Tuesday, October 13, 2009

2009 books 215 and 216

Yes, I read two books today--suck on that, New York Times! (I could easily make it through another, but only have two left and still have lots of airport time tomorrow).

Anyway.

Bill Willingham's Peter and Max
Willingham, the author of the amazing Fables comic series (seriously, go pick up some of the graphic novels, they are awesome and cross all audiences), has written a novel set in his fictional comic book world (where fairy tale characters live in exile in New York). The titular Peter is Peter Piper (and he's married to Bo Peep!) who gets the news that his wayward brother has returned to our world and must go find him. Peter's travels, and reflections on his current life, are interspersed with the story of the two brothers and their childhood, and the different paths they took. But you know, they're fairy tales, so there are thieves and witches and magical flutes and things. This is another great take on stories from Willingham and I highly recommend it, even if you've never read the comics (though you should also read those). A/A-.


Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked
I think if you like Hornby, you'll like this story of a woman in an unfulfilling relationship who strikes up an unlikely correspondence with a former rock star her boyfriend's obsessed with. Parts of this are fairly unbelievable but I do like Hornby so found it a good read while on an airplane. A-/B+.

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