Sorry that this post got delayed a few days. Next month I will be on the ball! Last Thursday we met to discuss The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle. We were short a few members; Justin, Emi and I were the only attendees.
Discussion Review
Emi and Justin enjoyed a heated discussion. Although Justin has yet to
complete the novel (which he has vowed to do), he enjoys the magic system--or
lack thereof--that Beagle writes into his book's world. Many fantasy novelists
go out of their way to explain the details of how magical power works, but
Beagle seems to infuse his spin on magic with additional mystery by simply
allowing magic to be . . . mysterious.
Emi pointed out that time is an important theme in the story, with
immortality (the absence of time) represented through the immortal unicorn,
and, at least in the beginning of the novel, time being represented by the old
carnival woman who poses as "old age" herself. Using illusionary
magic, the old woman becomes her own carnival's most fearsome attraction,
weaving a spell of cold death around her, even fooling the wise unicorn for a
moment.
Emi promises that the thematic goods of the novel only escalate from there,
and Justin, a diehard sucker for vintage fantasy, is excited to sink his teeth
into the rest of the book's meaty subject matter.
Thanks Emi for the book choice. So far we've read two books that are very different from one another. I'm glad we are getting some good diversity in the club.
Book Choice
The book we voted on is Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonegut.
"It is an apocalyptic tale of this planet's ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist; a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer; and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny."
Next Month
Our next meeting is on April 26th, 2012 at Blue Lemon, a restaurant and bistro, at 7:00pm. Juliana is bringing our book choices this month, can't wait to see her picks! (We chose Juliana's book at our first meeting, however that does not count as her month to present three choices to the club.)
I hope you all can make it, it's more fun with more of us there! Just a reminder, you are welcome to bring outside guests. Anyone can join!
Blue Lemon
6919 S. Highland Dr.
Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121
