Courting Disasters and Portable Childhoods - intermingled reviews.

[guppiecat]

There are stories, and there are Stories. The former are idle pleasantries, constructed to amuse, entertain, teach, or otherwise create an effect. The latter, ah the latter, are not constructed but rather, are born. They exist for no other purpose other than it is entirely right and proper that they do, and (I suspect) are written for no other reason than that they must be. In the last few weeks, I have been lucky enough to encounter, not one, but TWO volumes of the latter.

They come to me on two very different paths, yet two that are entirely appropriate.



Courting Disasters (And Other Strange Affinities) by Nina Kiriki Hoffman has taken a very winding path. Once upon a time, many years ago, I was wandering through a used book store needing (not wanting) something NEW. Of course, such a need can never be filled directly (for that would render the world far too mundane and predictable), and must be fulfilled from side... sneaking up on the solution while it is lounging near a waterhole gazing at the clouds and pondering the nature of cheese (or linen, you never know). So... I asked the bookstore to help me. Not a clerk, the bookstore itself. Clerks are good at finding what you know you want, but only the bookstore can help you find what you need. Once I did that, The Silent Strength of Stones leapt from the shelf and into my hands... my first book by Nina Kirki Hoffman. I quickly gathered all that I could, but there were numerous volumes that were difficult to find. Several years later, I was at work... doing one of those late night server things... when I suddenly felt the overwhelming need to go to eBay and search. That is when I just happened to find an individual who was selling off the old Pulphouse/Axolotl volumes. These are hard to come by, partly because of very limit printed runs, and partly because axolotls only live in a single lake in Mexico. I imagine that it must be hard to run a printing press from a lake, which explains the limited editions. Anyway, that's how I managed to get almost the last of her books (including one in "staff red", oh the bibliophilic joy). A few weeks ago, I felt a similar urge to check the net again, and I found a copy of Courting Disasters . . . I'd only been looking for years.

The other book, Portable Childhoods by Ellen Klages, arrived much more directly. At Minicon, last year, I asked Charles de Lint what I should read next, since I had run out of Nina Kirki Hoffman books (except for CD, since I couldn't find that one). He recommended The Green Glass Sea, which Dreamhaven was kind enough to let me purchase. So, I was looking for her next one, and Amazon.com notified me when it came out. I just finished reading it, and will now discuss them together. There is no reason for these two books to be linked... unless you're me, but if you've read this far, I trust that you'll bear with me as I mix them together.



Both volumes contain short Stories. There are Stories that make you cry with joy and others that make you cry with sadness and pain. This is Just and Proper, and Exactly What They Should Do. To keep things from being too confusing, I will denote the stories from the volumes as (CD) and (PC), so you know where to find them if you care.

One thing I miss from not working in the bookstore anymore is the ability to recommend books to specific people. So, here is the experiment: I am going to try to call out individual stories for individuals on my friends list. These are based on what I know about you, what I know about your reading habits, and general intuition. I would be very interested in learning if I was right (especially for those of you that I don't know terribly well yet). Also, if any of you have a problem with being listed next to a recommendation, let me know and I'll remove your link ASAP. (Not looking to piss anyone off here.) Also also, if you expected to be listed and weren't, let me know so I can keep you in mind for similar stories in the future.



"Voices in a Shelter Home (CD)" is a ghost story of the living. Combined with "Courting Disasters (CD)", the two stories serve as bookends that discuss domestic/relationship abuse. The first introduces us to a character who has put it behind her, but has not yet begun to heal. It's hard to read. The second gives us two characters, one who is running away from the patterns and the other who is oblivious to them (and a car, a tree, a mother and a ghost -- all vital to the story). The second ends with hope, and is a wonderful way to leave the collection. ("Courting Disasters (CD)" should be read by grrscary and hitchhiker)

Interestingly enough, "Basement Magic (PC)" and "In the House of the Seven Librarians (PC)" bookend in exactly the same way, with the latter ending the book with hope. The former is quite difficult to read, but the latter is joy from the beginning to the end. I don't want to spoil anything in it, but if you like books, you MUST read "In the House of the Seven Librarians (PC)". (Specifically, it should be read by minnehaha K, rikhei, pameladean and tesla_aldrich) ("Basement Magic (PC)", by the way, is best read in mizzlaurajean and davidschroth's guest room, prior to bed.)

Then, things get REALLY interesting.

• "Waiting for the Hunger (CD)" starts with a kidnapping and goes gothic from there. It's brilliant and should be read by grrscary, eleri and vaxjedi


• "Intelligent Design (PC)" has a very interesting take on the creation of the universe. I've seen similar, but nothing quite like this -- a perfect example of inspiration from a quote. (vylar_kaftan, jdhobbes and amaebi would like it.)


• "The Glass Mountain (CD)" is what it would be like if Nina Kiriki Hoffman wrote a Patricia McKillip story. hitchhiker would like this one. I think that ladyotterfae might as well.


• "Triangle (PC)" is horrible and will make you cry. Of course, it's excellently written too. laffingbuddha will appreciate it, but it may not be a pleasant read. kalmn, and kalikanzeros might appreciate it too... I'm not sure.


• "Lost Lives (CD)" is about the soul and strength in the face of adversity. grrscary *might* like it. nanassi probably would.


