June Fantasy BotM: The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint

[Erfael]

This is one I've been meaning to get to for years, and this discussion has finally given me an excuse to get it to the top of the pile. Looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts on it as the month progresses.

[Siberian]

I'm sorta in the same boat. I liked de Lint's books I read but for some reason never got to this one.

[Contrarius]

Sounds good. Give me a few days or a week, and I'll be with ya.

[algernoninc]

no reviews yet? I'll put in a quote I saved when I read the book last year:

"People who’ve never read fairy tales, the professor said, have a harder time coping in life than the people who have. They don’t have access to all the lessons that can be learned from the journeys through the dark woods and the kindness of strangers treated decently, the knowledge that can be gained from the company and example of Donkeyskins and cats wearing boots and steadfast tin soldiers. I’m not talking about in-your-face lessons, but more subtle ones. The kind that seep up from your sub¬conscious and give you moral and humane structures for your life. That teach you how to prevail, and trust. And maybe even love."

[Contrarius]

I'm very embarrassed that it's taken me so long to get to this. In fact, I just started it today.

So far it's very interesting, but at this point it still feels fragmented. I do like first person, but present tense irritates me -- so those parts are a bit iffy for me.

The narrator is also good, so that helps too!

[NickeeCoco]

This was the last Charles de Lint book I ever read. I never did finish it. I had read four or five of his books not quite in a row, but almost, so by the time I got to this one, I was underwhelmed. I thought it was more of the same. I was tired of astral projection. Personally, I thought this book was a little cheesy and cliche for my tastes.

[Contrarius]

Well, I'm being terrible about getting this read. I'm still only about a quarter of the way thriugh.

I like the mythix elements, although several other authors have done similar things. Dunno who did them first! The tone is preachy at times, but survivable so far. I am about to slap the author at the moment -- sure, Jilly can't use her right hand to draw (at this point in the story), but that sure as hell doesn't mean she can never do art again -- and nobody is bothering to tell her that, which really pisses me off. Hell, there have been famous pianists who could only use one hand, but still gave concerts! She can learn to draw with her left hand, or take up other media that don't require such de terity. Pah on this "i'll never do art again" bs. If you are a true artist, art oozes out of your very pores -- it doesn't restrict itself to five fingers or one hand. IMO Jilly or at least one of her friends would already realize this, instead of just letting her wallow as she is. I blame de Lint.

[Contrarius]

I know I shoulda finished this long ago, but I'm seriouSly thinking about giving up on it. It just keeps being preachy and self- satisfied, and that's getting really old. I hate dropping books part way through, though, so I may struggle through anyway...