In November while in upstate New York, we took a small afternoon trip to Saratoga Springs, a small, relatively affluent college town near where @seanbala grew up. We made two stops. One was Lyrical Ballad Bookstore. It was an amazing warren of shelves and lots of old books, maps, newspapers, and pictures. Funny thing is that even though he grew up here, this was Sean's first time going!
@seanbala@bookstodon Afterwards, we went to Uncommon Ground, a local coffee shop that makes its own bagels and roasts its own coffee. We got one of the best mochas we've had in a long time and a bagel with some schmear. Worth checking out if you ever visit!
@seanbala read a book while @dohappybelove did some painting. A good afternoon that we needed at that moment.
Just finished 'Not Without Flowers' by Amma Darko. It is definitely very readable. Some of the dialogue feels clunky, but only some. It feels like it doesn't quite have a moral vision though it is reaching for one. It reminds me of Soyinka, though with less big grammar and without Soyinka's metaphysical and political vision. ( This could just be me lumping West African writers together, because you know that old racism thing).
Darko gets extra points for not taking time to explain her Ghanian cultural references. I suspect other authors from the region get pressured into it by editors and publishers. It really grinds my gears when the narrator explains things that may be unfamiliar to an English reader like me. You are not writing ethnographic studies for tourists. You are writing, in this case, a Ghanaian novel. So I appreciated her consistency there.
It is also sad and scary. It is a cast of sad broken people. In Soyinka's hands they would have looked for redemption and failed to find it without extinguishing hope. In Darko's, I think, that they somehow find absolution or punishment. The ending feels weak. Having said that the build up towards the ending is magnificent. The various characters story arcs come together in a well worked crisis. It is the crisis itself that I'm unsure about.
Her plotting and pacing is great. The story telling pleasantly demanding. It was a Sunday well spent.
I re-read Nicola Griffith's Hild a couple of weeks ago and edited that review. I made even more edits today, then added comments about the second book, Menewood. Both get my highest of recommendation. This link is for the full page.
Voice recognition errors of the day from my dictated notes:
Cheyenne nuts. What's your feet tigers.
(Cheyenne nods. Watch her feed tigers.) @bookstodon#books#amWriting#humor
"The word text descends from a Latin verb meaning "to weave," and I often wish I could craft sentences from a language I could hold in my hands, as if I could write an essay or a poem as beautiful and useful as my mother's socks."
Readers and Friends of readers!
If you like witty wordplay, endearing characters, and a sense of fun with your mystery: PJ Fitzsimmons is your man. His Anty Boisjoly Mystery series is SO delightful; I read the seven books this year, most twice! It’s the kind of book you have to read bits out loud to whomever else is in the room. Or, if you’re feeling shy, just laugh outloud (to yourself).
@MardraS@bookstodon
You've made my day, Mardra. I'm sorry that I'm here so rarely and only just now saw your kind messages — I think I have to either commit to Mastodon or not.
Either way, I hope you know how motivational this kind of support is as I'm writing book number eight. Thank you.