strange and random happenstance

Angelica by Arthur Phillips
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2007
Format: Paperback, 331 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

The Barton household is about to be violently upset. Whether it's of a supernatural nature or a more prosaic nature is dependent on who you are listening to. The simple facts are these. Constance Barton and her husband Joseph had a hard time having a child. Two painful miscarriages and finally Angelica was born. In an attempt to thwart her husband's sexual advantages Angelica has been living in their bedroom for four years. Constance couldn't handle more disappointments and Angelica is enough for her. Angelica is her everything. But things are changing and Joseph finally imposes his will, which is a rare occurrence, and Angelica is removed to her nursery and the master bedroom is once more home to the martial bed. That is when the trouble starts. Constance views it as a haunting. There are smells and spectres and while Joseph points out that it could all be due to her high strung nature, she is convinced something more is at play; and is Angelica playing along? Could the child actually be scared or is she feeding off her mother's emotions? When Joseph claims his martial rights with Constance the spectre takes on physical form and something must be done. The maid Nora has heard of a spiritualist who specializes in cleansing houses, Anne Montague, a failed actress who is supplementing her income via overwrought housewives. But Anne sees something in the Barton household to change her mind about her "calling" and helps Constance. As for Joseph, he is easily taken care of... and as for Angelica? It turns out this is her story in more ways than one.    

If you're looking for a book strewn with contradictory stories and lack of resolution, than this here is the book for you! If instead you're looking for a psychological thriller that has supernatural elements, then I'd suggest you walk away. Or at the very least only read Constance's viewpoint, because the only thing going for this book was, aside from Phillips's ability to capture the language of the time period heavily reminiscent of Lewis Carroll, the first section with it's paranormal activities. Because this book isn't about the supernatural it's about unreliable narrators and the fallibility of memory and how each and every person sees the world differently. Which is all fine and good, it's just not the book I thought I was signing up to read and therefore I was a very dissatisfied reader. But more on my complete dissatisfaction later, with spoilers aplenty, so you've been warned. The problem with having four distinct perspectives is that they will never agree, add to this that Angelica is technically the vehicle for the other three narrators, and it's a jumbled mess. Yes, it's interesting to see the different interpretations of the same events, but overall it needed some grounding. There needed to be some character that you could connect to over the others, someone needed to be a little more believable so that you could take that away as what you believe is the truth. Instead, by not having this element the inconclusive ending makes for dissatisfied reading.

Seeing the story in order from the POVs of Constance, Anne, Joseph, and finally Angelica, who we've really been hearing from all along because this is her therapy session, Phillips seemed to want to discount the previous POV. Yes, everyone sees the world in their own unique way, but he seems determined to lessen the book in each section by paving over what came before and making it unbelievable. Therefore instead of being able to pick apart the POVs and find some thread of truth, we have each subsequent narrator totally disproving what came before. With Constance it's a ghost, but then Anne comes along and it's not a ghost it's sexual abuse, though she still lets Constance think it's a ghost. Then along comes Joseph and it's not sexual abuse it's that women be crazy yo. As for Angelica... she confirms nor denies any of these stories. So all is plausible. Say what!?! All is true and nothing is true? I know you can mimic the writing of Carroll, but please, no. Phillips you are no Carroll when it comes to nonsense and riddles. Unreliable narrators are really popular at the moment from Gone Girl to The Girl on the Train, heck this book technically has the ever popular "girl" in the title with Angelica's name, but these books succeed, and I really can't believe I'm saying there's something successful in Gone Girl, but they succeed because you get closure, not some supposedly deep yet ultimately aggravating non-ending.   

