The Scorpio Races

Hello Internet!

I'm going to take a go at this blogging idea again since I have a mostly free summer with little to do but read, exercise, and study electricity and magnetism!

Yesterday, I read The Scorpio Races.  It was probably a bad idea to read the whole book in one day because it lends little time to thinking, but I was pretty bored.

Honestly, I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out where to start.  How about a pro con list?

Pros:

1. My favorite part of this book was the interesting and relevant feminism struggle of a tomboy.  I really appreciated how Puck was not totally devoid of all traditionally feminine characteristics.  I love when Puck is struggling to work out how she wants to be seen by the other riders, and a strong female character responds "All I'm saying is that you're asking them to treat you like a man. And I'm not sure either of you want that."  She hints at the fact that Puck is more complicated than just a man (or just a woman in any case)and should not settle for being seen as such.

2.  The symbolic relationship between the island, the ocean, Puck, Sean, and their capail uische (or however it's spelled) was super cool.  I could tell that the author was trying to justify the risks they take to race using this incredibly deep relationship.  I didn't quite buy it - that Gabe would leave his family and Puck would risk her life and participate in a game full of needless death just because of how much they hate/love the island and the horses- but it was all the same very neat.

Nitpicks:

1.  The language.  Yes, this book was full of symbolic imagery, however I don't think Maggie Stiefvater's writing style lends itself to this.  She doesn't use big fanciful words and creative diction (by this, I mean more that she doesn't choose very unusual language than that she doesn't use the words she has creatively).  This is a valid style that can be complex and symbolic; however, when writing lengthy descriptions, simple diction makes the text not as engaging.  I feel like common-yet-powerful words are better for more minimalist or action packed writing, which wasn't what the author was going for.

2. This is somewhat of an extension on the first point.  The beginning is very long and dragged out where the reader knows that Sean and Puck have to meet eventually and race, but the author won't tell us how this happens for about the first half of the book.  I'd categorize this with the first point because the novel straddles the line between a quick, action packed story and a slow one with lots of nice scenery and character development.

All in all, a really fun, thoughtful read that was thoroughly enjoyable (though slightly slow).

Anyways, not a top-notch post, but hopefully these will improve over the summer!