Week Eight : Contemporary Urban Fantasy

I attempted to read the recommended reading, Neil Gaiman’s Ananzi Boys, but I just couldn't get into it. In fact, I couldn't get into ANY of this week’s recommended readings. So, I decided to search on Goodreads for more reading options under ‘contemporary urban fantasy’ and found the books, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale written by Holly Black and May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. I immediately recognized them. A friend of mine owns both. So, I called them up and asked if I could borrow them and they could care less. So, this week I decided I would do a personal reading. I settled on reading May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson. May Bird and the Ever After is the first book out of the May Bird series. The May Bird series takes into account of German and Slavic folk tales of fairies and mythical beasts. I really enjoyed reading the first few chapters of May Bird,... but life had other plans.
Special thanks to the Coronapocalypse for making everything more difficult than it needs to be. So..., UPDATE TIME, I now have to read between Neil Gaiman's Ananzi Boys or The Ocean at the End of the Lane, so obviously I chose The Ocean at the End of the Lane because I had already attempted to read Ananzi Boys and it hadn't interested me very much. BUT FIRST, I watched the ‘movie’ of the week, Neil Gaiman: The Julius Schwartz Lecture at MIT by MIT Comparative Media Studies/Writing, and I also watched Neil Gaiman: "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" | Talks at Google by Talks at Google (just cause he was being interviewed for the reading I had chosen). I surprisingly learned a lot of cool stuff about The Ocean at the End of the Lane, the accidental masterpiece of Neil Gaiman, before I've even had a chance to read it. The way he spoke about his novel hooked me. He had convinced me with his voice. I gave it a second chance. I read it and I LOVED IT! It had so much raw feeling. AND It was a craaaaaaaaazy ride. Honestly, I'm positive that I’d have enough money to buy dozens of toilet paper rolls if I had a nickel for every time I said, ‘What?’ while reading this novel. I had a hard time trying to understand what was going on. I had so many questions along the way.
My first and biggest ‘Wait,... WHAT?!?!’ moment would have to be, Ch.3,
“How old are you, really?” I asked.
“Eleven.”
I thought for a bit. Then I asked, “How long have you been eleven for?”
That moment had me really questioning what I was reading. I wondered if Lettie Hempstock was a ghost... or maybe a timelord? I don't know. My brain went to weird places.
I’d have to say, Ch. 7 was my favorite, it was so... intense. I was literally just saying, ‘nonononono’, under my breath the whole time. ALSO, my biggest laughing moment was, Ch.8,  Lettie Hempstock told Ursula Monkton, “Get off my land,” Then Ursula Monkton floated above the ground and said, “I’m not touching your land,” AHHHHH. That’s so petty. GOD, I hate Ursula!
Anyway, I speculated that the myth that was reinvented within the context of the story was The Three Wise Men, but reimagined as women (the Hemstocks). But then I realized that we were talking about the book in mythical terms, NOT biblical. And upon further research of the novel, I discovered that the Hempstock women are actually the incarnation of the Triple Goddess (Mother-Maiden-Crone).
Yes, the novel describes fantastic events and compares them to average acts of mundane life but the novel also depicts the drastic contrasts of your emotional state as a child vs the logical state as an adult. It reflects on the nature of childhood and its minimalistic innocence. Gaiman explores this untapped element of your subconscious where it feels as if this novel is targeted at you.  themes of memory. I felt transported into a child’s mind that felt as if it were my own. It felt like I was remembering memories I had forgotten, just as the main character felt towards the end of the book.
In addition to all of this since the cancellation of classes, I’ve now had plenty of time to watch mythic fiction and contemporary urban fantasy films. This week I watched Pan's Labyrinth (2006) for the first time, I rewatched my favorite 80’s film, Labrinth (1986) (no good reason, just cause I had finished watching Pan's Labyrinth and I felt like watching another labyrinth movie), and I also watched Coraline (2009). Something I noticed now that I hadn't noticed when I was younger was the common use of portals or doorways to other dimensions. Weird.
.....
Here are some other mythic fiction and contemporary urban fantasy readings/shows/movies that I like: Coraline (2009), Maybird book series, Pan's Labyrinth (2006), AND Percy Jackson book series.

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