The Last Samurai

I finished The Last Samurai last night and it was absolutely heartrending. This is no relation to the movie of the same name (which I love and adore and may watch later tonight), but rather a somewhat bizarre story of a brilliant young woman raising a genius child and earning their way by transcribing back issues of Carpworld and Aquarium Fish Hobbyist. Their main hobby is watching The Seven Samurai ad infinitum.

Her introduction of the Greek alphabet and the first level (?) of Japanese kanji are worth the read all by themselves, and I am finally intrigued by the idea of learning classical Greek. I love books and authors who reference other books, which she does in spades, but through the filter of Sibylla it is more interesting than just dry footnotes and margin scribbles.

I loved the way the story seemed to jump about, but always picked up its loose ends. I loved the characters of Sibylla and Ludo and the strength of the bond between them. There are passages hilarious, tedious, moving and illuminating all. I was just along for the ride until the last couple of chapters, when things took a crazy left turn and everything came into focus. Ludo does find his father, but I think that he learns that the relationship that is most worth saving is the one he has with his mother.

Zombified

I finished _Bertie Wooster & the Lizard King_ today and it was a wonderful little ebook. I regret to say that I cannot link it for you as the estate of Mr Wodehouse has apparently squashed Mr. Rowe's little pastiche.

If you enjoy the trials and tribulations of Bertie Wooster and his inimitable valet Jeeves, this is a very enjoyable work of fan fiction in the master's style. I hate to give too much away in case you are able to find a bootleg copy somewhere... let's just say the action starts on page 46.

Book Review - _20,000 Leagues Under the Sea_

Summary: This book is about a guy with a boat. It can go underwater. His name is Captain Nemo. My favorite part was when they all nearly died under the iceberg because then it would be over sooner. But they lived. If I had a boat, I would do what they all did. But not go under the South Pole because you could get stuck.

This was a fun little read that I actually enjoyed quite a lot. Verne's style (or maybe the narrator's style?) is alternately annoying! really annoying! with far too many exclamation points! and boring, with long lists of mind numbing detail, but the actual story was interesting. There is drama within the characters, among the characters and between the characters and the environment. Ned Land = "need land" & Conseil = "consomme" becuase I wanted to make him into a clear soup by the end!

I longed to have picture book of sea life by my side while I was reading, or maybe little pop up fish icons whenever I came to the long lists of the various sea creatures they encounter. Why the author was so dead set on classifying every. single. fish. in its scientific denotation is a mystery to me. Also mysterious: where was the spinning / weaving mill that made all the sea-fiber clothing? Why didn't Ned and the boys slaughter the crew and claim the Nautilus for their own when they were vulnerable after the South Pole debacle? Why did he make such a big point about the mysterious language and origins of Captain Nemo and then drop it partway through, unresolved? Why is the ending so lame?

Next up on the reading list is _Bertie Wooster and the Lizard King_ and then I think _Around the World in 80 Days_. Pretty much anything to avoid _Pride & Prejudice_.