BOOK REVIEW: Codex by Lev Grossman

Edited at Mr. Distortion's request. He didn't think I made it clear enough how much I enjoyed the book.

Title: Codex
Author: Lev Grossman
Copyright: 2004
Intended audience: Adult

First line: "Edward Wozny stood squinting at the sun as crowds of people excused themselves past him in both directions."

Edward Wozny is a successful investment banker who becomes involved in a quest. The holy grail of this quest is a medieval book, or codex. Powerful clients of his firm, the Duke and Duchess of Bowmry, have hired Edward to unpack and organize a collection of ancient books that have been crated and left unopened since the beginning of World War II. It is supposed, by the owners of the crated library, that a rare and mythical codex by a medieval monk will be found in this group of stored books. Scholars seem to know of this codex, but most do not believe it ever existed. Edward finds himself drawn into the mystery of the codex and begins some research on the life and writings of the monk. During his research, Edward meets Margaret Napier, a graduate student writing her dissertation on the monk. She doesn't believe in the existence of the codex, but is intrigued and joins Edward in the search.

Edward is simultaneously drawn into a strange computer game which bears an uncanny resemblance to his search for the medieval codex. The game has a dreamlike and labyrinthine quality to it and the mingling of cyberworld and reality gives Codex an eerie atmosphere. The tension builds as Edward gets pulled further into both the computer game and his search for the codex.

Edward is mystified when he is told to stop unpacking the library and quit the search for the codex. He is further mystified when the Duchess contacts him personally and asks him to continue searching for the codex ... secretly. Apparently the Duke and Duchess are at odds. What is it that the Duchess is hoping to learn from the codex? What is it that the Duke fears?

Codex delivers a final twist that is rather understated considering the tension and build up of the first 3/4 of the book. I got the impression that the author had too many loose ends and didn't quite know what to do with them; hence the rather abrupt and understated end. This is Mr. Grossman's first novel and I think he did an outstanding job writing an atmospheric and suspenseful novel that was hard to put down.

Read this one for atmosphere, quest elements, and for a story that will keep you reading into the wee hours of the morning.

BOOK REVIEW: Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer

Edited to include this note to point the reader to an update on my thoughts of the Twilight series.

I was curious about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series after reading all of the positive reviews both in blogland and in various review sources. I don't think I read a single negative review. So, since I think I have something a little different to say about these books, I thought I'd actually write up a review.

Let me begin by saying that I enjoyed reading all three books. They were fast reads considering the length of the books (Eclipse was over 600 pages). I do think all three books could have been much shorter. That said, I do have a few not so flattering things to say.

Teen Angst and Harlequin Romance Cliches
Let me start with the teenage angst. Way. Too. Much. I do realize that Ms. Meyer is writing to the young adult crowd and that they will relate to the terrible angst. I still think there was too much of it though. Mix the massive overdose of teen angst with Harlequin Romance cliches (like constant misunderstandings) and ... well ... I did find myself rolling my eyes a bit too often as I read.

Vampires and Werewolves
I do not have a problem with authors including mythical creatures in stories. In fact, I love vampire, ghost and monster stories; but I generally look for something underlying the use of such mythical and dangerous creatures. For instance, the use of vampires to point out the human condition. Ms. Meyer doesn't really use her creatures in this way. In fact, I felt that she brought them in simply to sell books. Vampires and werewolves make the story sexy (as in "appealing") to young people. To be fair, the author did TRY to make some bigger statements about the not-quite-human, but I think she failed terribly.

The BIG Issues and Narcissism
What about Edward's soul? What about Bella's soul? That whole topic could have been big, big, big but Ms. Meyer brought it up as a rather trivial side issue that often got brushed off in order to refocus on the narcissistic teen heroine's angst. In fact, Bella is more concerned with how she feels about things and with what she wants than about what is right or wrong. Bella appears to be concerned about the feelings of others, but in every case it boils down to what Bella feels and what Bella wants ... even at the expense of others. This narcissism remains (pretty much unchallenged) right up to the very end of Eclipse. (I am especially surprised at this unchecked character attribute considering the authors background.) Yes, this narcissism is very, very adolescent and, yes, Ms. Meyer is writing to the YA audience, but is this where we want to leave our teen readers?? I'm all in favor of showing a little character maturation in order to encourage young readers to look beyond their little teen worlds and to get past the narcissism that is natural at that age.

