Fairy tales and fantasies are as old as the world. This is an easy thing to forget.  It is easy to see only the stories we tell today – fresh and shiny – and then assume that they came from nowhere, that they have no ancestors, and no narrative parents whatsoever.  But today’s fantasies are built on a rich imaginative heritage, a global heritage.  As long as there has been language, there have been stories.  And as far back as we can trace, those stories have been about dragons and magic and sacrifices, fools and wise men and wizards, fate and luck and love.  What we call realism in storytelling is a relatively new concept.  It is the sapling in the wood surrounded by towering moss-covered giants as old as history, giants grown up out of myths and legends.  Fantasy.

Children’s Literature review:

This is a reissue of the book that originally was published in 1987. It is a version of the beloved tale of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Once again, children become acquainted with the charming little girl who always wears the red cap that was given to her by her grandmother. One day while on her way to visit her ailing grandmother, she meets the sly and cunning wolf in the forest. He persuades her to wander off the path and gather some flowers for her grandmother, while he rushes to grandmother’s house and gobbles her up. He then pretends to be grandmother and also devours Little Red Cap. Of course, the brave and clever hunter saves both the old lady and Little Red Cap. Zwerger’s beautiful illustrations are an ideal accompaniment to the text as they portray the characters (especially the wolf) with depth and emotion. All libraries should add this to their fairy tale collection.

Unlike some of the other volumes I have covered, this one is perfect for reading out loud. The pages alternate between text – without any unique fonts – and illustrations.  Zwerger offers her reliably evocative and playful illustrations that compliment this classic so well.

As noted above, the wolf  is particularly charming with a variety of facial expressions to match his deviousness as he tricks the innocent, and naive, Red Cap.

Sometimes Zwerger’s illustrations are more abstract and mysterious – symbolic and thought-provoking. In this case the illustrations are more closely tied to the story. But they are still subtle and soft – they don’t overwhelm the text but set the mood and give a glimpse of the characters. There is still white space and room for imagination.

I will confess that in reading the story I was struck by the implausibility of the hunter cutting open the wolf and pulling out both grandma and Red.  But these tales are not realism after all …

If you love the classic tales of Brothers Grimm and are looking for an edition to read out loud this would be a great choice.  While many of Zwerger’s books seems more like coffee table art books this one is great for young and old; to read to yourself our out loud

Here is Kirkus:

McCaughrean turns in a robust, exciting rendition of the world’s oldest written epic. After many astounding feats, proud, powerful king Gilgamesh sees his beloved sidekick Enkidu die, and becomes terrified of doing the same. Abandoning self-respect, he searches the world for the secret of immortality, crosses the Waters of Death to hear the tale of undying Utnapisthim (better knows as Noah), and at last returns home, to make wiser bids for immortality by telling his tale, and raising children. Thanks to the former, as McCaughrean points out, he’s better known today than Ishtar, Enlil, or any of the other “immortal” gods he fought and worshiped. Enhanced by Parkins’s expressionistic tableaus of gnarled, dramatically posed figures, she relates his adventures with gusto-”Gilgamesh calmly strung his bow. ‘Don’t launch the funeral barge yet. What can go wrong with the two of us side by side?’ ‘Do you really want me to tell you?’ said Enkidu”-while vividly capturing his pride, soul-deep anguish, and the personal cost of his hard-won wisdom. The most riveting retelling yet of this ancient, ageless tale.

This is a perfect example of why I find these young adult illustrated readers a great way to explore myths and the power of story. You get a great story with powerful and evocative language, wonderful illustrations and an accessible introduction to a timeless tale. What’s not to like?

What is remarkable is how McCaughrean manages to convey the power and deep emotion of this elemental story and yet keep it in a “family friendly” style. The temptation of Enkidu communicates the nature of desire and the way it changes Enkidu mentally and physically but leaves the actual sex off-stage so to speak.  In the same way the violence and emotions are handled very well. The anguish of Gilgamesh at Enkidu’s death is palpable but none of the scenes are too violent or disturbing for younger readers.

Readers also get an introduction to the stories that informed Mesopotamian cosmology and myth and eventually the Bible; the creation of man, the flood, etc.  Thus the book provides not only literary entertainment – a great story – but also a better understanding of culture and the role of myth.  Readers get a sense of the unchanging role of human nature; can see how elements of this ancient story are issues we can relate to and can even speak to us today.

So if you have ever wondered about this most ancient of stories, or if this is the first time you have heard about it, I highly recommend you check out this book. A great introduction to this particular myth and to the role of stories – for readers young and old.

