unjumbled: The Book Thief

I read this post a few days ago, and I'm just very happy about it :) Why? It's kind of like a 'my-thoughts-exactly' situation, only Derek Landy (and I guess, his 'Twitter-wife'...?) just added to it, you know, developed the idea to more sophisticated proportions that my brain couldn't do, on its own.

[INTERMISSION: Have you people read the Skulduggery Pleasant books? If you haven't, DO READ THEM. They are hilarious. So completely laugh-out-loudable. And yeah, the storylines are exciting, captivating (though admittedly, when he gets to specific fighting scenes, he loses me), and the characters, whether they're evil or not, you love 'em all. But for me, personally, they're just so funny and that's the main reason why you should read them :) ]

So anyhow.

Over the last year or so, I've noticed this certain pattern in some kinds of YA novels, the dystopian or fantasy or adventure-y type. Mind you, not all of them are like I'm going to describe, but still enough for me to make out this pattern.

Basically, there will be a leading female character. She will be a kick-butt, in-yo-face ninja type. Or she will try to be this type, for the purpose of her story. Completely tomboy. And then, added to that, she has this certain kind of 'angry' attitude - you know, she repels people, she finds it difficult to accept love, maybe she's socially awkward, she's just better at hitting people, blah blah blah. And sometimes, if you get really lucky, she's also contemptuous of all things girly, or the homebody type of female.

And I'd read this books, write up a review or whatever, and check out other people's opinions (other reviews, or just you know, ask friends who've read them), and the general view is kind of like "gutsy female lead, strong, resilient"... that kind of thing, you know?

And it really irked me. Firstly, it just annoyed me that this was the type that got all the praise. What, so now girls have to be angry and masculine in order to be deemed 'respectable' female characters? I mean, to me, those characters were highly unlikeable personally, but now they were the role models for what the perfect female character was supposed to be.

Let me just say, I am not a 'girly girl'. I think I'm developing some 'girly girl' tendencies, 'cause, well, I'm a little more conscious about what I wear, and yesh, I do like pretty clothes, though perhaps not to the extreme of my sister, or feeling that desire to fit into the trends, or.... you know, I sound really defensive. And I'm digressing.

But what I'm trying to say is, while I'm not into makeup and shoes and giggly-gossiping and shopping and checking out guys all the time, I don't begrudge that for other girls. Well, maybe the gossiping - sometimes I try to divert the topic and if it gets serious, I do start telling them off. BUT, generally speaking, if that's what they like, why should I be holding them in contempt? They're not hurting anyone. Except with the gossiping, maybe...

ANYWAY. The point is, the point is, when these female leads that I'm talking about start dissing the 'airheads' that are fashionable or lovestruck, I just get really annoyed. No, I mean, I wouldn't, if not for the fact that I've noticed it in multiple books this year and the last. If it was just one here or there, whatever, you know? But this is a pattern. A trend. An unhealthy one. That's mostly being applauded.

So yeah, I started getting really annoyed at this developing stereotype. And then I read that post by Derek Landy, and his Twitter-wife's article (although, admittedly, some of it was lost on me, because I'm not really familiar with all the superhero movie references she makes o.o), and I was just so pleased because they highlighted this issue, in their wise way, and did it without the raging and ranting that I would have done it with, and yeah.

One of the messages is basically:

REMOVE THE LABELS. Let female characters be female characters.

I mean, take Bella Swan. I remember, when I was in 'Camp Anti-Twilight', this girl on SW was doing a series of rants about different aspects of Twilight. And she was doing character focused ones, and when she got to Bella... well, you can imagine how much she had to say. Everyone has a lot to say. The common criticism is that she's weak (and angsty and annoying and co-dependant and pathetic and blahdiblahblah). This girl, doing her rants, was all like 'Bella is such a disgrace, while she so readily helps around the house and blah blah, you will never find her doing something that's not all wifey/motherly, you know, like painting a fence or something....".

And, even being in Camp Anti-Twilight, I still didn't really like that argument. Yes, Bella was angsty and all that jazz, but why the need to mention she doesn't do what she calls 'guy work'? So what? My older sister doesn't do guy work. She hates working outside the house. She hates getting her hands dirty. Big deal. I don't think that makes her a disgrace to womankind. And I don't think it's a crime to be weak, either. Boys and girls both can be weak, and in the name of making 'realistic' characters, why would it be such a bad thing to have a protagonist that was 'weak' in that way?

