Reading Challenge: Disability

Feed is a zombie novel. About bloggers. I had a bad feeling about this, but a good friend recommended it, so I decided to give it a shot. I ended up loving it. Some things grated--it was a little heavy on the "bloggers are the truth-tellers, mainstream media are sellouts" trope at times (not that I object to the sentiment, really--it was just a bit eyeroll-inducing coming from protagonists who are themselves bloggers). On the topic of self-congratulation, the protagonists also engage in a fair amount of posturing and somewhat Whedonesque pop-culture-referencing and wisecracking-in-the-face-of-danger, which veers between entertaining and annoying. Also, while the book is overall pretty feminist in that it has a kickass female hero and lots of interesting women characters who get to do important things and be real human beings, there are still some vaguely misogynistic tropes that pop up once in a while. All that being said, I adore the two main characters, Georgia and her brother Shaun. The pacing is pretty good--it's a little slow to get to the meat of the plot, but it's entertaining in the meantime, and the writing is snappy. Very quick read. Georgia (better known as George) has a (technically fictional, but I thought the treatment of it was interesting enough to merit inclusion here) disability induced by the zombie virus, which has set up a reservoir in her retinas and causes extreme sensitivity to light and the possibility of retinal scarring and permanent loss of vision if she's exposed to it for long, plus chronic migraines and acute debilitation if she's deprived of her special sunglasses or contacts. This makes life interesting in a world infested with hungry zombies, physical combat, and trigger-happy armed officials who are leery of anyone who's been exposed to the virus. Anyway, this definitely won't be to everyone's taste, but I was pleasantly surprised. There's also a second book, Deadline, already out, and the third book is due sometimes in 2012, I think.

Translated from Japanese.

This is not the most dynamic book ever, but although I can't say it's entertaining, it's oddly compelling in its examination of the minutiae of everyday life. After Akiko's mother-in-law dies, she is left to balance her full-time job and disproportionately heavy domestic responsibilities with the care of her elderly, senile father-in-law, with whom she has never gotten along (mostly because he's a total asshole).

The framing of Shigezo's condition is really problematic--he's presented as a burden, and his behavior is often pretty grotesque, he's blamed for his condition because he was self-indulgent and didn't stay active, and there's a lot of talk about how old people should just die off already. Definitely centered on caregiver experiences. But there are also a lot of elderly characters (many with illnesses and disabilities) who negotiate and occasionally challenge that framework. And a lot of the conflict isn't Shigezo's fault, but originates from a system which, rather than making a place for him or others in similar situations, leverages gender inequality to force women into caregiving roles.

The writing gets a bit repetitive at times--over and over again Akiko and her husband talk about their own fear of aging, and Akiko's daily routine is pretty, well, routine. However, the characterization is deft, and the novel's examination of the social problems of an increasingly aged population is interesting. I can't really recommend it, but it's still an intriguing look at Japanese society in the recent past.

Cryoburn is the latest in Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series. It's character-driven SF, and I love it. The main character, Miles, has a range of disabilities as a result of being exposed to a teratogenic toxin in utero, including twisted and brittle bones for which he's had multiple corrective surgeries, and a very short and somewhat hunched stature. He also has a mostly-controlled seizure disorder as a result of some spoilery trauma that occurred a few books back. He's driven, manic at times, brilliant, with a genius for manipulating people (though usually with the best of intentions), loyal, devious, and possessed of a tendency to get so caught up in his own schemes that he starts buying his own bullshit. He's incredibly sympathetic and deeply flawed and he manages to be larger-than-life without seeming like a caricature or being too special for words.

The planet he lives on, Barrayar, is a pretty backwards monarchy supported by a military-aristocratic class of which Miles is a member, which causes no end of political issues for him and his family, especially considering that Barrayar is the kind of place where families often kill their infant children for being "muties." Miles is the worst person at keeping a low profile ever, so he's a constant headache for the Emperor (who is also his foster-brother of sorts) and his father, who is a military hero and a high-ranking politician-aristocrat. The earlier books in the series deal more with the social and political aspects of his disabilities and Barrayaran society. And also Miles's Awesome Adventures in Space. By the time of Cryoburn, Miles is pushing forty and he's pretty comfortable with himself and his position. Cryoburn takes place off Barrayar, on a planet called Kibou-Daini where cryogenics his taken on sinister aspects as corporations hoard the proxy votes of their frozen employees, and Miles inevitably gets involved in the intrigue. It's an interesting book, and Bujold is awesome at speculating about the social aspects of technological advances (one of my favorite things about her writing) and I really liked some of the new characters, but it's sort of removed from the familiar milieu of the series and I missed my old favorites (Cordelia! Ivan! ILU!). It wasn't exactly slow, but it lacked much of the drama I'm used to in the Vorkosigan novels--right up until the end, at which point Bujold delivered an incredibly spoilery gut-punch that has me dying for the next novel.

Bottom line: I enjoyed the book very much, but if you're interested in the series I wouldn't recommend jumping in with Cryoburn; it's worth it to find an earlier book or omnibus collection.

Urban fantasy set in Toronto. Several protagonists, one of whom is disabled, a couple of whom are queer. Stand-alone novel. I liked it.

( Cut for general plot & character discussion, no specific spoilers )