Two Reviews

A couple reviews now that we have power back.

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight

Meyer has been hailed by some as the next Rowling, at least the sixth of seventh such "next Rowling" after Pullman, Colfer, Funke, the Spiderwick author, and others. Obviously, I'm leery of the title. Part of my leeriness comes from her relatively limited audience - teenage girls in the U.S. To be the next Rowling, she needs to have an audience that crosses national, gender, and age boundaries and I don't think her series will do that (especially the first book, although I can't speak to the other three since I haven't read them and am unlikely to do so for the reasons below).

Her writing also lacks Rowling's flair and punch, although she is an easy read. At the same time, she is being talked about in various fora online. In many of those places the series has been called disturbing, a characterization with which I agree though probably not for the same reasons as the commentators. For me, the first book is disturbing because it is a modern retelling of Snow White - the main character, Bella, flees Phoenix, AZ to live in the woods where she cooks and cleans for her father (not a dwarf) and finds Prince Charming (Edward the Vampire). On the whole, this wouldn't be bad, after all there have been numerous retellings and updatings of faerie tales from phenomenal authors. However, Bella comes across as utterly helpless, the classic damsel in distress who has to wait for her boyfriend/Prince Charming to arrive and save her. In fact, every time Bella tries to save herself, she only makes the situation worse (even if her solution should work), until Edward shows up to save her. I find this especially disturbing because Meyer has stated in interviews that she sees Bella as a great role model for girls everywhere.

Perhaps this is just me, though, as others obviously see something else there (otherwise she probably wouldn't have 20 million teenage, female, fans).
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Metallica. Death Magnetic

The latest album from Metallica lives up to expectations and the media hype. Now, I like their more recent albums (Load, ReLoad, S&M, St. Anger), but Death Magnetic is a welcome return to their earlier work. It is very much like Kill 'Em All and Ride the Lightning, not so much like the black album in that it more or less lacks the group's phenomenal ballads and waltz ("Nothing Else Matters"). Still, it is Metallica at their early best . . . hard, fast, loud, and unabashed with excellent playing and Hetfield's brilliant delivery of strong lyrics (loud, but not incoherent screaming like so many post-1990 metal groups).

Delays and Excuses

I've been very bad at updating this blog and my other one lately. But, there's a good excuse . . . I defended my dissertation the other day and passed, so the last two weeks have been spent in preparation and apparently paid off.