Since my last post in this series (each part of which you can find under my "quotes" label), I added an eighth quote to "My Favorite Novel Quotes." Nonetheless, I shall mine for the magic in the fourth quote on my wall (literally, they're written on lined, yellow sticky notes beside my desk).
"Ignoring the tray, he rose and made his way down the hall to Moraine's room. She answered his rap on the door with, 'Come in, Perrin.'
"For an instant all the old stories of Aes Sedai stirred again..." - The Dragon Reborn
This quote belongs to the third book in the now-complete The Wheel of Time series. If you aren't familiar with the series, you should be. (Start with the first book, The Eye of the World.) I reviewed this book a while back. It's really solid overall, in part due to passages such as this. As an epic fantasy tome, it is littered with magic both in the traditional sense and in the sense I'm trying to convey through this series of posts.
We start our journey with the first three words of this quote. It's a small matter, but one that displays skill. "Ignoring the tray..." In three words, Robert Jordan managed to give his readers a peek into Perrin's head. He's so anxious that he ignores a tray full of food before him. The following "he rose and made his way down the hall to Moraine's room" points out that while Perrin is somewhat anxious mentally, he's rather calm physically, or at least that's what he's telling himself (as he is the 3rd-limited narrator).
Despite Perrin's visual calm, Moraine knew that he was the one who was at her door. Some clue must have surfaced earlier in the day that would cause Moraine to suspect that Perrin would come to see her. I don't remember the context perfectly, but to the best of my memory there wasn't any apparent reason for her to do so.
The fact that Moraine was aware of the identity of the person behind her door must have startled Perrin quite a bit. He notes, "For an instant all the old stories of Aes Sedai stirred again." This gives flavor to both Perrin's character and the setting. Aes Sedai are so scary and mysterious to the sheltered farmers in the Two Rivers (Perrin's homeland) that Perrin let himself be spooked by one, even though she is one of his most powerful allies. Perrin typically comes off as brave through the first three books, but he isn't a solid stone by any means.
The subtlety behind the character and setting development in this quote are reminiscent of pure magic. Here, traditional and nontraditional magic thrive in harmony.
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quotes. Show all posts
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Magic: An Analysis of My Favorite Novel Quotes (Part 4)
To find the first three parts of this series, check out my "quotes" tag. Today I'm switching gears, moving to the adult age group. This one is rather brief, taken from a seemingly-random spot toward the middle of the third Enderverse book.
"For a long time, several minutes, the three faces in the display gazed in silence at Qing-jao, at Wang-mu." - Xenocide
The magic this time around is subtle, very subtle. The quote may confuse you if you don't know what's going on. That's where the magic comes in. It's all about POV here.
This sentence is from the POV of Jane, one of the major characters in Xenocide. To make things simple and keep back spoilers, let's say that Jane lives in a computer network. She processes information many times faster than humans. A minute to her is like months to us. Applying that tidbit to the quote, Jane simply stared at Qing-jao and Wang-mu for the equivalent of about a year from her standpoint. Could that get any more mind-boggling, amazing, and outright magical?
Orson Scott Card is great with characters, and he hit a home-run here. His description of several minutes as "a long time" in Jane's POV is easy to overlook, but shouldn't be. Just when Jane seemed so human, bam! You get this line. Few sentences can hold similar amounts of magic on their own.
"For a long time, several minutes, the three faces in the display gazed in silence at Qing-jao, at Wang-mu." - Xenocide
The magic this time around is subtle, very subtle. The quote may confuse you if you don't know what's going on. That's where the magic comes in. It's all about POV here.
This sentence is from the POV of Jane, one of the major characters in Xenocide. To make things simple and keep back spoilers, let's say that Jane lives in a computer network. She processes information many times faster than humans. A minute to her is like months to us. Applying that tidbit to the quote, Jane simply stared at Qing-jao and Wang-mu for the equivalent of about a year from her standpoint. Could that get any more mind-boggling, amazing, and outright magical?
