Maps and Legends by Michael Chabon: book review

Maps and Legends: Reading and Writing Along the Borderlands (2010) is a series of 16 linked essays on why writer Michael Chabon thinks reading is important. It is basically a promotion of books in general, and – in naming books and authors – the specific books that influenced his writing.

He especially defends ‘non-serious’ literature and debates ‘literature’ versus ‘genre fiction’ by using examples. His discussions include several chapters on comics and their rise from ‘juvenile’ to ‘grown-up’ modes of expression.

He discusses Arthur Conan Doyle’s 56 books about the detective Sherlock Holmes; Cormac McCarthy’s ‘Border’ Trilogy; and Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ Trilogy.

There are several self-reflective chapters on the author’s own influences, the process of writing, and his motivations. He opens up about himself and his insecurities.

The title, Maps and Legends, refers to the grey areas, the borderlands, between fantasy and fiction. In discussing epic fantasies he says, ‘we consign to the borderlands our most audacious retellings of what is arguably one of the two or three primal human stories: the narrative of Innocence, Experience, and … the Fall.’

These essays are, naturally, a very different style to his novels. They are a blend of literary criticism, memoir, and introspection about his craft. The 16 essays vary in their ability to captivate my full attention. The essays that I thought were most notable were the ones on Arthur Conan Doyle, Philip Pullman, and the essay called My Back Pages about the writing of his book, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh – mainly because he mentions F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel The Great Gatsby.

Readers of epic fantasies will probably enjoy many of the essays. I enjoyed the essays about the books or authors I was already familiar with. But, generally, the book is of mixed interest, although it might introduce readers to authors and books that they would otherwise not have heard of – or seen in the same perspective as Chabon.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog