Reading Well: The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri Tepper

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Sheri Tepper‘s story is personally encouraging: since her first novel was published in 1983, when she was 54, she has released over 30 more and has received a World Fantasy Award for “Life Achievement.” So, note to self, late-starting and incredibly prolific are not necessarily contradictory.

The Gate to Women’s Country (1988) is neither her first novel, nor her best-known, but it was the first I have encountered. It is the story of Stavia, beginning when she is a girl and ending in mid-life, and it is the story of Women’s Country, a territory that has survived an apocalyptic destruction several centuries earlier. It feels like Women’s Country is situated in North America, but it’s never clear; at the start of the novel, it seems like Women’s Country is all there is, by the end it is clear that it represents only one of many modes of survival in a landscape that is riddled with wastelands sown by the violent historical event, which is never fully described.

What is made clear is that–at least for Stavia, her mother Morgot, and the rest of the denizens of Women’s Country–the destruction of the old world was explicitly the fault of men, of their aggression, of their mechanized violence, of their need for warfare. The society that has emerged is cleanly bifurcated: women live inside the walls of small villages; men live in garrison’s outside the walls, determined to protect them. Except for servitors, men who choose to abandon the warlike garrison camps and serve inside the walls.

So, yeah, this is a novel committed to its own feminism. If that turns you off, avoid it. But if not (and, especially, if that attracts you), The Gate to Women’s Country is an engaging, evocative read. The politics are also not simple: indeed, the stance of Women’s Country towards homosexuality is simultaneously consistent with their internal logic and very problematic. I see that as a positive accomplishment: creating something in the society that readers will struggle with, a reminder that this is not utopia.

The plot is oddly meandering (to the point where I wonder if it would survive the contemporary editing process). There are characters and dramatic arcs that seem important initially that fade into the background, and it’s not clear that the story is actually Stavia’s (and her young love, Chernon’s) story until halfway through. Others may see them earlier, but I was pleasantly surprised by some major plot reveals, and while the dominant other culture that Stavia encounters is a bit of a caricature of the worst possible manifestation of gendered fundamentalism, the societies that Tepper envisions are well thought-out.

The denizens of Women’s Country perform a transformed version of ancient Greek plays each year, and perhaps 15% of the book is the text of the (re-conceived) story of Iphegenia. I found the plays distracting and while I could appreciate what she was doing, found Tepper’s prose more convincing than her drama.

Even with that, though, especially if you are looking for something that is feminist, post-apocalyptic, and not of the 21st century, this is a good and occasionally thought-provoking read.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Allegorize. I tend to make things far too complicated, which makes it harder to illustrate political situations through social structures. I blame Foucault: while perhaps in massively differing proportions, we are all both oppressed and oppressor.

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Reading Well: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Mary Doria Russell‘s The Sparrow (1996) is one of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a while. The core idea is fantastic: contact is made with an alien species, so the Jesuits decide to send a mission to make contact with them.

The book alternates between the near-future (the 2010s and 2020s), when we meet our main characters, the initial discovery is made and the mission is being assembled; and the 2060s, when our protagonist, Emilio Sandoz, has returned from his time on the alien planet. This is often a problematic structure for me as a reader, as we already know, in broad strokes, the outcome of the mission before we know much about its details. We know who lives and who dies, and we have a general sense of the outcomes.

What we don’t know is the how and the why, and it takes an awful lot of skill to keep the narrative moving along and engaging. But we still care about characters whose death is known, and when it comes, an emotional weight is still maintained. This is one of the strengths of Russell’s writing: she handles the different character motivations with clarity, deftness, and directness, and while two of the astronauts are significantly thinner (in terms of character depth), the warmth and solidity of the rest make up for it.

The core of the book, though, is the role of faith, both in terms of a rationale for space travel and the specific role it plays for Emilio, who has to reconcile a concept of an engaged and loving God with great personal tragedy and pain. This is not a religious book, but it uses religion to explore some big ideas: fate, hubris, celibacy & sexuality, the possibility of understanding other people (let alone other races). At heart, well constructed variations on the story of Job remain deeply compelling. The fact that this occurs in a creative narrative involving a thickly constructed alien culture adds even more yumminess.

This is a memorable book, and one that I highly recommend. Clearly, if either science fiction or the presence of Jesuit theology make you break out in hives, avoid; but otherwise, this was an enjoyable surprise.

