CBR III Week 9: A Feast for Crows by George R R Martin

Since I've already reviewed the Song of Ice and Fire books that preceded this one, I'm not going to rehash all the things I said about the series in general. Instead I'm going to ponder whether it was a mistake to release this book or not. A Feast for Crows is, qualitatively, on par with Martin's other writing, but it's gotten some very middling reviews, because it only follows some of the characters we've grown to know and love (if memory serves, they are: Cersei, Jaime, Brienne of Tarth, Sansa, Arya, some Greyjoys, some Martells, and Samwell). Basically, Martin's manuscript got too long for publication and so it got split up into two volumes, by geography, A Feast for Crows being the first. This would've made sense if the two volumes had actually been published together, or within a year of each other, but instead, Martin took the second of these two volumes and expanded it (?) into a whole new fifth volume bla bla bla, which he's still working on. 

I suppose it made commercial sense to do this, since Martin is a relatively slow writer (not that there's anything wrong with that), and Feast is a nice sop to fans. In the end though, it feels like exactly that: a half-baked attempt to maintain reader loyalty that doesn't necessarily make sense in terms of telling the story. Where is Tyrion, guys? Tyrion is like 95% of the reason I'm reading these books. In addition to the cranky-making absence of a dwarf, the format sacrifices a lot of the dramatic irony that makes the series so delightful. If you happen to be making your way through the series, I would advise you to stop at A Storm of Swords, and wait for the next book in the series to come out before reading Feast.

Of the published volumes, I think the first and third are the most effective because they each contain events that are major game changers. They read like Greek plays: their tragedies are on that scale. A Feast for Crows doesn't do much more than build up momentum. 

Can I get a slow clap for the Arya storyline, though? She gets more emotionally complex with every chapter. Martin has made her transition into adulthood painful and fascinating, and I love that there's this potential that she'll grow up to be somewhat of a monster (like "sociopath", not like "Godzilla"). Talk about high stakes.

200 Word Book Review: John le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

 

For the longest time, le Carre has been on my reading list. Why? Rachel Weisz. People, since way back when I watched The Mummy in 10^th grade (please stop laughing at me), I have had a girl-crush on Rachel Weisz. She was so good in The Constant Gardener! John le Carre wrote that.

Anyway, I’m so glad this wasn't like the time I tried to read Robert Ludlum (of The Bourne Disappointment) after loving the movies. This book is a classic of old-school spy fiction, and it’s reminded me of how much I enjoy that whole genre. I went through a short phase during which I read a bunch of Graham Greene and Eric Ambler books. I really don’t know why I stopped.

Spy is an exceptional book because, and I hope I’m not giving too much away (BUT IF YOU’RE CONCERNED TURN AWAY), it’s totally un-triumphant, even beyond the cynicism you tend to find in other spy novels. Le Carre is writing about corrupt cold-war intelligence bureaucracies that uphold ideologies that are, on both sides, hollow and brutal. What effect does living a life molded by the demands and constraints of service to those bureaucracies have on a man? What is the role and what are the limits of redemption in such a compromised life? This book is haunted by ambiguity: towards heroism, towards patriotism, even towards love. It may be a short book, but it’s definitely not a light read. Oh, and obviously: it's really, really twisty and exciting.

200-Word Book Review: Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time

 

Yes. I am reading an enormous, déclassé fantasy series. These books are probably, on average, 700 pages long, and there’s fourteen of them, and when I first noticed I thought ‘Whatever, I read A Suitable Boy. I read Tolstoy. I can handle this nonsense.’ I was wrong, because I’m on book five now, and I’m exhausted.

The good: A fully realized world very much in the spirit of Lord of the Rings, so it’s perfect if you’re looking to relive your childhood. You should probably not attempt to relive your childhood.

The bad: I’ve read about 3000 pages and one measly year has passed in the story. The characters are flat. SO flat. And dense to the point of stupidity. That’s ok for the first book, but by book four, you wonder why these people can’t seem to have more than about five different thoughts, which are:

-“Is Rand going mad?”

-“Light, no! [description of something already described 57 times before in the exact same words]”

-“Who understands women/men?”

-“I will keep this vital fact a secret from everyone, thereby extending the plot by a completely unnecessary 300 pages.”

-“I am tired.”

Me too, guys! Me. Too.

200 Word Review: Tony Horwitz’s A Voyage Long and Strange

 
 

The good: I’m glad Horwitz took this trip for me, because boy was it unpleasant. I learned all kinds of things about 16^th century America, though! I immediately forgot them all, as one does. Oh, except:

Syphilis! Did you know it came from America?

Horwitz is a sharp, funny observer, with a great ear for irony and idiosyncratic voices.

The bad: Let me start by saying that I wanted to read “Confederates in the Attic”, but it’s not available on Kindle. This book was a good refresher on some of the stuff I’ve been studying for my novel, but it’s not very detailed. The book could easily have been twice as long (and twice as alienating to normal people). It’s not a history of stuff that was happening on the American continent between 1492 and 1620; it’s a history of the Europeans in America during that time. I guess that’s pretty much what’s promised on the book jacket though? Also Horwitz is easily depressed by pretty much everything that isn’t air-conditioned (but, like most people, he’s funnier that way).

200 Word Review: Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Blue Flower

 

The good: This book made me want to move to 18^th century Germany and contract consumption, because it was that good. The writing was some of the most crisp and refreshing I can remember reading. That’s right: The Blue Flower is the cucumber of books. It’s a perfect summer read. Also, on one level, it’s about romantic love, and People Like That.

The bad: It ends.

Well…fine, it’s not really a book for people who enjoy heavy plotting, or consistent point-of-view, or who dislike a little high-brow, old-fashioned philosophizing about the nature of reality. But it’s only a little bit!