Orson Scott Card is great with characters, and he hit a home-run here. His description of several minutes as "a long time" in Jane's POV is easy to overlook, but shouldn't be. Just when Jane seemed so human, bam! You get this line. Few sentences can hold similar amounts of magic on their own.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Magic: An Analysis of My Favorite Novel Quotes (Part 3)
I'm finishing up the quotes from children's novels today. The first two parts to this currently seven-part series can be found via the label "quotes." This quote is unique in that it is entirely dialogue.
"'Nothing changes, Rossamünd. You are my factotum, I am your mistress; the plot thickens, that is all." - Europe in Factotum
I love this quote on several levels. Looking at it from a distance, it probably seems mundane, but having read the 2.5 books preceding the quote it's quite extraordinary.
The tone of this quote is abrupt, yet elegant, a common trait in Europe's speech. She is a Duchess who fights monsters using levin, by the way. The sixth and seventh words in that sentence have a huge impact on the quote, though I'll kindly step away from that matter, as it will ruin the trilogy for you. Hopefully I haven't just done that...Anyway, the use of "factotum" and "mistress" in the quote displays (the author) D.M. Cornish's great ability to write dialect. It gets a bit annoying at times, but here it shines.
When I saw the phrase "the plot thickens" I'm pretty sure I set my iPad mini down and simply shook my head, smiling. It's one of the most bold declarations possible. Yeah, it threw me out of the story, which isn't usually good, but the sheer cleverness involved saved it ten-fold. My favorite moments in cinema, television, and novels, occur when the writer works in a writing joke seamlessly. (Can you spot the one in The Smurfs 2?)
Writers talk about scene-and-sequel formatting on occasion. I'm by no means an expert on the subject; however, I believe this quote can count as a sequel in and of itself. It diffuses huge amounts of tension, while leaving a soft, tingling in the pit of your stomach. It's showstopping for the complete opposite reason as other such quotes.
This novel is fantasy, so there's definitely a lot of literal magic involved. I assert that this quote displays qualities of literal magic, not in a fantasy world, but in our own.
"'Nothing changes, Rossamünd. You are my factotum, I am your mistress; the plot thickens, that is all." - Europe in Factotum
I love this quote on several levels. Looking at it from a distance, it probably seems mundane, but having read the 2.5 books preceding the quote it's quite extraordinary.
The tone of this quote is abrupt, yet elegant, a common trait in Europe's speech. She is a Duchess who fights monsters using levin, by the way. The sixth and seventh words in that sentence have a huge impact on the quote, though I'll kindly step away from that matter, as it will ruin the trilogy for you. Hopefully I haven't just done that...Anyway, the use of "factotum" and "mistress" in the quote displays (the author) D.M. Cornish's great ability to write dialect. It gets a bit annoying at times, but here it shines.
When I saw the phrase "the plot thickens" I'm pretty sure I set my iPad mini down and simply shook my head, smiling. It's one of the most bold declarations possible. Yeah, it threw me out of the story, which isn't usually good, but the sheer cleverness involved saved it ten-fold. My favorite moments in cinema, television, and novels, occur when the writer works in a writing joke seamlessly. (Can you spot the one in The Smurfs 2?)
Writers talk about scene-and-sequel formatting on occasion. I'm by no means an expert on the subject; however, I believe this quote can count as a sequel in and of itself. It diffuses huge amounts of tension, while leaving a soft, tingling in the pit of your stomach. It's showstopping for the complete opposite reason as other such quotes.
This novel is fantasy, so there's definitely a lot of literal magic involved. I assert that this quote displays qualities of literal magic, not in a fantasy world, but in our own.
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Magic: An Analysis of My Favorite Novel Quotes (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this (currently seven-part) series, I tried to find the origin of the magic in my favorite line from A Corner of the Universe. This time around, I will discuss a quote from the viewpoint of one of my favorite characters in all of fiction: John Cleaver.
"I glanced at her, and she smiled back, weak and...something. How was I supposed to know?" - I Am Not a Serial Killer
If you haven't read Dan Wells' rockin' debut novel, you probably have no clue why this quote is so special. You may even find the quote annoying, because it breaks the usual mold of fiction, where the narrator knows everything he describes. John Cleaver is not a usual narrator, however. He has sociopathic tendencies. He's slightly unreliable. The voice Mr. Wells gives him is vibrant and melancholy, yet strong just the same.
