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What to do with that dang Courtship book?
Jul. 6th, 2006 03:53 pmI have such a love/hate relationship with The Courtship of Princess Leia. I finally decided to reread it slowly. And take notes.
My goal was to figure out exactly why I can't just toss the book aside -- I mean, it's full of horribly purple descriptions straight out of a bad romance novel! What is it that draws me to the book even as I slam my head into the desk with every other painful sentence?
I haven't gotten very far yet - only four chapters -- but I think I have a partial answer. It has the potential to be an interesting conflict. It is tough to be a public figure, and there probably would be a lot of pressure on Leia to dump Han and marry someone else. There's all sorts of interesting openings to think about how well political marriages work, the nature of love, and so on. (There's also action sequences, but I haven't gotten to those yet and don't remember them very well anyway.)
But it's so frustrating. Why can't Leia think something is not quite right at first, even be a little offended at Isolder's method of proposing, and then slowly come to appreciate his better qualities and then feel confused about whom she loves? Why is everyone in the New Republic completely blinded by the Hapans' beauty? Even Han can't stop thinking about what hot stuff Isolder is. It gets old pretty quickly.
So my notes have been far more heavily weighted toward the "really, really hate that" side than toward the "hey, that's actually neat!" side. My response to that was to at least try to make jokes about it. The book really could be a great teaching tool ("How not to write romance"), and when you get in the right mood, it is pretty funny. How could it not be, when the New Republic greets foreign ambassadors with w00t horns?
I decided I might as well post my notes and see what other people have to say about the book. If you haven't read it, or haven't read it lately, here's your chance to go through it in detail without actually reading it! If you feel like mocking it, grab a spork! If you like it, defend it! (I do mention when I find something I like, so I might help you out.)
I'll get the first chapter up soon, and update however often I can manage. Probably every couple of days.
Chapter One is up!
My goal was to figure out exactly why I can't just toss the book aside -- I mean, it's full of horribly purple descriptions straight out of a bad romance novel! What is it that draws me to the book even as I slam my head into the desk with every other painful sentence?
I haven't gotten very far yet - only four chapters -- but I think I have a partial answer. It has the potential to be an interesting conflict. It is tough to be a public figure, and there probably would be a lot of pressure on Leia to dump Han and marry someone else. There's all sorts of interesting openings to think about how well political marriages work, the nature of love, and so on. (There's also action sequences, but I haven't gotten to those yet and don't remember them very well anyway.)
But it's so frustrating. Why can't Leia think something is not quite right at first, even be a little offended at Isolder's method of proposing, and then slowly come to appreciate his better qualities and then feel confused about whom she loves? Why is everyone in the New Republic completely blinded by the Hapans' beauty? Even Han can't stop thinking about what hot stuff Isolder is. It gets old pretty quickly.
So my notes have been far more heavily weighted toward the "really, really hate that" side than toward the "hey, that's actually neat!" side. My response to that was to at least try to make jokes about it. The book really could be a great teaching tool ("How not to write romance"), and when you get in the right mood, it is pretty funny. How could it not be, when the New Republic greets foreign ambassadors with w00t horns?
I decided I might as well post my notes and see what other people have to say about the book. If you haven't read it, or haven't read it lately, here's your chance to go through it in detail without actually reading it! If you feel like mocking it, grab a spork! If you like it, defend it! (I do mention when I find something I like, so I might help you out.)
I'll get the first chapter up soon, and update however often I can manage. Probably every couple of days.
Chapter One is up!
