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What I Just Finished Reading
The Sisters of the Winter Woods – Rena Rossner
Longish and thus under the cut. So it took me far longer than it should have to realize that this book is Goblin Market AU, set in Ukraine during the pogroms. Overall, it works very well. Rossner wrote two strong female protagonists who know what they want but avoid the common YA cliches of having wisdom beyond their years, or never making believable mistakes, or collecting All The Powerups as the narrative progresses. Rossner also does an excellent job of avoiding lazy black-and-white distinctions and lets her story show readers the complexity of her protagonists’ world: antisemitism and friendly relations between Jews and Christians exist in the same village, whose Jewish community is itself divided along sectarian lines. Almost 18, the protagonist worries she's too old for marriage; "You're too young to be left on your own!" exclaims a neighbor not raised in the Hasidic tradition, and Rossner lets this contrast occur without authorial comment. She does stumble in her enthusiasm to cram everything into this novel; not just "Goblin Market," but oral family tradition! And Ukrainian folklore! And Russian lyric poetry! And Greek mythology! And Novik's Uprooted! and so on. It would have made for a much tighter and more cohesive story had she focused on elements from only a few of these. That said, the novel succeeds far more than it falls short, and it's worth a read.
竹光侍第五巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 5 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
Being the fifth volume in the story of a master swordsman in Edo-period Japan who is certainly eccentric and quite possibly a fox, or a demon; the sword that haunts him, and all the people who are out to get him.
竹光侍第六巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 6 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
This volume focuses on several of the secondary characters, and it’s very fulfilling.
竹光侍第七巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 7 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
Featuring some amazing battle scenes, and the noose tightening around the neck of our protagonist.
竹光侍第八巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 8 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
The final volume, and holy shit. This series is phenomenal; one of the best manga written.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Girl Who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill
I’m only a few pages in, but it’s a Newbery winner and so far pretty cute.
Intermediate Korean – Andrew Sangpil Byon
Ah, Routledge Grammar Workbooks, how I adore you.
Pax – Sara Pennypacker & Jon Klassen
I admit; initially, I was in it for the Klassen. It’s already made me cry, and I've only read the first three pages.
Japanese Grammar – Keiko Uesawa Chevray & Tomiko Kuwahira
While not a Routledge Grammar Workbook, this has still been pretty excellent. I’ve made it halfway through, and the only real stumbles to date have been some unforgivably careless errors in the chapter on counters and a fill-in-the-blanks narrative to practice particles that only allowed for one answer where multiple particles would have worked.
The Truth About Fat – Anthony Warner
A very mixed bag. I’m 10 pages from the end, so will reserve my thoughts for next week’s entry.
What I'm Reading Next
Fire Logic is still on deck.
これで以上です。
The Sisters of the Winter Woods – Rena Rossner
Longish and thus under the cut. So it took me far longer than it should have to realize that this book is Goblin Market AU, set in Ukraine during the pogroms. Overall, it works very well. Rossner wrote two strong female protagonists who know what they want but avoid the common YA cliches of having wisdom beyond their years, or never making believable mistakes, or collecting All The Powerups as the narrative progresses. Rossner also does an excellent job of avoiding lazy black-and-white distinctions and lets her story show readers the complexity of her protagonists’ world: antisemitism and friendly relations between Jews and Christians exist in the same village, whose Jewish community is itself divided along sectarian lines. Almost 18, the protagonist worries she's too old for marriage; "You're too young to be left on your own!" exclaims a neighbor not raised in the Hasidic tradition, and Rossner lets this contrast occur without authorial comment. She does stumble in her enthusiasm to cram everything into this novel; not just "Goblin Market," but oral family tradition! And Ukrainian folklore! And Russian lyric poetry! And Greek mythology! And Novik's Uprooted! and so on. It would have made for a much tighter and more cohesive story had she focused on elements from only a few of these. That said, the novel succeeds far more than it falls short, and it's worth a read.
竹光侍第五巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 5 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
Being the fifth volume in the story of a master swordsman in Edo-period Japan who is certainly eccentric and quite possibly a fox, or a demon; the sword that haunts him, and all the people who are out to get him.
竹光侍第六巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 6 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
This volume focuses on several of the secondary characters, and it’s very fulfilling.
竹光侍第七巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 7 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
Featuring some amazing battle scenes, and the noose tightening around the neck of our protagonist.
竹光侍第八巻 – 松本大洋・永福一成 (Takemitsuzamurai vol. 8 – Matsumoto Taiyo & Eifuku Issei)
The final volume, and holy shit. This series is phenomenal; one of the best manga written.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Girl Who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill
I’m only a few pages in, but it’s a Newbery winner and so far pretty cute.
Intermediate Korean – Andrew Sangpil Byon
Ah, Routledge Grammar Workbooks, how I adore you.
Pax – Sara Pennypacker & Jon Klassen
I admit; initially, I was in it for the Klassen. It’s already made me cry, and I've only read the first three pages.
Japanese Grammar – Keiko Uesawa Chevray & Tomiko Kuwahira
While not a Routledge Grammar Workbook, this has still been pretty excellent. I’ve made it halfway through, and the only real stumbles to date have been some unforgivably careless errors in the chapter on counters and a fill-in-the-blanks narrative to practice particles that only allowed for one answer where multiple particles would have worked.
The Truth About Fat – Anthony Warner
A very mixed bag. I’m 10 pages from the end, so will reserve my thoughts for next week’s entry.
What I'm Reading Next
Fire Logic is still on deck.
これで以上です。
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