La Vita
Nuova, by Dante Alighieri. Translated by Barbara Reynolds.
Reynolds was
Dorothy L. Sayers old pal who finished her translation of “The Divine Comedy”
after her death, and who went on to write Sayers’ biography and edit her
letters. A cycle of poems by Dante and his commentary on them. “As his love for
Beatrice develops, Dante learns to surmount the barriers of medieval poetic
convention and to write directly from experience.” A Penguin classic. Can’t say
I’ve read it yet.
Ranking:
Keeper.
File Code:
Poetry. Paperback.
The Black
Hole of Carcosa, by Jack Shirley.
I bought
this paperback (one of the few paperbacks I’ve bought in the last 15 years)
because Shirley is a Subgenius, and J. R. “Bob” Dobbs and Ivan Stang both
appear as characters in the book. Why haven’t I read it yet? I’m puzzled. I
looked just now at the first few pages. I’m going to read it, NOW [and I did].
It has a snappy style that I remember from his work in “Three-Fisted Tales of
Bob”, and a fun vibe.
Ranking:
Keeper.
File Code:
Science Fiction. Novel. Paperback.
I had
another old copy of this at first. It had the movie poster of “Camelot” on the
cover and looked like a – yecch – romance. I was glad when “The Book of Merlyn”
came out and they released it and this version with matching art. This was
about 1980. I suppose since I now have an old hardback edition, that makes this
one expendable in a pinch. Still, I’ve had it since 1980. I’ll talk more about
the book itself when I get to the hardback in the inventory.
Ranking:
Keeper/Essential.
File Code:
Fantasy. Novel. Paperback.
The Book of Merlyn,
by T. H. White.
Prologue by
Sylvia Townsend Warner. Illustrations by Trevor Stubley. The ‘lost’ final book
of White’s Arthurian saga, parts of which got stuck into the big combo volume
of “The Once and Future King”, replacing some of the more comedic and whimsical
episodes (like Madam Mim and the Giant Galapas). Anyway, here it is as White
originally wrote it. I may talk more when I get to the hardback.
Ranking:
Keeper/Essential.
File Code:
Fantasy. Classic. Paperback.
The Sword in
the Stone, by T. H. White
I found this
paperback one summer at Half’s, and finally had my own legitimate copy of this
great story. I had first read it in Middle School; I remember sitting on the
little stage in Mr. Fleming’s drama class, reading it over lunch time. I had
already enjoyed the Disney movie in grade school. This copy that I found has
Disney art on the front and is from 1963, so that it and I are exact
contemporaries. I remember sitting in back of Half with this book, sipping a
Peach Nehi and waiting to be picked up from my shopping.
Ranking:
Essential/Keeper.
File Code:
Fantasy. Novel. Paperback.
The Elephant
and the Kangaroo, by T. H. White.
I first read
this novel in the college library and was pleased and surprised to find it when
a new paperback copy had come out. It seemed so unlikely. ‘Mr. White’, a writer
living in Ireland during WWII, is visited by an angel that tells him there is
going to be another flood and that he needs to build an ark. Being no great
shipbuilder, he decides to flip his landlady’s barn upside down and adapt that.
His crafty Irish neighbors don’t know what the foreigner is up to, but when it
starts to rain, chaos and pandemonium ensue. It is an eccentric romp and a wry
but affectionate look at his Irish hosts, though his real landlords weren’t
best pleased at the depiction of their fictional counterparts.
Ranking:
Essential.
File Code:
Fantasy. Novel. Paperback.
I got my
first copy of Watership Down in middle school when Mom bought it for me at a
garage sale. I remember there was also an old copy of Dore’s Bible for sale there
that I wanted, but Mom felt nervous about it. But “Watership Down” was right up
my alley with its lapine culture and secret life of animals. It has been
described as LOTR with rabbits, but it’s more like the Iliad, with survivors of
ruin seeking a safe haven. The rabbits have their own legends and a language
which, when I finished the book, I could use fairly well and still remember. My
first copy fell apart; this is a replacement copy.
Ranking:
Essential.
File Code:
Fantasy. Novel. Paperback.
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