Books 2016 - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

[byslantedlight]

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who's ever been chosen. That's what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he's probably right. Half the time Simon can't even make his wand work, and the other half he sets something on fire. His mentor's avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there's a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon's face. Baz would be having a field day with all this if he were here - it's their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon's infuriating nemesis didn't even bother to show up.
Carry On is a love letter to love stories and the power of words - to every 'chosen one' who ever had more on their mind than saving the world...

Actually Carry On is the fanfiction that Rowell's character was writing in Fangirl, and in Fangirl I must admit that I tended to skip over those bits, because what Rowell did best was show us the life and conflicts of her real character, the fangirl (it was a fangirl more than twenty years younger than me - but still *g*) That didn't stop me from being interested in Carry On though, because what we got in Fangirl was snippets from the story of Harry Potter/Draco Simon Snow/Baz, and this is a whole - and quite bulky - novel. Yeay!

Except actually... it just didn't work for me. Waaah! I really wanted it to, but it didn't. To start with, it's not the Carry On that we read about in Fangirl, it's the last installment in that story. This means that it's a strange combination of the joys of fandom where it's all about the characters and their universe, but actually having to describe and explain that universe to us! Rowell can do this perfectly well, I love all her other books, but somehow it falls right down here. It is explain-y, it's tell-not-show in far too many places. I also get the impression that she doesn't really know her universe at all - despite the fact that she's actually trying to set it in both a real and a semi-real world. The Watford School of Magick is actually in Watford. Just north of London. Effectively London. As in Gap, and north-south divide, and all its other baggage. Watford is too real a place not to be some kind of ironic joke as a setting for a school of magic - except that it doesn't seem to be, it seems to be just a place that was picked out, maybe cos it's near London. And it's definitely not described in any way as Watford either, so there's no sense of it in the story, which ends up feeling confusing.

There's something of this in the characterisation too - Simon is a 17/18 year old who's just about to leave school, and Rowell seems to try and make him that kind of awkward-but-maturing teenager. Except that he just comes across as slightly thuggish and a bit grimy. If she was going for scruffy-but-endearing, she missed, but I suspect again it was more about trying to write a "real" character in an ironic-jokey kind of way, who's also a Chosen One (more about why I say that in a bit). Hermione Penelope is okay, but a bit annoyingly efficient while at the same time not accomplishing much. Agatha I could actually see better than the others, although she's a relatively minor character - despite being Simon's girlfriend - she had some really interesting facets to her that just weren't explored at all.

Now Baz was something more like the hero of a book! He was supposed to be Draco somewhat evil but good at heart, and this isn't an uncommon fandom story, and could have worked well, except that with Simon being a bit blah, we fall back on Baz, and Baz is actually written quite sympathetically. So I liked Baz and when he sneered or said something mean it just felt wrong - but also we got to know him well enough that we could brush those things aside as the face he was putting on to cover up his lurve for Simon. His only flaw was in finding anything attractive in Simon Snow... But again, as a reader I was left feeling wrong-footed.

The other thing that plays into this is-it-supposed-to-be-ironic-jokey for me, was the actual form of magic used by the wizards etc. It was eventually described in what again could have been quite an interesting set-up - it's all about words having power the more they're believed in and used, and touches on the depth of familiarity we have with specific phrases and sayings and even lines from poems and songs. So rather than "accio" and "ascendio" and the like, they use spells like "Out, out damn spot!" and "Make way for the king!", but also "Shut up!" and "Stay the course!" and "Run for your life!" Which is a nice idea, but most of them were just too ordinary and got lost in the whole ironic-joke-or-gritty-realism-or-just-rushing-to-finish-the-book feeling that I ended up having. And don't get me started on the way they used magician's names as swear words - "Oh Merlin!" - "Crowley, Simon - what are you doing?" The joy of magic is that it's special, and if you're going to twist that into reality then you have to have a really good grip on the reality and be able to convince me of it.

Finally, the story itself was a bit... rambling? I felt like there were bits of the storyline that just vanished off on other trails, or else round in a circle so that I wasn't sure why they'd been there to start with. Some things took a long time to get anywhere at all, then the ending almost seemed rushed... Again, was this ironically "fannish writing" or - just not very good? I swear I can't tell, cos neither worked for me.