But then again, this is a book that basically writes itself off in the end. In fact, rarely have I hated a book so much in it's last few sentences that I grew to despise it and wanted to throw it more than anything."Flames, on the side of my face, breathing-breathl- heaving breaths. Heaving breaths... Heathing..." So let's break down that ending. At the conclusion of the book Angelica, the gimmicky narrator/manipulative bitch we've been hearing from tells her therapist to just ignore everything she's said, he will never understand her and he should just bring on the next "pretty hysteric." Now I've had long talks with one of my friends over this abrupt ending, seeing as we read this book for book club. Her conclusion, in as simplified a manner as I can make it, is that Angelica realizes that the therapist will never understand her, a complex modern woman, and the slight is to the therapist. Whereas I think it's the exact opposite. I think it's the author not bothering to understand women but just flipping them off at the end. They're women, they aren't worth figuring out because this wasn't Angelica's story it was Joseph's story all along. And why do I think this? Because Phillips, while writing so much about women here can't help that he is a male and as evidenced strongly in Joseph's section all his sympathies are with the male of the species so he's just writing from his entitled white male POV. Yeah, so let's throw this book out a window shall we?  

Going back to Joseph's section, not only does it discount everything that Constance and Anne have said, it makes Joseph this tragic figure who isn't understood at work or at home and he just has no friends and blah blah blah blah. I'm sorry your wife doesn't want to sleep with you, could it be because there is no birth control and she doesn't want to almost die having a stillborn child again? Every aspect of Constance's life is put under the microscope, every thing she does, says, feels, is up for debate, whereas Joseph, well, it's just poor Joseph don't pick on him, he's having a bad day, so let's let him be. Why not scrutinize Joseph? Put him under the harsh lights he uses in experimenting on animals, a job that is noble and not at all amoral! The true theme of this book isn't about memory and differing POVs, in Joseph's section we see Phillips's true motive, everything comes down to "poor men." Because obviously, like the recent Portlandia sketch, men have been pushed aside and marginalized too long. All women want from them is to trick them into marriage so they can have babies. Yeah, that's right. This very modern and topical view that women are out there to trick men into baby making is thrust into this Victorian period piece. I just kept thinking, yes, things are cyclical and men could have felt that way then, but more I kept thinking, is the author's girlfriend trying to get him to put a ring on it and a bun in the oven?

So as you can imagine by this point, I'd sworn off the book. Whatever good had happened with Constance and Anne, all was washed away by the modern hypocrisy just screaming at me from these pages that made up Joseph's section. Was there hope that Angelica could redeem the book? As you've read already. No. There wasn't. In fact Angelica's section is so slight it barely deserves a mention, except for one point; Constance and Anne hooking up. This is an issue I have with many male authors, they think that women will just randomly be lesbians if it suits the needs of the men. George R. R. Martin might be the worst, but can't they get that people are born who they are and that's that? You can see why Constance and Anne might be drawn to each other, Constance hasn't fared well at the hands of men, especially in regard to reproduction, and Anne is a wonderful protector and provider. But like the male entitlement that just oozed off the pages earlier, this just seems to be another nail in the coffin of women as manipulators. They got the child they wanted, killed Joseph, and now can live happily ever after. Or you could look at it as Constance doesn't like Joseph or his attentions so therefore she must be gay. In other words, everything in this book is seen through male entitlement glasses, I wouldn't say they're rose colored, they're more shit colored, because what makes you think that it's OK to think like this? Women are people too. I know many men are trying to change this, and reading a book that thinks that way... it just enrages me.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Abuse, Angelica, Arthur Phillips, George R. R . Martin, Ghosts, Going Gothic, Gone Girl, Lesbian, Lewis Carroll, Male Entitlement, Portlandia, POV, The Girl on the Train, Unreliable Narrator

