Tuesday, January 29, 2008
The Vintage Reader reads a book!
Yeah, I know it's been a long, long time since I actually posted about a book I've read. But I've somehow found more time to read recently; I think it's because my BRAND NEW laptop is BROKEN, and in order to use it I have to hook it up to a monitor on my dining room table and sit in an uncomfortable chair with a cheap cushion that makes it nearly bearable for MINUTES at a time. But mainly, my recent spate of reading has come about because The Vintage Toddler has the flu, and refuses to leave my lap, and rather than actually paying attention to two episodes of Dragon Tales every day I've been reading while he sits on my lap and watches TV and whimpers in a feverish manner.
In that time, I've read The Falls, by Joyce Carol Oates; liked the story, loved the descriptions of Niagara Falls and all the Love Canal history. I'm not qualified to review JCO, so I won't, but I have a feeling that you either like her or you don't. I do, but a little goes a long way; I identify to an uncomfortable degree with some of her least likable characters, and such was the case here.
I've also read an almost-vintage book, The Girl on the Beach, by Velda Johnston. It's one of those throwaway contemporary gothic romances from the 80s, when that particular subgenre was breathing its last breath. It felt dated, and what was worse, it felt like it was probably dated when it was published, too.
But the book I'm really excited about having read is Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, by Chelsea Cain. It's a parody; it says so right there on the cover. I'm not sure whether I'd call it a parody or a pastiche, since it features Nancy Drew, Ned Nickerson, Frank and Joe Hardy, and even Cherry Ames, Kim Aldrich, and Donna Parker.
At this point I have to say that I usually don't like pastiches. Generally I find them overly clever and annoying, especially if the source is one of my passions (a good example is Robert B. Parker's Poodle Springs, a Raymond Chandler knockoff; I like Parker a lot, but only Chandler is Chandler). And I have to say that I am practically reverent about Nancy Drew, even the really awful early books. But Chelsea Cain treats Nancy well. She pokes fun at her, but not in a meant-to-be-ironic way.
The book starts out as a fond treatment of Nancy and her chums, but gets more and more ridiculous (and funny) as it goes on. Unlike the series, Nancy and the others age and get on with their lives. Oddly enough, I even felt some empathy with Nancy as she enters her forties and longs for a good missing locket or secret passage or some other mystery to solve.
Mainly, though, the book is just good fun. I don't even remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud so often; Cain hits exactly the right tone for Nancy without overdoing it. Here's a good example:
And there you go. I read something! And wrote about it! What are the odds?
In that time, I've read The Falls, by Joyce Carol Oates; liked the story, loved the descriptions of Niagara Falls and all the Love Canal history. I'm not qualified to review JCO, so I won't, but I have a feeling that you either like her or you don't. I do, but a little goes a long way; I identify to an uncomfortable degree with some of her least likable characters, and such was the case here.
I've also read an almost-vintage book, The Girl on the Beach, by Velda Johnston. It's one of those throwaway contemporary gothic romances from the 80s, when that particular subgenre was breathing its last breath. It felt dated, and what was worse, it felt like it was probably dated when it was published, too.
But the book I'm really excited about having read is Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, by Chelsea Cain. It's a parody; it says so right there on the cover. I'm not sure whether I'd call it a parody or a pastiche, since it features Nancy Drew, Ned Nickerson, Frank and Joe Hardy, and even Cherry Ames, Kim Aldrich, and Donna Parker.
At this point I have to say that I usually don't like pastiches. Generally I find them overly clever and annoying, especially if the source is one of my passions (a good example is Robert B. Parker's Poodle Springs, a Raymond Chandler knockoff; I like Parker a lot, but only Chandler is Chandler). And I have to say that I am practically reverent about Nancy Drew, even the really awful early books. But Chelsea Cain treats Nancy well. She pokes fun at her, but not in a meant-to-be-ironic way.
The book starts out as a fond treatment of Nancy and her chums, but gets more and more ridiculous (and funny) as it goes on. Unlike the series, Nancy and the others age and get on with their lives. Oddly enough, I even felt some empathy with Nancy as she enters her forties and longs for a good missing locket or secret passage or some other mystery to solve.
Mainly, though, the book is just good fun. I don't even remember the last time a book made me laugh out loud so often; Cain hits exactly the right tone for Nancy without overdoing it. Here's a good example:
"I agree," I agreed.Which, of course, is mainly funny because Nancy never just said something when she could reply, cry, exclaim, or retort it. This kind of thing could have made for some heavy-handed parody, but somehow Confessions of a Teen Sleuth, while broad, isn't slapstick. I highly recommend it for any fan of teen sleuths, since nearly all of them (even Encyclopedia Brown) get a mention.
And there you go. I read something! And wrote about it! What are the odds?
permalink posted by The Vintage Reader @ 9:21 PM 
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