Fantastic Metropolis

Books

During 2003 I read many books, mostly stuff from my personal library which I had not read for many years. Inspired by Jeff VanderMeer’s Fantastic Literature lists, I dug out several old classics to re-read. The cost of books and lack of storage space has limited my purchase of new books over the past few years so I only buy books that I really can’t live without. No doubt I am missing out on books which I should read and are considered by other people to be essential.

Here are a few that stuck in my memory along with 2003 books I found exceptional.

The Alexandria Quartet (Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive and Clea), Lawrence Durrell

Having not read these books for about 30 years, I was pleasantly surprised to find them still enthralling. A tad over indulgent perhaps but beautifully written. Durrell’s sense of place, and his descriptions of city and landscape, is excellent. I had also forgotten how funny they are.

The Avignon Quintet (Monsieur, Livia, Constance, Sebastian and Quinx), Lawrence Durrell

After reading the Alexandria Quartet I launched into this work and found them in the main just as enjoyable as the earlier sequence. Quinx was the only one I found rather tedious, but the rest have all the hallmarks of Durrell’s best work.

The Roses of Picardie, Simon Raven

This book was recommended to me by David Hartwell who thought that, liking the Whittemore books, I would enjoy this book. He was right. It is a crazy picaresque quest for a legendary necklace of rubies, cursed of course. Cleverly written it also displays a wicked sense of humour. It has a cast of eccentric characters. One has a strange mastery over rats, upon which ability the novel curiously hinges.

Pattern Recognition, William Gibson

Being a hard-bitten enthusiast for William Gibson’s style of writing, I naturally bought the hard cover. Unlike his previous books, this novel is set in modern times, but reads as if it were somewhere in the future with it’s emphasis on the symbols of popular culture hyped beyond recognition through the perceptions and sensitivities of Cayce the heroine of the novel. The book takes Cayce into a tense and exciting adventure in a world made strange but familiar all the same. A great read I thought.

The Fortress of Solitude, Jonathan Lethem

Jonathan Lethem, in my opinion, is one of the best writers around and what’s more, refreshingly original. The Fortress of Solitude is certainly one of his best. A friend to whom I loaned the book thought it was one of the best descriptions of childhood he had ever come across. It is a wonderfully offbeat book on race relations, coming of age, popular culture among other things; street wise, smart and funny. Perhaps the writing is self conscious, but it is a joy to read. I immediately felt like reading it again as soon as I had finished, to pick up all the hip references scattered through the book that I may have missed first time round.

Quicksilver, Neal Stephenson

A weighty tome in more ways than one, I enjoyed every minute spent reading it. It reminded me of Dorothy Dunnett’s sagas more than anything else, probably because of the historical context. Some reviewers have commented on his anachronous prose style, mixing antique phrasing with modern idiom. It is slightly disconcerting. Still Stephenson’s racey style saves the day in the end.

The Golden Age and The Phoenix Exultant, John C. Wright

In a word—Wow! I hadn’t read any space opera for ages, but after reading various glowing reviews of The Golden Age I had to try it out. I was not disappointed. These books are highly literate, exquisitely imagined space adventures in a far future Utopia. Shades of Cordwainer Smith with a dash of cyberpunk.

Ilium, Dan Simmons

The most recently read of this year’s new collection, but certainly not the least. Up there with the Hyperion Cantos, this book is much more tongue in cheek than Simmons’ previous SF books and very comical in parts. I was tickled by this description of the goddess Aphrodite standing outside Ilium “...pointing and gesturing toward the battlefield like a big-breasted George Patton.”

Simmons writes in such a visual style, one wonders why none of his books have been made into films. Ilium would make a great film. Highly recommended for an entertaining and exciting read.

Many Dimensions and The Place of the Lion, Charles Williams

Charles Williams was the most interesting writer of the Inklings which included Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. His novels are unusual supernatural fantasies Christian oriented but more on the mystical side of the spectrum. They are old fashioned in a way (the characters are called names like Damaris or Quentin) but they are quite a trip into the fantastic. Demonic possession and angelic intervention are common themes. I intend to re-read more of Williams soon, as these two books have served to pique my interest.

As I never go anywhere without a book, and as I get through at least two a week, there are plenty of others I read (or re-read) and enjoyed as well including the Moomintroll books by Tove Jansson, Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov and Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Music

Some of my favorite Alt Country artists released fine records this year and I discovered some new artists along the way. Among the best were:

Chinatown, The Be Good Tanyas

Country Folk sung with exquisite harmonies that I found very appealing and quite addictive.

Living With Ghosts, Flaming Red, 1000 Kisses and A Kiss In Time, Patty Griffin

I was so impressed when I first heard Patty Griffin that I purchased all of her records (there are only four).

Ghosts is stark and acoustic, Flaming Red is very much rock’n roll, 1000 Kisses is lush and languid, and A Kiss In Time is a live compilation of all the above. She is an extraordinary songwriter as well as possessing a truly remarkable voice.

It’s a Movie, Shane Nicholson

This guy is a young Australian singer/songwriter who sounds very like Neil Finn of Crowded House fame. Despite that, he is an original. This CD is gentle, moody and melancholic and the songs are dreamlike evocations of love and loss. The CD actually came out last year, but I only discovered it a couple of months ago.

Just an American Boy, Steve Earle

This is a double CD of live recordings made during Earle’s tour to promote Jerusalem. I loved the Jerusalem CD for it’s attitude and it’s great songs. This CD is even better and includes great renditions of his earlier (no pun intended) stuff along with Earle’s witty and cutting monologues.

Love is Hell, Ryan Adams

Ryan Adams is a great favorite of mine. I just love his voice and his romantic twisted songs. Love is Hell is more in his Heartbreaker vein than Gold which was quite upbeat. Mournful is the word for this work. I tried to listen to his other 2003 release Rock ‘n Roll but found it too abrasive, the lyrics inferior and whole thing sounding as if it had been rushed through.

Also recommended are Bruce Cockburn You’ve Never Seen Everything (especially the track “Postcard from Cambodia”), Gillian Welch Soul Journey, Jayhawks Rainy Day Music and Kathleen Edwards Failer.

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Anne Sydenham lives in Australia and maintains the Jerusalem Dreaming, an Edward Whittemore tribute web site.