The Chronicles of Narnia

Over the past few weeks, I've been slowly reading "The Chronicles of Narnia." For some reason, I had missed this series as a child, which is strange because I used to read a lot of fantasy. I had read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in Grade 3 or 4, but couldn't remember much about it, aside from the fact that there were 4 children, and a lion and they go into a magical world called Narnia through a wardrobe. I've worked in three different bookstores in my life and I know the Narnia series is a constant seller. People want to give it as a gift, and many people have fond memories of the series.

As many people were asking me questions about the series, I finally decided to read it this year. I'm glad I did. There are some good things about this series, and some things that I didn't like. In general, I found that it was a series that I couldn't really get into, probably because I didn't feel that the characters of the children were very well developed.

From what I have learned in my forays around the reading and writing world, there are generally two types of fiction- character driven, and plot driven. I have a hard time following plot driven storylines. I am 100% about characters- who they are, what they are doing, and how they drive the plot. I realized that this is one reason why I like teen fiction so much; generally the teenager characters' issues around identity, belonging, and other life situations tend to drive the plot. I have a hard time following action movies, and don't care for a lot of things where the characters are not explored. I tend to prefer family and relationship movies and books as a result. (Aside- A writer friend of mine argues that all plot is character driven.)

Therefore, since I didn't feel close to any of the characters, I had a hard time getting into Narnia. I have the exact same problem with Tolkien. Actually, I hate Tolkien. He has little character development and far too much description and fighting for me to enjoy reading his work. A friend of mine was telling me about how people have analyzed Tolkien's fiction and said that books that were written like his in the present day probably wouldn't get published. I did like the movies, but the only books of his I've read are "The Hobbit" and "The Fellowship of the Ring", and I plan to keep it that way. Anyway, I digress. This is about Narnia, not Tolkien.

What I loved about the books- The magical worlds, the world building, the talking animals. I also loved when characters went evil. The second a character went evil, I was much more attentive, and the characters became more interesting.

Things I didn't like- the general quick way that each of the books tied up, the misogyny and racial overtones that made me uncomfortable, the big lack of discernable character

I know that some people have strong opinions about the Christian allegory, but I don't. It was there, I noticed it, and I felt quite neutral about it. I actually liked the portrayal of Aslan- I had no issues with this and quite loved the image of a lion as God. When I was small, I used to have a reoccuring fantasy about a guardian lion, so I quite enjoyed this image. I also thought that a lot of the ideas in this book were about faith in general. I am not Christian, but I do believe in faith. I think belief is important- whether it be in a god or goddess, or being a good person, or having convictions. Even though faith has probably accounted for a lot of evil in the world, I believe that it has inspired a lot of good as well.

( thoughts about each book, with spoilers )

I don't actually remember all the books that well, so it just shows how they were the kind of books that really didn't affect me.

(no subject)

My article on women's bookstores is currently in the latest issue of Herizons.

Veronica Mars, I'm watching you...

I finally finished watching the first season of Veronica Mars. Holy fucking shit!! The last two episodes were killer (no pun intended) and the whole season was pretty darn great. It took me a while to get on the Veronica Mars bandwagon, and as you can tell, I'm still a bit behind. I started watching when the eps started airing on CTV and then ended up missing some of the final eps as my VCR (or the VCR's owner) fucked up while I was in New York, and didn't record them. I waited patiently for the DVDs. I was going to rent them from Zip, but then I learned that [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com] owned them, and he became my enabler. THANK YOU!!!! Because of CTV's wacky schedule, I had missed several really good eps including "Clash of the Tritons", and "An Echolls Family Christmas." I had also missed the pilot, but had caught up on it by reading the recaps at TWOP. In retrospect, I was glad that the pilot wasn't the first ep that I saw, because it was too filled with back-story and probably wouldn't have held my attention. I liked the first few eps I saw, but I was truly a fan by the time I watched Episode 5 because of the plot twist that I did not see coming.

Other notes- great characters and acting overall, slick writing, great plot twists, dialogue and storylines, and a wonderful use of suspense.

I also love the multi-ethnic cast, Veronica's closeness with her father, how things are never black and white and the various age groups that appear in the show. Sometimes I miss details in the episodes, and find that I have to re-watch scenes, or go to TWOP to find things out. That's just me though, and not a problem with the show.

My complaints are few. Initially, I had problems telling Logan and Duncan apart, but this changed after a few episodes. I also feel that sometimes the characters look far too old to be high school students. They are better cast than some (hello 90210!), but it still bothers me. Sometimes I also feel that Veronica is a bit too perfect. I enjoy watching episodes where she screws up, as this makes the character more real to me. I think that she's fairly nuanced, and I'm pretty happy with her character in general.

My other complaint is that mid-way through the season, I started finding Jason Dohring ridiculously attractive, even though I really didn't want to.

( more about Logan and MAJOR spoilers for SEASON 1 under the cut )

I'm looking forward to watching the second season on CTV, or on DVD, because it's too late to start watching now. Oh, and can anyone help me find an icon community for Veronica Mars icons? Thank you.