The Fox Woman and The Magicians

They say the books we read teach us about what we want to write. Recently, that seems to be the case.

I read The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson. I admit to going into the book with low expectations. I know a bit about Japan and Japanese folk lore, and I’ve seen a lot of Westerners abuse that material and use it superficially.

Johnson turned out to be the real deal. In order to write this book, she did a large amount of research regarding folklore and the time period in which she sets the book. She traveled to the country. She (gasp!) talked to Japanese people.

The book she wrote was an exquisite retelling of the fox woman legend, which understood the mechanics of it at its depths. The characters were treated in a multi-faceted as a reader could want, and the ending was not tidy, but was satisfying to me.

I thought to myself, yeah, that’s the kind of book I’d like to write. There might be a reason why there’s a gap of three years between The Fox Woman and Fudoki, but such beautiful books are worth the wait.

Right now, I’m in the middle of Lev Grossman’s The Magicians.. I approached it with great anticipation. I’ve never read such a cynical piece of poo.

A brilliantly executed, well-written piece of poo, but poo nonetheless.

The Magicians is a close-up uncomfortable examination of idealized magical worlds. It makes sense I would dislike it. Idealist that I am, I devoured the mythology of the misplaced child and alternative world. Background that I have, it’s fundamental to who I am. Grossman’s book makes this “real.” His main character is unhappy. He keeps expecting admittance into a magical school or discovery of a magical land to help him discover an idealized happy life, but in the end, he’s still an unhappy stooge of a kid who scuttles his own life.

I have only one word for that. Ouch.

Grossman’s book is topical and interesting, but it’s taking me somewhere I don’t want to go, and I don’t want the kids who hopped down the Narnia trail with me to go there either. Life is tough enough without someone taking the veneer off fantasy life. We get enough real world and realer consequence. Is there anything wrong with letting something stay mistily happy?

I’ll never be enough of an adult to say yes to that question.

***

However I might feel about these two books, they have helped me solidify some thoughts about my own work. I’m up for long term commitment to work, with constant revision and research. I think I know enough about when to call a work quits, but I intend to embroider and embellish and leave something that counts, even if it only counts for me and a small circle.

I also think that’s it’s okay to write smart books that are idealistic. I think the world has enough deconstructionists, and I don’t think that being cynical is all there is to writing. I don’t mean that I’ll be blithely cheesy and cliched, no, but I’m going to stay comfortable with my idea that there are heroes and heroics, and even though there are obstacles and consequences, not everything is jaundiced and edgy. If that means I’m writing books primarily for children, I can suck that up.

Have you read any books lately that have cemented your views about what you write?

Catherine

Author: Catherine Schaff-Stump

Catherine Schaff-Stump writes fiction for children and young adults. Her most recent book, The Vessel of Ra, is the first book in the Klaereon Scroll series. She is currently working on its sequel, as well as penning the middle grade adventures of Abigail Rath, monster hunter.

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