Sisterly Instincts

Over the past few months, I've come face-to-face with a new phenomenon that's been sweeping the Internet and I just started getting into.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Long story short, it's a updated version of Jane Austen's immortal classic Pride and Prejudice, only set in the modern day with Lizzie Bennet as a twenty-four year old communications major still living at home with her overbearing, plotting mother, dry father, sweet older sister Jane who works in fashion, and her younger sister Lydia, a loud, brash, energetic party-girl who wants to have her moment of fame on the internet through Lizzie's videos and then her own.

You can see the first episode here.

It's everything and nothing you can expect from a retelling of P&P, because the way it's done is so brilliantly set into the modern day you can almost believe it's real. Do we know the story? Absolutely. Do we know how it ends? Of course. But there are just so many different nuances to this that I need a whole different post to get into it, but I'll stick to the one thing I did want to talk about.

Namely, the relationship between the Bennet sisters, both in the original novel and in this retelling.

Now, I hope I'm not spoiling anything for anyone, but I'm going to go ahead and assume everyone knows that the eventual incident that Darcy saves Elizabeth and her family in the original novel is Lydia runs away with the no-account rake Wickham and elopes with him. Of course, in seventeenth century England, where reputation is everything, this is a complete catastrophe. Nowadays, it's awful and devastating for a family, but maybe not as bad as it was back then (as not bad as a thing like that can be, anyways). So the one thing that always made me sad in the original novel was that Lydia gets no chance for any character development. None. That's left to her sister Elizabeth and to Darcy. Of course, that's why we love the novel, but I always wished I could reach inside the book and smack some sense into Lydia. I'm sure everyone does.

But the thing that makes the Lizzie Bennet Diaries so unspeakably brilliant and amazing (in my opinion at least) that they give that character of Lydia a chance to change, a chance for the audience to love her and root for her and worry for her. All the credit of course, goes to the show's writers and actors, namely Mary Kate Wiles, who does such an amazing job of walking the line between Lydia's brashness and vulnerability. Lydia in LBD is your classic younger sister/baby of the family. She wants attention, recognition, doesn't know how any way but the wrong way to get it. A character like Lydia translates seamlessly, sometimes painfully well into this modern day world of Tweeting, Facebook, videos and general over-exposure. Which is how she falls under the spell of the unscrupulous George Wickham (oh yes, he's in there). In LBD, Lydia finally gets what she was denied in the original P&P: character development. (Yes, it deserves underlining, bold and italicization.)


I have related so strongly to Lizzie in LBD that it almost scares me. I have a younger sister, who of course I love dearly, but who can also drive me nuts. We've had our fair share of screaming matches over the years. We clash and argue and fight and my mother yells at us and reminds me she's the only baby sister I have. I justify my harshness to her because "Hey, she's the baby of the family. Compared to the rest of us, she's got it easy. Someone's got to be tough on her, right?"

And yet. And yet.

It is not my place nor my right nor my job to be harsh on my baby sister. Despite what I think, her life is hard enough without me making it worse. I am not supposed to be part of her stresses and worries.

And that's what gets me about the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, because it so clearly illustrates the push/pull, harsh/nurture aspect of an older sister/younger sister relationship.

This episode was the one that made me cry, because it touches so strongly that older sister instinct to protect your little sister, to defend her and reassure her of how amazing and clever and all-around spectacular she is. All things you lose sight of because all you can see right in front of you is the many ways she annoys you or drives you crazy or does everything wrong. It takes disasters to make you see all the things you should've done to be helping her, not tearing her down. The wish to hold her and reassure her of your love for her never changes, after everything. 

So yes. If all my yammering hasn't convinced you yet, watch the video (no matter how completely far along the story line it might be) and you'll see what I mean.

Over & Out,

Rachel

Steampunk Adventures

It's a new year! Time for new adventures! New books to read! New genres to explore! New guys to crush on! (As the previous post proves.)

So. As per the title, I'm dipping my toe into the shallow end of the steampunk genre. Steampunk, for those of you who aren't "in the know," (well, not that I am, that much) is a sub-genre of science fiction where steam/electricity was discovered early, usually in Edwardian/Victorian England and technological advances are, well...more advanced than the time period allows.


