Alice and O'Brian

[chelseagirl]

I picked up a copy of *American McGee's Alice* awhile back, when I knew I was going to teach the Carroll course, but I'm not a videogame player, so I'd looked it over and that's that. But the story behind the game, which I did research so we could talk about it in class, is pretty amazing. Alice is in an asylum after she survived the fire that killed the rest of her family, goes back to a twisted version of Wonderland that she has to save. Of course, it's all a Freudian thing, where she's got to overcome her own demons and etc. The graphics, from what I'd seen, are amazing. So I knew it was a matter of time before I broke down and gave it a whirl.

Started playing it this weekend, on Easy mode. It is *fascinating* in every way. Of course, my lack of experience with gaming means it takes me forever to get through a level, even with a walkthrough at my side, and I will probably finish it this time next year -- and it's likely the ONLY computer game I'll ever play (unless Freecell counts), but . . . wow. That's all.

Am reading *The Mauritius Command*. How do I love Patrick O'Brian? Let me count the ways. Read. Be converted. 1. "Money, is it?" said Stephen, who had been thinking about lemurs. (If only more of us thought about lemurs more often and money less often.)
2. Mrs. Williams was abusing Lady Clonfert's tippet, complexion and morals with a volubility that Stephen could not but admire . . . (Could Austen have said it better? Okay, she could have, but no one else.)
3. Jack loved him, and had not the least objection to granting him all the erudition in the world, while remaining inwardly convinced that in all practical matters other than physic and surgery Stephen should never be allowed out alone. (Not that my terribly practical husband has ever thought that about his overintellectual wife or anything . . . )

Comments

[batdina.livejournal.com]

I'm going to have to break down and read O'Brian at some point, aren't I? Damn.

And re the terribly practical husband, overintellectual wife thing: M. and E. should talk. I bet they'd both say the same things about us. (I'm often convinced that E doesn't think I should be let out alone without a leash.)

Re Austen? is there an unabridged book on tape of her stuff someplace? I sincerely doubt after all this time that I'm ever going to manage to finish anything she wrote unless someone reads it to me. I have tried all of the novels at one time or another and never read much past chapter two of any of them.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

Well . . . yeah. Though I must warn you that the first book is slow, and the second starts out oddly Austenesque, 'til they finally get back to sea. But I'm all manner of hooked, and I'd been avoiding them for years.

Imagining M. and E. having that talk. Imagining how amused they would be.

Penguin does a lot of those sorts of English classics on tape, but I've never checked into whether they've done Austen -- I suspect they have. Audiobooks make me terribly impatient; someday when I have a car I suspect I'll have a different opinion, though.

[harrietthaspy.livejournal.com]

I picked up a copy of M&C last fall, then convinced a friend to buy TWO O'Brian's for her husband's Christmas. Have I made any effort to read it yet? I have not. Story of my life.

[chelseagirl.livejournal.com]

It's not going anywhere. ;-) Be warned, he gets heavily into the technical details in M&C. Most of the people I've spoken to who've read them were a bit shaky on that one, and got addicted with book two (not Far Side of the World, which is book 10, but Post Captain, which has a wonderfully Austenesque beginning).

*sigh* I need to take a break; I'm running through them at a faster clip than I can budget.