Life’s Weirder Than Fiction

The List, by Tara Ison
Scribner Hardcover
272 pages
ISBN-10: 0-7432-9414-9

Isabel and Al are a couple. A mismatched one, on the surface: she is a future surgeon, a brilliant one at that, he is a one-time wonder movie director now working in a video store. When they meet at a movie theater, they connect at a fundamental level. The next day, Al moves in.

Yet, the relationship does not go smoothly for either of them. Isabel is troubled that she loves someone with so little direction in life when she is so driven herself, Al resents her using her money to buy him things, things he doesn’t want. Soon, the love they have becomes twisted and so unsatisfactory to Isabel that she proposes a breakup process: a to-do list of ten activities that will conclude their relationship. But as the items are struck off the list, their behavior becomes more erratic and warped, leading to the mangled conclusion of their affair.

The list is a deeply disturbing novel on several fronts. It makes us face the reality that we all judge someone’s value by their work status. What they do is what they are. It makes us realize that our own insecurities could fuel the destruction of something precious, for fear of knowing ourselves. It makes us realize that passion without real communication is doomed to fail. Yet, The List doesn’t provide the solutions. It leaves us with the unsatisfactory ending of a NHE (Not Happy Ending), and yet, the story could not have ended any other way.

Tara Ison delves equally well into the worlds of medicine and movies, which helps paint each protagonist into vivid details without ever telling us about them directly. Ison’s prose is sharp, crisp, and elegant. Even when she writes a funny scene, she succeeds in showing its underlying pathos. The List is a thinking novel, one that leaves you wanting to change a few things about your own life.

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I must say I’m humbled, thrilled, and grinning from ear to ear from this review of Synergy on Stephe’s Writingscape.

Technorati Tags: book review, synergy, m. d. benoit, sf, genetics, alternate reality

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After Heidi’s Pick Six, which was a lot of fun, I’m now stopping at Joshua Palmatier’s blog for the day, where he’ll post an interview with me that he did.

I recently read Joshua’s The Cracked Throne, which I thought was fantastic (pun intended). You can read a review here.

So, here’s the scoop on Joshua:

Joshua Palmatier

Joshua Palmatier was born in Coudersport, PA, but since his father was in the military he moved around. Alot. He’s lived in the states of Pennsylvania (three times), Florida (twice), Washington, California (briefly), Virginia, Texas (twice), and now resides in upstate New York. He has spent the majority of his life so far going to school, earning a Bachelors of Science and a Master of Arts degree in mathematics from the Pennsylvania State University, followed by a PhD in mathematics from Binghamton University. He is currently teaching mathematics (what else) at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, and taught for three years at Bloomsburg University while taking a break between his masters degree and the PhD.

Joshua started writing science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories in the eighth grade, when the teacher assigned a one page short story. He wrote a story about Atlantis. It was from the perspective of one of the inhabitants as he escaped in a spaceship, watching his world being destroyed by water from one of the viewports of the ship. He got an A. Joshua has never stopped writing since, mainly focusing on novels.

The Skewed Throne is Joshua’s first published novel, but it’s the fourth novel he’s written. The sequel, The Cracked Throne was published in 2006, and The Vacant Throne will soon follow. You can email him at jpalmatier@sff.net

Ysabel, by Guy Gavriel Kay
Toronto: Viking Canada
421 p.
ISBN 10 0-670-04321-4
ISBN 13 978-0-670-04321-7

Ned Marriner is a fifteen year old boy spending his summer in Provence while his father, a famous photographer, is taking pictures for a coffee table book. While his father is taking pictures of the cathedral in Aix, Ned meets Kate Wenger, and American teenager studying in Aix. Together, they discover a hidden crypt and meet a mysterious and dangerous stranger who will awaken, unbeknownst to Ned, strange powers in the boy.

After this encounter, Ned becomes embroiled in a two thousand, six hundred year old story that features Celts, Gauls, and the deadly choice a woman, Ysabel, made then.

Ysabel is a disappointing book that is more a history and geography lesson than a story. After the the grandiose epic of the Sarantine Mosaic, this book is shallow and light of story. It became obvious, early in the book, that Kay spent some time in Provence and decided he was going to write a story in that setting, which, again, is what dominates the book. His choice of protagonist –a teenage boy– was also surprising, and made it difficult to relate. The ending is also disappointing, and almost a cliché.

All in all, Guy Gavriel Kay just doesn’t do modern well.