Recent phone call:
Me: Hey, when you stop at the food store on your way home...
Josh: Oh, I'm stopping at the food store on my way home?
Me: ANYWAY, could you pick up some honey? And some good multi-grain bread?
Josh: Are you reading that book with the bees on the cover?
Me: ... ... ... No.
Josh: I'm so sure.
Me: I AM NOT PREDICTABLE!!!
From Chalice:
"And Willowlands is in trouble because these rights were not honoured."
"Yes," she said wearily. "Yes." She did not say, And it is why two--lame, faulty, unfit, what do you call a priest of Fire exiled from his Fire? What do you call a small woodskeeper suddenly ordered to be great?--unsuitable, unready people were made Chalice and Master, and why they cannot make a damaged land whole. It is all wrong; and the frame, the pattern, the yoke that holds us all, is not broken, but it is breaking.
It isn't fast-paced, there isn't much action or dialogue and it requires a good amount of work on the part of the reader -- I know that Chalice isn't one that everyone will fall in love with, but I did. I just... this is going to sound lamer than lame, but it made my heart feel bigger. Or something. Not in a Grinch way. It gave me that same feeling I get very occasionally after lying around on the lawn for hours and hours in high summer, not doing anything in particular except listen to the high insect hum -- it made me feel like everything was interconnected.
I'm trying to describe the same feeling, I think, as Emily Byrd Starr's "flash". It was lovely. And I'm not going to yap about it because A) I'm not going to be able to do it justice and B) Chalice is one of those books in which part of the appeal is in figuring out the world and I don't want to ruin it for anyone.
It helps the the book is so beautiful....
Posted by: Charlotte | 23 January 2009 at 09:01 AM
What a lovely thing to say about a book, "It made my heart feel bigger." You do such a good job describing other people's books, maybe you should write one yourself one day.
Posted by: ICQB | 23 January 2009 at 09:21 AM
Exactly how I felt about Chalice. Such a quiet, meaningful piece of work.
Posted by: cc | 23 January 2009 at 10:05 AM
Love that conversation with Josh. I will be on the lookout for this one!
Posted by: Kelly Fineman | 23 January 2009 at 11:11 AM
Yaaay! I admit to having the same reaction as far as bread and honey goes. I think I made honey cake soon after. And I cannot get over how beautiful the book is physically. And that's even leaving aside the story, which I loved. Anyway, I think I've been going on about this book for months so I will desist. But I'm glad you liked it.
Posted by: Maureen E | 23 January 2009 at 01:16 PM
Robin McKinley really is a wonder - I can't wait to dig into this one. I guess I'll make sure that I have some honey in the house before I start!
Posted by: Laura | 23 January 2009 at 01:59 PM
Definitely not fast-paced--I read the first paragraph about seven times, with a sinking heart that asked, "Can I really read this book, even if it is Robin McKinley?" But on the eighth time I made it through, kept reading, and was pleased to spend time in Chalice-land.
Posted by: Laurie | 23 January 2009 at 07:42 PM
Awww. Josh knows you so well.
(snicker)
I cannot wait to read this. I am full of love for all things McKinley. And I love me some honey, too.
(But next time, you should make the bread yourself...)
Posted by: TadMack | 24 January 2009 at 11:53 AM
I know, but I needed instant gratification!
Posted by: Leila | 24 January 2009 at 12:02 PM
I just read it too and absolutely loved it -- up until the ending, which I thought was rather hurried for such a slow-paced book and rather clumsy for such a careful writer. But yes, I got drawn into that world.
Posted by: Jen | 24 January 2009 at 03:19 PM
You know, now that I think about it, I did have a curious hankering for honey after I finished this one. I like the book... but what I really loved was the world that McKinley created. I honestly hope she visits it again. :)
Posted by: Melissa | 24 January 2009 at 06:13 PM
Whoa - I had to stop back, having just finished the book tonight. Hankering for honey? Check. Agree that it's not the book for everyone? Check. In love with it? Check. Heart growth? Check and check again.
I'm so glad I read this entry, which is what set me on the lookout for this book in the first place. I've mentioned this post in my review of this evening at Writing and Ruminating. And now, I'm off for tea with honey.
Posted by: Kelly Fineman | 15 February 2009 at 07:57 PM