So for years--about 16, now--I've been in love with a book called Tam Lin, by Pamela Dean. It's the most amazing book I've ever read, and I re-read it almost every Halloween. (It's also landmarked in my head as one of the books lost in our housefire, when I was twelve.)
But I've never read any of Dean's other books. I never even tried to find any at the library, and I'm not sure why. I usually pick one author and gulp down every known work in an orgy of author-love. So this year, I decided, what the heck? Why not read more P. D.? And I checked out Juniper, Gentian and Rosemary.
It was fine, I guess. I mean, I love Gentian, the main character, and I liked her friends. But OMG! She used the same tricks! Even some of the same quotes! And once again, she spent pages summarizing plays that the protaganist is reading. Uggh! Uggh! Uggggggh! And to make it worse, the ending was totally unsatisfying, and the girl pisses off her cat. You just don't go around separating a girl from her cat unless it's for a really effective and satisfying climax, and this ending did not merit it. Jeez.
So I put another book on hold by Dean just in case this one was a fluke. I've got my fingers crossed. I don't want my heart to break!
2 comments:
Is it weird than even when I read about other people reading I get a craving for Doritos?
Mmm...now you're making me crave Doritos too. Did you hear that they've made bags with combinations of flavors? Brilliant. I am so going to go check that out.
Sorry that the author let you down. Maybe she only had one good book in her, but the publishing company leashed her into a multiple book deal.
I felt sort of the same way when I read "Hunchback of Notre Dame." How could Victor Hugo, author of the best book ever (nearly), write such romanticized drivel?
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