Myriad thoughts on a million things
Archive for July, 2010
A Hatful of Sky – My first Pratchett
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This is a review of my first Terry Pratchett. Being a fan of the fantasy genre… I’d heard a LOT about the Pratchett legacy. I’ve thought of picking a book by Pratchett multiple times… but was always deterred by the sheer volume of his work and never knowing where to begin. The first few books were never available in any book store and I always wondered if I would miss some vital connection if I started somewhere in the middle. One day, I just came over the whole ‘to read or not to read Pratchett’ dilemma and bought ‘A Hatful of Sky’. It is the second volume about the Nac Mac Feegles and seemed like a good place to start.
The story is about a young witch going off on her witching apprenticeship…. ok….been there read that. The highlight for me were the Nac Mac Feegles, who added the much required colour (figuratively speaking – not referring to their blue tattooed 4 inch high bodies!). Their style of speaking takes a little getting used to, and once one gets used to it, one begins to see the humour in it. Watching Rob Anybody learning to spell is a delight and now every time I look at a capital ‘P’ I think of a fat man standing and the letter ‘R’ reminds me of a fat man walking!
The story per say is not much to write home about (or blog about!). The story line of a young witch vs ancient powerful evil was nothing original. The characters also did not speak to me much (except the fairies whose antics and history I enjoyed). The two Miss Levels and the rest of the witch roundup were quite sketchy and did not create much durability in terms of characters that grow with each book.
I have heard about the magic of Pratchett, but this book didn’t deliver that for me. I would definitely be willing to try another one, especially from the ‘Discworld series’… any suggestions from anyone on which one I should begin with?
The Time Traveler’s Wife – Review (of the Book & Movie!)
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You should not pick this book if you’re looking for a racy, sci-fi, fantastical book. This book is for those laid back sorts who want to read a human story and not dwell into the science or question the construct of it all.
The story of Henry (the time traveler with a defective DNA) and his wife Clare (who meets her future 36 year old husband at the ripe age of 6) is one which grows on you as you turn each page.
At the beginning of the book, it takes a little while to grasp the complexity of the multiple space & time zones. The backward/forward movements in time and the presence of multiple Henrys’ from the past/ future and present and their criss-crossing paths takes some getting used to. Once I got used to reading the dates and checking them with the previous chapters, I liked how all the multiple threads dovetailed into each other to make a perfect narrative without any loopholes.
Yes, the book is slow and sometimes the story would just spread out before me… day after day of everyday life with very little excitement. I guess that’s what gives the reader the feeling of living a lifetime with Henry and Clare. The whole inevitability of the future was also overwhelming and made me wonder whether there is really any free will at all.
The science angle is limited with little focus on the marvels of the DNA that make time travel possible for Henry. The story focuses much on the relationship angle and very little on the varied possibilities related to time travel.
The loungy style of writing, the never ending every day stuff…. The book is definitely not a gripper, but once the reader gets connected to the characters, he/she cannot stop reading…. just to find out how their lives turn out to be.
After I finished the book, I also saw the movie. I would have found the movie quite a waste of time had I not read the book….but seeing the characters I’ve lived with over the last few weeks coming to life is enchanting. My husband’s only comments on the movie were “This is booooring” and “Poor Eric Bana (who plays Henry in this movie and also played the Hulk in the first Hulk movie)… only gets movies where he keeps losing his clothes!”