The Parents
Hmmm. All I have to say about that is ... Bella is pretty much left to raise herself and make her own decisions. Renee (Bella's mother) is still an emotional child and Charlie (Bella's father) seems to parent by throwing a few parental fits and grounding Bella, but in reality neither parent has the guts to truly parent a child and Bella does what she wants when she wants. Unfortunately, this is reflective of the parenting that many kids receive, but to present it as a benign influence in Bella's life was not what I wanted to see. I will concede that Bella does seem to gain some maturity at the end of Eclipse when she realizes that it is not all about what she wants and that she should consider the feelings of those she plans to leave behind in her quest for eternity with Edward; but it is really a very short side note to the story. Again, the BIG issues get trivialized in order to focus on the hand wringing.

Recommendation?
I did enjoy reading these books myself and found them reflective of a variety of teen feelings (at least as I remember them from long ago). As a librarian, I would definitely add these to the young adult collection. They are popular and I really don't have issues with these books appearing in library collections and being read by teens. As a grandmother, I will not be purchasing and sending these books to my granddaughter. I really don't want to encourage any "drama queen" behavior and would prefer to send her books that capture the teen experience without glorifying the angst angle. We've already got enough of that!

Also reviewed at:
Passion for the Page
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Everyday Reading Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse

BOOK REVIEW: Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Title: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Copyright: 2002
Intended audience: Young adult

First line: "Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house."

I decided to continue reading some young adult literature and thought Coraline by Neil Gaiman would be a good choice for the month of October. Coraline definitely has the requisite creepy factor that is a good choice for the weeks leading up to Halloween.

The beginning of the book is reminiscent of the magical wardrobe featured in the Narnia novels by C.S. Lewis. (This should come as no surprise since Gaiman has admitted that the Narnia books were some of his favorites.) Just as Lewis's children are bored and trying to entertain themselves, so is Coraline trying to amuse herself by exploring the new house and grounds to which her family has recently moved. The discovery of magical doorways to alternate universes are the exploratory results of bored children in both stories.

Coraline is curious about a locked door in the sitting room and asks her mother what is behind the door. Her mother unlocks the door using a big, black iron key. Behind the door is a red brick wall. The house was once a large single family residence but has, over time, been broken into a series of flats. Naturally, the opening between two rooms that now belong to separate flats had to be bricked up. Once Coraline's curiosity has been sated, Mother shuts and locks the door and Coraline goes about her explorations.

Later that night Coraline hears a noise and sees a dark shadow. She creeps out of bed and discovers the door in the sitting room is open a few inches. She goes to the door to take a look and discovers that the brick wall has disappeared and a dark corridor has taken its place. Of course, being a curious child, Coraline walks down the hallway only to discover another flat that looks just like hers. Not only is the flat the same, but this is where the "other mother" and "other father" live. The other mother and other father encourage Coraline to stay with them and promise to be more attentive than her real Mother and Father. She can eat all of her favorite foods and play with new and interesting toys. Sound good? Well, maybe ... if it weren't for the disturbingly skewed features of the "other flat" and the fact that other mother and other father have big black buttons sewn onto their faces where their eyes should be! Coraline runs back down the corridor to her own flat and quickly shuts and locks the mysterious door.

Next day Coraline discovers that her Mother and Father have disappeared. After two days, Coraline has determined that the other mother has captured her real parents and she must rescue them. What ensues is a chilling game of "find the missing parents" and "liberate the souls of those previously trapped by other mother." The other flat and other parents gradually begin to warp and look less and less like the real world and more and more like a nightmare. Does Coraline rescue her parents? Does she liberate the trapped souls? Does she escape the clutches of other mother? Well ... I wouldn't want to give away the ending.

Coraline is a modern fairy tale that includes traditional fairy tale trappings similar to those of the Brothers Grimm. The point of the tale though is not mere entertainment and chills; there are lessons to be learned such as the nature of bravery, contentment with what you have, and the importance of family. I can highly recommend this book for older children and adults. It might be a bit too scary for young children.

"Fairy tales are more than true; not because
they tell us that dragons exist, but because
they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
-- G.K. Chesterton

Wordless Wednesday: Tombstone