Send Off for Sendak

Another great has passed on today...

Maurice Sendak's page has gone blank.

His most famous work, Where the Wild Things Are, is actually one of the first books I ever cherished. I don't think my mother understood the fascination.  (But that might be par for the course. Both with that particular book and my favorites in general.)

Mr. Sendak's ability to tap into the collective and primal psyche is a force to be reckoned with, that's for certain. Like Barrie, he semed to walk on the border of childhood and adulthood - utilizing that marvelous and mysterious grey area to the fullest. In fact, I seem to recall Mr. Sendak saying that he doesn't write for children or adults. That's the way I like it. And the way I, too, function.

Farewell, Maurice Sendak!

Thanks for the inspiration, stories, illustrations and just in general - sharing your wild imagination.

A Wacky Wendy Tale

Just found out about this a minute or two ago from Twitter.

An author named Barbara Silkstone is using the story of Peter Pan as a springboard. However, it is not in the sense of a continuation to Barrie’s narratives, so it doesn’t raise a flag from me, the purist.

She’s using Barrie in a parody fashion, and it’s the second in a series of “Fractured Fairy Tales.” The first tackled Alice, from Wonderland/Looking-Glass fame, The Secret Diary of Alice in Wonderland, Age 42 and Three-Quarters

The one using the famous young mother of Barrie is called Wendy and the Lost Boys and here’s the description on Amazon:

When a deathbed promise to one of her agents leaves Wendy Darlin, feisty Miami real estate broker for billionaires, trapped on a super-yacht with Ponzi-king, Charlie Hook, she’s forced to join him on a quest to recover his hidden treasure. Along for the danger-filled adventure are an undercover SEC Investigator, who kindles a spark in Wendy with his ‘Johnny Depp’ eyes and Hook’s young female helicopter pilot who befriends Wendy as they sail the high seas, one step ahead of modern day ruthless pirates. A laugh out loud whodunit… kidnapping, revenge, and a little murder on the side. The second book in the Fractured Fairy Tales by Silkstone series of criminally funny fables, this comedy mystery is set in Miami and the Caribbean.


This is a modern morality tale that takes the reader on an action-filled ride with memorable characters and lots of laughs along the way. It’s Indiana Jones meets Romancing the Stone while still remaining faithful to the original Peter Pan and Wendy.
~ Consuelo Saah Baehr, author of Best Friends

It’s available on Kindle from Amazon for just 99¢ here, Alice is here also at 99¢.

She has many stellar reviews for the Alice book.
Best wishes to you, Ms. Silkstone!

Jones-in for More

Last night I attended a local author book reading and signing at The Book Cellar here in Chicago. I went especially because author Andrea Jones would be there with her new book, Hook & Jill. I mentioned coming across this novel in a previous post.

Ms. Jones read a portion some ways into her novel. I found it delightful for two reasons. First, her flair for reading. She inflected in a way befitting the scene and characters. (I hope I can do as well reading aloud from my own work!) Secondly, it proved quite nice to hear a part that dealt with characters from the story of Pan that I did not have in my novel. (Tinker Bell and Captain Hook) I mean that in the sense of hearing more about these two, as I could not provide it or work with them in my own tale. Ms. Jones did them more than justice.

Afterward, I approached her and introduced myself (and my work.) Fortunately, she’d been just as eager to discuss Barrie. We talked of various versions, found we shared a common interest in remaining true to his work, the process of writing and shared tidbits we’d learned along the way. Let me tell you, just being able to share thoughts with someone who is as obsessive in admiration of Barrie’s genius proved quite thrilling.

I have begun Hook & Jill… and I very much like it so far. What Ms. Jones has done is intriguing and commendable. I explained this last post, but I have further information. This work is not an extension of Peter Pan in either direction. It’s not meant to continue the story. Rather, it is the same story… sort of. You see, she (and I say for the sake of description only) glossed over the events of the Darling's nursery when Peter Pan came back for his shadow. For she did not need to or intend to retell what Barrie already achieved. Instead she is playing a "What If?" game later on in the events in the Neverland, inspired by the P.J. Hogan film. Unlike Spielberg’s “What If?” which, in my opinion, undermines the very fabric of the story (to say nothing of its major contradictions.) I won’t spoil the “What If?” of Ms. Jones, but suffice to say it seems Peter Pan will not be very happy with Wendy in an ironic twist.