I could really relate to John Cleaver (no, I'm not a sociopath) because I'm male and pretty much the same age. Dan Wells portrayed him very well. His attraction (almost squeaky-clean attraction, I'll specify) to his classmate Brooke really resonates with me. She's realistic, wholesome, and compassionate. Unfortunately for both Brooke and John, John isn't too compassionate. He doesn't process emotion quite "normally," if I may use that term.
John's inability to pick up on emotional and physical cues makes this quote magical. From reading his narration up to the point of this quotes, it's pretty clear that Brooke likes him a lot. Despite this, John is virtually clueless to that fact. I think deep down he's supposed to know, but his narration omits it. If he did, this quote would never have been, and John wouldn't have been nearly as great a character.
This quote is sad, it's bloody sad. It's 1st-person POV from John, but I can feel the pain in Brooke, even though John doesn't. That speaks volumes about Dan Wells' ability to tell a story. My rule-of-thumb is that if a reader is invested in my characters, they'll be able to make the reader feel what they feel. It's absolute magic that I can feel what Brooke feels without the narrator ever picking up on it himself.
"I glanced at her, and she smiled back, weak and...something." That little adjective, "weak," coupled with the context, creates a solid image of Brooke's face. She wants John to like her even though he's moreorless diagnosed to be sociopathic. She sees right through his exterior, however, into the John we know from reading the story. John and Brooke are both enthralled with one another, but the situation is so confused and bleak.
"How was I supposed to know?" This is where John gets a little unreliable. As I mentioned, I think John is supposed to have some inkling of what's going on with Brooke. In spite of this, he falls back on his diagnosis to avoid dwelling on things. Either that, or he really doesn't have a clue. Both possibilities are bad for Brooke, and by extension John.
This approach to teen romance is, I'll say it once more, magic. I can't help but sorry for both Brooke and John, even though I'm not the type to get hung up on fictional characters. That's power. That's magic.
"I glanced at her, and she smiled back, weak and...something. How was I supposed to know?" - I Am Not a Serial Killer
If you haven't read Dan Wells' rockin' debut novel, you probably have no clue why this quote is so special. You may even find the quote annoying, because it breaks the usual mold of fiction, where the narrator knows everything he describes. John Cleaver is not a usual narrator, however. He has sociopathic tendencies. He's slightly unreliable. The voice Mr. Wells gives him is vibrant and melancholy, yet strong just the same.
I could really relate to John Cleaver (no, I'm not a sociopath) because I'm male and pretty much the same age. Dan Wells portrayed him very well. His attraction (almost squeaky-clean attraction, I'll specify) to his classmate Brooke really resonates with me. She's realistic, wholesome, and compassionate. Unfortunately for both Brooke and John, John isn't too compassionate. He doesn't process emotion quite "normally," if I may use that term.
John's inability to pick up on emotional and physical cues makes this quote magical. From reading his narration up to the point of this quotes, it's pretty clear that Brooke likes him a lot. Despite this, John is virtually clueless to that fact. I think deep down he's supposed to know, but his narration omits it. If he did, this quote would never have been, and John wouldn't have been nearly as great a character.
This quote is sad, it's bloody sad. It's 1st-person POV from John, but I can feel the pain in Brooke, even though John doesn't. That speaks volumes about Dan Wells' ability to tell a story. My rule-of-thumb is that if a reader is invested in my characters, they'll be able to make the reader feel what they feel. It's absolute magic that I can feel what Brooke feels without the narrator ever picking up on it himself.
"I glanced at her, and she smiled back, weak and...something." That little adjective, "weak," coupled with the context, creates a solid image of Brooke's face. She wants John to like her even though he's moreorless diagnosed to be sociopathic. She sees right through his exterior, however, into the John we know from reading the story. John and Brooke are both enthralled with one another, but the situation is so confused and bleak.
"How was I supposed to know?" This is where John gets a little unreliable. As I mentioned, I think John is supposed to have some inkling of what's going on with Brooke. In spite of this, he falls back on his diagnosis to avoid dwelling on things. Either that, or he really doesn't have a clue. Both possibilities are bad for Brooke, and by extension John.