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Reading Well: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Cixin Liu (刘慈欣) is probably the best-regarded contemporary Chinese science fiction author, and The Three-Body Problem (2007, 2014 in English) his best known novel (certainly, at least, in the English reading world). It is what is sometimes referred to as hard science fiction, which usually means there is at least as much attention on the science as on the fiction.

That is certainly the case here. The protagonist, Wang Miao, is a nanomaterials specialist who is gradually drawn into a plot involving interstellar contact with a race that lives on a planet orbited by three suns. Gravitational attraction and orbital relationships between four bodies (the planet and the three suns) are incredibly complicated, and the title of the novel refers to a classic set of problems in physics concerned with predicting future states given initial positions, mass, and velocity of three objects in relation to each other.

The novel is most interesting, however, in the window it gives into Chinese scientific society in the second half of the 20th century. The devastating impact of the Cultural Revolution is in play, both in the immediate death and dislocation of many, but also in the way scientific advances in the later Maoist and post-Maoist years required a philosophical justification for their adoption.

The response to the Trisolarians is also fascinating: Cixin Liu posits an underground, yet sizable (and global) movement that welcomes the arrival of the Trisolarians as a disruptive and even destructive force. The notion is that the cultures of Earth are beyond redemption, and the necessarily violent intervention of a more advanced alien culture would be a welcome “reboot” of the whole thing.

The bleakness of this outlook is never really questioned, and its relationship to the cultural context is never explicitly raised, although I think such links can be inferred.

There is an intriguing use of a role-playing video game that simulates life on the Trisolarian’s home planet, but most of the novel is heavier on the science and its potential advances than on traditional characterization or plot. Still, an interesting read, and if the Hugo Award given to the book feels more like a lifetime achievement for a foreign writer, there is enough here to warrant picking it up ≡ (if you don’t know that stand for if and only if, this book may not be for you) you are interested in the science behind the fiction.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Ground my alternative universe settings as deeply in understood scientific principles. One of the challenges of writing magic is ensure that it has rules, costs, benefits, etc. If you aren’t careful in that construction, books bottom out in well, why didn’t they just fix it with magic to begin with?

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Reading Well: The Electric Michelangelo by Sarah Hall

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Sarah Hall is the first author to appear twice in Reading Well: check out my thoughts on her Daughters of the North if you’re interested.

The Electric Michelangelo (2004) belongs simultaneously to two genres: first, it documents the life of Cy Parks, tracing his arc from his boyhood on the English seaside to his adult years in a slowly deteriorating Coney Island, and beyond. Second, it is a book that creates a doorway into a specific art form, leaving the reader better educated and, perhaps, a little in awe of something previously unconsidered.

In this case, Cy is a tattoo artist, and a freehand one at that.

His life is dominated by his first mentor, an abusive, drunk, master of the art, and Cy’s struggles to place himself, to separate his identity from his teacher, and to find solace in his own skill–which is facing a decline in demand and appreciation–form the central thrust of the narrative.

Hall’s prose is thought-provoking, and at times profound, and she juggles themes of pain (both emotional and physical), violence (likewise), and art with a deft touch. There are moments that, in less sure hands, would spin off into the unbelievable, but even a somewhat tortured storyline about Cy’s desire for a woman who wants her entire body covered with eyes, and what happens to them and her, manage to hold attention. This is, I think, because, even though there are friends and family and a few lovers,  The Electric Michelangelo is, at its core, Cy’s story, and Hall has created a character worth hearing.

And, there is Coney Island: if you have any affection for amusement parks or for between-the-wars Brooklyn, the time spent there (most of the second half of the novel) will be well spent.

An engrossing read, with moments of brilliance.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Smoothly incorporating the kind of research necessary for this book is really difficult: from the historical settings (not just Coney Island, but the early and final chapters in Morecambe as well) to the different tattoo techniques and traditions, Hall handles it deftly without it ever feeling like she is lecturing the reader. Her immersion makes Cy’s immersion convincing, which makes the reader’s immersion possible.

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@The Movies with PopPop: The Hateful Eight

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Watched The Hateful Eight, the latest Quentin Tarentino movie last night via Netflix. As with many Tarentino movies, the rap about it is only tangentially accurate. Yes, there is violence – but quite little until late in the movie, and some of it is of the disgusting nature rather than being blown away – and much of the latter is mainly off-screen.

