tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post5141768202410826871..comments2024-03-27T22:25:42.129-05:00Comments on Reading the Past: Book review, with notes: David Vann's Bright Air Black, a retelling of MedeaSarah Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-68442511064295101822017-03-25T08:04:49.259-05:002017-03-25T08:04:49.259-05:00Good to know her ancient Greece novels have been r...Good to know her ancient Greece novels have been reissued. I think I have all three Delphic Women novels as mass market paperbacks from the late 90s. I've read Electra, which was very good.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-9369276772818518912017-03-25T06:36:56.744-05:002017-03-25T06:36:56.744-05:00Yes, I'm giving it a re-read at the moment. It...Yes, I'm giving it a re-read at the moment. It's very good indeed. If you don't have that copy, Sarah, it has been re-printed, in recent years, by an Aussie small press called Clan Destine Press. It has a much nicer cover than the original large press edition that's now out of print. <br /><br />You may know Kerry Greenwood from the Phryne Fisher novels. Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-75423087469659223622017-03-24T19:12:38.233-05:002017-03-24T19:12:38.233-05:00Thanks - I may actually have a copy of it around h...Thanks - I may actually have a copy of it around here, which I'd bought ages ago but haven't read yet.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-67382404249546530932017-03-24T17:04:10.989-05:002017-03-24T17:04:10.989-05:00If you like this book, I recommend Kerry Greenwood...If you like this book, I recommend Kerry Greenwood's Medea. She has written such a beautiful and tragic tale of this mythological figure.Lauralee https://www.blogger.com/profile/14390056395943760008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-91152445918304832192017-03-24T15:48:32.638-05:002017-03-24T15:48:32.638-05:00I'll be interested to hear what you think of t...I'll be interested to hear what you think of this retelling once you have the opportunity to read it!Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-6326908734736898592017-03-24T14:35:07.431-05:002017-03-24T14:35:07.431-05:00Wow, I had no idea this book existed -- Medea is o...Wow, I had no idea this book existed -- Medea is one of my favorite plays! Everything about this one sounds wonderful, and I am really loving the sound of Vann's prose. Thanks so much for sharing this great review! I will be heading out to pick this one up. :)Jordan @ForeverLostinLiteraturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15231807884697678173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-91520174598741064382017-03-24T10:14:12.663-05:002017-03-24T10:14:12.663-05:00I definitely understand!
The excerpt you can fi...I definitely understand! <br /><br />The excerpt you can find via Amazon's Look Inside feature (which shows the first two chapters) should give more of a sense of the style and content. There are some later scenes I wished I could scrub from my mind afterward, but the writing is gorgeous! I'm still torn... but glad I read it.<br /><br />Also, looking at the Amazon view, I see there's an author's note at the beginning that wasn't in my ARC. Vann talks about his (very cool) firsthand research via captaining a reconstructed ancient Egyptian ship and also sailing his own vessel around the Greek islands, with his version of Medea "following the archaeological evidence and never straying from realism." I got the sense of that while reading. The novel evokes the characters' beliefs, but I wouldn't call it a fantasy novel.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-38086485310703170102017-03-24T09:48:12.130-05:002017-03-24T09:48:12.130-05:00ooooooooooooh -- I am so torn! Love myth/myth rete...ooooooooooooh -- I am so torn! Love myth/myth retellings but also am not much for gore/blood/violence. But I do enjoy Medea and literary fiction ... so torn!! Thanks for reviewing this one -- it hadn't been on my radar.Audrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07511122937603890352noreply@blogger.com