Ah, Dune. The classic scifi novel that paved the way for so many more scifi novels, films, and games. The planet with the giant worms eating through mountains of sand. I'd heard about it, but I'd never read it. I'd debated buying the book at some point, but there were novels by Frank Herbert and Brian Herbert and so many novels with something like 'Dune' in the title that I wasn't sure where to begin. Well, with the one that is simply called Dune, apparently. One of my friends put her copy on the 'must go' pile in a fit of Marie Kondo'ing, so I somehow lucked into actually owning the book.
Apart from the giant worms, I didn't actually know anything about the novel. The blurb told me it was something to do with dukes having a vendetta, one duke killing the other and their son plotting for revenge. This all sounded more medieval than futuristic, but then again, classics are all about the core of the human experience. And on the whole, that is basically what this novel is about. Sure, there is lots of talk of 'stillsuits' and 'lasguns' and some interplanetary travel, but on the whole, it is the story of a boy trying to revenge his fathers death.
But then with a whole universe built around it. Literally. Frank Herbert must have spend more time inventing the languages, religions, corporations, peoples, customs, all the stuff that goes into world building, than he spent actually writing this story. I was very thankful for the appendix at the back of my copy, otherwise I would have been horribly lost several times. In that way, Dune reminded me of that other classic, The Lord of the Rings (incidentally also provided with sequels and prequels by Tolkien's son based on the huge amount of notes left behind after his father's death). Maybe this is why the both became classics, because so much attention to detail went into the crafting of their worlds, their history and the people that live in them.
The story was eventful, sometimes lagging where there was a bit too much exposition on technology or background lore, but on the whole there was a nice bit of scheming going on, feints in feints in feints as one of the characters likes to think. I didn't expect such a thick political layer, maybe that's why I couldn't quite follow all of the motives and espionage, but it was a fun read nonetheless. The story did feel a bit open ended, which explains the 5 sequels Mr Herbert himself wrote, and the dozens of auxiliary stories by his son. Maybe I'll look into some of the 'official' sequels at some point.
There is a film in the making, due to come out in December, which I'm now really looking forward to. Earlier adaptations all seem to have flopped, the way that Lord of the Rings films also flopped until a mayor fan took a hand in directing the intricate story in a huge universe. I'm hoping this Dune film also gets the attention it deserves. maybe spiking a renewed interest in mid-1900s scifi. If it does, let it be noted that I was an early adopter, for once.
Tuesday 30 June 2020
Friday 5 June 2020
Spring
You finish one novel in five weeks, you finish the next in five days. Spring, by Ali Smith. The next installment in her series, after Autumn and Winter (which I apparently didn't blog about).
I really loved this novel, as I did with all her novels so far. It is contemporary, filled with meaningful events and stories, told by characters taking unexpected turns. It follows Richard, mourning the death of his friend, and Brittany, who encounters a lonely schoolgirl on a train platform and can't help but be drawn to her. The story unfolds, not in the way I was expecting it to, but then again Ali Smith so far has always surprised me plot wise.
Her writing style, her language... I've said it before, it's flowing from the page, there is just no way you can stop reading, unless your head gets filled with too much information (about Brexit, about refugees, about the English repressing the Scots and the Irish, about more current events than you would ever expect in such a novel).
Apparently, the whole seasonal quartet (Summer is still to come) are somehow connected. I haven't been able to find the connection yet, and I refuse to go look for it online until I find the final novel. It's probably something pretty obvious, staring me right in the face, but getting drowned in everything else I find in her novels. Which means I'll have to reread them, at some point in the future. Which is a very good thing indeed.
I really loved this novel, as I did with all her novels so far. It is contemporary, filled with meaningful events and stories, told by characters taking unexpected turns. It follows Richard, mourning the death of his friend, and Brittany, who encounters a lonely schoolgirl on a train platform and can't help but be drawn to her. The story unfolds, not in the way I was expecting it to, but then again Ali Smith so far has always surprised me plot wise.
Her writing style, her language... I've said it before, it's flowing from the page, there is just no way you can stop reading, unless your head gets filled with too much information (about Brexit, about refugees, about the English repressing the Scots and the Irish, about more current events than you would ever expect in such a novel).
