Three books, three lessons

I haven't been posting to this blog very much recently because I've been very, very busy. Among other things, I've been writing (I'll post about that IY"H soon) and reading--reading to my kids, parallel to my kids, and on my own. Notably, I've recently read several books that are "message books"--books with a sincere moral message that the author wants readers to absorb. While many such books come across as heavy-handed, these do not.

HIGH SCHOOL AND ABOVE Orson Scott Card (as a practicing Mormon, he often introduces ethical dilemmas and messages into his books) is most famous for his first novel, Ender's Game. I recently read the first sequel Speaker for the Dead, and was sucked in right away by the introduction by the author. (In it, Card says that one of his motivations for writing the book was because he wanted to show a central character who is NOT an adolescent, or a drifter, or any other aloof, single man on the fringe of society who usually stars in sci-fi novels. Rather, he portrays a man ready to create a family, who really wants to build bridges between the members of communities.)

Speaker for the Dead follows the hero of Ender's Game to the age of 35--although 3000 years have passed, he hasn't aged because he has spent so much time travelling, teaching people insights into the behavior of the dead, allowing people to walk in the shoes of people before judging them (as it says in Pirkei Avot/The Ethics of the Fathers). This is his personal tikkun (rectification of error) following his (SPOILER ALERT) near-destruction of the species of Buggers at the climax of the last novel. Now, Ender's sister and companion, Valentine, is expecting her first child. Her travels are over, and he realizes he wants his to end, too. But he has one last mission--to find out why members of another alien race have started killing the scientists (actually xenologists--like anthropologists, but studying aliens instead of humans) who have befriended them and studied them.

This novel provides a nuanced discussion about a new kind moral relativism--not that right and wrong are relative, but that our ability to judge them is. The story is a little focused on one side of the argument, and I was able to guess the mysterious cause of the aliens' behavior right off--but that might be because I 1) am a writer myself and 2) hold a master's degree in Anthropology. However, I really enjoyed the book and it would be an excellent stepping off point for discussion in a classroom, book club, or around the dinner table.

MIDDLE GRADE Vivian Vande Velde's middle-grade novel, Three Good Deeds, tells the story of Howard, a rowdy boy who spends several months as a goose. Howard's transformation is at the hands of the local witch, who feels he is a selfish child more interested in his own entertainment than the needs or wants of others. The only way out of the curse is for Howard to complete three genuinely good deeds.

Three Good Deeds uses fantasy, a charming although obnoxious anti-hero, and plenty of droll humor to draw the audience (ages 8 and up) into the story. Despite the light treatment, the message--that a person should be a giver and not a taker--is beautifully interwoven into the text. Warning: The end is a bit of a tear-jerker for softies (it mentions chessed shel emes).


PICTURE BOOK Paul Budnitz's The Hole in the Middle takes a fantastic approach, as well, to teach its lesson. Morgan quite literally has a hole in his middle. He tries to fill it up with superficial and self-centered pursuits. However, it only shrinks when he does chessed (kindness) for his friend Yumi.


The fanciful, metaphorical style of this book ALMOST overpowers the moral. My 3 year old and not-quite 5 year old children laughed at the story, but when I asked the older of the two about the message, she had indeed absorbed it. I'm wondering if the wackiness of the set-up might make the book so memorable, that even if a younger child doesn't quite understand the message at the time she reads it, she'll draw on its memory to guide her after she reaches a stage where it's no longer over her head.


I'm highlighting these books because they definitely represent one of the directions I want to go with my writing--using speculative fiction to explore subjects that might not appeal to children or teens if approached more directly.

A trip into the Uncanny Valley

My kids love Tintin comics by Herge, so I was unable to suppress my desire to watch the trailer of the new Tintin film (despite the fact I haven't gone to the movies in nearly eight years). If you're interested it's here:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/05/17/tintin-adventures-trailer-spielberg/

What surprised me is that the animation in Tintin seemed to me to fall into what is called the Uncanny Valley.

The Uncanny Valley refers to the widespread belief that when computer graphics, robots, or other representations of people look and act almost, but not quite, like the real thing, people are creeped out. Apparently some genuine research has been done in this area, and many experts in CGI and robotics try hard to avoid stumbling into the Uncanny Valley in order to avoid turning off potential viewers. 

 

As technology advances, this becomes more and more difficult. Just when does the image flip from being disgusting and become convincing? And how are we supposed to respond to such simulacra? 

[Indeed, this is a favorite theme in science fiction. For example, both the classic book I, Robot by Asimov and the Ridley Scott movie Blade Runner (based on Phillip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep) directly address this conundrum. In one fictional world, androids are prohibited from having a convincing human appearance altogether; in the other, such robots exist, but are forbidden from living on Earth.]

Now let's get back to the new Tintin adaptation. I watched the trailer (and I should repeat that I actually don't watch movies in theaters and rarely at home unless Jewish), and I immediately responded---Ugh! 