Here is the publishers description:

From Old Testament proverbs to modern phrases like “the best things in life are free,” An Apple a Day takes a fun look at expressions that “have stood the test of time.” Read through from start to finish or search through the list of hundreds of the most common proverbs, arranged from A to Z for easy reference. You’ll learn about each proverb’s surprising origins, why some are valid and others are not, the derivation and meanings behind them, and their relevance in today’s society.

My take? This is another fun addition to this series from Readers Digest. It happens to be more entertainment that reference material however. Sure, Taggart often gives insight and information into the sources and development of the proverbs, phrases and aphorisms listed but more often she offers her own commentary and witticisms. You get  a sense of the development of proverbs and how the culture and time influence both the wording and the perspective.  Rather than a technical resource this feels like a miscellany type meditation on the subject.

But nevertheless it is an interesting tour through some of the more famous proverbs and how we might use, understand and discuss them today. You come away with a sense of the role these types of phrases play in out language and conversations. Wordsmiths and literature lovers would enjoy this one.

Image via Wikipedia

There are many among the #yasaves crowd who are cheering on Sherman Alexie’s response to the Meghan Cox Gurdon brouhaha. And for good reason: 1) he is a popular author in the genre/age group and 2) he shares their world view.

There is only one small problem. He, like so many, miss the perspective and larger point of the original piece. Authors, readers and booksellers have jumped to the defense of dark YA works on largely two grounds 1) dark material is a sort of therapy for abused, neglected, abandoned or otherwise struggling teens (teens going through the very ugly things portrayed in the books) 2) any kind of attempt to keep teens – even “healthy” or “normal” ones – from reading whatever they want is bound to fail and is bad for them.

In many ways I completely understand the reaction to much of this. If you write, read or sell these type of books you likely enjoy the prominence they have achieved and you very much want the genre/age to be taken seriously as important and as literature. Any attempt to criticize or undercut the popularity is seen as a threat. I get that.

But Gurdon was not trying to attack young adult literature or even call for an end to dark subjects. She has reviewed positively many books in this category.  She was rather bemoaning what seemed to her the dominance of dark subjects and the escalating nature of the content. There is an important different between saying we don’t need dark or adult subjects and saying the content has gone too far in that direction at the expense of other perspectives.

But the most important thing about the article is that it was written about the perspective of parents and their concern for their kids.  This is a very different perspective than that of the author, reader, or bookseller. Parents have a very different job and role.

More below.

Alexie ignores this aspect/perspective and focuses almost exclusively on his perspective as a young person and as an author. It should also be pointed out that almost the entire article is anecdotal. He swears a gazillion people talk him every day about how he saved their life and he can relate because he had a very difficult childhood.

Snark aside, I don’t mean to offer anything but sympathy for anyone who has lived with and through the tramaus being discussed. Although my life has been touched by drug and alcohol abuse, by any fair standard I have lived a charmed life.

And that is one of the points. Does Alexie really think that anything close to a majority of readers of these books are the desperate teens he describes? As if the real point of teen books is therapy and self-help for damaged kids. Surly, middle and upper class kids and their parents buy a lot more books than the folks being trotted out as the people most damaged by Gurdon’s careless article.

And again, if we are thinking as parents (I happen to be one although my kids are not teens) the focus is not necessarily on therapy but on a healthy and well rounded child. And further, you can be comfortable with an element of dark and troubling subjects without wishing for a wall full of such books. It is about balance.

Gurdon argued that the balance was tilted toward darkness in the name of therapy and free speech when it might not be in the best interest of young people. She wanted to say that as a parent it was alright to worry about this and critiqued the publishing world for having no sympathy because they saw every challenge of complaint as censorship.

Speaking of that loaded term, Alexie is not just about helping kids, but about ideology as well. This paragraph gives it away:

When some cultural critics fret about the “ever-more-appalling” YA books, they aren’t trying to protect African-American teens forced to walk through metal detectors on their way into school. Or Mexican-American teens enduring the culturally schizophrenic life of being American citizens and the children of illegal immigrants. Or Native American teens growing up on Third World reservations. Or poor white kids trying to survive the meth-hazed trailer parks. They aren’t trying to protect the poor from poverty. Or victims from rapists.

No, they are simply trying to protect their privileged notions of what literature is and should be. They are trying to protect privileged children. Or the seemingly privileged.

This is not only a naked political rant it is a pretty unfounded one as well. Would Alexie like to speak with Christian missionaries across the world who minister to the most desperate among us? I bet some of them have different ideas about what is appropriate to read and at what age that has nothing to do with “priveledges notions of literature” and everything to do with what is good for their kids. There are plenty of people who care about their community and about the less fortunate who don’t share the mindset or worldview of Alexie.