Apparently, the whole seasonal quartet (Summer is still to come) are somehow connected. I haven't been able to find the connection yet, and I refuse to go look for it online until I find the final novel. It's probably something pretty obvious, staring me right in the face, but getting drowned in everything else I find in her novels. Which means I'll have to reread them, at some point in the future. Which is a very good thing indeed.
Monday 1 June 2020
The Count of Monte Christo
It had been a really long time since I read a classical novel. This while I do actually buy them and populate my bookcases with them. But somehow I never get around to reading them, probably because they are so heavy and must therefore take so long to read. I mentioned this to a friend, who told me she'd read The Count of Monte Christo, 1200+ pages, in two days. Two? Well yes, this was during a teenage summer when she had nothing else to do, but still, it was a pretty fast read to get through.
So I decided to give it a try. As usual, I was not hampered by any knowledge of plot, theme or characters, apart from that mentioned in the blurb. Man is falsely accused of being a spy and thrown into jail by three others who are jealous of his good fortune in love and work. Man gets out of prison years later and plots his revenge on the men who ruined his life. Just two sentences, but they basically sum up the entire novel. As with all of those classical novels I've read, the main story is simplicity itself. It is the way the story is told, the nuances, the characters, that make it come to life.
Needless to say, I read this story in an English translation, where Dumas originally wrote it in French. I read it in the shape of a novel, while it was originally published as a serial. Not knowing the original, I still enjoyed it a lot. Maybe not the way the original French readers did, knowledgeable of French customs and society, who got all the subtext. But the nuances of the revenge, the clever way in which the count slowly unravels the lives of the three men that undid his are a delight to read. There are some mistakes, some plot holes, some inconsistencies, but we can overlook those. This is a story of revenge, best eaten very, very cold, and it is universal as every proper classic novel is.
I did not read it in two days, but it took me a little more than a month. Compared to the number of pages I usually read in a month, that is surprisingly fast. I enjoyed the 'adventure story' parts on the islands and in Italy better than the 'social novel' parts in upper class Paris, so my reading speed depended on that too. But all in all it is a delight to read, and certainly a novel to read again at a later date, to enjoy the intricate plot even better.
When I put Dumas back in the bookcase, I found him next to Dickens and Dostoyevsky. Although my interest in nineteenth century literature has been reawakened, I'll focus on some contemporary literature first. But my classic vacation probably won't last this long next time around.
So I decided to give it a try. As usual, I was not hampered by any knowledge of plot, theme or characters, apart from that mentioned in the blurb. Man is falsely accused of being a spy and thrown into jail by three others who are jealous of his good fortune in love and work. Man gets out of prison years later and plots his revenge on the men who ruined his life. Just two sentences, but they basically sum up the entire novel. As with all of those classical novels I've read, the main story is simplicity itself. It is the way the story is told, the nuances, the characters, that make it come to life.
Needless to say, I read this story in an English translation, where Dumas originally wrote it in French. I read it in the shape of a novel, while it was originally published as a serial. Not knowing the original, I still enjoyed it a lot. Maybe not the way the original French readers did, knowledgeable of French customs and society, who got all the subtext. But the nuances of the revenge, the clever way in which the count slowly unravels the lives of the three men that undid his are a delight to read. There are some mistakes, some plot holes, some inconsistencies, but we can overlook those. This is a story of revenge, best eaten very, very cold, and it is universal as every proper classic novel is.
I did not read it in two days, but it took me a little more than a month. Compared to the number of pages I usually read in a month, that is surprisingly fast. I enjoyed the 'adventure story' parts on the islands and in Italy better than the 'social novel' parts in upper class Paris, so my reading speed depended on that too. But all in all it is a delight to read, and certainly a novel to read again at a later date, to enjoy the intricate plot even better.
When I put Dumas back in the bookcase, I found him next to Dickens and Dostoyevsky. Although my interest in nineteenth century literature has been reawakened, I'll focus on some contemporary literature first. But my classic vacation probably won't last this long next time around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)