""Strength" is one dimensional. It's saying "women can be strong like men", NOT "women are flawed, complex, brilliant, weak LIKE MEN."

(That being said, I'm still not a fan of Twilight, but to each his/her own *shrug*)

Also, that 'stereotype' that I mentioned was developing? I'm not really against it, in the sense that like Bella-Swan types of girls, there are obviously the angry-antisocial-tomboy types of girls too. I just want to remove this notion that they are the epitome of what the perfect female character - or female - should be.

Really, read the blog post + the article. Much more worth reading than this post, for that matter x)

Thoughts?

Okay, just some other things...

THE BOOK THIEF TRAILER CAME OUT!!! ZOMG. ZOMG. Okay. It's awesome.

And you know, if you were thinking of Death, according to the amazing Markus Zusak:

"…and I will just say to all the loyal readers out there who might be wondering if Death narrates the actual film, as he does in the book:

The answer is an emphatic

YES.

...

Just as he does in the book, Death will help look after us.

And he’ll do his very best."

Ummm... yeah. I have my first exam (French oral) on the 23rd of October o_o Scared. I donno. Everything's so close. Talking about the Valedictory dinner and the Farewell Assembly, getting the dates for final SACs, applying for universities, getting 'life talks'... it's just overwhelming. Trying not to think about it, but it just keeps coming back :/

Peace in,

Laila

I did one of these ages ago... and it's kind of fun and therepeutic, so I think I'll do another. Here is where I will share random stuff and promote things that I love and hope and hope and hope that you'll go away with something new and awesome ^_^ Although a lot of the stuff that I do like isn't very... well, unheard of.

Okay, so firstly, I like stories. So here's a story:

A Cup of Tea

A group of students, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old teacher. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests tea, the teacher went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of tea and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the tea.

When all the students had a cup of tea in hand, the professor said: ‘If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the tea. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was tea, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups too.

Now consider this: Life is the tea; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the tea Allah has provided us.’ Allah brews the tea, not the cups. Enjoy your tea.

And I think this is the sort of advice/kick-in-the-butt I need every now and again...

And this picture makes me happy:

Ok. Let's do books.

Recently, I finished The Lumatere Chronicles, by Melina Marchetta.

Oh. My. God.

It's pure awesomeness. Every single thing is perfect. I don't really throw that around easily (I think) but, I mean, she wrote it so well. You'll love the characters, the setting is amazing, every intricate detail is mindblowing, the plot is intriguing and tragic and twisty and - well, okay, here is my review, it's under Quintana but I was reviewing the trilogy as a whole, I guess. Some words of advice:

1. Finnikin of the Rock you can read as a standalone novel, I think, but once you read Froi, rest assured you must read the rest. What's more, unless you have the best of the best memory, I highly recommend reading them consecutively, without a huge gap inbetween. Especially after Froi - there are so many details in it that are relevant to Quintana and if you leave a huge gap inbetween readings (like me), you'll sort of lose the quarter of the novel before you really start understanding everything.

2. Also, hm, from Froi onwards it get's very... adult ='_'= I mean, she doesn't detail stuff, but it's all there in plenty of references. So I guess Arvie, you should stay away ^_^

Okay, now another: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

... hold up, forget me throwing about perfection not easily... o.o This novel is perfect too. But... but... in my defense, I'm recommending from my favourites shelf. So everything on the favourites is always perfect. Mostly.

Anyway, I actually read The Book Thief yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeears ago but I feel the need to recommend now, because, last Thursday, I learnt that...

OkayI'mhavingdifficultybreathingagain

THEY'RE MAKING A MOVIE. THEY'REMAKINGAMOVIEFORTHEBOOKTHIEFOHMYGOD.

Now there is something Very Important that you must understand. When I read this book, ~~when Markus Zusak ripped out my heart and fed it through a meat shredder~~, when I finished it, it didn't occur to me once that this should be a movie. Ever. On the one hand, the story itself is perfectly amazing, but on the other hand, it's just the way he writes. It's so poetic and pretty and perfect. I wouldn't even have the right words to do justice to how he writes, and I guess my subconscious figured a movie needn't, couldn't, do it justice either.

