Finished up through 2.260 today, which is most of the story of Phaethon. Lots of lists. Mountains that get burned, rivers that get burned, blah blah. I get that it's cute and clever that he could fit all those names into the meter, but it didn't really do anything for me.
Luckily, the other bits, with the constellations moving out the way, and the dactyls representing the horses' speed, etc, were really good and a lot of fun.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Fourth Bear
I was feeling a bit sick this weekend, so I decided to go for something light. Fortunately, I had Jasper Fforde's The Fourth Bear on my bookshelf. I had liked The Big Overeasy, but it wasn't up to the standard of the Thursday Next books, so I was a bit hesitant on starting this book -- would it be even worse, starting a slide into dullness? It just seemed that nursery rhymes aren't enough to carry the weight of a full story.
Well, it seems that Mr. Fforde agrees -- he's started playing the game of throwing in literary references all over the place, from Dorian Gray as an evil car salesman to David Copperfield as a police lieutenant. The best praise I can give the book is the I completely forgot my stomach ailment as soon as I got two pages in. There's a real art to writing light, funny fiction, and Fforde has definitely nailed it.
Well, it seems that Mr. Fforde agrees -- he's started playing the game of throwing in literary references all over the place, from Dorian Gray as an evil car salesman to David Copperfield as a police lieutenant. The best praise I can give the book is the I completely forgot my stomach ailment as soon as I got two pages in. There's a real art to writing light, funny fiction, and Fforde has definitely nailed it.
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