So... waaah! It's not that I didn't keep reading, it's not that I didn't have some sort of interest in the characters and what was happening (and wondering how in the world she was going to work Simon/Baz in the end), it's just that - I could never quite believe in, or want to live in, or really even like a little bit, the world that had been (somewhat shoddily) created... Oh - and it didn't help (and I can't believe this from such a successful author) that I'd be pulled out of the story now and then by Americanisms! How is that possible in a book from such a major publisher - Macmillan! Pan/Macmillan! But no - and not words and things that might have crossed over, which lots have now of course, but things like the PE teacher being called "Coach Someone", which hasn't crossed over cos it's too high up the process. How was that not picked up? I don't expect to be "pulled out" of an actual published novel, even if I don't like it...

/rant. That was a bit of a rant-ish review, wasn't it... I think because I was extra-disappointed because Rainbow Rowell has made me love every other book and character and place that she's written, and for this to be so flawed just seems... wrong - almost to the point where I'd wonder if it was ghost-written by someone completely other!

But all that said, lots of people on Goodreads liked it, and it's got lots of stars, so... don't take my word for it. *g*

I think this counts as my first book for the Once Upon A Time X challenge too, because I started reading it on the day the challenge started, even though I hadn't actually signed up yet. It's definitely fantasy, which means I've completed one of the challenges - The Journey (By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to read at least one book within one of the four categories - fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology - during March 21st to June 21st period.) So yeay!

Comments

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Yes, I have to say that the bits I wasn't too keen on in Fangirl were the fanfiction bits, mainly because for slash to work for me I have to know and love the characters. Because I didn't know who she was writng about I wasn't very interested. Loved the main story though. What a shame Carry On didn't work for you, especially given how much you usually love RR's writing.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

for slash to work for me I have to know and love the characters
Yes, that's it exactly! And Carry On was almost like that too, because it was missing things that might have made me more sympathetic to the characters, because it came in at the end of their story rather than the beginning - and as a reader I knew that's what had happened...

I must admit I had slight warning that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as I hoped, cos when it first came out in hardback I picked it up a few times and read the first page or so. If I'd been grabbed straight away I would have wanted it then, but I was happy enough to wait for the paperback. Oh well - hopefully she'll be back to the world that she actually knows for her next book, and I'll be back on track loving the characters she writes!

And oh - I've just cottoned on - you've read Fangirl! Did I miss your review? (Did I read your review and then forget that I had...? Not impossible...) Did you like it? - oh dear, I should get to bed, I'm sorry, you just said that you loved it! (I'm so glad *g*)

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

No, you didn't miss my review. It's here: http://read-warbler.livejournal.com/87974.html and you did comment I see. *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Don't you just hate it when a book that you really want to work for you, doesn't work for you? The premise of the book is intriguing, so too bad it didn't pan out.

I haven't joined the Once Upon a Time challenge yet, either. I'm waiting until I get home to see what in my TBR pile that will work for either challenge. If there aren't any, I may look around for some short and sweet books that will.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

It really is such a shame when books don't live up to our hopes - I guess it's as much about our hopes as anything else, isn't it. It makes me worried about her next book though, because I've loved all her others!

Did you join the challenge in the end? I don't think I've seen that post from you, but that could be cos I've been all over the place... *g*

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

No, I never did. I checked the books in my Mount, and not enough of them fit the bill. Plus, the time limit is too short. If it was the only challenge I was working on it would be okay, but the two just don't compliment each other enough for it to be doable. Maybe another challenge else will come up later that I can manage.

Grace

[grace troxel (from livejournal.com)]

I borrowed this one from a friend but haven't started reading it yet. I loved "Fangirl," and am hoping that I love "Carry On" as well. Sorry it didn't work out for you; I hate it when I'm excited about a book and then it falls flat.

Congratulations on finishing The Journey!

RE: Grace

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hello! How nice to "meet" someone from the challenge here - thanks for popping in. *g*

I'll have to keep an eye out for you reading Carry On, and what you thought of it - lots of people loved it, according to Goodreads, so don't let me worry you. Rowell's other books are well worth reading too, if you haven't already - I've loved all of them (though Fangirl is my favourite, Eleanor and Park gives it a close run).

And thank you! Onto the next quest! *g*