I did ask Ms. Jones about the idea of the Neverland being “darker” this time around. Apparently, that’s just a “marketing” issue. For she, too, sees and appreciates the dual-sided nature of the island. Sure, it’s charming, happy and beautiful…but not always! Glad to know she’s just as immersed in Barrie. As for the other question I raised... I'll let you to discover the answer yourself.

I also liked the fact that her “love” is Captain Hook. In this way, we are like the dual nature inherent in the story and characters. (For I, as can probably be inferred, gravitate toward Pan.)

I’m looking forward to not only finish reading her book, but to chat and visit with her more.

All the best to you, Andrea Jones!

(Sorry about the very bad pun for the title... it's just one of those "had to"s)

Pan's at Yet Another Window...
I'm HOOKed.

WARNING: Hook & Jill is not a novel for children, as Ms. Jones will be quick to say herself. This adventure explores the grown-up side of Barrie’s tale.

Crossing the "Finish" Line

Do you feel guilty if you don’t finish reading a book?

For the most part I do. Maybe it’s just the author in me, but I feel like I owe to it a fellow writer to read the whole story. Maybe the good (or better) part is just around the corner? Then again, I’ve stuck with some and never felt the satisfaction I’d hoped to find. (No, I can’t think of any examples.)

However, a librarian friend of mine (whose blog "for a change" is listed in the sidebar) told me how silly it is to continue reading a book that is not being enjoyed. Too many other books to read, she said. Why waste time? I can see this argument, certainly.

So I’m sometimes in a mild “moral” dilemma. Do I owe it to other writers to complete their tale? Or can I put it down without regret? And if I do put it down, how do I know that it won’t “pick up” just on the next page?

I can only think of one book that I gladly put down with no intention of returning to it. No offense to the author. I rather liked some of the book. It’s just that he didn’t provide enough of that storyline for me. It’s a pretty common premise: boy apprentice to a wizard. However, this boy, to the wizard’s amazement and incredulity, employs a different form/procedure of magic than is known to the wizard. Meanwhile, a large ship is found and on board is a sword of unknown metal and craftsmanship. It seems invaders are coming from another dimension. This type of novel is normally right up my alley. However, the other half of it related the shenanigans of the princess and the men who loved her and the rest of the palace court. I did not so much like them. Any of them. I suffered through their scenes, wishing and longing for the boy to return soon. Eventually, he burst away in a puff of color. Yes, you read that right. “Oh great,” thought I with rolling eyes. The next bit…yep, the princess. I skimmed ahead to see when I’d get to hear about the kid again. I skimmed further…further…but no, he didn’t show up for the rest of the book! I then realized it to be a series. From the tiny summaries I learned he would not return until one or two books ahead. I still had a good third of the novel left to read. All featuring the characters I did not care a whit about and had become a chore to read. So, I simply said “No.” And I’ve never regretted it.

How about you? Do you feel you “have to” finish a book?

What Can You Bake of This?

Perhaps you recall a post of mine where the titles of books and authors’ names were pun-ished with humorous food-related monikers. Such as: Red Wine of Courage, The Scarlet Lettuce Soup and Gulliver's Truffles.

Let me again give credit to The Golden Girls episode "Dorothy's New Friend," where I first enjoyed this ‘game.’ You can find the post and more about the episode here.

I’ve just run across a group of people who take this idea one step beyond.
Yes, they actually produce the foods! Thankfully, it’s in the context of a contest and not a random and time-intensive act of silliness. (Although, that would be just fine, too!)

Here are some of my favorites:

Peter Pan(cakes) with Berries - Laura Larkin (I think it should be with J.M. Berries, no?)
The Pelican Beef, by John Grisham - Emily Love
Sword and the Scone - Lisa Fager

You can find the article and more photos here.

Pirandexcellent

I tend to like Pirandellian pieces. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it is named after an Italian author/playwright, Luigi Pirandello, whose most famous work is the play Six Characters in Search of An Author. Pirandellian refers to works wherein the characters are self-aware of their author, the author is inserted into the work or the line between story and reality is crossed in some way. The most recent example I can think of is Stranger Than Fiction. (See it if you haven’t! I have a post about it here.) Actually Nim's Island does it more recently but I've not seen it. I’d like to bring up another wonderful movie to see on the subject of writing and writers, Pirandello Style!

