See, this just illustrates the difficulty in finding a decent variation on one of the 7 Basic Plots, particularly when you're dealing with a lot of mythic resonance.
Darn your sinister attraction!
Buffybot ,'Dirty Girls'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
DavidS - Jun 27, 2006 7:07:53 pm PDT #805 of 28067
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Mr. Broom - Jun 27, 2006 7:38:37 pm PDT #806 of 28067
"When I look at people that I would like to feel have been a mentor or an inspiring kind of archetype of what I'd love to see my career eventually be mentioned as a footnote for in the same paragraph, it would be, like, Bowie." ~Trent Reznor
What beth said. If Harry dies, this has all been a variant on the Tragic Hero tale. If Harry lives, it means the rewards of fighting are more than just the nebulous Greater Good.
If Harry dies, this is one of the most uneven Tragic Hero tales I ever read.
Polter-Cow - Jun 27, 2006 7:53:28 pm PDT #807 of 28067
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I am almost done with Foucault's Pendulum, so another library run was in order. I picked up two Pratchetts ( Moving Pictures and Carpe Jugulum ) (Kate, they claimed to have Thirsty, but I couldn't find it on the shelf!) to cleanse myself of Eco. I also grabbed The Crying of Lot 49, even though I can't figure out what the hell it's about. Apparently, it's funny, however, and it seems to be in line thematically with the Eco I've been reading. Finally, I've got The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which I hope is a good book in the "enjoyable to read" sense, not just in the "gives a brilliant picture of America at a particular time" sense. Because I don't so much care about the latter right now. Fun, dammit! I need fun! Pushing myself through Eco has been grueling at times, and I'm feeling like I have a limited time to read all the books there are, so I should use my time wisely.
DebetEsse - Jun 27, 2006 7:56:11 pm PDT #808 of 28067
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Oh! I loved Kavalier and Clay. I need to read Lot 49. I'm slowly working through Discworld, as the library doesn't have a lot of them.
DavidS - Jun 27, 2006 8:03:35 pm PDT #809 of 28067
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
I also grabbed The Crying of Lot 49, even though I can't figure out what the hell it's about.
Paranoia and conspiracies. Hence the Beatles parody band called The Paranoids.
-t - Jun 27, 2006 8:09:14 pm PDT #810 of 28067
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
Oh, cool! The Crying of Lot 49 was the first Pynchon I read, and it might be my favorite.
I should go get a library card.
DebetEsse - Jun 27, 2006 8:14:32 pm PDT #811 of 28067
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Everyone should go get a library card. You know, in the morning.
Mr. Broom - Jun 27, 2006 8:15:59 pm PDT #812 of 28067
"When I look at people that I would like to feel have been a mentor or an inspiring kind of archetype of what I'd love to see my career eventually be mentioned as a footnote for in the same paragraph, it would be, like, Bowie." ~Trent Reznor
I've got The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which I hope is a good book in the "enjoyable to read" sense, not just in the "gives a brilliant picture of America at a particular time" sense.
It's both, very much. Such an engaging read. I love that damn book.
-t - Jun 27, 2006 8:19:21 pm PDT #813 of 28067
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
OK, I won't go camp out.
P.M. Marc - Jun 27, 2006 8:27:07 pm PDT #814 of 28067
So come, my friends, be not afraid/We are so lightly here/It is in love that we are made; In love we disappear
I fear I found Lot 49 too dated to finish when I finally picked it up last year.
I think I should have read it in the 80s. Or waited another decade.
Kavalier and Clay is a very enjoyable read.