A prime example of steampunk fashion/modus operandi for women is usually leather corsets, fancy hats, clockwork and over-sized guns. A man's suit will invariably feature a top-hat, goggles, and some kind of cogs and wheels.

Now, I'm all for exploring new things. Seeking out new genres I could write. Steampunk is one of those things I don't know that much about, but I'd like to know more, if only for the cool things that are featured within. I don't think I could write it, since it requires me to do things like know about math, science, machinery and all those other things I'm not good at, but since it is fantasy, I could just make up what I don't know. So there is that!

But over the past two weeks, I've read two books that qualify as steampunk, and these are my thoughts thereof.

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress.

And The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent.

Of the two, I liked The Friday Society better than The Unnaturalists, because The Friday Society features three rotating narrators, Cora Bell, Nellie Harrison, and Michiko Takeda, all intelligent, interesting, talented, sassy young ladies who solve crimes--in 1900 England. With this book, the steampunk influences are not as obviously overt as, say, The Unnaturalists and the voices of the three ladies is refreshingly modern and not as overtly dated for readers who aren't accustomed to reading books with a old-fashioned voice.

In contrast, The Unnaturalists is very steampunk, featuring an alternate reality where Nikolai Tesla somehow managed to create a mirror, alternate version of London where magic is outlawed and science is the religion--literally. Scientists like Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur and Charles Darwin are considered Saints (capital letter and all). Vespa Nyx, our heroine, is the daughter of a naturalist who catalogues unnatural creatures like gryphons, dragons, sylphs and the like. Now, the world-building in this book is amazing and very in-depth--maybe a little too in-depth, because there were times when I wished for a pamphlet or something to go along with it, just to explain certain aspects to me. There is, of course, the inevitable pull/push between magic and science, how this world needs both to survive. Nomadic tribes of Tinkers (inspired by a people in Nepal) wander around the countryside, practicing illegal magic and protecting creatures like the Manticore and the Golden Dragon.

Now, for readers looking to explore the world of steampunk, for my part, I would read The Friday Society first and then The Unnaturalists, as to have a point of reference to go on. That being said, steampunk is gaining ground as my new area of interest--though if I ever write it, well. That remains to be seen.

Over & Out,
Rachel

New Year, New Obsessions

I have plenty of them.

On another note, Happy New Years! I hope your celebrations were joyous and safe.

So, as I was saying, new obsessions to start off the new year. Or maybe a better word is preoccupations. Or areas of intense interest.

I blame The Hobbit. 

Because Peter Jackson just had to go and cast Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. And Richard Armitage, the tricky blighter (see below), portrayed him in a way that can only be described as "majestic."  

Okay, seriously.  Not my fault, people!

Also disconcertingly good-looking, for a dwarf.

You can not possibly blame me. 

And I, in my fan-girl-ness, had to go watch on Netflix North & South, BBC mini-series which has nothing to do with the Civil War, but everything to do with the gentleman pictured above.

It's essentially Pride and Prejudice, but with the Industrial Revolution. And strikes. And the hero (portrayed by the gentleman pictured above) is a lot more brooding than the immortal Darcy. Actually, Elizabeth Gaskell, who wrote the novel in 1855, on which the mini-series is based, must have based her hero John Thornton more on Edward Rochester than Fitzwilliam Darcy; John Thornton fits in pretty well with the "intense, brooding" hero dynamic.

And who offsets him?

Margaret Hale, the lovely lady pictured here:


The daughter of a contentious clergyman, Margaret Hale and her parents move from the idyllic south of England to the colder, harsher climate of Milton, in the north, thus the title. Milton is an industrial town specializing in cotton mills, which were by anyone's standards, no safe place to work in. Margaret is horrified by the condition of the mill workers and her horror is only compounded when meeting John Thornton, the owner of Marlborough Mills.

 

(I do love these image thingies.)

Of course, as I said--think Pride and Prejudice. Including the happy ending. But what I liked about this mini-series (besides Richard Armitage, I swear!), is the fact John Thornton is this very direct, blunt fellow who may seem ruthless and unfeeling, but he remains honest and keeps his word; he loves his mother who raised him after the suicide of his father fiercely. And I love Margaret, how she grows and changes from an idealistic girl into a seasoned young woman and doesn't back down, even when faced with John Thornton's wrath. 