I'm not sure why the producers opted for an image capture CGI as opposed to live action (there actually are already animated adaptations of the Tintin comics, so I'm not so shocked that they opted out of another animated version), but I had a visceral reaction against what I saw. I'm wondering if other viewers will have similar reactions. With more and more exposure to video game graphics and the like, maybe the Uncanny Valley will lose it's effect on people who see a lot of CGI.

Jewish Sci-Fi Update

Yaakov the Pirate Hunter is the new-ish novel for tweens by L.A. local Nathaniel Wyckoff. Yaakov Peretz has just started summer vacation, and an accident with one of his family's robots results in his discovery of a treasure map. Wacky adventures result from the Peretz's choice to seek out the treasure so it can be returned. It's all reminiscent of a Geronimo Stilton book, but with no mice and only black and white print.

I remember reading a while ago that the way George Lucas and Steven Spielberg invented Indiana Jones was by fantasizing about all the coolest scenes they wished had been in matinee serials and adventure novels pre-1960, and then binding these scenes together with a plot. You know: Trapped in a pit with snakes--check! Fight with strongman who gets too close to a propeller--check! Pretty but tough girl gets trapped in a basket, but which one?--check!

That's what Yaakov the Pirate Hunter is like. What would tween boys most like to read about? Robots--check! Pirates--check! Bumbling cops--check! Kids save the day--check! It makes perfect sense for this to be the novel's general impression, too. Wyckoff originally invented the story to entertain the kids in carpool (How's that for a successful carpool strategy?). With all those elements, how could it go wrong?

The recipe works like magic. Yaakov the Pirate Hunter is pure fun. My 9 year old son LOVED it. Like begged to find out if there's a sequel in the works kind of loved it. (Answer: not in the immediate future. Alas.) He also loved that the book is set in Los Angeles, not the NY metro area or Israel, like most Jewish books.

I'd recommend this book for 7-11 year old kids, especially boys. It could work as independent reading or a bedtime read-aloud. Here's a link to Amazon if you want to purchase it: http://www.amazon.com/Yaakov-Pirate-Hunter-Nathaniel-Wyckoff/dp/1456452495/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313374964&sr=1-1

There was also an outstanding sci-fi story FOR ADULTS (shocker!) in Binah Magazine's Aug. 8th issue (thanks to Miriam Hendeles for the heads-up). It was authored by the wonderful Yael Mermelstein, and it's so good, it should be anthologized or something. It would be a pity if its only appearance was in a single magazine issue.

Making Up New Words to Go with your New Worlds

I just finished a sci-fi novel entitled The Empress of Mars. There were many things I liked about it, and one of the things that the author, Kage Baker, managed particularly well was naming all those imaginary new technologies that appear in the story.

Almost all sci-fi stories describe hi-tech gadgets, and if those gadgets are new to your imaginary realm, you have to name them. One of the challenges is naming them in a way that evokes the item's function, but doesn't sound too similar to either real-world objects and those that inhabit other author's books. And you'd better not trample on anyone's trademark, either. Sometimes you read a book, and you're lost by the new vocabulary, or it's clunky and sounds artificial. Ms. Baker did an excellent job of naming things in ways made sense, yet seemed exotic enough to flesh out a new planet, many years in the future.

I have always been the type that makes up words. Long before Frindle, I would spout strange new words that never appeared in a dictionary or thesaurus, but which better described items or behaviors than any word that does. My specialty is turning nouns into verbs, and vice versa. However, my newest invention is "shadebathing." It is intended to describe the behavior of one of my children, who on a hot day will run into a bit of shade, plotz, and stretch out to cool off, no matter how inconvenient the time or place.

I'm blessed that one of my children has followed in my footsteps. For example, he thinks that the phrase "crime-ridden" should be replaced by the descriptor "crimey." I voiced the objection that this is too close to the word "criminy," but he remains unconcerned. "No one knows that word anymore, Ima. Or if they do, they sure don't use it."

Naming characters and locations has always been relatively easy for me. I can just make up anything, no rules. However, when you name your fictional gadget, as I mentioned above, you need to balance familiarity with novelty. I find this much tougher. In the novel I'm writing now, I keep picking names for things, then feeling the need to relabel them.

Thank G-d for "Find and Replace!" I seem to be employing it a lot lately.

more jewish sci-fi contemplation

I've finally read Hereville!

I found it at the Beverly Hills Library at last, plus the author will be at the Association of Jewish Libraries West Coast Conference that's coming up soon, so I figured the time had come. The beginning starts off like it's going to buy into nasty stereotypes about women's roles in Orthodox Judaism and terrible stepmothers. My heart sank, and I almost didn't continue. B"H, I read on, because the author totally turns both these notions on their heads by the end. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it highly. I can't wait to post a glowing review on Amazon!

