Where Beowulf Gets a MG Makeover

Beowulf: Dragon Slayer by Rosemary Sutcliff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Rosemary Sutcliff is known for her historical novels and retellings aimed mostly at young readers (we would probably call most of them MG, but you could argue YA for them, too). And she was very successful at this. Here is the retelling of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, and I thought it was excellent. Not perfect, IMO, but definitely well done and very entertaining.

This is still a slim book--she hasn't made Beowulf into a long novel. More like a novelette, actually, and with the fine drawings it reads very fast. She has embellished the story somewhat, adding sensory details and some exposition that wasn't in the original, and I love it all. The land around Heorot seems like a place people live instead of a fairytale village. The hall itself is finally kind of visible to me. The battle with Grendel seems more plausible and real. And there are a lot of such details, none of which do damage (as always, IMO) to the original story.

She has removed a couple of digressions, and I think that's wise. They don't really work for a modern audience, especially young readers, and they only slow down the narrative. Otherwise, the whole story is here. The only thing I felt it lacked was a bit more added in; every ounce of world-building she includes improves the story, and I feel there was room for about twice as much as she did. In fact, the story rolls along almost too fast (here and in the original) and could have used a little more breathing space. It could have been 20% or 30% longer without doing the pacing any harm at all.

But what she did really works. The language is still stately and feels old fashioned, but it's nicely comprehensible for average to good readers of a young age. I found it entertaining as an old man who already knows the story, so I'm pretty sure this would work with a lot of kids.

Of course, the only reason I even know of this 1962 book is because it was put on the discard rack at the school where I taught and I picked it up. I think most of the other copies of this book have met a similar fate. Like so many books, I suspect a new edition with a modern cover could be successful again, but there's little chance of that.

Alas.

Recommended for MG (especially) or YA readers who like historical adventures with a touch of supernatural. Or for readers of any age, honestly. I liked it.

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Who Doesn't Love a Monstrous Gentlewoman?

European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book 2 in the series. Still good fun. Both are recommended.

New characters are added in this sequel. In addition to the daughters of Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde), the wife of Frankenstein, and the others from the first book, we mostly have characters from the story of Dracula--Mina Harker, Dr. Van Helsing, his wife and daughter, and a few others--along with characters from other 19th Century British adventure literature. It's a lot of fun to see them come together as if they are all real people.

The story is a sort of mix between a novel of manners, a Sherlock mystery, and an early-type science fiction adventure, with a touch of the comic tossed in with a good dose of feminism. It's fun and works, though I'll admit it slowed down a bit in this volume. One of my favorite aspects of both stories is the way the author has the characters interrupt from time to time, disagreeing with the presentation of events or how they're portrayed by the supposed author, Catherine Moreau. It is clever and funny and a good tool for developing character.

Speaking more generally, I also really enjoy the reuse and recycling of old gothic tales and adventure stories, bringing them back to life, Frankenstein-like, by centering minor female characters or little-read heroes. It feels like a look behind the curtain as well as a nice antidote to the male-centered originals. It's a breath of fresh air--and lots of fun.

I'm looking forward to the third book.

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Where the Sidekick Steals the Show

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Okay, yes, I'm an easy touch when it comes to Sherlock Holmes stories. I like just about every incarnation. Hard for me not to pick up a new take on it. So I'm already leaning toward ranting about this book before I've even read it.

Read it--loved it--a couple quibbles--nah, loved it.

This is one of those blue-skies approaches to world-building in the sense that anything is possible here, and that is both a strength and weakness. The amount of crazy inventiveness in this novel is staggering, amazing, entertaining, and a little off-putting but ultimately super fun. The kaleidoscope of possibility was entertaining until somewhere near the end when it veered (for me) so far from reality toward the cartoonish that I couldn't connect with it very well (I mean, seriously, the setting is nuts), but then it pulled back and made sense to me once more. Still, even with that speed bump, it was enough fun overall and at the end that I couldn't give it less than all the stars.

