Quote Porn
Small Gods
"Gravity is a habit that is hard to shake off."
"Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you."
"That's why it's worth having a few philosophers around the place. One minute it's all Is Truth Beauty and Is Beauty Truth, and Does A Falling Tree in the Forest Make a Sound if There's No one There to Hear It, and just when you think they're going to start dribbling one of 'em says, Incidentally, putting a thirty-foot parabolic reflector on a high place to shoot the rays of the sun at an enemy's ships would be a very interesting demonstration of optical principles."
Never Let Me Go
" 'It's too easy,' I said, "to criticise when you're just driving by.'
'Easiest thing in the world,' Tommy said."
"By the time a moment like that comes along, there's a part of you that's been waiting. Maybe from as early as when you're five or six, there's been a whisper going at the back of your head, saying: 'one day, maybe not so long from now, you'll get to know how it feels.' So you're waiting, even if you don't quite know it, waiting for the moment when you realise that you really are different to them; there are people out there, like Madame, who don't hate you or wish you any harm, but who nevertheless shudder at the very thought of you—of how you were brought into this world and why—and who dread the idea of your hand brushing against theirs. The first time you glimpse yourself through the eyes of a person like that, it's a cold moment. It's like walking past a mirror you've walked past every day of your life, and suddenly it shows you something else, something troubling and strange."
A Few Thoughts
Today, we migrate back to cross-genre battles, as Small Gods' fantastic humour matches up against Never Let Me Go's Dickensian dystopian sci-fi, if you can indeed call that a thing.
Small Gods is one of dozens of books in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, which does an excellent job of not requiring any prerequisite reading to jump in pretty much wherever. I remember reading a few of them as a kid, and they're on the mile-long list of things I need to reread so that I'll catch subtle nuances and/or glaring statements that the mind of a teenager is able to gloss over effortlessly.
This is one I'm glad I didn't read 'til adulthood. The subtlety is so fine that both religious and non-religious people believe that the book supports their views (and either read is a fair one). But, though it's subtle and respectful about the tenets of religion, it is scathing in its condemnation of crooked church administration, bureaucracy and of unquestioned belief. These are all vehicles in which nobody would believe themselves a passenger, so there's universal appeal. There is so much implied but unsaid in this novel that it's refreshingly fun to ponder outside the context of straight up reading it.
Oh, and it's a riot. I laughed out loud every ten pages or so. The characters benefit from Pratchett's British humour—Brutha is simultaneously a savant and an oaf, Om is rage-filled and violent and also a turtle, Didactylos is also brilliant and moronic but not in the same way as Brutha, and Vorbis is basically a TV evangelist with actual clout. Film it and throw in a laugh track, and baby you've got a stew going.
Never Let Me Go manages compelling characters of its own. The scope is very small; other than the three main characters everyone else is a one-trait NPC by design. Those three characters, however, are all multidimensional and very much like real-life, mostly-unlikable people. Even though I don't really admire any of the three of them, it's an achievement of writing that they're all so darn genuine.
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume this authenticity is to help deliver gravity to the science fiction horror that unravels as the narrative plods on. To me, it really feels like Dickens was writing about a boarding school, and Lovecraft walked up to him and was like "Bro, lemme check out that quill out real quick" and left an indelible mark on his story. I only recently finished the book, so I don't want to judge this as good or bad yet, just really different. Its plot pigeonholes the book into the sci-fi genre, even though a lot of sci-fi fans would not enjoy the long, relatively plain build; meanwhile, many who would actually enjoy the book are likely scared away by the science fiction label.
While I found the writing style very compelling and was actually excited to find chances to read the book, the method of unveiling the plot wasn't my favourite. There are some heavy, heavy plot twists that are inserted bluntly and masterfully into otherwise benign conversations—but, the problem is that Ishiguro throws so many hints about them that, by the time Ruth reveals that the kids are indoctrinated organ farms, I'd suspected as much for 6 chapters because there's a hint every other page.
The book is also tragically sad, and not just because of the story it tells. Around page 50 I began to get the sneaking suspicion that the whole thing was a metaphor for modern life in the first world, and when I got to Part II at the Cottages—where young adults have two years to write an essay but spend most of their time socializing and adventuring until they forget about the essay—it became pretty undeniable.
Never Let Me Go manages compelling characters of its own. The scope is very small; other than the three main characters everyone else is a one-trait NPC by design. Those three characters, however, are all multidimensional and very much like real-life, mostly-unlikable people. Even though I don't really admire any of the three of them, it's an achievement of writing that they're all so darn genuine.
I'm going to go out on a limb and assume this authenticity is to help deliver gravity to the science fiction horror that unravels as the narrative plods on. To me, it really feels like Dickens was writing about a boarding school, and Lovecraft walked up to him and was like "Bro, lemme check out that quill out real quick" and left an indelible mark on his story. I only recently finished the book, so I don't want to judge this as good or bad yet, just really different. Its plot pigeonholes the book into the sci-fi genre, even though a lot of sci-fi fans would not enjoy the long, relatively plain build; meanwhile, many who would actually enjoy the book are likely scared away by the science fiction label.
While I found the writing style very compelling and was actually excited to find chances to read the book, the method of unveiling the plot wasn't my favourite. There are some heavy, heavy plot twists that are inserted bluntly and masterfully into otherwise benign conversations—but, the problem is that Ishiguro throws so many hints about them that, by the time Ruth reveals that the kids are indoctrinated organ farms, I'd suspected as much for 6 chapters because there's a hint every other page.
The book is also tragically sad, and not just because of the story it tells. Around page 50 I began to get the sneaking suspicion that the whole thing was a metaphor for modern life in the first world, and when I got to Part II at the Cottages—where young adults have two years to write an essay but spend most of their time socializing and adventuring until they forget about the essay—it became pretty undeniable.
Head-to-Head
Characters: It kills me here, because I'd argue that the characters in each are one of their greatest achievements. I want to cop out and call it a push, but I actually liked the characters in Small Gods.
Advantage: Small Gods, by a shell.
Plot: I might not like how he rolled it out, but Ishiguro's plot was imaginative and subtly frightening.
Advantage: Never Let Me Go.
Ending: The conversation that ended NLMG honestly felt like a Bond villain reveal with the main characters strapped to a table, even if they weren't in any immediate danger. I can't make up my mind on whether this is good or great.
Advantage: Never Let Me Go.
Writing/Language: Reading Pratchett is like reading good Monty Python bits at times, and Small Gods knocked it out of the park. British humour, as acclaimed as it is, remains underrated. NLMG was simple and effective, but outclassed.
Advantage: Small Gods.
Philosophy: Never Let Me Go asked some deep questions about modern priorities as well as the ethics of our possible future, while Small Gods reflected on historical (and let's be honest, present) corruption and misplaced beliefs in the church. Again: both capstone feats of their books. Hard decision.
Advantage: Small Gods by the smallest margin.
Winner Winner Turkey Supper
I started today's blog thinking "Okay, Small Gods in a rout. Next question.", but the more I reflected on it, the more I found myself gravitating towards Never Let Me Go. This is the equivalent of a penalty shootout where neither team deserves to lose, and it's one of the reasons I'm enjoying writing these blogs so much.
Small Gods still makes it to round two, if only by virtue of having better quotables and soundbites.
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