The upcoming conference, by the way, is on the topic of graphic novels for Jewish kids. A comic book about the founding of the state of Israel won the Sydney Taylor prize last year or the year before, I think, and Hereville won this year. Of course the first in the genre that is well-know was Maus about 15 or 20 years ago, but only now is this genre gaining momentum.

I've been reading more and more "Jewish" sci fi and fantasy (some of what is classified as such is anything but Jewish, if you ask me) and writing more pieces, too. I'm realizing from some of the comments I've gotten back from friends that a big hurdle in the genre is the idea of deus ex mechina. As an Orthodox Jew, I strongly believe that Hashem runs the world...and that everything will be "right" in the end. The sci-fi genre, in particular, has a big undercurrent of rugged individualism, and fantasy often depends on the threat that things could work out very badly indeed, with evil at odds with good and totally independent of it. These tendencies tend to conflict. I'm trying to resolve it in my writing.

fantasy, sci-fi and the Jewish reader

Thanks to my brother-in-law Joshua, I just heard about a wonderful new graphic novel called Hereville. The subject: an 11 y o Orthodox girl fights trolls. With a little research, I discovered that this is currently the #1 Jewish book for kids being sold on Amazon. This doesn't surprise me in this least. There is a dearth of fantasy and sci-fi books for Jewish kids out there, but there is certainly demand.

Look at the popularity of Harry Potter novels, Percy Jackson adventures, The Dragonriders of Pern, the Circle of Magic series (by Tamora Pierce), The Blue Sword and other books by Robin McKinley, and all those early Heinleins (in his pre-Stranger in a Strange Land days when he still wrote "appropriate" material). Frankly, kids crave these types of books. Why? 1) Kids and teens want to be experience more than their everyday lives. This is escapism from the discomforts of childhood--bullying, homework, parental rule, etc. 2) Kids and teens are still learning to be comfortable with themselves. They have yet to learn many of their personal strengths and often feel inadequate. Many of them hope their hidden talents will "magically" come out and prove them to be special (maybe they'll even save the world!), a common theme in many of these books.

Jewish kids are no different in these psychological needs. Some frum parents let their kids read secular sci-fi books, but there are a lot of problems with unrestricted access to them. Many fantasy books incorporate pantheism, animism, and avodah zara. Some (His Dark Materials series by Phillip Pullman, for example) are outright anti-religion. Others describe magic as an appealing alternative religion (many Tamora Pierce books).

Sci-fi books also frequently espouse atheism or portray Science as religion. Moreover, many frum people are uncomfortable with idea of life on other planets, though it is not clear that this opinion has a sound basis in our tradition. Another big barrier in portraying the future is that Moshiach must come, and most rabbeim hold He'll arrive by the year 6000 on our calendar. Finally, the rigors of space travel introduce unwieldy elements into narratives about Jewish characters: halachic times, Shabbos, kashrus, etc. all must be dealt with.

I think we're slowing coming to grips with these issues. I've seen some fantasy and sci-fi in the fiction department on Chabad.org. A few years ago, there was a fun adult novel of speculative fiction by David Shapiro called The Promise of G-d, and an anthology called Wandering Stars which is Jewish, though certainly not Orthodox. On the juvenile literature front, time travel has become an acceptable subgenre somehow--there's The Devil's Apprentice and Trekking Through Time. In 2009, a blogger described the 2009 Jewish Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Conference at the 92nd Street Y. There, participants were told that among the "in demand" topics was time travel, and that one lecture was about writing Jewish books for the "Twilight Generation".

There was a piece in HaModia for You set in space last year, and currently the Aim tween supplement to Ami Magazine has a serial with a sci-fi mystery called "To the Edge of the Galaxy." (disclaimer: I co-author it with Beth Firestone). Ami specifically wanted a sci-fi spin on the serial.

And now there's Hereville. The reviews I've seen are great, and the readers aren't just religious or even just Jews. Maybe the time for authentically Jewish sci-fi and fantasy books has come. It would be my fantasy come true!

great news!

I haven't been active on my page for a while, but I wanted to share good news with anyone who drops by.

I've been publishing articles on the website www.metroimma.com about parenting small children and connection between real-life and classic children's books.

The new Jewish magazine, Ami, is now available by subscription at http://www.amimagazine.org/ and on the newsstands in NYC and Chicago...hopefully, it'll be available in all major Jewish markets soon. I'm co-authoring one of the weekly serials contained in the Aim tween supplement (my co-author is Beth Firestone, known for her novel Candles in my Window). It's entitled "To the Edge of the Galaxy". The story follows the adventures of an Orthodox family chosen to colonize a distant planet. I'm hoping all you readers up there will pick up a copy of Ami and try it out!

Additionally, Mishpacha Junior magazine published a story of mine a couple of months ago and expects to publish another soon. I'm really enjoying writing for periodicals and will continue to list my ongoing projects.