Monday, August 29, 2005

 

Jacklyn's turn to suggest books!

I started reading Happiness, which is on Lynx's list. This is going to be GOOD. As for mine:
  1. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. Yes, the one who created Narnia and was equally well known for his religious writing. This is something completely different. Oural, the Queen of Glome, is writing her memoirs as an accusation against the gods for taking her beloved youngest sister away from her. This is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche done in a way that had me reconsidering how I viewed a lot of truths in life.
  2. The King Must Die by Mary Renault. This is another retelling of a popular myth, this time the story of Theseus. In this, case, however, the gods are absent. This allows the characters to follow their individual practices and customs without Poseidon himself coming down to straighten things out. What a masterpiece!
  3. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson. This is a much lighter, sillier suggestion than my previous two, so pick this one up if you need a break. The characters still ponder the fate of humanity and the conservation of pain and joy, but it's done in a bar somewhere on Long Island. This is the start of a series, but this collection of "reality with a twist" short stories stands on its own.
  4. Perfume by Patrick Suskind. There are rumors that this book will make the leap to film, but I cannot imagine it being done. The narrative focuses so distinctly on scent that only the page does it the best justice. From the beginning, you know that you are about to enter the mind of a serial killer, but the rest unfolds in a completely original manner.
  5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Yes, this book was the one everyone read a year or so ago. It was so popular because it's so beautifully written that I was drawn in by the first page. Many of the places mentioned in the novel are around my hometown, so it was even more chilling to read this story from the point of view of a murder victim as she watches life go on without her.
Enjoy! What does everyone else have to offer?

Comments:
You've got good taste in books, lady! I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones--just didn't mention it because everybody else had already:). I do want to borrow Till We Have Faces--sounds quite promising!
 
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