tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post3663965690551406479..comments2023-08-15T07:41:19.933-05:00Comments on <center>Slaves of Golconda</center>: Alan Garner's The Owl ServiceQuillhillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07601080339912553168noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-65187945815439944862007-12-01T17:47:00.000-06:002007-12-01T17:47:00.000-06:00Ann -- thank you for all the contextualizing you'v...Ann -- thank you for all the contextualizing you've done -- it really does help make sense of things, and I can see that even having a vague sense of the myths and what's at stake as far as identity is concerned would help.Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-40318700049709726072007-12-01T14:20:00.000-06:002007-12-01T14:20:00.000-06:00I agree with you about the dialogue, Dorothy! And ...I agree with you about the dialogue, Dorothy! And my experience of reading was very much the same as yours - appreciation and interest, at the same time as confusion and bewilderment!litlovehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10952927245186474480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-89001654890843901202007-12-01T08:34:00.000-06:002007-12-01T08:34:00.000-06:00I think one of the issues here is that this is ver...I think one of the issues here is that this is very much a British book and while a lot of even British modern youth probably wouldn't know the specific myth, they would be aware of the fact that there is a whole wealth of Welsh legend that is of great importance to the national identity. And in the 1960s, when it was written, this was very much a live debate. Welsh nationalism was a headline issue and the tragedy at Aberfan was only months before the book was published. There is, of course, a question as to whether Garner should have spelt things out more clearly nevertheless, but I think at the time it would have been seen as overwriting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-54419943528742663112007-12-01T07:26:00.000-06:002007-12-01T07:26:00.000-06:00I don't feel strongly enough about this book to re...I don't feel strongly enough about this book to re-read it, but your experience does tempt me a bit, Imani -- I think I'd enjoy it more the second time around and appreciate how the parts of it fit together.<BR/><BR/>Stefanie -- no, he didn't make it easy, did he? I wonder how young adults felt about this book when it was published -- did many of them know about the myth? What kind of audience did Garner expect?Rebecca H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10825532162727473112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-77710854684864945032007-11-30T21:02:00.000-06:002007-11-30T21:02:00.000-06:00Oh that part about Gwyn's accent made me so sad. I...Oh that part about Gwyn's accent made me so sad. I think I would have enjoyed the book more too if I had known the myth beforehand. Garner didn't make it easy to put the pieces of the myth together.Stefaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14943596258182968212noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30395167.post-84523968195806616032007-11-30T18:50:00.000-06:002007-11-30T18:50:00.000-06:00Oh, it wasn't only me! Now I'm wondering if I put ...Oh, it wasn't only me! Now I'm wondering if I put too much of the blame on myself for not recognising what the hell was going on during my first reading. I don't think I would have been able to tell anyone what the book was about except a murmur or two about magic plates and instructions to go to Wikipedia to get background on the myth. I had the same problem with the language too. I forgot to mention that.<BR/><BR/>Someone needs to start that metaxucafe thread! (Actually I think I will, if that's ok.) I'm *dying* to talk about the ending.Imanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09647980707788075258noreply@blogger.com