Recent reading

[luzula]

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
For my book club at work. I've previously bounced off To the Lighthouse, perhaps because I tried to listen to it as an audiobook, but I enjoyed this! The stream-of-consciousness writing really worked for me, dipping in and out of people's heads and following their (often inconsistent) memories and thoughts. In a way it reminded me that every person is as important and as complicated inside their own head as I am. Which I obviously already knew to be true, but it's a good thing to be reminded of. And I found the writing itself beautiful and rhythmic.

Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones (Dalemark #1)
I decided to pick up a DWJ I'd never read before, instead of rereading old favorites from childhood. I picked this one because someone (probably skygiants?) mentioned it in a discussion about anti-monarchy fantasy. And I enjoyed it! I love DWJ's style, as always--it brings you close to the characters very quickly. Will be reading the next one. Also, "cwidder" is a lovely word.

Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
Time for some classic feminist SF. I hadn't read this before, though the trope is familiar to me: the future (that is, the future of the US) is a horrible patriarchy. I think it's probably the best done such book that I've read, though it's been years since I read The Handmaid's Tale, so the comparison is maybe not fair. I liked it better than The Terrorists of Irustan, which I've read more recently. Other examples of the genre? I thought the characters and their strategies for survival were interesting and well written. It's also got some really interesting SF bits where the S stands for linguistics: children are raised alongside aliens so as to learn their language from birth, for use in government negotiations. Aaaand then there's another bit of linguistic SF, which relies on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. I don't want to spoil the book too much for you, but I don't find the conclusion entirely convincing. Also I feel a little put off by the gender essentialism (and consequent separatism). Will probably not be reading the sequels, unless someone comes along and convinces me.

Comments

[skygiants]

PROBABLY ME. If it's DWJ it frequently is. >.> Anyway, fair warning, I wouldn't say the books are anti-monarchy exactly overall, but they are about revolution and doing quite interesting things with that! Also, I love them a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[luzula]

but they are about revolution and doing quite interesting things with that!

Fair enough, that still sounds interesting! I'm looking forward to the next book. : )

[green_grrl]

There was a huge spate of feminist SF in the '80s (thanks Ronald Reagan and the Moral Majority) about the future U.S. and the extension of religious conservatism/patriarchy. In addition to Atwood, ones that stand out in my memory are Sherri Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country (one of her least subtle books ;-), and Starhawk's The Fifth Sacred Thing (with a fantasy element of magic, and not subtle at all). I'm horrified that we are facing these battles for women's autonomy and equality still/again IRL.

P.S. I am currently enjoying Laurie Marks' Fire Logic, based on your previous rec!

[luzula]

Huh, I didn't consider the timing of the book relative to the political climate at the time. Interesting. I dunno, I've pretty much sworn off Tepper after reading some of her later, weirder books. : )

Glad you're enjoying Fire Logic! It is pretty great.

[akamine_chan]

Native Tongue was a favorite of mine when I was a teenager, and laid down a lot of the foundation on feminism for me. These days I don't agree with a lot of what the author was saying, but it was one of those groundbreaking (to me) books that really made me think about language and perception and feminism.

The final two books in the trilogy didn't impact me the way Native Tongue did, but Suzette Haden Eglin also wrote Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense, which was another book that made me aware of how we use language, especially during arguments.

[luzula]

Oh, interesting. Yeah, I can imagine that it had an impact if you read it young.

I'm trying to remember what shaped my feminist thinking in my teens, and I don't think it was any SF work, actually. Or any work in English, for that matter--it was a Swedish feminist magazine for young people that I subscribed to, and a Swedish book called Under the Pink Blanket (Under det rosa täcket) written by a Swedish feminist.

[scribe]

Oh man, the Dalemark books! I'd forgotten about those, but I really loved them as a child. I'm curious how the rest hold up!

[luzula]

I will report on it! Actually, I find that the suck fairy has left DWJ pretty much alone--on reread, I still really like the books of hers that I read as a kid.

[china_shop]

Aww, Native Tongue. I have the trilogy and fond memories of them, but I haven't read them in 20 years and don't remember much about them, except pretty much what you say above.

[luzula]

Yeah, I wonder if I'd reacted differently to the book if I'd read it in my teens. Probably.

[doodlesinsand.livejournal.com]

Those all sound pretty good!

(Sidenote: it's amazing to me how DWJ is capable of so much breadth and variety. You can almost always tell if something's by her, but it beats me how, because tone and writing style and everything can vary to fit the particular book/series. Imo she's definitely one of the best!)

[luzula]

I think her style is usually pretty recognizable! And it's pretty cool how she writes books that both children and adults can love.

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

Oh, Native Tongue, I've got that one sitting on my shelves somewhere!

As a non-binary, genderqueer feminist, I find the gender essentialism in that and many other texts and stories utterly perplexing. I mean, I like the idea that staying trapped in the traditional perspective can make problems appear insolvable, when the solutions may be quite obvious from another POV. I think that's very powerful. I just find it all rather *heh* alienating.

[luzula]

I mean, I like the idea that staying trapped in the traditional perspective can make problems appear insolvable, when the solutions may be quite obvious from another POV. I think that's very powerful. I just find it all rather *heh* alienating.

I don't think I understand what you're saying? Are you talking about the book's solution of separatism and language change? (I do understand the bit about gender essentialism being alienating to you.)

[keerawa.livejournal.com]

I'm referring to the way that the Encoding Project brought about a needed change in and of itself, because they were perceiving and communicating differently. And it was one they couldn't have planned for, within the confines of their original consciousness. It remind me a bit of Audre Lord's, 'The master's tools will never dismantle the Master's house.'

[luzula]

Ah, okay. Yeah, I did find the dictionary of Láadan words fascinating.

*searches the web* And of course there's an online Láadan website with lots more information. : )