[Comments] Vonda N. McIntyre Month

[GeneT]

I have loved the writing. Different decades seem to have a different feel. I think the writing is tight, like every word and sentence are deliberated over and made to contain just enough to say what needs to be said. It's the kind of writing that leaves space for the reader's mind to fill in the details on their own without telling them everything, or everything at once.

That being said. I couldn't finish Dreamsnake. It's not because I didn't love reading it but I had to stop shortly after Jesse's portion. The subject is too close to home and I've lived those moments a number of times in my own life. So I began to wander over my own past moments while reading and had to stop even though they are settled inside. I might try to finish or perhaps try the second or third book instead.

[Sprite]

Originally Posted by GeneT

I have loved the writing. Different decades seem to have a different feel. I think the writing is tight, like every word and sentence are deliberated over and made to contain just enough to say what needs to be said. It's the kind of writing that leaves space for the reader's mind to fill in the details on their own without telling them everything, or everything at once.

That being said. I couldn't finish Dreamsnake. It's not because I didn't love reading it but I had to stop shortly after Jesse's portion. The subject is too close to home and I've lived those moments a number of times in my own life. So I began to wander over my own past moments while reading and had to stop even though they are settled inside. I might try to finish or perhaps try the second or third book instead.

I'm so sorry you had that experience. The part about Jesse is really gut-wrenching, even when it doesn't mirror real life experience.

Of the three books, I think THE MOON AND THE SUN is the lighter read. I started out listening to THE EXILE WAITING audio book, but I don't like the narrator so I ordered the paperback (a new addition). Meanwhile, I'm re-listening-to DREAMSNAKE.

Also I just finished GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, that (I think) Filljonk recommended. SO good.

[Fillyjonk]

@sprite I LOVE Silvia Moreno-Garcia---that is a great book. I love all her books.

@GeneT, the exile waiting is DARK. Darker than Dreamsnake, though not in that specific, medical way that hits you in your personal history and makes you need to tap out. So you might be fine with it. I will say I found DREAMSNAKE to be redemptive and connective (even, weirdly, MEDICALLY redemptive) by the end, but when something feels personal, that may not help.

I read some THE MOON AND THE SUN at lunch today and look forward to discussing.

For those who have NOT read DREAMSNAKE yet, Genet's comments are about chapter 1, and all his plot points are information you learn from the jacket copy, so not really a spoiler!

Of course, until the 15th, use spoiler buttons to talk about later plot developments that are not in the jacket copy!

[Lemming23]

I have to admit I still haven't started it, been swamped with stuff so far this month. Hopefully by the end of this next week I can make a start. :/

[GeneT]

Yeah I made a mistake and realized it when I was about to fall asleep. But I changed my text to maybe limit the spoiler. But will remember it next time.

It's not that I minded the content necessarily. But I rarely play a cleric for reasons. I would have like if VM woulda done something slightly different there but that is somewhat from a personal perspective also. Maybe something to discuss after the date.

I don't mind dark. I'll check in the second one and then the third. Of course, as noted, I am a very slow reader but as I will be left to my own devices for a week or so, I'll probably have more time to read.........I'm being optimistic. Three days is will be tough for me. I'm like a Reeeeeaaaaaallllllly slow reader.

[ptwiddle]

Ha! I know absolutely nothing about McIntyre, but my wife had a copy of Dreamsnake lying around (the one behind the button, great cover), and I almost posted a picture of it when there was a Dream Snake in your Saltmarsh game.

 

Anyway, gonna try to get through it this time around - my reading has been ... sporadic recently (bought the Monkey book, and did enjoy the bit I read, but then...stuff happened). Think the first chapter got me hooked. GeneT's comment about the writing from different decades having different feels felt spot on; haven't really read much from this era since I was a kid in the 80's and something about the writing briught me *back*.

[lostcheerio]

Yah ptwids is here! WOOP!

I love that cover. I've also just read the first chapter and I'm all in on Snake. I love the vulnerability and also strength of this character. And the vibe is so immersive.

[bothers]

I bought Dreamsnek but I haven't started reading it yet because I need to finish Walter Mosley's Trouble Is What I Do first, and that is taking me way longer than it ought to, mainly because I bought a drum kit and the drum kit is taking ov3r my life. Heh.

Maybe i can trick my brain into getting to the McKintyre book quicker by calling it DRUMSNAKE in my head

[lostcheerio]

It goes pretty fast once you dive in.

I want to hear you playing the drums bothers is this possible. Do you have a SoundCloud. Or what.

[bothers]

I do not have a soundcloud, and you must understand that I am on day 14 of learning how to play, so I'm 200% sure nobody listening to what I'm producing is having nearly as much fun as I am.

One of my friends has requested a video of me doing the drum fill from Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight. If I ever give him what he wants, I'll let you know

[Lemming23]

I want to see / hear bothers playing the drums too! I refuse to read a word of dreamsnake until I do!

[Optional Reality]

I'm very new here and so don't know how the book clubbing goes down, but saw this thread name, and had to pop in.

Big fan of Dreamsnake. Although it's in one of the storage boxes right now, I've actually got a first edition copy I picked up at a yard sale once! I was very excited. It absolutely reads like a work of its era, but it's a quick book and worth exploring. I ought to go revisit it again.

[lostcheerio]

Welcome to you, OR! There's really no proper way that the book clubbing goes down. We open a new thread each month with a new reading selection, but the old threads are all open still, if you have anything to chat about on those. We try to put spoilers in spoiler tags before near the end of the month. It's fine to talk about other books if you want to. And if you have a great book to suggest, lay it on us.

[Optional Reality]

Neat! I'm sure I can come up with a bunch of good candidates. In the meantime, let's see if I can spoiler this correctly...

 

The intro to this discussion of McIntyre's work focused on her role as a second-wave feminist writer. There were a bunch of pretty influential feminist scifi writers in the 70s, but I find Dreamsnake a lot more approachable than, say, LeGuin's books.

Looking at this through the lens of more modern feminism, I was always fond of Dreamsnake's approach to introducing characters. You often learn about their profession (or something like that) before gender. People are defined by what they do and have done, not by how they were born. I also remember being pleased with the inversions of the archetype hero's journey. Instead of the male warrior who rescues the passive woman, we have an active female healer with a man who journeys to re-encounter her. But he neither seeks to "rescue" her, nor does she need traditional rescue.

On the other hand, looking at this from a more modern third- or fourth-wave feminism, there are some issues of its time. Active, powerful women are presented as healers but generally not warriors; that's positive from a certain standpoint, but it doesn't really fully invert the hero's journey. I've also got mixed opinions on McIntyre's treatment of disability. On one hand, Melissa has become scarred by circumstances and is a sympathetic and ultimately positive character. But on the other hand, North's gigantism can be read as the source of his psychosis. And of course, the "crazy" presents an unflattering, if period-standard, view of drug addiction as inherently leading to violence.

It isn't a perfect book. None are. But McIntyre is a compelling world builder, and writes characters worth caring about. Ultimately, I think that's what matters most.

In a non-spoiler bit, I know Dreamsnake was expanded from a previous shorter work, but I've never read it.

[Fillyjonk]

You have -- the shorter work is chapter 1

ETA I have more to say about your GREAT analysis, but I have been at a sprint since 4 am and I have to fall over. MORE TOMORROW!