The Conservative Cave
Interests => Hobbies => The Book Club => Topic started by: Chris_ on October 18, 2013, 02:55:14 PM
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Because weak little wimps like this fellow get all upset at what is essentially a book for teenage boys.
Revisiting the sad, misogynistic fantasy of Xanth
Here’s how this article was supposed to go down: As a kid, I lived in Florida. Back then I loved the books of Piers Anthony—especially his humorous, bestselling Xanth series, which is set in a parallel version of Florida where magic and mythical creatures exist. For this installment of Memory Wipe, I was going to reread A Spell For Chameleon, the 1977 novel that started the Xanth series (whose 37th—yes, 37th—volume, Esrever Doom, comes out this month). Then, in poignant prose, I would revisit the magic of my own Floridian childhood, even though that childhood was actually pretty ****ed up, but maybe not quite as ****ed up as it seemed at the time. The big takeaway: Thanks, Piers Anthony, for the swell book, not mention giving me a tidy epiphany about how fantasy, geography, and nostalgia overlap in the hazy mists of reminiscence.
Instead, this happened: I reread A Spell For Chameleon, and during those excruciating hours all I could think about was what a sad, misogynistic piece of shit it is.
The Onion AV Club (http://www.avclub.com/articles/revisiting-the-sad-misogynistic-fantasy-of-xanth,104382/)
I'm going to stop quoting here, because what follows is as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning and a liberal finding something pointless to be upset about.
My disclaimer: I still own a copy of A Spell For Chameleon... I made a trip to McKay's Used Books just to buy a copy.
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Loved that book. So, Mr. Reviewer.................... :bird:
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Because weak little wimps like this fellow get all upset at what is essentially a book for teenage boys.
The Onion AV Club (http://www.avclub.com/articles/revisiting-the-sad-misogynistic-fantasy-of-xanth,104382/)
I'm going to stop quoting here, because what follows is as predictable as the sun coming up in the morning and a liberal finding something pointless to be upset about.
My disclaimer: I still own a copy of A Spell For Chameleon... I made a trip to McKay's Used Books just to buy a copy.
Sad man, would he want the series sanitised for today's boys ?
I had an experience a few years ago with all things Nancy Drew books.
Granddaughter came to visit for a week, 8 years old, and I found she did not like to read. So I went out and bought a brand new Nancy Drew with the title of the first one I had read at her age or younger.
We would read to each other a chapter and then she or I would read another every day. Something was very wrong, the book had been updated and sanitised to the point it was dreadfully boaring.
I got into Moms attic and found a few of the original books that I had read, my Aunties books from the 1940's time. Now we were cooking, she as I did fell in love with the books and I caught her reading these on her own. No longer did she want to do anything but to, as I did ,fall into the book, she did not want me to read to her, she was in her own world with the book.
I spent some time haunting old book stores to get her the old books of the time, everything from the MR.&Mrs. North story's to Trixie Belden mystery's. She loved the Topper stories and I did get her the Rebbecca story and she cried.
As things work out instead of one week she spent the whole summer with me. When she went home she had a big box of books and because she spent so much time reading had gained 10 pounds.
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I think I've read every Xanth book published and will read the new ones as long as Piers keeps writing them. I've read a couple of his other series, but they never kept my attention like the Xanth series.
I had always hoped that someone would convince Anthony to let an anime series be made from the books.