Steven’s Comments (group member since Feb 16, 2021)

Steven’s comments from the Mechanics' Institute Book Chat group.

"Fool on the Hill" by Matt Ruff. It takes place on the campus of Cornel University. But it's a Cornell that exists in another universe -- one with telepathic dogs, Fairies only the drunk or crazy can see, various assorted eccentric students, and much more. One of the early novels of what we now call "magical realism."

Sam Vimes from Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" books. He commands "The City Watch" -- the police force in the largest city in Discworld: Ahnk-Morpork. After the birth of his son he wants to make sure he plays a part in the child's life, despite the demands of his job. So he makes a commitment to read his son their favorite bedtime story every night, no matter what. In the beginning of the book "The Night Watch" Vimes finds himself on the other side of town from his home and seemingly no hope of arriving in time for the nightly bedtime story. But Vimes having conducted himself with character and integrity as commander of the city watch pays off in an unexpected way. He treats all his officers with respect and fairness no matter what they are, troll, dwarf, gargoyle, human, whatever. And they all know about his promise to his little boy. He finds that all the officers of the City Watch work together with remarkable precision to resolve traffic jams and clear roads to make a pathway for him to his home. And yes, he does arrive in time to read "Where's my cow" to his son.

The first name to spring to mind is Edgar Allen Poe. His were the first poems I enjoyed reading (not for school) when I was a teenager. But some years ago one of my nephews gave me "The Selected Poems of Robert Frost" for my birthday and I find myself returning to it every year or so since.

Lyra Belacqua from Philip Pullman's "Dark Materials" trilogy (better known as the "Golden Compass" movie and T.V. series). She's quick-witted, independent, loyal, fearless and tries as hard as she can to do what she thinks is right.

Chekhov gave us a 2-for-1 deal on unreliable narrators in the story "Ariadne." As an unnamed narrator conveys the stories of a very unreliable character named Ivan Ilych Shamokhin. Shamokhin is one of the best worst characters in literature -- opinionated, self-serving, full of himself, but also friendly and charming in a strange way that keeps you from truly despising him. Who is Ariadne, really? You will never get a straight answer to that question from either of these two men.

P.B. wrote: "Do you have an ideal place for the stories you like to read about? Maybe you like to read books where the story takes place in exotic lands such as New Zealand or Tasmania, or perhaps you like your..."

Cities -- real or imagined. All cities have their own personalities. When a writer can make a city feel like a character in the story that's when the setting matters. Caleb Carr's 19th century New York City, Hammett's 1940s San Francisco, or any city that Hemmingway describes all remain unforgettable. Some authors can sum up a city in a single sentence (Such as Douglas Adams who described Los Angeles as "Like 100 square miles of American Express junk mail, but lacking the same moral depth"), while others write pages of prose revealing almost every street and alley and all manner of people. More than just a setting for a story, a really good writer can tell you about their characters by the way they interact with an actual or imaginary city, such as Terry Pratchett's commander of the Night Watch who can tell which part of the fictional city "Ahnk-Morpork" he is walking through by the feel of the cobblestones through the cheap cardboard soles of his boots on the bottoms of his feet. And we have Edgar Allen Poe's Auguste Dupin shows off his detective skills as he and his companion walk through Paris, continuously referring to the sights and sounds of the city and its people. Where else can a writer find so much to work with?


-- a complex environment for characters to interact with and inside of which they act.