• "Flying Over Water (PC)" is about when you're not exactly a child anymore and not yet an adolescent. For those of us who had difficulty with this transition (all of us?), it's hard to read... and it's sad. For some reason, I think that lizardling would appreciate it.


• "Variations on a Scream (CD)" is good on it's on, but was re-imagined much better in "The Skeleton Key" (collected in Time Travelers, Ghosts and Other Visitors). I found it interesting from a evolution of story perspective. grrscary should read the latter. nanassi should read them both.


• "Mobius, Stripped of a Muse (PC)", "Echos and Mirrors (CD)", "Housewife (CD)" and "Be Prepared (PC)" are experimental fiction. vaxjedi will freaking love them. hitchhiker will find them interesting.


• "The Open Air My Grave (CD)" will pull out your heart and stomp on while wearing size 12 army boots... and make you like it. ladyotterfae, grrscary and lizardling will read it and cry.


• "Time Gypsy (PC)" is about physics and time travel. guppiecat will love it (and I did). mrissa and hitchhiker might like it. Others likely wouldn't care a whole lot.


• "A Night Out (CD)" is pretty much written for grrscary. Others may like it (vaxjedi, flaim? and warpmind) but not as much.


• "Travel Agency (PC)" is about the lands within books. rikhei, pameladean and (possibly) tesla_aldrich will probably like it.


• "A Step Into Darkness (CD)" is about child abuse and witchcraft. I do not know my friendslist well enough to directly recommend it, so I shall just say that it's good.


• "Ringing Up Baby (PC)" is a wonderful story with a wonderful twist. Anyone who interacts with young children will like it. But I think that mizzlaurajean might like it best (but it might hurt a bit too).


• "Guys Day Out (PC)" is one of the most touching stories that I've read in a long time. It's about a boy with Down Syndrome. lollardfish and buttonlass might like it, but *damn* it's painful to read. Be warned.


• "Rumors of Greatness (CD)" is hard to read, both due to the material and the writing technique. amaebi would find it interesting... and potentially useful professionally.


• "Portable Childhoods (PC)" is an amazing story about a single mother raising a child. Unlike absolutely everything else on this list, there are no fantastic elements, no magic, no gimmicks. It's just a collection of thoughts and observations and is amazing in it's shear honesty. If you have kids or are planning to, it's a must read.


• "Hushabye (CD)" is a very short and very haunting story about mental illness. If you're a writer like pameladean, mrissa, and vylar_kaftan, you'll likely appreciate the craft. Everyone else can just be haunted by the story.


• "Family Tree (CD)", "Out of Hand (CD)". and "Exact Change (CD)" are classic examples of Nina Kirki Hoffman's newer work. If you enjoyed A Red Heart of Memories and the like, you'll like them. If not, start with the more easily-available novels.

Now, the bad news is that Courting Disasters (And Other Strange Affinities) will be very hard to find, you might need to find one through a library. However, Portable Childhoods is still in print, so you should be able to find that one easily.

Comments

[beki.livejournal.com]

*pout* I read, not as often as I would like, but I do. *pout* ;)

[guppiecat]

Yes, but I do not know what you read... so it's difficult to include you in the recommendation set.

Actually, I think that you might enjoy the SANS MGMT 414 class materials (flawed though they may be), but I tend not to review things like that. ;)

[beki.livejournal.com]

I've been writing tech training material. I guess this means that I am like Mr Scott... although I have been reading tech for class, not for fun :)

[vylar-kaftan.livejournal.com]

I see Ellen at local parties sometimes. I love her work (Basement Magic is an amazing story) and I should pick up her collection. Thanks.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Portable Childhoods but have not had Courting Disasters cross my path yet. Hmm.

[guppiecat]

Keep an eye out for it... for a long long time.

It's one of the rarer ones and was quite difficult for me to find (affordably).

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Duly noted on the appropriate list.

[pameladean]

I've read "In the House of the Seven Librarians" (it was originally published in one of the Firebirds anthologies), but none of the others. Must remedy, I suppose. I did indeed very much love "In the House of the Seven Librarians."

P.

[amaebi.livejournal.com]

Duly noted and WorldCatted and oh my, yes, rarey. Wildside Press explains that in large part....

Anyway, I'll try for it.

[tesla-aldrich.livejournal.com]

Thank you for thinking of me!

I'm looking forward to finding the book and diving into the stories. I'll make sure to post so as to let you know what I think.

[laffingbuddha.livejournal.com]

I'll need to check this out.

[xap]

Well, as it's been many years since we worked together (or even talked much) I'm not surprised to not be on the list :) But am always interested in new treasures, so took notes.

Now, the bad news is that Courting Disasters (And Other Strange Affinities) will be very hard to find, you might need to find one through a library. However, Portable Childhoods is still in print, so you should be able to find that one easily.
*grin* I should not be surprised that you start with books I now quite want to read, but can't get my hands on! (My library called yesterday to inform me that they have not been able to find CD on any of their ILL lists). They did get Portable Childhoods for me Saturday....need my own copy now. Wow.

Thank you again :)

[guppiecat]

ILL should be able to get you _Time Travelers, Ghosts, and Other Visitors_, which is a more widely-available collection. You might also like _A Red Heart of Memories_, as it's a good intro to one of her worlds.