Subject: File: "FEMINISTSF-LIT LOG0208C" ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2002 11:47:11 -0700 Reply-To: friendly STRICTLY ON TOPIC discussion of Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Sender: friendly STRICTLY ON TOPIC discussion of Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia From: Margaret McBride Subject: Fifth Sacred thing Comments: To: FEMINISTSF-LIT@UIC.EDU In-Reply-To: MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Reaction to novel: Let me start by admitting a bias. I had heard of this novel for years but never read it because of scepticism about the mysticism, pagan etc. I assumed it wouldn't be "real SF." I can suspend disbelief about esp sorts of things when I'm reading SF but something that takes such things literally is harder for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the book. It had enough details mixed in with its fantasy for me to enjoy it. I found it thoughtful and well enough written for me to put it on my list of feminist utopia that I recommend to others. The feelings I had after reading it were a lot like the ones on rereading Woman on the Edge of Time--that is, we have made some improvements in how women are seen in society, etc. but some very good things that seemed to be possible improvements in the 70s in the way of child rearing, ways of relating between people and with nature, etc. now seem to have been dismissed. I miss some of those hopeful feelings and it was good to read a book that reminded me of the potential for a more optimistic view. I also really liked the fact that some main and secondary characters were older men and women. That dimension is left out of SF and fantasy too often. One other bit that has stayed with me: her descriptions of thirst and the water problems have made me more appreciative of the simple joys of a cold glass of water. I recently heard an NPR article predicting that water costs in parts of the US will rise substantially and, of course, most of the US has much better access to water than many other parts of the world. >2) Are we to take the healing that Madrone and others, especially the >Melissa, do, for real? I see most of the descriptions as fantasy--but on an emotional or story-telling level, they worked for me. I was able to read without getting annoyed at impossibility. I guess because they worked on a metaphorical level anyway. These were people who had changed their ways of looking at the world and others. >4)have we strayed more into Margaret Atwood (Handmaid's Tale) territory here? Did you understand how the corporations, the Stewards and the millennialists interacted, and who was boss? Did you find this at all believable as a scenario for the 2020s? Maybe 18 years is too short for the dramatic changes but the general setup seemed believable to me. I found the dystopian descriptions as believable if not more than the ones in LeGuin's Always Coming Home for example (and I like that book too). ************************************ Margaret McBride, University of Oregon ************************************ ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2002 13:14:46 -0700 Reply-To: friendly STRICTLY ON TOPIC discussion of Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia Sender: friendly STRICTLY ON TOPIC discussion of Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia From: Susan Hericks Subject: Re: BDG Schedule Comments: To: friendly STRICTLY ON TOPIC discussion of Feminist SF/Fantasy and Utopia MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hello all,=20 As ususal, I am behind on the BDG. I don't know about the rest of you, = but I sometimes print out posts so that I can catch up away from the = glare of the computer screen. I believe it is already protocol to = eliminate as much of the post to which you are responding as possible. = Lately, there have been pages of prior posts following a comment--and = that makes it a pain to print out. Please eliminate uneccessary passages = from your posts. Thanks!!=20 =20 Susan=20 The heart is wiser than the mind. There are only two ways to life your = life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as if = everything is. Albert Einstein=20