The Magicians

The novel The Magicians by Lev Grossman is one of the most haunting novels I have read in recent memory. Grossman’s novel is an interesting mash of almost all the big magic fantasies of the recent century. This includes works such as harry potter and of the Narnia series. However, this story is a more mature (and darker) story then the others and it also is one of the saddest and depressing novels I have read. What makes this novel so sad is the connection one feels with the characters of the novel which makes us go through plenty of rollercoaster of emotions the way Grossman writes the story.

The progression of this novel is quite lengthy, extending from the college years of Quentin all the way to his eventual tussle with the beast in his adulthood. Grossman basically writes the story of Quentin through his life as a student and a full fledge adventuring mage in one 400 page novel, basically compressing Harry Potter and Narnia into one readable sitting. This sort of stretch leaves out major gaps in the story (most especially in his years in college) and most years of his life pass with only one chapter dedicated to them. However, by getting a full view of his life, we see a great coming of age story where Quentin grows and matures through the many events and retrospects of his life. As a college student at Ringling, I can really sympathies with his years as a college student and I felt that I was able to connect with Quentin then most characters. With that being said, this novel is by far the saddest story I have read in my entire life.

Throughout the story, I was intrigued by the magic and wonder of the world but, most of my attention was directed to the relationship between Alice and Quentin. Through their ups and downs and their time together, I have come to love them as a couple. It’s hard to say what exactly led me to completely fall entranced in their relationship, but it was probably due to them being singled out and eventually fell in love which I thought was absolutely adorable and heartwarming. When Quentin (and eventually Alice) ended up cheating on each other, not only was I sad, I was almost in tears to see this relationship fall apart. When they got back together, I was feeling so happy that I ended up reading the rest of the book in one sitting because I wanted to see their happy ending together. But sadly, as if Grossman wanted to make me miserable and crying, he decided to bring death to Alice in the worst and ironic way possible. This eventually led me to be in tears for about an hour whilst reading the rest of the book, hoping she would come back.

A Wild Sheep Chase

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami has by far been the weirdest and psychological thriller I have ever read in my life. A Wild Sheep Chase is a novel about a character that throughout the whole entire novel remains nameless. Through a series of events that change his life and his obtaining of a picture of one peculiar sheep, he goes on a trip to find a elusive sheep. This sheep, which no one can identify it’s breed and has a star on its back, has a peculiar way of entering and possessing humans that it meets and forever changing its life, for better and worse. What got me really hooked and thoroughly invested in this book is the progression in the story, as the events of the novel slowly creep up in weirdness that one barely notices the weirdness at all.

The novel starts off like many light novels generally found in Japan. Starting off like a normal story of one’s life in Japan, it slowly but surely takes on the story of a curious ghost story. This slow shift is something I have not come across in novels, and it did a very good job into luring me into the story. By not suddenly present the horror like in most horror novels and movies; it trapped me into reading it towards the end. This is because even if I did want to quit, since I already am in the climax of the story before I even realize it, I have the strong urge to find out what happens in the end. The surreal aspect of the novel also is curious because I did not find an area of the novel where the shift really occurred. To the talking of someone’s ears as being cute, to a novel and curious story of a town being built far away in the mountains, the story hardly has a clear shift to the horror.

This is also the first novel where the main character of the novel does not have a name. I think that Haruki Murakami is doing what a lot of Japanese writers are known for doing, putting us into the psyche of the main character by not giving us to much information about the main character. Unlike most western novels who often have strong main characters, this novel allows us to fill the roles of this unfortunate man as he struggles to figure out everything in his life. This gives us a more introspective look into his life and we are more engaged because we ourselves feel the ridiculousness of the main character.

               

Interview with the Vampire

“Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice is an appealing life story through a interesting character, a vampire. Though I usually shy away at stories involving a vampire that gets into a relationship with a another male vampire, this story had some interesting twist and turns that can keep a reader’s attention.

The setting of the narrative has been used in many and many books, and Rice didn’t add anything to the old formula. However, Rice does use this formula well in giving the vampires story a different perspective by using the boy as a device to show a humans opinion on this story.

What kept me interested throughout the story was the idea of a vampire’s difference in feeling towards the senses. This was an intriguing angle to take considering many vampire novels just talk about a vampire’s hunt. Though many of the novels I have read for the class have taken the role of the monster (Frankenstein, Monster Island) Rice did a great job in describing through words the heightened senses of the vampire. It got to the point where it was very easy to picture myself in the shoes Louis and almost experience myself what it was like to be a vampire.

Another attention-grabbing part of this novel is the relationships Louise goes through throughout the course of this novel. His first relationship with Lestat was a less common narrative found in vampire novels and it was fun to read a story of two conflicting ideals of what a vampire is. Louise gave into the heightened senses of a vampire, while clinging onto his human form, whilst Lestat reveled in his vampire instincts. It was then when he met (or created) Claudia, where his relationship dynamic changed. He started caring for Claudia, and treats her as if she was his own child. But, it was interesting to see how the relationship developed, as Claudia matured in mind but not in body. Louise throughout the novel could not accept that Claudia was growing up and was almost horrified to see her change. Lastly, it was somewhat horrifying to find what a person’s perception of reality is after living for so long. Rice did a great job in imagining a psyche that has changed over centuries of existence.