What it is, is a (somewhat overlong at 2:48) set of reflections on the Civil War, its racist aftermath, commitment to one’s profession (even if that’s a bounty hunter), and how character isn’t always visible on the surface. It’s a beautifully shot (70 mm), poetic vision of the West and the lives it contains. The opening vistas of the West in the snow – mountain ranges, forests, rivers are breathtaking – and with a wooden Christ on the cross coming increasingly into focus, introduces a nice note of anticipatory confusion.

The basic plot (from IMDB):

Some time after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. Bounty hunter John Ruth and his fugitive captive Daisy Domergue race towards the town of Red Rock, where Ruth will bring Daisy to justice [a trial and then a hanging – Ruth’s nickname is the hangman because his morality has him bring in his prisoners alive, although the rewards are for dead or alive]. Along the road, they encounter Major Marquis Warren (an infamous African-American bounty hunter and ex-Union Army officer) and Chris Mannix (a man who claims to be Red Rock’s new sheriff). Lost in a blizzard, the bunch seeks refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery. When they arrive they are greeted by unfamiliar faces: Bob, who claims to be taking care of the place while Minnie is gone; Oswaldo Mobray, the hangman of Red Rock; Joe Gage, a cow puncher; and confederate general Sanford Smithers. As the storm overtakes the mountainside, the eight travelers come to learn that they might not make it to Red Rock after all…

They also discover all kinds of past relationships among them, and display both insight and patience.

The movie is divided into six narrative sequences which, with one exception to provide a bit of backstory, take place chronologically.

There are some very funny bits, some incredibly insightful dialogue, and other than a scattered few “look-away” moments, it’s a marvelous ride. Tarentino is a brilliant director, and in my opinion, worth watching despite his excesses.

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Reading Well: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

When I wrote about Some Sing, Some Cry, I was struck by how difficult it is for books to be successful. It takes a magic combination of timing, marketing, critical reception, and, yes, inherent quality. The more cynical you feel, the less weight you will give the last item.

The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (2012) by Ambelin Kwaymullina is, while a very different book, another one that deserves more success than it seems it will receive. Let me be clear: Some Sing, Some Cry may, at the end of the day, be an important book. Ashala Wolf is a well-crafted young adult thriller with a female protagonist. It has far more in common with The Hunger Games or Divergent than Some Sing, Some Cry.

But that’s pretty high praise, at least in terms of its potential for commercial success. It’s a nicely done tale, a young girl who leads the Tribe, an outlawed collection of youth who all possess special abilities (some are Sleepwalkers, some Boomers, others Skychangers–it’s a book that is big on capital letters and easily-identifiable superpowers).

Ashala has been captured by the nefarious Bureau of Citizenship, and has to navigate a nearly overpowering attraction to one of her guards, an escape, and a rebellion. All of the beats and notes are hit: the fire of young love, the ingenuity of youth, the triumph of an ecologically-based revolution.

Oh, and there are dinosaurs. Big ones that can communicate with people.

It really should be a movie. My suspicion is, as hard as it was to track down a copy, it never will be. On the one hand, that is too bad as there are distinct resonances to Kwaymullina’s voice that stand out; on the other, it is a tale we’ve seen before.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Embrace the YA genre fully and enthusiastically. It seems so freeing: the adults can be ciphers, the relationships are all so vibrant and young, etc.

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Dashing: 30 April v Sky Blue FC

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

There’s just not a lot to say about this game. The story of the night was about who wasn’t on the pitch, and not a lot of import happened on it. Sigh.

See other writeups at Midfield Press, Dynamo Theory, Keeper Notes.

Overall, the attacking skill of the Dash in the second half–especially missing Morgan Brian–bodes well for the season, but this has to be looked on as 2 points dropped by them, not 1 point gained.

#THE GOOD

  • In a word, Andressa. What a game from the midfielder. She was the subject of a ton of physical attention from Sky Blue all night, and was walking visibly stiffly by the end of the game from a long series of fouls; but she was tenacious, and controlling, and her instincts of when to turn into space and when to move the ball along are fantastic. Three(ish) shots from distance, one of which came close, and, of course, those lovely floating corner kicks.
  • Rachel Daly continues to impress with effort, with enthusiasm, and with the ability to get into good positions. Unlucky not to score.
  • When Kelley O’Hara has room to run, she is a terrifying force of nature. Easily the best player on the field for Sky Blue, and narrowly missed a free kick to steal the game at the very end.
  • Cari Roccaro made the bench, which means her hip injury must be progressing. I still foresee great things for her.
  • I thought Sarah Killion put in a good shift for Sky Blue, doing all the dirty work in midfield against a consistently strong Dash attack, especially in the second half.
  • Ah, that second half … The Dash played very well offensively, full of attacking verve and energy, and were generally unlucky not to score. Caroline Stanley is getting much of the credit, but it was as much a result of the Dash being unable to place a shot more than a foot or three to either side of her.