But see in Alexie’s world the liberal view of literature and culture and everything else is the caring and moral view while the rich white man – or women in this case – is trying to stick it to the underclass every chance he gets.”Literature is for my class not the plebeians focused on the ugliness of their squalid lives.” Come on, really?

And this is what in the end gets me about this whole episode. The complete inability for so many folks to see things from a different perspective. To disagree maybe but have a sense of where the other side is coming from. I thought this was an aspect of liberalism? Where is the tolerance and understanding? Where is the appeal to common values?

I see little evidence of it. Almost everything I read is an attack on Gurdon as wrong, ignorant, uncaring and dangerous – and bad at her job too.

And the funny thing is that most of it is only convincing if you already agree with it. This is not surprising given the nature of humans and the tendency of the internet but it is a little disappointing I admit.

Alexie fans gush at his essay but it is not particularly powerful unless you already believe that kids have to have access to this literature to survive. All he does is offer himself and his readers as an example (and throws in the little political jab too).

As I have said before, the plural of anecdote is not data. Everyone and their brother can swear up and down these books help kids but it doesn’t make it true or universally true across time, place or individuals; nor does it attempt to balance those it helps with those it might hurt. It simply declares that #yasaves and that any attempt to disagree is to harm teens.

Sorry, I don’t buy it. You can think that there is a danger of YA books – or any other aspect of culture – becoming the domain of darkness, violence and perversity – in the name of therapy or art or simply entertainment – without hating the genre or wishing harm on kids.

Related articles

• Wall Street Journal attacks young adult literature; book burnings to follow (collectedmiscellany.com)

The culprit was Meghan Cox Gurdon’s posing of this question:

Contemporary fiction for teens is rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?

The result was a flood of vitriol, hash tags and quite a bit of rather ridiculous posturing in my humble opinion.

I read the article a number of times and I just don’t see it as the all out attack on young adult literature many make it out to be. To me it instead read as a complaint that yet another area of our lives seems to be becoming dominated by the dark side of life; and that maybe we should rethink this direction. There are caveats and acknowledgments that the issue is complex throughout but it is clearly written from the point of view of parents not an art critic.

To me the fundamental issue at the heart of this little internet controversy lies instead in the inability of many fans of contemporary young adult fiction to understand that there is a whole world out there that does not share their ideology or worldview when it comes to art, literature or raising children.

Sure, I think many in the YA community (reviews and authors) are overly sensitive and thus over reacted to what was really a rather standard response to popular culture. To be fair, I read YA fiction and can be sensitive about it myself but I don’t come from that world nor do I indentify with it strongly. There is a feeling that the genre or label has come of age in a sense and attacks on it in any form are attempts to snuff it out just when it has achieved something good.

But this article was not an attack on young adult literature or fiction for teens as a whole. Articles of this length are by nature made up of large generalities and Gurdon was simply asking whether it was a good thing that the hottest books for teens seem to be getting darker and darker; full of violence, language and sexuality that would have shocked previous generations.

Surely, this is not a shocking thing or a new complaint.  Are people unaware that this sort of thing disturbs parents; always has and always will?  It can’t possibly shock you that some parents are doubtful of the value of their kids reading about rape, incest and murder on a regular basis. Put aside whether you agree with it or not, why the anger and vitriol at what is a rather common belief and argument?

I think it is because it goes to the heart of the liberal view of art. More below.Here is the key section from the article:

But whether it’s language that parents want their children reading is another question. Alas, literary culture is not sympathetic to adults who object either to the words or storylines in young-adult books. In a letter excerpted by the industry magazine, the Horn Book, several years ago, an editor bemoaned the need, in order to get the book into schools, to strip expletives from Chris Lynch’s 2005 novel, “Inexcusable,” which revolves around a thuggish jock and the rape he commits. “I don’t, as a rule, like to do this on young adult books,” the editor grumbled, “I don’t want to compromise on how kids really talk. I don’t want to acknowledge those f—ing gatekeepers.”

By f—ing gatekeepers (the letter-writing editor spelled it out), she meant those who think it’s appropriate to guide what young people read. In the book trade, this is known as “banning.” In the parenting trade, however, we call this “judgment” or “taste.” It is a dereliction of duty not to make distinctions in every other aspect of a young person’s life between more and less desirable options. Yet let a gatekeeper object to a book and the industry pulls up its petticoats and shrieks “censorship!”

It is of course understood to be an act of literary heroism to stand against any constraints, no matter the age of one’s readers; Ms. Myracle’s editor told Publishers Weekly that the author “has been on the front lines in the fight for freedom of expression.”

