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Books again
Mar. 25th, 2025 11:04 am* Brothersong by TJ Klune- I love the Green Creek series overall, but this is not my favorite book in it. It wasn't a disappointment in any way, but I just like the other books a lot more. How much I love this series is weird because I don't click with some other stuff by TJ Klune. If I were to write out my problems with some of his books, I could use this series as a strong contrast to those books, an example of handling that stuff well. That these are by the same author, especially with the very striking writing style in this series, is something I haven't 100% wrapped my brain around.
The books have a very loose, poetic writing style. Sometimes when I read a book I wonder if I could have written something like that and maybe what I'd have done different/better. With Green Creek the answer is just no. The very strong plot structure contrasting prose that often ignores grammar, the sex scenes that play out in surprising ways and build on who the characters are and sometimes flesh out their backstories, my brain could never have produced something like this. With the writing style, I want to read it slower. I feel like I am not really taking it in if I am not giving it time.
I stand by my approach to grammar in writing, it's one of the few things I feel very solid on. My fragments and other quirks are not mistakes. But if I'm at about a 3 when it comes to bucking the strict rules of grammar to create feeling and meaning, he's at a hundred or more in this specific series. I love it, some people hate it with a burning passion and find it unreadable.
( A few notes, no specific spoilers )
* Boys Run The Riot - This was a mix of some very strong and relatable insight into trans experience, but also it's a 4 volume shonen manga so of course some things were going to play out as they did. I did start to read the first volume untranslated but switched to get them read for the read-a-thon. I will also finish the Japanese version because in Japanese it's easy to write without gendered pronouns and there are a few things where I am curious to see how it's handled. Anyway, I haven't read manga in a long time, but I used to read a lot and my brain just knew how a lot of things were going to play out. So, it felt like a lot of very raw stuff being put in a container that really didn't fit it.
The English version also comes with the debut one-chapter manga that is the basis for the series. It's not put into shonen magazine conventions so it's a strong contrast.
* Roger Crenshaw, the first two stories - They are probably about 7-8k words each. They read like very mid fanfiction. There are some consent issues there, mostly to keep the plot humming along. But, while there is some porn logic the trans guy isn't fetishized and just sort of exists. Honestly, I kind of wish I'd done this ten years ago, just put some mid, fanficcy stories out there and see how it goes. (Just with a little less porn logic)
I am trying to figure out a good way to say 'they are kinda crap, but I liked how the tranness was treated and also I wish I'd tossed crap like this up on itch.io like he did. I am jealous of this crap' There is a value to having projected completed and shipped rather than just dealing with everything in a state of potential.
The stories come with illustrations that are pretty good actually if you like the style. They are graphic both in that they are explicit but also the type of line work and shading is what's known as a graphic style. Two very different meanings of the word. I really like the art and it strikes a good balance between design and realism.
The books have a very loose, poetic writing style. Sometimes when I read a book I wonder if I could have written something like that and maybe what I'd have done different/better. With Green Creek the answer is just no. The very strong plot structure contrasting prose that often ignores grammar, the sex scenes that play out in surprising ways and build on who the characters are and sometimes flesh out their backstories, my brain could never have produced something like this. With the writing style, I want to read it slower. I feel like I am not really taking it in if I am not giving it time.
I stand by my approach to grammar in writing, it's one of the few things I feel very solid on. My fragments and other quirks are not mistakes. But if I'm at about a 3 when it comes to bucking the strict rules of grammar to create feeling and meaning, he's at a hundred or more in this specific series. I love it, some people hate it with a burning passion and find it unreadable.
( A few notes, no specific spoilers )
* Boys Run The Riot - This was a mix of some very strong and relatable insight into trans experience, but also it's a 4 volume shonen manga so of course some things were going to play out as they did. I did start to read the first volume untranslated but switched to get them read for the read-a-thon. I will also finish the Japanese version because in Japanese it's easy to write without gendered pronouns and there are a few things where I am curious to see how it's handled. Anyway, I haven't read manga in a long time, but I used to read a lot and my brain just knew how a lot of things were going to play out. So, it felt like a lot of very raw stuff being put in a container that really didn't fit it.
The English version also comes with the debut one-chapter manga that is the basis for the series. It's not put into shonen magazine conventions so it's a strong contrast.
* Roger Crenshaw, the first two stories - They are probably about 7-8k words each. They read like very mid fanfiction. There are some consent issues there, mostly to keep the plot humming along. But, while there is some porn logic the trans guy isn't fetishized and just sort of exists. Honestly, I kind of wish I'd done this ten years ago, just put some mid, fanficcy stories out there and see how it goes. (Just with a little less porn logic)
I am trying to figure out a good way to say 'they are kinda crap, but I liked how the tranness was treated and also I wish I'd tossed crap like this up on itch.io like he did. I am jealous of this crap' There is a value to having projected completed and shipped rather than just dealing with everything in a state of potential.
The stories come with illustrations that are pretty good actually if you like the style. They are graphic both in that they are explicit but also the type of line work and shading is what's known as a graphic style. Two very different meanings of the word. I really like the art and it strikes a good balance between design and realism.