#THE UNGOOD

  • We all knew that Carli Lloyd was out. But, Amber Brooks missing the game for a personal event and Brian continuing to struggle with her hamstring were unexpected. I had anticipated Brian sliding into the #10 role with ease and flair. Not so much. Cami Privett did fine in Brooks’ stead, so the depth is nice, I guess.
  • Chioma Ubogagu struggled again, unable to really make an impact as the point in the attacking trident. Daly and Kealia Ohai seem to be working well together, but I’ve been far more impressed with Janine Beckie in the early going than Ubogagu.
  • This game saw Denise O’Sullivan make her debut as her international paperwork was finally sorted. She’s a thin, small woman who looks smaller than her listed height of 5’4″, and while she showed great feistiness and a nice occasional touch, she struggled to really impact the game. She could be a spark for the team, certainly, but she needs to show more than she did today.
  • Sky Blue in general was just unimpressive. It’s a team without a lot of spark, and they never showed much connection to the considerable talents of Tasha Kai up front.
  • For the first 2/3 of the game, Stanley was struggling mightily with all of her clearances: it almost felt like what happens when a catcher suddenly cannot toss the ball back to the pitcher. Punts spinning out of bounds, goal kicks barely clearing the 18, etc. Unsure if it was wind or just a momentary lapse of reason, or what. But it was noticeable.

#FAVES

Andressa, Andressa, Andressa. And, Daly’s work rate. And that the predicted deluge held off. Little else.

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Reading Well: The Black Company by Glen Cook

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Since The Black Company was published in 1984, Glen Cook has come out with nine further novels surrounding the adventures of the titular band of mercenaries. This is the only one I have read to date, and I did so without knowing the novel was 30 years old.

That matters: the morally ambiguous anti-hero was much less prevalent in the 1980s than it is today, making it a more interesting read in hindsight. The book focuses on Croaker, a physician and historian with The Black Company, a centuries-old band of soldiers (and sorcerers) for hire currently in the employ of The Lady, fighting against the uprising of The Rebel with the aid of the Taken … and that sort of sums it up: this is pure fantasy pulp, full of capitalized characters and less than fully-fleshed out histories.

But it works: the pages turn, and Croaker’s companions–sullen Raven, the ever squabbling magicians One-Eye and Goblin, dependable Elmo, and the rest–are drawn with enough differentiation to keep them straight (or, you know, make them expendable). The questionable morality of The Black Company–The Lady is their employer, but is also clearly the more evil of the combatants–is dealt with fairly straightforwardly, although the groundwork is laid for the issue to come to a head in later books.

There is more than a whiff of Fafhrd & the Gray Mouser here, especially as the Company moves from setting to setting–and echoes of Fritz Leiber‘s master-series are certainly a compliment to Cook.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Just surrender to the pulpness of it all: The Black Company is a fun voyage, and to write that freely without concern for what is missing and with such commitment to the propulsive nature of the narrative is a joyful ride.

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Reading Well: Nekropolis by Maureen McHugh

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

I first read Maureen McHugh via her collection of short stories, After the Apocalypse, which is highly recommended–the best stories are magnificent, the rest merely good. Nekropolis (2001) is the first novel of hers I have read (at about 250 pages, it could even be considered a long novella these days).

Set in a not-too-distant-future Morocco, Nekropolis is a story of two oppressed classes. The first are domestic workers who undergo a medical process called “jessing,” by which they become totally subservient to their masters and the second are an android race called the harni, a beautiful, sexually polymorphous, innocent machine-human hybrid.

Our heroine befriends a harni, a friendship that quickly becomes more than that and includes a possible remedy to being “jessed.”

And then … and then … and then Nekropolis changes gears entirely. And, without giving too much away, it shifts from an engaging work of speculative fiction with a nicely conceived North African setting to an exploration of what it means to be a refugee, of how possible it ever is to make a fresh start, of how the ties that bind us together in moments of struggle may loosen and fray once the destination is reached.

