Friday, May 21, 2010

Story nature

The other night I read Jo Walton's Lifelode, and found it lovely. Quite unusual in terms of the form of narration (the model is Rumer Godden, someone I read very extensively when I was young and not at all since then), and extremely compelling. It is a NESFA Press book, and I am not sure I have read one of those before (I am happy to see it is now available from Amazon, as I think I had to order it directly from the press, which I always find less convenient); the introduction by the excellent Sharyn November compares it to Robin McKinley's Deerskin, a favorite book of mine, but to my ears the voice is perhaps slightly more reminiscent of Spindle's End. Anyway, a delightful little novel - Walton is certainly on my short list of favorite writers, as different as her books are from each other they all have that quality that will make me pick them up first and devour them before other available options...

3 comments:

  1. You have the link correct, but the text should be _NESFA_, not _NEFSA_.

    They've done some great work in putting together collections - making old materials available and promoting them.

    (I have their Cordwainer Smith collection in storage....)

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  2. Now corrected, thanks. I must have been thinking of NEVSA - the North-East Victorian Studies Association!

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  3. Interesting point about Deerskin v. Spindle's End. You're right about the tone. I was thinking of the attention to the everyday.

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