Tam Lin - Pamela Dean
The book started out very well, but then was a disappointment. The story is about Janet, who starts college in her hometown in Minnesota. She's a English Major who will share the room with two unknown girls, and she is worried they won't get along, but they do and they are going trough the ups and downs of college and college boyfriends together, the drama is not on high school level but there is some in the begining but the characters are quickly faling into their characters.
First point of disappointment is the lack of fantasy for the first 300 or so pages in a fantasy novel, not until the last few chapters there are something unnatural in the picture. Also, those 300 pages seem to be all about the characters developing, but not growing, you just get to know new things about them, but they are still the same.
Very flat in that sort of way.
The book is based upon the old scottish ballad Tam Lin (which is printed in the end of the book), and what is really a downside to the whole book is that almost nothing of the ballad comes to show until the last two or three chapters and that was very devestating, as you are looking forward to find the story and the ballad entangeld troughout the whole story. Unfortunaltey there are not many signs of the ballad in the text, but for the english litterature interested there are a lot of different poems quoted and a lot of different quotes. Also it feels like you need to have some sort of knouwing about least some of the english (and greek) big poets and literary works (even if they get very well explained in the book too).
The books is not a poorly written book, Pamela Dean is a very vivid writer, but it seems like she want to tell to much about the people, to make them as complex as she can and forgets about the story (I haven't read any other of her books, but I will and see if this is something common in her way of writing).
This makes it feel like she had to come up with an ending about 2/3 in the book as things seem to be more "jumpy" and like there are no real ending to things, as she can't write such an enormous amount of pages.
But there was a nice twist to the end and the very end pleased me much even thought the lack of fantasy in the first 300-350 pages, having an open mind about whats fantas and whats "just" fiction and remember after all it is a fantasy book and not just a fiction book, and things can be easier to comprehend. The fact Janet went out with Nick for so long, even though you knew she was going to date someone else at the end (as it was hinted at the back of the book), was accorinf to me both annoying and quite alright so that it didn't turn out to a big romance between those two and no one else could have space. The focaliser is definatley Janet, but her friends are really taking up space in the book too.
Beeing just about 20 myself I think that it was easier to relate to Janet, also I think those who went to college in the beginning of the 70's could recognize themselves in the book, in one or another way. But I think that (even if you went to college once) that if you read it at 30 or 50 you will have different experience than a 20 year old or someone experience the era in the book. I would definatley say the implied reader of this book is either younger girls or people in their 40's who has a college degree, and will regognize themselves in the feeling of the book. That means the implied reader would be quite well educated but still nostalgic, and not to whealthy, most probably (if older) a mother and having a family. Also I would suggest that the one reading this novel has a big interest (as said earlier) in litterature of the old english (and greek) authors, and maybe have a degree in that or possibly works as an english teacher, or something similar, but not a high educated work, more of a simpler one.
The fantasy found in the book I would say is intrusive fantasy as that is desribed as "something fantasic entering our familiar world" and the best evidence for that is when Thomas explains to Janet about the ritual every 7th year with the classics students and their head teacher, and that Robin and Nick actually knew Shakespear (I thought that was a quite interesting twist, and would loved to have that more elaborated a lot earlier in the end of the novel). And also you can find hints of estranged fantasy in Robin and Nick, as that is explaind as fantasic things seem normal and the the opposite, and as they are "regular" classics/theather majors they arenot seen as fantastic, but when you in the end of the novel will find out they have know Shakespear, the "regular" guys seems fantastic instead, but the main sort of fantasy is the intrusive (but not found until the very end). The only not regular thing in the first parts of the book are the story about the Thompson ghost, but that is during the wholw novel just talk and insinuations whether she is real or not.
Summary
The book might not be the best of fantasy novels, but are recommended as light reading if you want an "non-fantasy" fantasy book. Also it don't seem to fit everyone, I think you have to like somewhat romantic fantasy novels to be able to dig trough all the boyfriend stuff, and you definatley have to be interested in English authors as there are a lot of poetry and play quotes from classical works like Keats and Shakespear, but they are (I think) very good at wanting you to want to learn a lot about english litterature and check up on the poems and get your own opinion on them (unless you already have).
Is as said recommended if you want something easy to read (even if its 400+ pages it don't take that long time to read trough it) and are maybe not that hard on it having to be fantasy.
Also, if you read it, take light on the mid-part as it's not the best, put down more attention on the end and the beginning.
