February 13, 2009
Dangerous Laughter
Posted in Books tagged NYT list, Short Stories at 6:49 am by lilaenne
I’m waaaaay behind the times when it comes to movies. I often let months (usually years) go by between a film’s release and actually seeing it. Even if I expect to really enjoy it, committing that many hours to staring passively at a screen just bothers me.
In typical fashion, I just got around to watching The Illusionist only a week or two ago. As I’m rather smitten with Edward Norton and a complete and utter costuming junkie, I loved every minute of it – and found something naggingly familiar about the language and style. Then I saw my favorite phrase in the credits:
“Adapted from the short story (or novel)…”
After some digging in the card (electron, nowadays) catalog at work, I finally connect the author, Steven Millhauser, with several stories I already read and enjoyed, as well as a book I had marked for future reading off the NYT Notables for ’08: the collection Dangerous Laughter. This seemed like an excellent starting point for my non-junk reading goal this year.
I’m having trouble writing about this book without gushing like a teenager over a crappy pop star. There are moments of soaring magic, uncomfortable truths pulled into the light, worlds that could have been and might yet be. “In the Reign of Harad IV”, about a royal miniatures maker, captures the sometimes maddening drive to perfect one’s own craft. “The Disappearance of Elaine Coleman” shows how the bonds between people may atrophy, with startling results.
While I do have some standout favorites, the entire collection was enjoyable to read and to reflect on. The presentation is simple and reserved, allowing the reader’s own thoughts on the meaning of each story to blossom in their own way, rather than being bashed about the head with what the author thinks you should think.
I simply can’t do this one justice.
RA notes for librarians: medium to long stories; adults who dislike cartoons, violence, or philosophy won’t get past the first story. Voracious readers who have exhausted your fantasy collections might be transitioned into regular fic with this one. Readling level is maybe upper YA to adult; includes somewhat subversive concepts but lacks any language or explicit depictions that would freak out parents.