This approach to teen romance is, I'll say it once more, magic. I can't help but sorry for both Brooke and John, even though I'm not the type to get hung up on fictional characters. That's power. That's magic.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Magic: An Analysis of My Favorite Novel Quotes (Part 1)
On the wall to the right of my desk there are seven sticky notes, each holding one of my favorite novel quotes. Today, I will analyze the only quote of the MG age group, which also happens to be the only quote of the literary genre.
"'Hattie,' he says at last, looking thoughtful, 'I believe you are one of the people who can lift the corners of our universe.'" - Adam in A Corner of the Universe
I reviewed A Corner of the Universe back in January. This quote really struck me while reading the book for the second time. For one, it inspired the book's title, and I really like witty titles. This piece of dialogue, at its surface, means almost nothing at all. "Lift the corners of our universe"? What's that supposed to mean?
If you haven't read the book, you almost can't possibly understand. Only through reading the book to that point can you get a true understanding of Adam, the speaker. To Adam, his words meant something. To Adam, they meant a heck of a lot. After seeing Adam's arc in its entirety, this quote is even more magical. It's simple, yet utterly complex.
The book goes right ahead to state that Adam was "looking thoughtful" as he said it, which may seem like a "tell" that should be fleshed out more. It isn't. Anything more and the line would have lost its luster.
The syntax here is beautiful. "Hattie" the quote begins. Adam addresses the person he's speaking to. You know what follows must be serious. Then comes the tag. It implies a lot in six words. Adam stands there for a while, thinking, searching for the words for what he wants to say. But there aren't words. At least not words that make any "real sense." Yet they mean exactly what he wants them to. Hattie is special. Hattie "can lift the corners of our universe." Hattie can defy the laws of the world as we know it.
What makes it even more wonderful is that Hattie is Adam's niece, although they're only about ten years apart in age, so far as I can remember. This isn't some empty, pseudo-romantic quote that means nothing. It's a magical quote between two people bonded first with blood, second with utter admiration, that means everything. It's magic, transformed into words, drawn in ink, forged on paper.
I aspire to find this sort of magic, magic that only a writer can find, magic that takes cunning and expertise by the ton, where plot, setting, and character collide in a proving display of the power of words.
"'Hattie,' he says at last, looking thoughtful, 'I believe you are one of the people who can lift the corners of our universe.'" - Adam in A Corner of the Universe
I reviewed A Corner of the Universe back in January. This quote really struck me while reading the book for the second time. For one, it inspired the book's title, and I really like witty titles. This piece of dialogue, at its surface, means almost nothing at all. "Lift the corners of our universe"? What's that supposed to mean?
If you haven't read the book, you almost can't possibly understand. Only through reading the book to that point can you get a true understanding of Adam, the speaker. To Adam, his words meant something. To Adam, they meant a heck of a lot. After seeing Adam's arc in its entirety, this quote is even more magical. It's simple, yet utterly complex.
The book goes right ahead to state that Adam was "looking thoughtful" as he said it, which may seem like a "tell" that should be fleshed out more. It isn't. Anything more and the line would have lost its luster.
The syntax here is beautiful. "Hattie" the quote begins. Adam addresses the person he's speaking to. You know what follows must be serious. Then comes the tag. It implies a lot in six words. Adam stands there for a while, thinking, searching for the words for what he wants to say. But there aren't words. At least not words that make any "real sense." Yet they mean exactly what he wants them to. Hattie is special. Hattie "can lift the corners of our universe." Hattie can defy the laws of the world as we know it.
What makes it even more wonderful is that Hattie is Adam's niece, although they're only about ten years apart in age, so far as I can remember. This isn't some empty, pseudo-romantic quote that means nothing. It's a magical quote between two people bonded first with blood, second with utter admiration, that means everything. It's magic, transformed into words, drawn in ink, forged on paper.
I aspire to find this sort of magic, magic that only a writer can find, magic that takes cunning and expertise by the ton, where plot, setting, and character collide in a proving display of the power of words.
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