Sebastian / Peanuts
Mar. 16th, 2004 11:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzfishLloyd Alexander, The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian
Sadly, most people only know Lloyd Alexander for the Prydain cycle. Which are good books, and get lots of coolness points for drawing on Welsh myths, but come on, the man's been writing books for over thirty years now. The three Westmark books in particular are among the best YA books I've read, and The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha probably has a lot to do with why I think deserts and Bedu and viziers and such are so cool.
Sebastian isn't his best, but it's got some good points. The Archetypal Alexander Female ("Eilonwy of the red-gold hair") is nowhere to be found; Princess Isabel is a fairly decent character in her own right. There's a cat, and a travelling circus, and a hot-air balloon, and a daring band of rebels. It honestly felt a lot like a version of Westmark for a younger crowd, which isn't a bad thing. Lessons about appearances deceiving and democracy being Good, and Alexander's typically excellent prose. I'm happy with it.
Charles M. Shultz, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Snoopy
They've started collecting Peanuts strips one year at a time, though you can't really tell from the covers or publication info. This one is, as I recall, 1995. It's always funny, sometimes a bit sad, and worth reading. I miss Peanuts.
Snoopy actually gets a book published in one of the strips. ("We have published a first edition of one copy. If it sells, we will print another.")
Sadly, most people only know Lloyd Alexander for the Prydain cycle. Which are good books, and get lots of coolness points for drawing on Welsh myths, but come on, the man's been writing books for over thirty years now. The three Westmark books in particular are among the best YA books I've read, and The First Two Lives of Lukas-Kasha probably has a lot to do with why I think deserts and Bedu and viziers and such are so cool.
Sebastian isn't his best, but it's got some good points. The Archetypal Alexander Female ("Eilonwy of the red-gold hair") is nowhere to be found; Princess Isabel is a fairly decent character in her own right. There's a cat, and a travelling circus, and a hot-air balloon, and a daring band of rebels. It honestly felt a lot like a version of Westmark for a younger crowd, which isn't a bad thing. Lessons about appearances deceiving and democracy being Good, and Alexander's typically excellent prose. I'm happy with it.
Charles M. Shultz, It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, Snoopy
They've started collecting Peanuts strips one year at a time, though you can't really tell from the covers or publication info. This one is, as I recall, 1995. It's always funny, sometimes a bit sad, and worth reading. I miss Peanuts.
Snoopy actually gets a book published in one of the strips. ("We have published a first edition of one copy. If it sells, we will print another.")
no subject
Date: 2004-03-16 09:08 pm (UTC)Sadly I read it in TAB so I don't have a copy and I don't remember the plot or much about it other than I really liked it.
But I do remember that it had a monkey! I talking monkey no less. So you should read it :)