Why I Reacted to Half World as I did
I have a special fondness for teen fiction, especially dark teen fantasy. One of my favourite reads from childhood is Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story about an outcast boy who enters a different realm, Fantasia, and changes history. Half World reminds me of Ende’s novel in terms of the broad storyline. I’m also a fan of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (one of the most frightening works I’ve read to date) and China Mieville’s Un Lun Dun. There are shades of both these works in Half World.
While I love historical fiction, and have read a lot of it recently, I’ve been craving a more imagination-satisfying read. Sitting on my bedside table (taunting me) are Cassandra Clare and Holly Black’s The Iron Trial, and the final book in Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, a series I love. When I love a book it means that the book has bypassed my brain and entered my heart; it doesn’t mean the book is without flaws, just like the people I love are, like myself, flawed. Half World is a book I love.
Responses Caused by the Reader’s Personal History
Paradise, right?
The setting of the book was exactly right for me. I like my fantasy to have an urban homebase, like New York city in The Mortal Instruments series or London in Un Lun Dun. That Goto used Vancouver as Melanie’s homebase made the story come alive for me more quickly. As soon as she mentioned Macleod’s bookstore (an excellent place to lose yourself should you ever come to Vancouver) I was hooked.
In the beginning of the novel, Melanie reminded me strongly of Bastian in The Neverending Story in a few ways: she is bullied, she hides in bookstores and she doesn’t believe in herself. I didn’t mind that she didn’t remind me of a real character; she felt real, just like Bastian does.
Responses Caused by the Reader’s History as a Reader
The book very much followed by expectations of what a dark fantasy novel should be. It began with both a Prologue and an Introduction; giving readers a fragment of both the three realms’ history, and the protagonist’s family history. By the time Melanie is introduced to readers, we are already three levels into the story; we are immersed. Over the course of the story, Melanie learns that despite being ordinary, she has the capacity to be heroic. She loses people of value to her, and carries on despite her loss.
Responses Caused by the Text Alone
Half World very much follows a traditional narrative arc: there is exposition in the prologue, introduction and early chapters (rising action), a climax, falling action, and a resolution. The resolution is somewhat open-ended which I find satisfying. If Half World had wrapped up too neatly, I would have liked it less.
One unusual thing about the novel is the protagonist. Melanie is flawed and ordinary. Even when she acts heroically, it is the choices she makes rather than the essence of who she is that seems to matter. You don’t see a lot of books like this. In some ways she reminds me of Twilight‘s Bella (before she became a super-vampire, obviously).
My favourite part of Half World is the writing. The book is written in a very descriptive, stylized way For example, “They ran, breath choking their throats, pain stabbing their sides, emptiness yawning all around them. With each desperate step they took, the railless bridge undulated and wobbled, swayed and fluttered.” (p. 5). In moments of heightened tension, sentence fragments are skillfully employed (“The terrifying plummet one misplaced foot away” (p. 6)).
Goto’s writing engages multiple senses, most noticeably smell and sound. Mr. Glueskin, we are often told stinks of vinegar (p. 7). He makes a range of easy to imagine sounds from the “squelching slurp” he uses to retract his tongue to the “wet giggling” of his laugh (p. 84).
At times, there is a British flavour to the writing. For example, “Her shrieks took ever so long to fade” sound British (p. 8). I’m not sure what effect Goto was trying to achieve with this, but I liked it.
There are a number of moments of black comedy in Half World. Sometimes they are explicitly acknowledged. For example, “His head, flattened, looked so comical Melanie fought off the urge to giggle hysterically” (p. 111). It’s like Goto is trying to reassure the reader that black humour is okay.
Illustrations
Jillian Tamaki did the illustrations for Half World. They are black and white. Some are full page and others are smaller. The illustrations I liked best are the unsettling and often cryptic answers Melanie gets from her Magic 8 Ball. I thought it was clever that they (and the fortune cookie) gave their message via illustration rather than text. Otherwise, I don’t think Tamaki’s illustrations enhanced the novel in any significant way.
What Does This Book ask of Readers?
In the background of Half World are a number of references to mythology and traditions. Number four is unlucky, the bullies are valkyries, Agamemnon is mentioned. While knowing more about these references isn’t necessary to enjoy the story, Half World does give more to those in the know.
Goto does a similar thing with art. Kahlo, Bosch and Escher are all referenced. Understanding what images Goto has mentioned gives insight into what Half World looks like. It adds atmosphere to the story.
Image Sources (from top to bottom)
The Neverending story [Book Cover]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PLQTkF_0rYY/TWjF6i6oPxI/AAAAAAAAAEE/DY–q3EPRmA/s1600/neverending.jpg
The city of heavenly fire [Book Cover]. (2014). Retrieved from http://img1.fantasticfiction.co.uk/images/w97/w485072.jpg
YAH Global.com. (n.d.). Macleod’s books [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://www.yahglobal.com/images/business/details/1342673411Macleods%20Books.jpg
Hardwicke, C. (2008). Bella Swan [Motion Picture Still ]. Retrieved from http://www4.images.coolspotters.com/photos/539604/bella-swan-gallery.png
Kahlo, F.(1938). What water gave me [Painting]. Retrieved from https://www.google.ca/search?q=frida+kahlo+what+water+gave+me&client=firefox-a&hs=054&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=3xXhU9juOYagigLn2oCwCQ&ved=0CB0QsAQ&biw=1246&bih=629#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=y31HThndUjXG2M%253A%3BJOk1RZ1Veqj3UM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fuploads3.wikiart.org%252Fimages%252Fmagdalena-carmen-frieda-kahlo-y-calder%2525C3%2525B3n-de-rivera%252Fwhat-the-water-gave-me-1938.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wikiart.org%252Fen%252Ffrida-kahlo%252Fwhat-the-water-gave-me-1938%3B1831%3B2391
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