Among Others by Jo Walton

[lightreads]

Among Others by Jo Walton

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


…Huh.

So this is the sequel to a book that doesn't exist. That book -- the prequel -- is a standard issue fantasy about Mor and her twin sister growing up in Wales and seeing faeries, and how they save the world. This book is about the aftermath -- about Mor sent away from home, and grieving, and having to live in the world of school and estranged relatives after all she's done and seen. Having to live disabled in the world, I should clarify. And it's about that -- a coming into the mundane world because that's where we all grow up, ultimately, even if like Mor we read instead of breathing and don't really understand other people.

I don't . . . it didn't . . . yeah, not quite. Should have loved it -- my buttons, there they are. And yet? There was a lot of trying too hard, a lot of all my female geeky readers who grew up in books will love this! if you know what I mean.

Still. Mor has an excellent voice (and Katherine Kellgren does a beautiful reading, really, I can't recommend the commercial audio highly enough.) And it is lovely and strange and unlike anything I can think of. And important, I think, in the ongoing conversation about fantasy literature and what parts of it belong to childhood and what to adulthood (see Lev Grossman, to name one). I just . . . I don't think it's quite as important a contribution to that conversation for me as a lot of people apparently found it to be.




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Comments

[cyphomandra]

My reading completionist tendencies were dented at an early age by a teacher telling me just how many books were published each year, so I cling firmly to my re-reads!

(and thanks so much for your thoughts! It's going - well, faster and slower than expected. The drugs weren't too stressful and I responded quickly, but then there was the whole fertility maths decline - seven follicles, five eggs, four mature and only one fertilized. It grew fine, was put back and in three days I have a blood test (this is definitely the slow bit!) but arrgh. I am working through a series of unlikely anxiety dreams, and then I wake up and realize that I don't have to apologize to a friend for underwear stealing, but I do get to stress over whether I'm pregnant or not for another day)