The Science of the Magical, from the Holy Grail to Love Potions to Super Powers, by Matt Kaplan. Scribner, 2015

 

“The Science of the Magical” is exactly what the title sounds like: explanations for things people have called ‘magic’, both in the past and present. The book ranges widely; he covers transforming into animals, healing pools, oracles, animals with uncanny behaviors, berserker warriors, near death experiences, Captain America, things from ancient history to modern days.

Kaplan is a science writer, and as such has a lot of contacts in all areas of science, which helped a lot in his investigations. Some things are fairly easy; hot springs made people feel better simply by being warm in areas and times that were really hard to stay warm enough in. Hot water helps many cases of sore, aching joints. No real mystery there. Predicting the future by watching the movements of birds was a little harder, but he makes a good case for birds being able to sense which way the winds are prevailing. It turns out that shifting currents can mean a winter either colder or warmer than usual, depending on which way it’s moving, much as El Nino/La Nina means for us in the Pacific Northwest. The birds are just following the winds. The Oracle at Delphi has been pretty well explained before; the cave she did her prognosticating in had a crack in the floor that exhaled toxic fumes that caused oxygen starvation in the brain. Super soldiers close to existing, between amphetamines to keep[LB1]  soldiers awake and provide focus, steroids to enhance strength, and drugs that increase red blood cell count and thus the amount of oxygen present in the blood- shades of Lance Armstrong there!

The author writes in a clear, accessible style. He always stays respectful of the culture from which the magical belief comes from. He’s very witty as well as well educated. The book reads like what you’d get if Terry Pratchett actually wrote a science book (instead of teaming up with science writers)- especially in the footnotes. Fast and fun to read. 

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This in no way influenced my review.  

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 [LB1]

Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O’Keeffe, by Dawn Tripp. Random House, 2016

This novel tells O’Keeffe’s story from her own point of view, as an old woman looking back on her life, starting from the time she was 27 and had sent some charcoal abstracts to Alfred Stieglitz in New York to get his opinion. A correspondence sprang up between then, and one day, after learning Stieglitz had mounted a show of her work, she walked away from her job as a teacher in Texas, withdrew her bank account, and took the train to New York to see it. It turned out that the show had just been dismantled; the studio, 291, was closing because of the war. But the relationship that had already started on paper bloomed in person, with Stieglitz rehanging her paintings just for her to see. By the time Georgia left to return to Texas, they were passionate about each other, a passion that would remain throughout their lives with all its ups and downs.

A lot of the story is about Georgia’s love affair and marriage to Stieglitz; her work was shown and sold through him so he is inextricably bound to her professional life. Their marriage might have been passionate, but it was a troubled one. He wanted to support her work in every way (except by being someone she could trust, martially), but also seemed to fear her being on her own. They had a dependence on each other; she more dependent on him at the beginning; he more on her, later.

The writing is intense and rather amazing. Tripp wrote this after O’Keeffe and Stieglitz’s correspondence was published, and she combed their letters thoroughly. In some spots, she has used their own words. The thing that impressed me the most was the author’s ability to describe painting; how it felt to put charcoal or brush to paper or canvas, how the colors sat against each other, how the creative urge felt. How it felt different to do the lush flowers, the desert landscapes, the abstracts. I really felt that I was inside O’Keeffe’s mind as she thought back on her life. 

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Neither of these things influenced my review.  

The End of the Year

So. Another year. In 2015, I read 102 books. Most good, some great, some horrible. The one that will remain longest with me is the last one I read, finishing it yesterday afternoon, "The Shepherd's Crown", but that has to do less with the superlativeness of the book than with the sorrow that is both in the story and my sorrow at knowing it's the last book Terry Pratchett will ever write.

Other really good ones? "Empires of Food", "The Guest Cat", "Purge", "Ophelia's Muse", "Blonde", "The Golem of Hollywood" and it's sequal, "The Golem of Paris", "Queen's Own Fool", "Usher's Passing", "How to be a Victorian", "Black Rabbit Hall". These books will stay with me, unlike others that I look at on my list and think "What was that one about again?" Most are just good, solid, reads; books I enjoyed my time with but which didn't really change how I think or feel. Or, I should say, that I didn't realize they were changing how I think or feel- who knows what happens at the subconscious level.

What's on my plate? I'm part way through "Georgia", a fictionalized biography of Georgia O'Keefe. Then I have a couple of library books, and Vine has a couple books for me that haven't shipped yet, one about death and one about an opera diva. And, of course, monstrous piles of books I own which I haven't read.

The Shepherd’s Crown, by Terry Pratchett. Harpers, 2015

  

“The Shepherd’s Crown” is the last book Terry Pratchett wrote. It’s also the last of the Tiffany Aching series, which are my favorites of the Discworld series. Following Tiffany as she grows and learns has been touching and humorous. In this book, she experiences a great loss, which leads to her having to make a big decision about her life. Pratchett’s version of being witch- to, as he says, do the good in front of you- sets well with my version of how life should be and what makes someone a good person. So I was delighted to discover that there was one more in the series that I thought had ended with the 4^th installment.

The book is not up to Pratchett’s usual standards. It was, basically, unfinished when he died. He had an outline, and certain scenes had been written, but a lot of it is bones with no flesh. It lacks the life and fullness that his writing usually had. But… what is filled out I found marvelous. It’s about being strong, and doing for other people and letting them do for you, dealing with the inevitability of death, and learning to be your own person. It’s about sometimes having to go against one’s normal beliefs when you have to protect others. Some parts that were unfinished make for jolting reading; the story arc of the Queen of the Elves seemed forced, and it ended suddenly in a way that totally surprised me. I suspect that she would have been given more time to transform had the book been finished. Likewise, I think Geoffrey would have been given more to do, and something more done with You, Granny Weatherwax’s cat. But even though it has a lot of rough places, I can’t help but give the story five stars for effort, atmosphere, and moral.

Pratchett apparently knew this would be his last Discworld novel, and a large number of characters from that universe make appearances- some barely cameos- but all saying goodbye to a beloved character and also to the reader. It’s sad to say goodbye to Discworld, although it will live on a long time, I suspect, as new readers discover the world that rides on the tortoise. 

The above is an affiliate link. If you click through and buy something- anything- Amazon will give me a few cents. 

This did not alter my review in any way.