Recently the famous At the Movies with its trademark Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down has retired. Well, thank goodness for it when it did air, otherwise I might never have known about this movie. Siskel and Ebert reviewed the 10 most underrated films of the year 1986. One of them caught my attention. The Adventures of Mark Twain. Besides being noteworthy for its clever content, the movie is Claymation. The whole movie. Way before Wallace & Gromit’s feature film. It’s a feast for the eyes and imagination.

Another quick history lesson: Mark Twain came into the world with the arrival of Halley’s Comet. Seventy six years later, when it returned, Twain died. He said, I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it. It will be the greatest disappointment of my life if I don't go out with Halley's Comet. The Almighty has said, no doubt: "Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together."

The above is what the movie is based around. That, and a loose adaptation of his novel Tom Sawyer Abroad. In the film, Twain (Samuel Clemens) like his character, reveals a big airship with which he will travel the world. But his real goal, we learn, is to catch up to his destiny with the comet. In Abroad, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn stow away. They do in Adventures, too. Ah-ha! Pirandellian! Yes, delightfully inexplicably Tom, Huck and Becky Thatcher fly away and interact with their creator. Twain seems very aware of who they are. To make it even more odd, the ship has an Indexivator (Index-Elevator) which will not only take you to the various floors of the aircraft but also to the works of Twain! At one point Tom is snatched back into his story by Aunt Polly’s arm coming out of the “black void” of the Indexivator. Injun Joe nearly escapes to get them. And, in one of my favorite scenes, the kids have a bout with The Mysterious Stranger. Twain also reads from The Diary of Adam and Eve to them and the book comes to life, so to speak.

It’s a movie packed with action, dark patches, laughs, surprises, inside jokes and witty quotes from Twain.
It’s a gem.
I’ve been showing people a scratchy overworn copy on video tape. How excited I’d been to find it on DVD a few years back.

I leave you with one of my favorite quotes of Twain, presented in the movie: The human race in all its poverty has only one truly effective weapon - Laughter. Against the assault of Laughter, nothing can stand.

Back in St. Olaf...

I’ve always been a fan of a good pun, assuming these exist. I will always remember a particular segment of The Golden Girls. In the episode "Dorothy's New Friend" she attends 'The Writer's Symposium' where the menu is a hardcover book. I've never seen a menu with a Table of Contents before, said Dorothy. The menu is divided into Chapters. Chapter Five is the Lunch Menu. The offerings given in the episode are, in order: The Crêpes of Wrath, Old Man and the Seafood Salad, For Whom the Stuffed Bell Pepper Tolls, Catcher in the Rye Bread, George Bernard Slaw, Edgar Allan Potatoes, The Ice Water Commeth.

Given my penchant for such wordplay, I created a list of my own. I'm sure other people contributed to this list and thank you, whoever you are. Fortunately I saved the piece of paper for years, scanned it in many years later and just found the CD it's burned onto so that I could share it. Lucky you.

Feel free to add more!

Peter Pan Pizza
J. M. Berries
Treasure Island Dressing
Red Wine of Courage
Yeast of Eden
Mark Twinkie
Isaac Fig Newton
The Cadbury Tales
Flounders for Algernon
Flounders in the Attic
A Brie Grows in Brooklyn
A Tale of Two Entrées
The Scarlet Pumpernickel
Olive Twist
Isaac Asimuffin
Ray Cranberry
Cask of Amontillado
Tequila Mockingbird
Peas and Prejudice
The Scarlet Lettuce Soup
Raisin in the Sun
A Clockwork Orange Duck
Don Quicheote
Henry David Flambé
Ralph Waffle Emerson
Lewis Carrots
The Glass Meringue Pie
War and Piece of Pie
Rhubarb Kipling
Upton SinEclair
Nestlé Tolstoy Cookies
Ezra Poundcake
Robert Frosting
The Ice Cream Cometh
Carl Sandburger
Grated Expectations
Prince and the Potpie
Fruits
Gulliver's Truffles
The Wonderful Gizzard of Oz
Robinson Croutons
The Legend of Creamy Hollow
Arthur C. Clarke Monolith Bar
Astrid Linguine
J. D. Salisbury Steak
Catch of the Day-22

UPDATE:  Should Have Cooked This Up Before...