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.

[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.

[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.

[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)

[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.

[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?

[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.