Review:Stardust

Stardust

by Neil Gaiman

In a recent trip to a name-brand bookstore I purchased a little red leather bound book entitled Books I Love. Each page inside has a space for you to record the titles and information about a beloved book. Last night I filled the first page with Stardust. That's how much I have loved this book. It was perfect.

The story is about Tristran Thorn and his quest to find a fallen star to present to his true love. We follow Tristran as he travels through the land of Faerie with his star and the many adventures he encounters with both good and evil forces, and how these encounters replace the boy with a man.

There are a couple different threads that start off separate but come together, entangle, and then weave into a tapestry that makes the heart sing. By the end you believe that everything is as it should be, not just in Faerie but in the real world as well.

Why did I love this book so much? Well I love fairies, unicorns, magic, good conquering over evil, even witches. I love good guys who know what good looks like and follow it without question. I love stories about love where the main characters aren't arguing with themselves about whether or not they are in love. Ultimately, what I loved the most is that it felt genuine. The emotions, the actions, the flow of the story. It was perfect!

This was my first novel by Gaiman, of whom I've heard such wonderful things for the last few weeks thanks to the Once Upon a Time Challenge. And I've learned that Stardust will be in the theaters in August of this year. I am all anticipation!

I can now mark off 3 books from my challenge list. But scratching the surface of the fantasy genre has sparked a fire under me. I am currently reading(or listening to) 2 other fantasies that are not on my list: Inkheart and The Tail of Emily Windsnap. I am also flipping through a nonfantasy, just-for-fun read, Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlin.When I have had my little rest I will delve into The Odyssey and Grimms' Fairy Tales. Yes, there is a lot of readin' goin' on around here.

Review:The Iliad

The Iliad
by Homer
translation by Robert Fagles

I'm working my way through the Well-Educated Mind poetry list. I had been breathlessly waiting to get into poetry for the last year. But first I have to get through a few bloody epics. Ugh.

So the Iliad is a 540 page description of the 9th year of the 10 year war between the Argive armies and the Trojans over the beautiful Helen, wife of Menalaus, who ran off with Paris, a prince of Troy. There is battle after battle where we learn which side is in the lead and which god is helping which side or which god is fighting which other god. We learn how Achilles, the best fighter on the Argive side, is dishonored and refuses to fight, and how he comes back to fighting with a vengeance. There is a lot of disembowelment, eyes popping out, and spears piercing through every kind of body part. Suffice it to say I didn't really enjoy reading this one.

Actually it was just the graphic battle scenes that I didn't care for(those being half the book). The storyline was not bad. And the interaction of the gods, with men and each other, was also very interesting. I liked Hector. I found Paris amusing. Achilles was a bit too passionate for my liking but I could sympathize with him. So I did enjoy some of it.

I read the Fagles translation after first trying the Lattimore one with little understanding. Fagles has a poetic style that is easier for the lay-person to comprehend. I was pleased with the writing and the emotional aspects of this epic. It gave my mind someplace to rest after some of the battle scenes. I wonder if the battle scenes are more graphic in the Fagles translation or not? Shot! Now I have to read a battle scene from Lattimore to find out.

Now that I've had a little time to vent and process I'd say that it wasn't so bad after all. It gives one an idea of what life was like during this time period; what it was like to be a man having to go into battle. It shows how people thought about the gods of the time. It's not really a flattering picture but it is what was commonly thought. The concepts of honor and respect back then were so different than they are nowadays. On a scale of 1-5 I'd give it a 3.5. I am glad to have read it.

This book is the second book completed for the Once Upon a Time Challenge; it is the second poem on the poetry list from TWEM; and it is a classic and a history credit in my goals for the year posted here. I am currently reading Stardust, to be finished and reviewed sometime in the next day or two. Bye for now!

Newbery Challenge

I love a good reading challenge; and here's another one that's right up my alley. The Newbery Challenge hosted by Nattie Writes. You pick 6 books from the Newbery Award list to read between May 15th and Dec. 31st. Yeah, I think I can handle that.

I've chosen books that are either already on my bookshelves and/or that would be line up with our homeschool's historical period for next year. Here are my choices:

1. Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Crisman
2. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
3. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
4. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
5. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
6. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman

I love YA fiction and I own quite a few of these titles already so I may read several extra books from the list just because. Thanks Nattie for this challenge.

