Braided, embroidered into each other's days

[sovay]

Being a fan of Little Free Libraries, my father has a habit of bringing me random used books. Most recently it was Claire Nahmad's Fairy Spells (1997). He thought I would like the illustrations. They are in fact a nice selection of fairies in the flower-sized diaphanous style, trending Victorian and Edwardian—John Atkinson Grimshaw and Rene Cloke more than Brian Froud and Alan Lee. I expected the text would be vaguely twee. Reader, I think I got Theosophy. Within the first few pages, I had angels and Ahriman, followed in close succession by the Horned God and Diana and presently the elemental division of sylphs, undines, salamanders, gnomes, and phrases like "etheric matter." With extraordinary prejudice, I immediately pictured the author as Edward Gardner as played by Bill Nighy in Charles Sturridge's FairyTale: A True Story (1997), anxiously folded up into the thicket of trees where the girls with their new, un-tamperable cameras left him: "Together, they create an etheric field which allows the fairies to metabolise subtle amounts of ectoplasm into their bodies. That's how they're able to capture them on film. Do you see? No? Well"—an embarrassed hesitation hanging on the air as Elsie's father stares at him like he's playing with less than a full deck and that Rider-Waite—"well, I wouldn't expect you to understand." I think I handle the mingling of angels and fairies better when it's done by Elizabeth Goudge. On the other hand, according to the horology of angels at the front of the book, the day and hour of my birth set me under the influence of Anael, Archangel of Venus, and Cassiel, Archangel of Saturn, and since one of these figures is the cornerstone of H.D.'s Tribute to the Angels (1945) and the other was always my favorite character in Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin, 1987), I am entertained.

The regular library finally brought me Greg van Eekhout's Dragon Coast (2015) which I devoured in an evening, feverishly e-mailing sholio for the last two-thirds of the book: "I've read fic that was less WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR HURT/COMFORT WITH A SIDE OF LOYALTY OR YOUR LOYALTY WITH A SIDE OF HURT/COMFORT"; "this entire B-plot is pure unleaded id fuel, I'm very impressed"; "WHATEVER LEVEL OF ID I HAD PREVIOUSLY ASSESSED THIS STORYLINE AT DID NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT [redacted for the spoiler-averse but spectacular]." In other words, the Gabriel Argent and Max values of this novel are superb. I still wouldn't call the series noir, but the A-plot came closer than either of the two previous books. I still wish there had been a fourth in the series, although in all honesty my investment in it would have remained Gabriel and Max.

I just ate a slice of cold spiced lamb, potato, and spinach pie because my father seriously seems to be trying to reverse-engineer the menu of the Hindoostane Coffee House, but I am not actually complaining; it's delicious. The turmeric in the crust is a nice touch.

Comments

[sholio]

Your emails were delightful. I plan to write up notes on some of the things we talked about, particularly the full-circling on Max and Gabriel's storyline, which was amazing (edit: and also something I never would've noticed if you hadn't pointed it out), and put together a full post on it. Whatever else van Eekhout may have done or failed to do with the rest of the series, he really nailed the entire Gabriel and Max arc.

[sovay]

I plan to write up notes on some of the things we talked about, particularly the full-circling on Max and Gabriel's storyline, which was amazing (edit: and also something I never would've noticed if you hadn't pointed it out), and put together a full post on it.

w00t! I look forward to continuing the discussion there. (And thank you. As soon as it occurred to me, it made me so happy.)

Whatever else van Eekhout may have done or failed to do with the rest of the series, he really nailed the entire Gabriel and Max arc.

Agreed. They came alive.

[minoanmiss]

This whole entry is glorious. I love just thinking of _Fairy Spells_

[sovay]

This whole entry is glorious. I love just thinking of _Fairy Spells_

Thank you!

[nineweaving]

Loved this, from the etheric field to the lamb pie. I hope the deck deals you many more good days.

Nine

[sovay]

Loved this, from the etheric field to the lamb pie. I hope the deck deals you many more good days.

*hugs*

Thank you.

[asakiyume]

Within the first few pages, I had angels and Ahriman, followed in close succession by the Horned God and Diana and presently the elemental division of sylphs, undines, salamanders, gnomes, and phrases like "etheric matter."

This reminds me of a book my high-school best friend showed me. I remember feeling vaguely offended by the drawings of syplphs because they were sort of elemental-spirit-ish, whereas as a ballet student, I had it in my head that sylphs should look like ballet students in white gauzy costumes.

[sovay]

I remember feeling vaguely offended by the drawings of syplphs because they were sort of elemental-spirit-ish, whereas as a ballet student, I had it in my head that sylphs should look like ballet students in white gauzy costumes.

That's wonderful. (I didn't know you were a ballet student.)

[asakiyume]

I was! I was a very stiff (literally: I've never been very flexible), unathletic child, but when I was 12 I up and decided I wanted to do ballet. I had briefly tried ballet when I was in kindergarten but had given up because it was less flitting around the room making graceful arm movements and more pliés and tendus. But at 12 I understood the point of the pliés and the tendus and was ready to put in the work. So I (re)started on ballet lessons and was a dedicated, though very unremarkable, student through high school and my first year of college.