But as soon as I saw the news, I stopped breathing for a while anyway. See, last week, I had been watching a French movie (my way of studying for French), and when I watch these movies, if they turn out okay, I look up the actors/actresses, particularly if they're little, because the younger they are, the more likely the movies they're in don't have naked people getting up to things (as is common with the French). The movie I was watching was Monsieur Lazhar, with a little Canadian-French girl called Sophie Nélisse in one of the minor starring roles...

Yup, Sophie Nélisse is LIESEL. DHFLJADHLFKJADSHFKJA.

In case you didn't get that, I think she's perfect. Really.

I think I can give you a run down on The Book Thief without spoiling anything - basically, it's set in Nazi Germany, it's the story of Liesel Meminger... oh, I read some of the blurb, and to finish:

It’s just a small story, really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . .

And the fun bit? It's told through the voice of Death. You gotta love Death.

Oh, one more thing. What really always gets me about The Book Thief is that Zusak tells you what's going to happen at the end at the start, and it still has the same profound effect when you get to the end, even though you knew it was coming. Gosh. Gosh.

So The Book Thief. January 2014, guys. *dies* (Go read the book though, if you haven't. Or I'll hit you. The movie is NOT a substitute, I don't think it ever is.)

Btw, the soundtrack for Monsieur Lazhar is really nice...

Oh yeah, Monsieur Lazhar is a movie I'd recommend. It's not very climatic, but there's something very... pleasantly melancholic. I'm not sure I can call it that... it basically involves this teacher - Monsieur Lazhar - going to a school where a teacher recently committed suicide in a classroom. While he observes them coping, he... happens to be coping with his own issues. It's just... nice.

So, because my charming French teacher is absolutely useless as a teacher, I've taken to watching French movies as part of my study, besides the tuition I take. As I mentioned before, it's a bit hard to find French movies that don't have random naked people turn up, but... well, okay, if the following movies have random naked people, I'll tell you.

There's Amelie. In one word, it's quirky. It does have ... some naked people. Brief glimpses, and oh God, there's this one scene where you don't see anything but the sound effects are positively scarring.... but they're not the centre of the movie and they're VERY brief, and the overall movie is fantastic x) I've watched it twice.

Les Intouchables. NO naked people. It's ... hm... the unconventional tale of a paraplegic and a young man who sort of accidentally ends up being his caretakerishperson. Based on a true story :)

Ummm... I can't remember any others that were ... exceptional. What else? Well, I absolutely love this post I saw on Linchy's tumblr, but I can't make myself repost all the swearwords and... I'm too lazy to link every single gif. But Harry Potter fans, it's for you. J'adore ♥

Oh, just found this awesome quote:
catalyse:

To people who believe long skirts/concealing clothes/burqas restricts and oppresses a woman’s sexuality: I can enjoy my body without you enjoying my body.

Going back to JKRowling, though, I love this quote by her. So much, I wrote it up and stuck it in my school x)

“Fat’ is usually the first insult a girl throws at another girl when she wants to hurt her.

I mean, is ‘fat’ really the worst thing a human being can be? Is ‘fat’ worse than ‘vindictive’, ‘jealous’, ‘shallow’, ‘vain’, ‘boring’ or ‘cruel’? Not to me; but then, you might retort, what do I know about the pressure to be skinny? I’m not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain…

I went to the British Book Awards that evening. After the award ceremony I bumped into a woman I hadn’t seen for nearly three years. The first thing she said to me? ‘You’ve lost a lot of weight since the last time I saw you!’

‘Well,’ I said, slightly nonplussed, ‘the last time you saw me I’d just had a baby.’

What I felt like saying was, ‘I’ve produced my third child and my sixth novel since I last saw you. Aren’t either of those things more important, more interesting, than my size?’ But no – my waist looked smaller! Forget the kid and the book: finally, something to celebrate!

I’ve got two daughters who will have to make their way in this skinny-obsessed world, and it worries me, because I don’t want them to be empty-headed, self-obsessed, emaciated clones; I’d rather they were independent, interesting, idealistic, kind, opinionated, original, funny – a thousand things, before ‘thin’. And frankly, I’d rather they didn’t give a gust of stinking chihuahua flatulence whether the woman standing next to them has fleshier knees than they do. Let my girls be Hermiones, rather than Pansy Parkinsons.”

I think I'll finish this with some songs...

ALEXANDER RYBAK. I love him.