This is at the heart of the disagreement. There is a viewpoint that any attempts to stifle or disapprove of books by subject matter is de facto censorship and one step from book burning. That art is sacred somehow and that any criticisms are a giant step towards a very slippery slope.

One blog reaction highlights this in her reaction [emphasis in original]:

Articles like the WSJ one don’t just attack YA literature: they also attack the intelligence of young adults and YA readers, the act of reading, and the very institution of education and learning itself. The article is an attack on progress above all.

Get that? If you suggest that contemporary literature for young adults is too dark and violent to the point of desensitization it is an attack on reading, education and progress itself.

Um, no, it is not. The irony is the post bemoans the lack of discourse and the insistence on a black and white world – only to draw very black and white lines about the author she disagrees with. The world is apparently full of gray except for this article which is an attack on all that is decent and human.

The liberal view of art is that you can’t criticize art that pushes the boundaries because that is what art does. It is a trope that has become conventional wisdom: all art is attacked as dangerous and bad and then eventually becomes accepted as worthwhile or even great. Oh and any attempts to avoid focusing of the most brutal aspects of reality is prudish repression that is stupid and unhealthy.

This is the same thing. If you want to complain about dark ya fiction you are undermining all young adult fiction. Another author offered a profanity laden post to this effect. He refuses to justify his art. Fine, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree it is art or agree that it is age appropriate art, etc. (And by the way, if you want to counter the argument that contemporary literature is unduly coarsening our culture perhaps the angry F bombs are not the way to go. That author might write great books but that post made me think he was angry, vulgar and rather egotistical. )

Heck, I even read tweets to the effect that kids should be allowed to read whatever they want – that nothing should be off limits. Many seem unable to see that lots of people just don’t share this perspective. There are lots and lots of parents who are sensitive to the emotional and intellectual development of their children and would prefer to guide their reading and steer them away from things they think are unhelpful or potentially harmful.

And to counter this the twitterverse comes up with #yasaves – testimonials to the fact that dark and subversive ya fiction sustains and saves adolescents across the land. Forgetting for a moment that the plural of anecdote is not data, this does not take away the point of the article: that parents have every right to be worried about what their kids are reading and to make decisions about what they think is best for them. This is not censorship nor a threat to free expression but what good parents do. Dark books are not inherently moral nor are taboo subjects naturally part of maturity. There are good and bad, useful and detrimental, fine for some ages and not necessarily good for others.

Sure, lots of parents draw the lines very differently based on the way they see the world and on their child’s emotional and intellectual development (one would hope). But to say that there should be no lines is silly and flies in the face of reality (and of the nature of parenthood).

If you don’t believe me, suggest a nakedly racist book and see how the free expression folks react.

What I found interesting about this whole scandal was the seeming inability of some people to disagree without engaging in hyperbole and near hyperventilation. Take a deep breath, take a step back and gain some perspective. Whether you agree with the author or not, this is not an existential threat to the publication of young adult books dark or not. Bookstores are not going to start pulling books because of one article in the Wall Street Journal.

Many love to talk about tolerance and discussion but someone writes an article they disagree with on a subject near and dear to their heart and they react as if civilization itself is at risk (social media over-reaction, weird I know).

Gurdon’s critics complain that she is unaware of the reality teens face today, but I think it is just as likely that they are unwilling or in capable of understanding that large swaths of the population see the world differently that they do.

Reality is a two way street after all.

His relationship with her borders on kinship, and he admires and admonishes her as he would a family member, with whom he shares a bond both genetic and cultural.

When asked to choose a specific piece of writing that’s had a significant impact on him, Tom chose O’Connor’s short story Good Country People, but then he threw in two others — Everything that Rises Must Converge and Revelation. As Tom explains, these three stories chart O’Connor’s careful trajectory, her unique vision, and her genius.

Click over and give a listen if you are so inclined. And check out ThoughtCast it looks like an interesting resource.

Cover of Tales From Outer Suburbia

On one of our recent family treks to half-price books, I stumbled upon Shaun Tan‘s Tales From Outer Suburbia. This was one of those where both my wife and I were interested. She more for the illustrations and me for the short vignettes but both of us were intrigued by the combination.

I was vaguely aware of Tan but hadn’t read of owned any of his previous works. But the cover art and a peak inside pulled me in.

I was not disappointed. The book is full of mystery and whimsy; of foreboding and tragedy; of strangeness but joy as well. There is a unique combination of minimalism and depth to both the art work and the stories.

What works about these stories is what I find interesting about short stories, even though it is not my preferred format, they contain a depth that hints at “more” behind the story and yet they seem to capture just the right amount of the story on the page. They let the reader imagine what is off the page in a way that is thought provoking and satisfying somehow.