I loved the shift, and found Nekropolis to be a poignant, intelligent, nuanced book about identity and belonging and migration: themes that were resonant at the turn of the century when it was first published and remain so today. This is not a stunning, ground-breaking work, but that mantle is awful and heavy. It is literate and smart, and what it says is worth our attention.

#WhatIWishICouldDo

Let a story go where it needs to go. That takes courage and sensitivity and an attentive ear for the characters. It is scary as well: you risk your audience when you move away from established genre norms, and McHugh does so with confidence and grace.

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Dashing: 16 April v Chicago Red Stars

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Daniel (@MKNN)

Welcome back to Dashing, an occasional series on Houston’s professional women’s soccer team. As a reminder, I try to focus more on tactical/evaluative comments than game reports. Fantastic game writeups can be found in the usual places: Dynamo Theory, KeeperNotes, etc. {A new entry, or, at least, new to me: Midfield Press.}

Last night saw the Dash open their 2016 season against the Chicago Red Stars, a team generally considered to be in the top third of the league. The result–and more than the result, the play itself–was, honestly, quite a surprise, as the Dash came away 3-1 winners in a game easily as one-sided as the score.

On to the usual stuff.

#THE GOOD

  • Amber Brooks, where have you been all my life? That’s right, in a game that saw offensive dominance by the Dash and three goals, I’m starting with the holding mids. That’s because Brooks and Andressa were absolutely fantastic throughout the game. They were pretty static in their roles: Brooks would “stay,” and the young Brazilian would “go,” and they were spectacularly efficient. Andressa’s calm and touch on the ball was on display throughout, and Brooks was a classic destroyer, breaking up play, winning second balls. This is the kind of performance that knits a game together and, potentially, a season.
  • The Dash were noticeably improved from last year in regaining and retaining possession. They aren’t employing anything like a gegenpressen philosophy, but last year the team would often disrupt the opponent only to lose the ball themselves. That did not happen nearly as often, especially on the right hand side, where Poliana, Andressa, and either Janine Beckie or Rachel Daly were able to work a lot of very effective, precise touches to hold the ball.
  • Daly had a great debut: a ton of hard work, a lovely goal, and a nice assist to Carli Lloyd for the go-ahead score. Beckie was solid as well, contributing good work on the wing, and taking her goal well.
  • Julie Johnston is pretty incredible. I don’t think this game was particularly great for her, but you could still use it as a primer on how to play centerback: always in the right position, always taking a smart angle towards the ball, attacking at times. She’s a great, great player.
  • Poliana had a good game. She was very effective on the flank, and made four or five deep runs into Red Star territory. Additionally, she is the tallest Dash defender, and dropped to a more central position quite effectively. There were some ungood moments: half her forays ran into cul-de-sacs, and all the skill on the ball doesn’t matter if she can’t get her head up for the pass.

#THE UNGOOD

  • Becca Moros was exposed for pace several times. When the challenge was tactical, when she needed to read the game, she was very good; but when it was her having to catch up to–or even stay even with–an opposing forward, she was toast. Most preseason analyses of the Dash speak of a need for a dominant centerback to partner with Ellie Brush. If Cari Roccaro recovers quickly and is unscathed by her hip surgery, she may the answer. If she doesn’t, the Dash may spend most of the year missing Toni Pressley (who I evidently held in higher regard than most).
  • The Chicago offense, which other than an opportunity gifted to Christine Press, was largely invisible.
  • Carli Lloyd. The media–at least the Houston media–has jumped on the Carli led them to victory notion, but that’s not what I saw. Lloyd rarely touched the ball and showed her usual defensive indifference. She had a good chance in the first half that didn’t come off, a couple nice moments in midfield, and she finished off Daly’s cross with skill. But it wasn’t a dominant performance, at best it was in the slightly impactful range, and that’s not good enough from Lloyd.
  • Chioma Ubogagu looked nervous and out of place in a cameo at the end of the game.
  • Morgan Brian‘s injury. That said, I wonder what the team looks like when Brian is healthy: I would hope that the defensive midfielders proved they should be there every game. So, my only guess is that she goes in for Beckie, and Lloyd becomes part of the attacking threesome. But that doesn’t sound right.

#FAVES

  • Watching Brooks and Andressa was a pleasure. The double-pivot is not easy to pull off, and can often lack dynamism, but they were fantastic.
  • The second goal was very pretty: a long pass, hard work from Daly, and a perfect header from Lloyd.
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