Mr. Dickens

I had forgotten to mention before but we named the kitty. Meet Dickens. He's named for the entertaining Charles Dickens. Isn't he cute as the...well, the dickens?

As it happens we are watching the Dickens adaptation of Bleak House. And I started reading Stardust this afternoon and came across this:

Mr. Charles Dickens was serializing his novel Oliver Twist; Mr. Draper had just taken the first photograph of the moon, freezing her pale face on cold paper; Mr. Morse had recently announced a way of
transmitting messages down metal wires.
Had you mentioned magic or Faerie to any of them, they would have smiled at you disdainfully, except perhaps for Mr. Dickens, at the time a young man, and beardless. He would have looked at you wistfully.

Ah. I can picture Mr. Dickens looking at me wistfully. He does it each night before falling asleep in my lap.

Review:The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn
by Peter Beagle


I've just finished reading this to the kiddos. What a delightful story! I started out reading one chapter a day but began reading 2 a day near the end. And yesterday I finished the last 4 chapters in a marathon read-aloud because you just can't stop reading with 2 chapters left to go. That's where the action is at it's most dramatic point.


The Last Unicorn is about a unicorn who realizes that she is the only one left. She wanders the world to find out what happened to all the rest and comes to hear of the evil King Haggard and the Red Bull, who have been rounding up all the unicorns. She seeks them, the King and his monster, out with the help of an incompetent magician and old hag of a lady. Once they find King Haggard the real excitement begins.


As I said, I read this to the kiddos but I now know that this was not the best choice of a read-aloud for smaller children. I think I enjoyed the story more than the kids did, though Dragon Slayer and Goldilocks were begging for more in the end.


From the very beginning the language is quite poetic and full of images that you feel rather than see. This was great most of the time but sometimes it became a bit confusing. Here are my favorite excerpts:

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

"But the true secret of being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventure, nor can the boy knock at the witch's door when she is away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found out and foiled before he does something wicked. Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story."

My copy comes with a second book by Beagle, A Fine and Private Place. It looks interesting. Anyway, I highly recommend the Last Unicorn to fantasy lovers over the age of 10. It is a pleasant way to spend an evening or two.

And, this was the first title I've completed for the Once Upon a Time Challenge. High fives to me! I'll be finishing the Iliad in a day or two and starting Stardust as a read-aloud and Grimms' Fairy Tales to myself.

Our New Cat

I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our clan. This is...well we haven't named him yet but he was formerly known as Tang. He's a very friendly fella and gets along great with the kiddos. Welcome Tang.

Movie Review:Jane Eyre

The Theologian and I have been watching a lot of movie adaptations of classic novels lately. So many of them are really well done, including this one, a Masterpiece Theater version of Jane Eyre.

There appear to be a dozen movie versions of this much cherished classic. I can't speak for the others but this one is accurate and moving. There are little tweaks here and there that are necessary for a performing art as opposed to a literary one, including Jane displaying emotions on her face. It bothered me a bit but I acknowledge the need for it.

Mr. Rochester is played by Toby Stephens, better known as the Great Gatsby. At first I wasn't sure I could watch it. Stephens has a look about him that is shallow and plastic. It's what made him such a great Gatsby(or is that a great Great Gatsby?). But by the middle of the movie I was convinced. He played the role to delectable perfection.

I received a little treat with the appearance of Georgie Henley as the young Jane Eyre. Henley played the adorable Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia. She's made her mark in the acting world and will not be going away any time soon.

So I highly recommend this edition of Jane Eyre to all Eyre fans. Plan for a potty break in the middle as this movie is 4 hours long but you'll be glad for it by the end.

Once Upon a Time Challenge

Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting another fun reading challenge. We are being challenged to read several books in the genres of fantasy, mythology, fairytale, and folklore between March 22nd and Midsummer Night's Eve, June 21st. Carl offers several quests to choose from. I have chosen Quest Three-"Read at least one book from each of the four genres of story, and finish up the challenge with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream."


And here's the list:

1. The Iliad by Homer-mythology-I started this last week and plan to read The Odyssey as well.
2. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle-fantasy-I happen to be reading this to the kids.
3. Stardust by Neil Gaiman-fairytale-per Carl V.'s recommendation
4. The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm-folktale-with 700 pages, we'll see how far I make it in this one
5. A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare-you gotta love Shakespeare

If you are interested in joining the fun, Carl V. has given some helpful definitions and reading suggestions here. Now, I'm off to find out what happens next to the last unicorn.