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: 1853
Format: Hardcover, 257 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy
Miss Mary Smith often visits Cranford. While she provides an outside view of the goings on of this town of "Amazons," she views herself as a true Cranfordian. She usually stays with Deborah and Matty Jenkyns, and later, after Deborah's death, with just Miss Matty. Yet she has been known to stay with the gossipy and often inadvertently hilarious Miss Pole, in particular during the misunderstanding of what a cage is... to some, a piece of undergarments, to Miss Pole, erroneously a parrot cage. Everything is go in Cranford, from cows in pajamas to imagined burglaries, to widows remarrying way too soon to financial disasters. There is love, romantic and platonic. But most of all there is the bond of friendship between all the towns residents. Sometimes life isn't one logical story from beginning to end, but a series of stops and starts, which is what Mary's cunning eye captures in her loving portrait of her, sometimes batty, friends. Just wait for the fake burglaries to understand how batty these ladies can be! Heaven forbid the thought of sleeping with a man, but sleeping with the silver to avoid a theft by gypsies that may or may not be women or men or hunchbacks, that's just common sense.

Going into Cranford I didn't quite know what to expect. I had heard that it was very much a sweet comedy for many years, that's until I saw the miniseries and my expectations went out the window. Aside from the humor, it felt more like Elizabeth Gaskell was a Victorian George R. R. Martin, willing to kill off a character every five minutes. Watching the miniseries you had to have a thick skin and just expect that everyone was fair game. It could also easily be a drinking game where you'd end up very very drunk. So, I was a little surprised than that the book only had three major deaths. THREE!?! Ok, I know that the miniseries was based on some of Gaskell's other writings as well,* but I wouldn't have put off reading this book for so long if I'd known that all the characters I love and care for make it through the book unscathed. I know Heidi Thomas, who adapted the works, has a love of pulling your heartstrings, so much so that it's now a given if you watch anything she does you end up in tears, but still, gaw, you almost made me not want to read this book Heidi. Also, I'm not forgiving her for killing off Martha! She lives Heidi! SHE LIVES! And Deborah doesn't like eating sliced oranges, so there!

*I will also mention here, that because of the two other books integrated into the Cranford miniseries, I went on and read them as well. I personally think that it was a mistake to incorporate My Lady Ludlow and Mr. Harrison's Confessions, seeing as they are, for the most part, where all the depressing resides. My Lady Ludlow was basically a hundred some page treatise on why Lady Ludlow thinks that letting the lower classes read will lead to another Reign of Terror, which was glossed over with one sentence in the miniseries. As for Mr. Harrison, note the "Mr." not "Dr.," it was just the romantic blah that was in the miniseries, but with "Mr." Harrison being far more unlikeable. Enough about Gaskell's other writings, back to the one at hand!

Cranford is more just comical vignettes than a book really. In fact, this is what I would call ideal writing for a piece released in installations, like this one was through Dickens' magazine. You're not overly desperate for the next chapter because the plot doesn't drive the story, the character's quirks and foibles do. Also, while you think a town of widows and spinsters would be sad, Cranford is not depressing, but a melancholy sadness for life and opportunities lost written with wit and understanding. It shows us to make the most out of what you have and to rely on the kindness of your friends. Oh, and cows are awesome in pajamas!

A note on the edition. So, I have to say, that I have coveted the cloth-bound Penguin Classics ever since they started appearing in bookstores a few years ago now. I wanted them all! But, I restrained myself and only bought Cranford. Why only Cranford? Well, if truth be told, I did have other editions, at least two, but the gorgeous lime green with the dark green runner beans was just too too perfect. The thing is, these books where made for display, not for reading, in my opinion. I'm so glad I never bought more of them, because, they're pretty but impractical. Firstly, some of the dark green screen printing has rubbed off with my holding it. Secondly, it was impossible to read because the book didn't want to open. I got cramps in my hand trying to pry the book open long enough to read! It's like Hagrid's Monster Book of Monsters, there has to be an easier way to read it, but I couldn't find it. Also, the fluctuation in font point size depending on introduction, book or appendixes was annoying and pointless. But finally, what put the nail in the coffin of this edition was the superfluity of footnotes and appendixes. There should not be more pages of extraneous "extras" than the actual book is long. Bad job editing Patricia Ingham, I will avoid you at all costs from now on.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Charles Dickens, Cows, Cranford, DEATH, Deborah Jenkyns, Elizabeth Gaskell, George R. R . Martin, Hagrid, Mary Smith, Miss Matty, Miss Pole, Mr. Harrison's Confessions, My Lady Ludlow, Penguin

