Fiona has endured the dentist like a champ!

[lunabee34]

Nary a teary eye! And she did so well that they were able to do one whole side of her mouth; they were initially billing this as a four or five visit operation. It will only take two! Yay! Thanks for all the encouraging comments.



Ouida the Phenomenon: Evolving Social, Political, and Gender Concerns in Her Fiction by Natalie Schroeder

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is a fairly comprehensive look at Ouida's life and works. Schroeder and Holt begin with a lengthy biography, largely drawn from the four biographies of Ouida published in the early twentieth century. They also quote extensively from contemporaneous reviews of her work, giving an in-depth examination of the manner in which her work was received when it was written. In addition, they do a good job of highlighting the ways in which she prefigures major literary movements and concerns of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Schroder and Holt discuss Ouida's major novels at length, generally focusing on the themes of commodity culture, marriage, and gender roles.

Not all of the novels are discussed (and none of the short stories), and many areas that are rife for critical exploration are either just barely touched on or not mentioned at all (ecocriticism and attitudes toward science, for example).

Solid work that doesn't exhaust the topic, leaving room for other scholars to write book-length critical works about this author.



View all my reviews


Starbridge by A.C. Crispin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. I like that the main character is a young woman. I like that it's focused on cultural exchange rather than hard science. The book certainly has enough action, but it's very much focused on big questions: What happens when two species with different, and to a certain extent mutually exclusive, cultural norms come into contact? How far would you go to preserve peace? What would you give up to boldly go and explore the final frontier? This is the first of the series, and I'm very interested in reading the rest of them (not least because I want to know if this book is truly the end of the romance that starts up midway through or if the characters manage to find a way).



View all my reviews


Spoiler alert: And when I say other scholars, I clearly mean me. Take that, Jane Jordan.

Comments

[karmageddon]

I'm honestly just going to refer myself as Other Scholars from now on.

One downside of leaving academia is you still SEE things you should write and it will keep you up at night a bit. Not complaining. Keep up the good fight.

[lunabee34]

Ahahahahhahaahhahahaaha.

*high five*

We can be in a club.

[elfin]

Yay Fi!

So happy that it went well.

[lunabee34]

Me, too!

[musyc]

Yay Fi!

AND YAY STARBRIDGE. One of the happiest days of my life was finding the entire series in a used-book store. I look forward to your reactions to the rest of it. :D

[lunabee34]

So you think the rest of the series is worth following through on?

I'll have to see what I can get through the library. :)

[musyc]

There are books that are stronger and a couple that I think are weak. And product-of-their-time, etc etc. The usual caveats. BUT I think the main characters are loads of fun, and they generally have Excellent Adventures! Flaws and mistakes and skills and triumphs. My personal favorites are the two with the Crane people and the one with the Cat people.

[lunabee34]

It will be quite a while before I get the chance to read these, so I want you to spoil me. Does Mahree end up with the doc?

[musyc]

She does! We don't see a whole lot of their romance onscreen, as the books concentrate on other characters, but they do make appearances here and there. They have a long-distance professional-careers relationship for the most part, but they are together, yay. :D

[lunabee34]

Oh, yay!

I am so happy to hear this. :)

[umadoshi]

Hooray for Fiona's appointment going so well! ^_^

[lunabee34]

I'm so relieved!