tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post7608618093132499634..comments2023-09-22T02:24:42.144-07:00Comments on a light inside: Currently Reading: CoralineJenna St.Hilairehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16528611770211261141noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-54846238681096232092011-01-31T22:46:55.946-08:002011-01-31T22:46:55.946-08:00Mr. Pond, funny--I was thinking just earlier about...<b>Mr. Pond,</b> funny--I was thinking just earlier about the chilly and unsettled feeling being part of the intended effect of <i>Coraline</i>. I do think it's part of the success of the book. Which is why I'm not much of a horror genre fan, but again, I respect it.<br /><br />Since you confess to wanting to be Neil Gaiman, as a reader of your work I'll say that I can see the influence. You already write lovely prose, and you have a strong grasp on the ending-that-is-not-an-ending.<br /><br /><b>George,</b> I keep thinking about your comment. I appreciate questioning, and do a heck of a lot of it myself, but deconstruction exhausts me. Speaking as a writer, I just want to build something that people can stand under without getting rained on.Jenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-52637964177732398992011-01-31T12:39:30.379-08:002011-01-31T12:39:30.379-08:00I'm not opposed to asking questions & bein...I'm not opposed to asking questions & being pointed in different directions as long as there are answers to the questions & destinations at the end of the directions. However, I've found post-modernism remarkably unable to give answers or to let you know you're actually going to reach a destination, except in the most relativistic of ways. <br /><br />And deconstruction even of deconstruction is still deconstruction. What we need is subversion of post-modernism & deconstruction. I'm not sure Gaiman's gone there yet. But hey, different strokes for different folks. :)Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501327753737422337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-82044359657071388822011-01-31T03:38:17.640-08:002011-01-31T03:38:17.640-08:00"...the book left me...with a cold feeling.&q..."...the book left me...with a cold feeling."<br /><br />To which I can only say--yup. You just read <i>Coraline</i>! :P<br /><br />Gaiman does weird extremely well, and, I would argue, makes it 'redemptive' (in a non-theological sense) in a way that, say, Lovecraft never does. In that sense, I'm almost tempted to call him a sort of Miyazaki-noir. There's a similarity between the two artists, I think, but I won't try teasing that out here.<br /><br />And Gaiman is certainly postmodern, in a loose philosophical sense. As, I suppose, he should be. I'm almost tempted to call him post-postmodern, in fact, because he engages in 'deconstruction' but then deconstructs deconstruction while he's deconstructing. He forces us to ask questions, and points us in directions rather than giving us answers. He's an incredibly nuanced and understated writer.<br /><br />Full confession time: I want to be Neil Gaiman when I grow up. :)Mr Pondhttp://mrpond47.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-1272245176380516412011-01-25T17:53:51.519-08:002011-01-25T17:53:51.519-08:00George, I hope it isn't an insult, because I s...<b>George,</b> I hope it isn't an insult, because I suspect philosophical differences as the root of the unsettled feeling I have after reading a Gaiman work.<br /><br />But I will probably still read <i>The Graveyard Book</i>, and I'm tempted to go for <i>Stardust</i> as well.Jenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-6696581602712598952011-01-25T15:25:26.455-08:002011-01-25T15:25:26.455-08:00Granted, I've only read two of Gaiman's bo...Granted, I've only read two of Gaiman's books, <i>Neverwhere</i> & <i>The Graveyard Book</i>. I didn't dislike <i>Neverwhere</i>, but it still really wasn't my thing. I liked <i>The Graveyard Book</i> very much, but I haven't been inspired to read much more of Gaiman's work because there's just something about his writing that doesn't really jive with me. And this may sound like an insult, but he seems way too post-modern for my tastes.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501327753737422337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-18220827863432454792011-01-25T09:49:46.594-08:002011-01-25T09:49:46.594-08:00Ha, Mr. Pond. Well, apparently I've always pro...Ha, <b>Mr. Pond.</b> Well, apparently I've always pronounced Mr. Gaiman's name wrong.<br /><br />I know a lot of people love this book, you and Travis included, on account of which I would never intentionally suggest that the story is weak or bad. As I pointed out in my review, I do think Neil Gaiman is one of the best writers. And yes, I'll grant you that <i>Coraline</i> is qualitatively different from HP or <i>Inkheart</i> as a story.<br /><br />What I tried to express, and perhaps did not succeed as well as I wished, is that despite its many strengths, the book left me--me, personally, just one reader--with a strange cold feeling. I'm not entirely sure why, and that was the closest I've managed to come to explaining it. I'm not a horror fan in general, and no matter how otherwise perfect, stories that are simply dark will always be harder for me to love.<br /><br />No matter how brilliant the writer, there will always be readers for whom a book doesn't work. Consider it a testament to Gaiman's genius that despite being zero for two where his books are concerned, I'm still interested in reading more of them.<br /><br />But there's no way in heck I'm watching the <i>Coraline</i> movie. :PJenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-61897205946471011882011-01-25T05:35:46.694-08:002011-01-25T05:35:46.694-08:00'Coraline fights almost entirely alone, and he...'Coraline fights almost entirely alone, and her loneliness troubled me.'<br /><br />Not strictly correct, I think. (I just reread this book, btw.) There's the cat and the three other children. And there's only one antagonist to fight, albeit a powerful one. Capricorn and Voldemort have goons and thugs, so they need multiple people to fight them. The nature of their threat is tangibly different as well--it involves many people, not just an individual. So there's a qualitative difference in the type of story, I think.<br /><br />And too many wisecracking sidekicks would ruin the effect and the poignancy of Gaiman's tale. (He can do wisecracking ensemble fights, though--for which, see <i>Neverwhere</i>.)Mr Pondhttp://mrpond47.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-51707117775319480162011-01-25T05:28:17.541-08:002011-01-25T05:28:17.541-08:00I have to come at this from a different angle--I t...I have to come at this from a different angle--I think Neil Gaiman is one of the truly great writers alive today. His work is impeccable, haunting, and beautiful, and his prose has an understated elegance that has more in common with the poise of Hemingway and White than the excesses of Nabakov. <i>Coraline</i> may be the most significant work of children's literature since <i>Where the Wild Things Are</i> and <i>A Wizard of Earthsea</i>. But that's my take. :)<br /><br />Having read the book, you must now watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HD5yh8ar2I" rel="nofollow">this</a>.<br /><br />'Why would anybody be afraid...of buttons?'Mr Pondhttp://mrpond47.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-67227833152423584272011-01-23T15:14:34.288-08:002011-01-23T15:14:34.288-08:00Much as I enjoy his prose, George, in some ways I&...Much as I enjoy his prose, <b>George,</b> in some ways I'm really with you. I like his blog better than any of the stories of his that I've read. :)Jenna St. Hilairehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04474588706124865006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22927650.post-67509712862831571832011-01-21T15:03:19.776-08:002011-01-21T15:03:19.776-08:00I've got Coraline sitting on my Kindle but it ...I've got <i>Coraline</i> sitting on my Kindle but it will probably be a long time before I read it. I have to admit I haven't been terribly impressed with Gaiman & his writing & characterization.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16501327753737422337noreply@blogger.com