So let me say I think it's shameful, but I've never been to WisCon. I've lived in Wisconsin my entire life, the entire time of which this con has been up and running, and yet I've never been. And now I really question why I've never gone. It was the most relaxed and organized con I've ever been to, and I've been to some badly organized cons, including a Buffy one in the Catskills where the waiting staff only spoke Italian and the hotel hadn't been renovated since Frank Sinatra stayed there some 30 years previously. For the uninitiated WisCon is "The World's Leading Feminist Science Fiction Convention" which celebrated it's 33rd year this past weekend. They have a wide range of authors and other media types that converge on the Concourse to discuss, hang, meet and generally have fun, all for the low price of $45 (not including all that you'll spend in the dealers room). They have face painting and magical knitting and panels and dinners and award recipients.

Due to events of the past week I didn't feel like interacting too much with people so I just went to a few events of the authors I wanted to see, but I'm planning on returning next year to be a more active versus passive participant. When I arrived I was given a packet which had a wonderful circa bound program of events with all the information I could possibly need from guest biographies to maps of the hotel. From there I attended the Gathering, there primarily for the event Galley Ho! But the Gathering also had a wide range of events from more carnivalesque games, like a cow throw and balloon animals to a vintage clothing exchange. I also attended the dealer's room, which besides having independent publishers selling their fare, they also had a few bookstores from DreamHaven Books to Madison's own, A Room of One's Own. I walked away with a slightly lighter wallet after getting a few great books and two Coraline action figures.

On Saturday I found out that an author I like was there, and I didn't know it, so that was a nice surprise to find Catherynne M. Valente present and willing to sign my books. I attended a panel with Patricia C. Wrede entitled "Kick Ass Moms" which discussed the trend in fantasy and sci-fi to not even mention women as mothers, where they either don't have children or they time lapse the series to skip the child rearing years to pick up after they are grown. Some good kick ass moms that were discussed are Piper Halliwell from Charmed, Sarah Connor, Allison DuBois from Medium as well as the totally awesome Nanny Ogg, who really should have a panel all her own just on the hedgehog song. On Sunday I attended a panel with Caroline Stevermer on wish fulfillment, which was good but odd to say the least, with half the panel being more young adult and discreet and the other half talking a lot about slash and men on men action. I liked the summing up of wish fulfillment with a a nod to Calvin and Hobbes, where Calvin wishes for his own continent but Hobbes wished for a sandwich, and Hobbes is the one who's wish is fulfilled.

Finally on Monday was the SignOut, this is the designated time where you can get all the books you've been accumulating and hoarding signed. As you can probably guess from me attending the Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer panels that they were the authors I was here to see, due to their wonderful Kate and Cecelia books, Sorcery and Cecelia, The Grand Tour and The Mislaid Magician (with Magic Below Stairs hinted as a prequel coming next summer!)They were very nice and gracious, I could tell that Patricia C. Wrede doesn't seem to like the signings as much, being a "To_____" and "Patricia C. Wrede" person, whereas Caroline Stevermer would add a little comment, which I just love. But to give them their due, they signed everything I brought, which was all the Kate and Cecelia books, as well as the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the new Frontier Magic Series, the Scholarly Magic Series and River Rats.

So all in all a great con, low stress, low cost, high interest and definitely repeatable. Plus who knows who will be there or who has been there and will make it big down the way, as Caroline Stevermer said to me. With past names like Charles De Lint, Ursula Le Guin, Terri Windling and George R. R. Martin, anyone could stop by so go see what I'm talking about now!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 4:56 PM 0 comments  

Labels: Caroline Stevermer, Catherynne M. Valente, Charles De Lint, Coraline, Galley Ho, George R. R . Martin, Patricia C. Wrede, Terri Windling, Ursula Le Guin, WisCon