June reads. A very productive month. I also read a number of short stories and tons of fables, but I'll keep my comments to whole books lest this post go on forever.
The Sanctuary Sparrow by Ellis Peters 1983
Cadfeal book seven. This one concerns a jester who seeks sanctuary in Cadfeal's monastery after being accused of robbing the local goldsmith during his son's wedding. Whereas the last book was largely an adventure story with a bit of mystery peppered in, this one returns to a traditional mystery structure centering on a specific urban location. Very enjoyable, with a good large cast of interesting characters and potential who-done-ems. I've been wondering how long Peters could keep up the magic with her wonderful profound endings and this one might be the crack in the seams. The ending was satisfying, don't get me wrong, but missing was that perfect surprising moment that has previously elevated these stories. Here rather Peter constructs a larger argument for love as the salvation to greed, and it's well-wrought and nuanced and certainly not superficial, but I won't lie and say I didn't miss the sublime punctuating moment.
"Old friend, I doubt even you could bring this criminal into the fold among the lambs. Now they've chose their way, and it's taken them far out of the reach of man's mercy. Oh, and I suppose you'll tell me that God's reach is longer than man's."
"It had better be," said Brother Cadfael very solemnly, "otherwise we're all lost."
The Dirdir by Jack Vance 1969
The third part of Vance's Tschai series of planetary romance. Earthman Adam Reith sets to construct a spaceship that will finally allow him to escape Old Tschai and return home. But doing so under the noses of the élite and savage Dirdir is neither easy or cheap. The action largely revolves around two spectacular set-pieces both involving outmaneuvering and outwitting Dirdir hunting parties in fantastically imagined contexts. Very exciting and tons of fun. I'd been trying to space these books out but this one was so enthralling and ended right before the climax (on purpose) that I immediately jumped right into the next.
"There is no reason why the project should not go easily and smoothly except for the innate perversity of circumstances."
Your Rainforest Mind by Paula Prober 2016
A high level summery on adulted giftedness. Low on information but rich in resources, and provides a useful metaphor that avoids the stigmata that comes with the word "gifted." That's valuable all on its own.
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander 1964
Surely no one needs an introduction to this. Read aloud to Alex, who had never heard of the series before. Holds up pretty good and he's eager to get to the Black Cauldron. We also found a lot of fun looking up how Disney interpreted these characters. "That's how they drew Doli?! No wonder people hated the movie!"
“Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart.”
Fables by Robert Luis Stevenson 1896
I was reading some fables on a whim this month and I became fascinated with the form. In the past few weeks I've read some 400 of the things, stretching back to antiquity up to the modern day. It's been captivating to see how different authors play with the structure and how flexible it is. For example, this short volume by Stevenson published after his death. He only wrote a small handful of fables but they are remarkably sly, often avoiding easy interpretations and growing more rich the longer one ponders them.
XII.—THE CITIZEN AND THE TRAVELLER.
“Look round you,” said the citizen. “This is the largest market in the world.”
“Oh, surely not,” said the traveller.
“Well, perhaps not the largest,” said the citizen, “but much the best.”
“You are certainly wrong there,” said the traveller. “I can tell you . . .”
They buried the stranger at the dusk.
The Pnume by Jack Vance 1970
Planet of Adventure reaches it's conclusion. Reith was just on the verge of escaping Tschai when the innate perversity of circumstances intervene. Now separated from his friends and lost in the underground labyrinth of the mysterious Pnume, Reith has seemingly lost all the ground he had gained in the previous volumes. Significant character growth and profound revelations are only hinted through Vance's typical light touch and I found myself at the end with a desire to reread with a close eye, now that I know the shape of the thing. "In a couple of years I'll come back to it," I thought. Well that resolution lasted less than a day. I found scans online of the French comic adaptation so now I've started all over, in a language I can barely read, and it rules!
“It goes to demonstrate,” said Reith, “that you can’t judge a man by the table he sets.”
Cauch asked shrewdly, “How then can a man judge his fellows? For example, what is the basis of your calculation?”
“Only one thing I know for certain,” said Reith. “First thoughts are always wrong.”