And the one kissing scene made up for all the drama and sexual tension we had to put up with. 

Upon realizing I can watch it for free on Amazon streaming, I shall go do that presently. And I hope you all too, go forth and explore in this new year some new...preoccupations.  

Over & Out,

Rachel

All is Calm, All is Bright

I just need to write some stuff, in light of what's been showing on the news lately.

To the parents, students, families, doctors, policemen, firemen and teachers of Newtown, Conn. I want to send my deepest, truest well wishes and shared sorrow after the tragedy that happened on Friday. I didn't even fully understand it until yesterday, the only thing I saw was the flag at my mom's school at half-mast and I wondered why.

Then I went online and saw the news.

I haven't watched much of it since, because if I do, I'm going to start crying and I won't be able to stop. I'm tearing up as I write this, thinking about it. I have little cousins, little nephews and nieces and two little kids I babysit. I love these children. To lose them in a way like this hits me so hard I can't think about it, so I try not to. Anyone who loves children should be sickened and grieved to the core that this happened. It is unfathomable to me that eighteen little boys and girls can't have Christmas this year, that their parents have undergone the worst December in years. It makes it worse for me because my mother is a teacher, I have cousins who are teachers, and we live in a city where violence is common and not unknown, especially at schools. This could happen here, but it didn't. Instead, it happened to a small town in Connecticut. I can't and I can imagine it, because I was blessed/cursed with an overactive imagination, and to even think about something like that happening in my own community makes me sick to my stomach.

Here are pictures from around the world, mourning with us. And a short piece from Longfellow, because it sums what I'm trying to articulate so much better than I ever could:

"And in despair, I bowed my head: 'There is no peace on earth,' I said, 'for hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.' Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 'God is not dead nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men.'"
‎
Here's to peace on earth, my friends. May those who search for it find it.

Over & Out,
Rachel

Things I Have Found

And thought you'd like. Until next time, Cheerio

Over & Out,

Rachel

When Book Lovers Go Mad

As the title suggests, every so often, there comes a time in my life when I go a little...crazy.

I don't scream or throw things. Or disrupt my life or anyone else's. No, when I go crazy, it's usually with...books. The library system is usually to blame for it. I go to the New Teen Materials section, as is my wont, and I just see all the books I want to read (but don't want to buy just yet) and I go a little...crazy.

Right now I've got five books lined up in my request queue, The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Seraphina by Rachel Hartman, Fox & Phoenix by Beth Bernobich, Unspoken: the Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan and finally, The Brides of Rockroll Island by Margo Lanagan.

All in all, quite a load. I just can't help it, they're free books. Just for the taking (or reading)! What sort of book-loving girl like myself is supposed to resist that?

The  first one on my list is Maggie Stiefvater's latest release, one I'm looking forward to greatly. I wasn't too crazy about her The Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, but I adored The Scorpio Races to an unhealthy degree. Sean Kendrick's kind of my favorite monster tamer, ever. Seraphina has dragons who can turn into humans, and the uneasy alliance between them and full-blooded humans. Any thing with dragons, I'm pretty good. Fox & Phoenix has cool Chinese steampunk setting mixed with magic, and a snarky first-person narrator (courtesy of Amazon first looks).  Most of the books I see in the library system that I want to read, I go to Amazon, check out any previews they can give me. That's how I sift through the unlikely ones. That's why I decided to get Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, a sassy take on the classic Gothic manor story line (yes, sassy and Gothic are joined together), and just from what I've seen, I think I'm going to adore it inordinately. How does the main character's best friend describe her? "Your soul is like the soul of a thousand monkeys on crack, all smushed together."

I was sold on that line alone. Seriously, it's awesome.

And finally, The Brides of Rockroll Island, a melancholy, darkly fairy-tale look on the selkie myths, a current fascination of mine. I've yet to find any really good modern interpretations of selkie legends, so I've got high hopes for this one.

And there you have it; my current reading list. Reviews are nigh. Stay tuned!

Over & Out,
Rachel

Darn It All!

Taylor, why is everything you do so dang cute?

Now I need to go to Paris more than ever.