What Am I Reading Wednesday - April 24

[lebateleur]

What I Just Finished Reading

The Beast’s Heart – Liefe Shallcross
Unfortunately, no. I have a weakness for Beauty and the Beast retellings. When done right, they can be innocently romantic or deliciously subversive. But Shallcross’s version dwells on all the elements of the original story that don't work for me. To whit:

• The Beast sees Beauty in her father’s dream and decides to trick him into surrendering his daughter in exchange for his life, although, Shallcross is at pains to assure us, the Beast has no intention of actually killing him. (For whatever reason, I'm fine with retellings where the beast acts in anger, but the casual, premeditated malice her just does not do it for me.)
  
• The Beast was cursed by a fairy not for being a beast in human form, but for breaking his grandmother’s heart—by refusing to open up emotionally to potential mates. And why did he refuse to open up? Because his father treated women poorly and he feared he’d do the same. Emotional reserve in the service of not treating others poorly does not strike me as a curse-worthy offense.
  
• The Beast has a magical mirror through which he spies on Beauty’s father and sisters. For close to a year. Without telling her. While she grieves being separated from them. Now, voyeurism can be a major kink for me, provided it’s done well. But this isn’t done well; it’s just stalkerish, and when the big reveal comes Beauty just brushes it off because Shallcross doesn’t want to deal with the fallout eh.
  
• Beauty’s father threatens suicide to emotionally blackmail his children into going along with his wishes. And everyone agrees they’re at fault for driving him to it. Threatening suicide is what abusers do, and no one should ever apologize for “making” someone attempt it.
  
• And perhaps my biggest issue with the book: the magic. The magic fills chests with jewels and clothes for Beauty’s family, and the Beast is as surprised by their contents as anyone. The magic summons a cup of hot chocolate for the Beast to bring Beauty when she’s heartbroken, fireworks for her to coo over when they’re out on the balcony, and on and on. All of this happens without effort on the part of the Beast; indeed, it happens while he’s too dense to realize that the situation calls for any of it. He doesn’t have to—and doesn’t—think about what Beauty might want or like, or be cognizant of her moods or what makes her happy. He “wins” her by putting in precisely zero effort, which short circuits the very elements—the time, effort, consideration, and sacrifice it takes to get to know someone, and then earn their trust and love—on which the emotional payload of the fairytale depends.
  

Luckily, Shallcross spends almost as much time on the doings of Beauty’s two sisters as she does on the “romance” between the two main characters. I honestly found these diversions more interesting than the Beauty/Beast story arc itself, and had Shallcross written the entire book about Beauty's family, I would probably have liked it much more.

Alif the Unseen – G. Willow Wilson
Such a good book. I love that Wilson’s protagonists are so flawed, but in ways that complement and bring out the best in each other. I love her blending of technology and fantasy. I love her descriptive language and sly humor. This is the Middle Eastern-flavored fantasy that Ahmed and Chakraborty have tried and failed to pull off.

夏目友人帳 vol.3 – 緑川ゆき(Natsume Yujincho vol. 3 – Midorikawa Yuki)
Midorikawa’s yomikiri about the adventures of an orphan who can see spirits and his youkai companion really hits its stride in the third volume. I very much liked the supporting cast in the four stories collected here, especially the fourth.


What I Am Currently Reading

Senlin Ascends – Josiah Bancroft
I’m less than 100 pages in, but thus far Bancroft has created a fictional world to rival any of China Mieville’s. This looks set to be an excellent read.

The Raven Tower – Ann Leckie
Pure exposition shouldn’t be this engaging, but Leckie sure manages to make it so here.

龍宮 – 川上 弘美 (Ryugu – Kawakami Hiromi)
The fourth story, “Kitchen God,” finds Kawakami returning to form. I’m currently midway through the fifth, about a narrator who may or may not be a mole, and who may or may not be kidnapping human beings and confining them in tunnels underground.


What I'm Reading Next
I’m in the mood for some Naono Bohra so will probably knock out some of her tankoubon.

これで以上です。