These are not awesomely depressing books at all, but it did not surprise me one bit to learn that Alexander served in WWII.
There are some WWII anecdotes in Alexander's My Love Affair with Music that just kill me -- I would quote them but the necessary setup makes them too long -- I have only read that one book of his nonfiction, it is so hard to find, but he is one of two, maybe three writers in the whole world who, when I read him writing just as himself, it makes me love him more, not less. It doesn't make the Prydain books smaller when you figure out (or suspect) that such and such a thing inspired so and so, which is just amazing, I think -- usually, finding autobiographical elements in great fantasy makes me resentful, like oh, so you are saying your imaginary world is made out of building blocks that are TINY and PEDESTRIAN and STUPID, is that it? but Alexander is not like that at all.
I think the Prydain books are greater than anything except maybe Narnia, but I have to say, I reread them all last year and it is so upsetting every time, when the plot comes back to me enough that I remember that oh no, jar-jar binks Gurgi does not die at the end of this book, or the next one, or the one after that. I hate that little fucker.
Oh yeah and I hate wise old wizards but Dallben is pretty okay.
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Date: 2010-03-13 02:41 am (UTC)There are some WWII anecdotes in Alexander's My Love Affair with Music that just kill me -- I would quote them but the necessary setup makes them too long -- I have only read that one book of his nonfiction, it is so hard to find, but he is one of two, maybe three writers in the whole world who, when I read him writing just as himself, it makes me love him more, not less. It doesn't make the Prydain books smaller when you figure out (or suspect) that such and such a thing inspired so and so, which is just amazing, I think -- usually, finding autobiographical elements in great fantasy makes me resentful, like oh, so you are saying your imaginary world is made out of building blocks that are TINY and PEDESTRIAN and STUPID, is that it? but Alexander is not like that at all.
I think the Prydain books are greater than anything except maybe Narnia, but I have to say, I reread them all last year and it is so upsetting every time, when the plot comes back to me enough that I remember that oh no,
jar-jar binksGurgi does not die at the end of this book, or the next one, or the one after that. I hate that little fucker.Oh yeah and I hate wise old wizards but Dallben is pretty okay.