Archives for Fantasy

In Defense of Woundedness, of Failure, and of Frodo: A Personal Reflection with Tolkien’s Letters

In Defense of Woundedness, of Failure, and of Frodo: A Personal Reflection with Tolkien’s Letters

25 March, 2022 | No Comments

[ALERT: If you are not familiar with the end of The Lord of the Rings, do not continue…] I originally published this post on my now-too-Dickensian site around Hobbit Day, 2021, and thought that our #TolkienReadingDay would be a good opportunity to republish it at its new home. At the time, I was reflecting on the nature of friendships near and far, including once-inseparable friends I hadn’t seen in a long time, and on friendship in general, of the beauty hidden in human (and hobbit) failure, and of Frodo. His image was haunting me then, particularly on a Sunday when
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Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi: Some Initial Reflections

Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi: Some Initial Reflections

17 January, 2022 | 1 Comment

“The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.” ~ Piranesi, pg. 5 I warn the reader that, although I will try not to give overt spoilers—except to name a certain character, a name which we learn part way through the book—it is impossible not to discuss Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi without risking that the very ideas brought up might constitute spoilers in some way. So, perhaps these reflections are better saved for a post-reading discussion. (And I use the words “discuss” and “reflections” because I cannot possibly review a book by Clarke. One simply follows her along the mysterious
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The Genius of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

The Genius of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

16 January, 2022 | No Comments

“Two magicians shall appear in England…” I tend to catch the tail-end of trends, like an enthusiastic gate-crasher at a party long since broken-up. When friends and family suggest—nay, insist—that I must, I absolutely must watch such-and-such a movie, listen to such-and-such a CD, or read such-and-such a book … well, I generally accept the generously proffered item with a nod of thanks, only to let the item gather dust on my desk or else serve as an improvised coaster. Passionate readers are a persistent bunch, however, so eventually I was browbeaten into picking up the bestselling fantasy novel by
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Mark Your Calendars, because “Two Magicians Shall Appear in England…”

Mark Your Calendars, because “Two Magicians Shall Appear in England…”

6 August, 2021 | 1 Comment

…and those Magicians are Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke. (Surely there are author-magicians, just as Clarke tells us there are gentleman-magicians?) I nearly jumped out of my seat to see that they would be getting together to discuss Clarke’s new novel, Piranesi, on September 2, via 5X15’s online platform, and you can register here. Having recently finished Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass on The Art of Storytelling, and being a huge fan of his writing and his exquisite audio narrations, I can’t think of a better duo to discuss the wild, almost heartbreakingly beautiful, melancholy magic that is Piranesi. Gaiman and Clarke
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Arresting Strangeness: The Green Knight

Arresting Strangeness: The Green Knight

1 August, 2021 | No Comments

This will be a short post, no more than an update. (Honestly I don’t think I’ve tried posting with this new WP format on the app before ~ in the midst of travels and adventures of my own ~ so it may come out a mess anyhow.) My own adventure began earlier this week, when our band of scattered siblings (my brother John said, “Muster the Rohirrim!”) came to answer the call of one of our own ~ my brother and his wife and newborn ~ in making their move from North Dakota to Oregon.   The journey West…there is
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