The opening story, “The Water Buffalo”, capture this quality. It is whimsical with a touch of both oddness and sadness.

“Eric” is surreal – the foreign exchange student that is the focus is a tiny leaf like creature – but it is sweet-natured and almost heartwarming.

While one of the longer stories in the collection, “Broken Toys”, seems to end on a happy note it has a sense of tragedy about it. It has that languor of summer in suburbia with the underlying sense that a lot more is going on in the world than is captured by two boys looking to cure their boredom.

Some of the stories seem like artifacts almost, pieces of stories that are “found” rather than created. “The nameless holiday” has this quality – the sense that there is more to the story than lies on the page; a truth to be found despite the few words. The black and white wood cut illustration hints at this deeper truth in some way too.

So if like me you have been largely ignorant of the work of this talented artist and wordsmith and you stumble on one of his book in the discount table – pick it up. Or better yet buy it new so he can keep our imaginations going with more books that blend illustration, art and literature.

Fame: A Novel in Nine Episodes

I don’t like to be pigeonholed in my reading and I find it enjoyable to occasionally read something very different from your normal routine. Fame fit the bill. Plus, it is a quick read – which is a bonus – and it grabbed my attention at the book store.

Here is the book flap blurb that intrigued me:

Imagine being famous. Being recognized on the street, adored by people who have never even met you, known the world over. Wouldn’t that be great?

But what if, one day, you got stuck in a country where celebrity means nothing, where no one spoke your language and you didn’t speak theirs, where no one knew your face (no book jackets, no TV) and you had no way of calling home? How would your fame help you then?

What if someone got hold of your cell phone? What if they spoke to your girlfriends, your agent, your director, and started making decisions for you? And worse, what if no one believed you were you anymore? When you saw a look-alike acting your roles for you, what would you do?

And what if one day you realized your magnum opus, like everything else you’d ever written, was a total waste of time, empty nonsense? What would you do next? Would your audience of seven million people keep you going? Or would you lose the capacity to keep on doing it?

It turned out to be an enjoyable and interesting experiment. You can argue whether the collection of stories really adds up to a novel or whether some of the stories are perhaps a bit too clever but I found them entertaining and even thought provoking.

The stories range from dark humor and almost horror to post-modern meditations on identity and stories. And this adds to the enjoyment I think. There is enough overlapping of characters and events that you feel the connection but enough differing perspectives and styles that it doesn’t become monotonous or stale.

Kehlmann dramatizes the fact that identity, and extra-surreal aspect of that which is fame, is even more fluid in our electronic age. Celebrity culture magnifies a world in which so much of what we think of as a person’s indentity is made up of pixels online and images on TV and film. Is reality even real?

Image via Wikipedia

Many of the stories play on fears of who identity can be fragile. The first story focuses on a character who finally breaks down and gets a cell phone but it turns out his number very obviously belonged to someone else. And seeking to add something to his own life he begins to enter into the life of this unknown person by interacting with the callers to his cell phone (mistress, agent, business partner, etc.). In a later story we find out the consequences of this meddling.

In another story, an author ends up trapped in the far east after agreeing to take a fellow author’s place on a junket. The trip turns into a Third World nightmare and soon the author is disconnected from anyone who can help her: no cell phone, doesn’t speak the language, authorities don’t have her name on the list because she is a last minute substitute, etc. She is caught between worlds as it were and unable to prove who she is – this despite being a famous author (tragically her books are in stores but don’t have cover photos).

In other stories, the character want to break out of the confines of fiction or jump into it. One famous character begs an author to spare her the fate the story demands. In another, a women becomes involved with an author while seeking, unsuccessfully, not to be become a part of his fiction. In one of the more humourous stories a character whose life plays out mostly online – as his offline world is depressing and ugly – tries to use a chance encounter with an author to find immortality in his fiction; with tragic results.

I will admit I didn’t think too deeply about the deeper meaning as I read (clearly Kehlmann has thoughts about celebrity culture as well as the nature of stories and language in our lives). Mostly, I enjoyed the writing, the cleverness and the humor.

Kehlmann himself is a bit of a celebrity writer so he brings that additional ironic twist to the project.

So whether you are a fan of Kehlmann, interested in the themes of identity, language and fame, or, like me, just looking for something a little different I think you will enjoy Fame. It is a quick and engaging read and one that would probably bear re-reading (so as to better capture the interconnections and ideas).

Related articles

• The Books Interview: Daniel Kehlmann (newstatesman.com)
• Fame by Daniel Kehlmann (Complete Review)