2009 Reading #105: The Magic Toyshop

[snurri]

Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
Books 41-50.
Books 51-60.
Books 61-70.
Books 71-80.
Books 81-90.
Books 91-100.
101. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman.
102. Brown Harvest by Jay Russell.
103. Dab Neeg Hmoob: Myths, Legends and Folk Tales from the Hmong of Laos, Charles Johnson, editor and Se Yang, associate editor.
104. Summer of '49 by David Halberstam.

105. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter. I have come somewhat late to Carter; up to this point I have only read a bit of her short fiction. Her writing scares me in a way similar to the way Samuel R. Delany's does--her control of her imagery and the precision of her language speak of a frightening intelligence behind it all. Somewhere along the way someone told me that Carter's novels were not as good as her short stories, but they were wrong. This is a deliriously good book, gorgeous and horrifying and mythic and firmly grounded in the real, a coming of age story with a fairy tale wound uncomfortably tight around it. If anything outside of Latin America deserves to be called Magical Realism, this would be it. Highest recommendation; those last five pages will stay with for a long time.

Comments

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

That's one of my absolute favorite novels, in general, and of hers.

Nights at the Circus is amazing, too.

There are a few of her novels that, while good, aren't *as* good as this novel or NatC or many of her short stories. So, whoever said her novels aren't as good as her short stories may have encountered some of her best short story work and some of her good but not outstandingly awesome novel work.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Good to know; I have the collected shorts, so that'll be the next thing I read by her, but I'll keep an eye out for Night at the Circus.

You have such good taste, I should just read everything you recommend :-)

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

The collected stories is a great book. It's interesting to see her development as a short story writer in them, where her interests change and how she constructs stories changes with the interests. I see lots of differences between her Japan stories, her American stories, the revised fairy tales, and then the stories that take place in nowhere but Carter-land.

I have not been reading lots of good books lately, so it's been fun to read about what you've been reading. Can't wait to have my reading freedom back (at least a little) after this degree is finished. :)

[snurri.livejournal.com]

It's funny, because I've felt a little restricted in my reading too, because of all the research I've been doing. But that's not likely to stop any time soon, so I've just got to resign myself to it.

[sarah-prineas.livejournal.com]

I adore this book! In fact, I've taught it a bunch of times, in a survey fantasy and science fiction class as an example of magic realism. Works really well when put up against traditional fairy tales.

Of all her novels, I do think this one is the most successful.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

I like how it has two faces, one that acknowledges the fairy-tale parallels and one that is too involved with it all to point it all out.

[bondgwendabond.livejournal.com]

Oh, yay, so wonderful. Nights at the Circus is also WONDERFUL. And I actually think she's one of those authors almost everything is worth looking up by--heck, I'm a big enough fan that I read Rick Moody's essay about having her as an instructor.

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

LOL, Gwenda! So did I! :)

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I plan to check out most if not all of her stuff eventually!

[bloodlossgirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommendation! I've got a book or two of her story collections floating around the house, as well as "The Passion of New Eve", but I've only previously read "The Bloody Chamber". I'll have to remedy that, and soon. I'm also in school, but I can only restrict my reading habits so much - swearing off fiction only makes me incredibly grumpy. I take exception to referring to some of my reading as "recreational" - it isn't. It's medicinal. (Including preventional medicine)

[bloodlossgirl.livejournal.com]

Erm, that was supposed to be "preventive" medicine, not preventional. I don't know where that came from. I blame the social sciences.

[hecubot.livejournal.com]

No fucking way! Guess what I am reading right now at this very instant? Yes, The Magic Toyshop. (Good guess.)

I'm a long time fan of Carter, both her fiction and non-fiction.

Did you know The Magic Toyshop was made into a movie? I barely remember it. It was very lo-fi indie or possibly British TV production that's hard to see.

I have a slight preference for her early seventies work which was a bit more radical and surreal, than her later novels (which are admittedly excellent). I'm kind of an outlier in really loving The Passion of New Eve which is a very transgressive, transgender-y novel. Vaguely reminiscent of J.G. Ballard's Vermillion Sands stories. But her short story collections, Fireworks and The Bloody Chamber, are essential.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

I saw mention of the film, yeah; I think it was an Aussie production. Netflix doesn't have it, dammit.

[hecubot.livejournal.com]

I saw it in a rep house years ago. It gets the plot points and the sexual tension and the creepy puppets but it can't really replicate her prose.

The Company of Wolves is a better adaptation of her work, and covers similar territory.

You should read her criticism too. She reviewed Love and Rockets! (the comic)

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've seen "The Company of Wolves" a couple of times; good stuff. I thought of it while reading this one, because the imagery is so primal and weird.

Yes on the prose. The first chapter of this one is just astonishing, and could never really translate onto the screen, I don't think.

[hecubot.livejournal.com]

I really think this is the book where she pulled it together as a writer. The quality of her prose takes a great leap forward. She had such a clear vision of this story and evokes it with exquisite, often grimy, detail. You can tell she was just in the grip of this one.

[czakbar.livejournal.com]

Here's a question (Gwenda, hope you come back to add your thoughts, too):

The Magic Toyshop--young adult novel? Or novel about a young adult?

[snurri.livejournal.com]

I think it definitely qualifies, in ways similar (but not identical) to Swanwick's Iron Dragon's Daughter--it's going to depend on the young adult, but I could definitely see some high school girls having a fierce love for this book.

[(Anonymous)]

That's true. I read this when I was 13/14 and it has been really important to me. I'm 17 now and it's still one of my favourite books. I found it to be a really accurate portrayal of adolescence and Melanie as a believable teenage girl- I actually identified a lot with her, which is weird.

[ninstorage.livejournal.com]

I loved this story. It almost - but not quite - had me regretting just restricting my M.A. thesis to her short stories, back when I was working on her. But yes, the mythic themes here are so seamless, and the imagery. The whole house seems to bristle with it.

[snurri.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I didn't know you wrote a thesis on her! Certainly there'd be plenty of material for it.