This was also funnier than many supposedly funny books I've read lately. The sort-of Watson character (John Wyndham) is very proper and polite, and his narration of the story, filled as it is with improper behavior and language, is awkward and hilarious. (Reporting their client's statement: "Forgive the informality of my appearance,' she said with a sigh, 'but I appear to be utterly ruined.' She did not say 'ruined.'") I also enjoyed Shaharazad Haas, the sort-of Sherlock character, who is incorrigibly out of control and badly behaved but touchingly loyal to John no matter how much she disapproves of him and mocks him.

The Victorian-era language and tone is handled well here, consistent from beginning to end, and is another source of humor. John's narration is dry to the point of dead-pan, which works well: "Over the entire course of our acquaintance I can recall two and a half occasions on which Ms. Haas allowed another person to have the last word in an argument. This was not one of them and I conceded the point as gracefully as I was able."

The plot is strange but makes sense and is internally consistent, and the action does not flag at any point. This is an excellent book for short attention spans... in a good way...

So, lots of fun. Recommended for those who can mix their Sherlock with sorcery and humor. Works for me.

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Your Assigned Reading for Next Class--Dr. Jekyll

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really like Robert Louis Stevenson (I read and loved Treasure Island and Kidnapped--and was almost surprised to discover how much I enjoyed them). I'm also interested in the original story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and found a nice version at the bookstore.

But it wasn't that great to read.

Yes, it's worth it. Especially because it's not that long--a novella at best. Interesting to see the original. But there is virtually no suspense, no action or plot.

The story is told kinda like H.P. Lovecraft stories, where the whole point of the story is to relate some element of strangeness, some amazing truth, and the way it comes to the reader is as someone's recollection after the fact. (Dr. Jekyll includes several forms of this, including the main character's long letter at the end retelling everything we already kind of knew.) It removes all narrative tension, IMO, making it blasé reading.

I repeat--I genuinely like the author. I was surprised when I found myself enjoying his adventure novels exactly as if I were his target audience, never mind how many years or generations separated me from them. But Dr. Jekyll is a different sort of read.

Still worth it, IMO. You could read it all at once, probably, or read it like I did--fifteen minutes or so at a time, in 4 or 5 bites. (Less time, probably, for many readers.) I still find it a pleasure to experience firsthand stories like this that have long since penetrated popular culture and left their mark.

For that purpose, I recommend it. For pleasure reading, for genuine fun, I point you toward his adventure novels.

I mean, if you like fun things. :)

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Maggie Hoskie, Diné Monster Hunter, Is the Coolest

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a fast-moving, exciting novel, and it points to a fun series. I'm glad to give it all the stars.

The best thing, even more than the action, is the main character, Maggie. She is a damaged hero, a bristling mess with skills and a heart, someone to turn to when you have trouble even though she mostly wants to be left alone. The author invests her with genuine emotion and a deep humanity that transcends the fantasy elements of the novel, and I like the fantasy elements. It's impossible not to love Maggie in a reader-crush kind of way, overlooking her spikiness and self-destructive side, rooting for her as if she were a real person.

(The last character I felt that way about, that I had such a strong sympathetic reaction to, was Elphaba, in the novel version of Wicked. Very different characters--I'm not sure what connects them in my head. Imma sit and think about that.)

The setting, a post-apocalyptic Navajo nation--Dinétah--which combines traditional elements of Diné life with the consequences of a future broken world, works well; the economy and technology and social order all feel possible, even realistic. The introduction of mythical creatures and gods in this world works, too, fitting the tone and sensibility of the rest of the novel. I like the way that nothing is idealized, and nothing is wholly scorned, neither people nor traditions nor physical culture, which makes everything feel raw and alive and real and immersive.

Upon finishing, I'm left with a few "Wait--what?" questions, and I'm not sure if that was intentional or if I missed something. Could well be the latter. But I'm eager for the second book to see if I'm up to speed and to find out how Maggie fares after this.

A fresh setting, sympathetic characters (Kai is interesting, too, and Tah, and Grace), fun action, scary monsters--it makes a terrific novel. I recommend it for all fantasy readers, from YA-types up to retired old English teachers (for example), but it will be especially welcome for those looking for #ownvoices writing with a sharp perspective. You will be rewarded by a visit to this world.

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