I [Sean] have recently finished an epic novel by Sherwood Smith called Inda. It is an amazing read; I highly recommend it. It is an immersive experience into a culture built on war and keen observation and politics. The detail is superb, and best of all, I am treated intelligently as a reader. Perhaps too much so.
What I mean is that the author does not tend to expain all about what the characters are thinking and how that links to what was written 50 pages ago and how it’s definitely foreshadowing so we’ll interpret everything for you. It tells the story and lets you guess what will happen next, reflect and hope. Though the world is expansive and I had to keep track of perhaps 50 characters, they were tightly woven enough that I could handle it and feel with every individual character as they were highlighted.
However, where fantasy is concerned for me it still does not trump Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
I do not have such a high review of the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor™ Dreamcoat, which Jennie and I saw a few weeks ago at BYU. I understand my bias against Andrew Lloyd Weber; perhaps it’s just a generational gap that has me disconnected from liking his work? The play is just not my style.
That said, the BYU production was itself struggling, which is a bit disappointing. I feel there was too much going on onstage; the supporting choir of 25 or 30 girls in tie-dye shirts never left the stage, and it seemed like all 12 sons of Jacob never left either. It was hard to tell when someone even entered the scene. Furthermore, Joseph never seemed to be in any peril at all. A prison cell full of tie-dye girls is a hardly convincing scene of poignancy or depression.
No comments:
Post a Comment