The Daily: 16 November 2023

In any given week, I am reading several books a little at a time. I do this mostly so that whenever I have a spare moment, there is a book in my current reading selection that will fit my mood. Plus, I find that I can get through more difficult books if I can set them aside for processing time in between chapters. (Or paragraphs, in some painful cases… but I haven’t had to read any of those for a while.)

However, sometimes I am captivated by a book — and even Gary Snyder and Joy Harjo can’t drag my attention away from this bright shiny thing in my hands that I can’t seem to put down… (Seriously… showering is difficult…)

I have been meaning to read H. G. Parry’s Shadow Histories 2-book series for a few years now. But things kept getting in the way… And I’d put it off… And then I’d forget… But recently, I realized that I was now four books behind in reading Parry and decided to fix that situation before she makes it worse by producing a fifth huge book. I couldn’t get a copy of the first Shadow History book, A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians, from my library, so I bought Parry’s first three books from my local bookseller. (Now that they’re open again! Yay!!!) I am so glad that I bought these because I will certainly be reading this again and again and again. And sharing it with everybody.

Parry is that rare author that can write something entirely new and yet entirely familiar. A classic that came out yesterday. A compellingly original novel that we’ve been telling ourselves since we invented words. I am in awe!

Then there is the plot… As you might imagine from a duology called Shadow Histories, this tale is alternate history. History with magic. The thing that is so entrancing (see that?) about a well-crafted alternate history is that no matter the impossibility of the alternate world, these stories always make much more sense than the actual history they parody. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians explains quite a lot about the Enlightenment period, a time when the common folk were forcefully shrugging off the monarchy. Robespierre? Demonic magic… See? Doesn’t that make more sense?

In any case, I am in love with this book and will probably not be reading much of anything else until I finish it… and then the next one… and then the next. And then perhaps I’ll spring for a hardcover copy of Parry’s latest release. Because I imagine I will not want to wait for the paperback.

Who needs showers…

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©Elizabeth Anker 2023