Coraline: A Truly ‘All-Ages’ Story

I may be the last blogger in the world to finish it, but I recently finished Neil Gaiman’s Coraline. I was, as expected, quite suitably blown away…and more than a little disappointed that such books did not exist way back when I was a wee laddie. But anyway…let’s jump to the gist of this entry since I’m at work and could be needed to work on something at any moment.

Firstly, I don’t really like Neil Gaiman’s prose work all that much. I think its well and good in its own place. It’s definitely not boring. But American Gods, and Good Omens (the two books of his I’d previously read) did nothing for me. They were well-written, sure, and definitely had their moments, but they didn’t leave me wanting to re-read them ever again…in my opinion the mark of a truly great book. So, it is with some hesitation that I bought this book. I figured, if I don’t like his ‘adult’ prose work, what were the chances I would like the ‘kid’ stuff? I was quite well and truly wrong.

Coraline is the type of book that every kid loves to have read to them, or to read themselves. It had a kid who’s bored with her life and begins to think that her parents don’t care much about her because they are involved in their personal lives. So, when she discovers another world…one in which her ‘other’ mother lives…she obviously clings to it and in the begining embraces it for its ‘newness’ and for the fact that her ‘other’ parents lives seem to revolve around her…not the other way around. Of course, with all such things, she discovers that not everything is what she wished for when her real parents disappear and she has to battle against her ‘other’ mother to save them.

The book was awesome. I was completely engrossed and finished it in one sitting (not a hard thing to do btw…pretty short book…it is for kids after all.) The illustrations by Dave McKean were also beautifully rendered. I had forgotten how simple and expressive his line-work truly is. Having his artwork without the benefits of the painted backgrounds and objects he inserts really showed something that was truly terrifyingly beautiful which I had otherwise been missing for some time.

Overall, I think the book is definitely worth buying it as soon as possible. The kid in you will be happy…and the kid you know will be happy. Trust me, you’ll enjoy it. Hell, reading this book almost made me forgive the crap that was Eternals. Almost.

Oh…and I found excellent (some of them were actually needed!!) butt-shots in the latest Teen Titans. So…there will be a butt-shots #4 this week. Let’s see how any weeks I can find at least one book with good images.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – Short Review

           Begining a review is always the hard part. You don’t want to give anything away, and at the same time you want to draw people in. I think this is the best begining possible for this book as there is no way I could talk about it without spoiling it horribly, although I will try my damndest.
           First off, the death. I must say it was handled very well, and in keeping with the character in question. His death at the hands of anyone else would feel cheap, and there is a sense of “I told you so…” in the writing. Rowling seems to be trying to tell us that trust is something which should never be given lightly, and which, for better or worse is something which cannot be rescinded once given. Now, like I said before, I think this book is easily one of the best books in the series, but again this is based on my own opinion. I know a lot of people will not like this book as it contains a lot of set-up and resolves barely anything, but therein lies the beauty of this book. It sets up the end perfectly, gives us all the info we need heading into the end, and most importantly, finally gives us the origin of Voldemort. The one story I had been waiting to read since book 1 finally surfaced and I couldn’t be happier with the result. Excellent method of giving us the story without it seeming force-fed, and anyway, I love non-linear storytelling so it was a treat for me.
           Now, the reason why I thought this book was far better than the last two is quite simple. I prefer my books with more substance to them than a round-the-clock fight session (Goblet of Fire) or boring explanations dealing with a prophecy which was debunked in this book (Order of Phoenix). This book had maturation, and heart. This was an adult’s Harry Potter, and I couldn’t be gladder for it. I know the kid’s will not enjoy it as much (most of them) but it was great, and actually makes me look forward to the next book…whenever it shall appear.

Harry Potter 6 – Pt. 1

           So I finally caved and bought the sixth book in the Harry Potter series. I must say, apart from the shoddy hand-holding begining 2-3 chapters, the rest of the book is one of the better one in the series. I know there isn’t a lot of love for this edition and a lot of people don’t like it, but from what I’ve read thus far (still got 4 more chapters to go) this is turning out to be the best book in the series since the Prisoner of Azkaban which is my favorite in the series. I hesitate to review it fully till I’m done, so no more thoughts on why I like this part so much, and why I didn’t think 4 and 5 were all that great, but expect an indepth review (well, not so much indepth as full of explanations) soonish.

Cheap Books!!

I love, love, love going to Anarkali on Sundays. I mean where else can you find an excellent copy of Dune for only Rs. 5??? Not to mention I also managed to get a copy of the Princess Diaries (don’t ask) book…also for Rs. 5. I mean, let’s face it, the main reason I go on regular sundays is to be able to find comics, but since Pakistan, and especially Lahore seems to be going through a phase of no comic availability, I have to satisfy myself with any books I find. Which, considering I bought 2 books for the price of one comic these days, isn’t all that bad

I’ve also managed to dl and start reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I must say, the first chapter is more than a little underwhelming. One of the worst summarizations I’ve personally ever read, and I may be completely blanking on the last book, but I have no clue who this new Minister of Magic is. Rowling seems to be slipping, and well, it is the penultimate chapter in a series…which almost always tend to suck…so my expectations weren’t all that high to begin with. I’ll be buying the paper version soon enough. We’ll see if reading it without the glare of the computer screen helps the book any, or whether is sucks regardless.