about them. Perhaps this attempt isn’t so easy for Fields as Persephone, Hades, Demeter, et al., end up flat, like comic book characters — well illustrated but without dimensions that stir empathy from those who are trying to get to know them.

That being so, there is a failure to inspire the romance it is supposed to have. It is that essential ingredient which could have transformed the work to a delightfully sweet story.

One thing Fields has done well, though, was keep one foot in the legend by being ambiguous about the characters’ deities. This was a nice touch, but sadly lost in a book floundering on ineffectual writing.

Regrettably, Love Underground is a literary disappointment.  I guess the book grew out of a good idea; but it withered on execution somewhere along the way. If you must read it, borrow or get a used copy on sale. Just don’t waste good money on a dime novel.

My Mark : In between UGH! and Mediocre — Poor