Melinda's favourites book montage

The Mark of Athena
The Son of Neptune
The Lost Hero
The Last Olympian
The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Titan's Curse
The Sea of Monsters
The Lightning Thief
Throne of Glass
City of Glass
The Red Pyramid
City of Ashes
City of Bones
The Golden Door
The Farseekers
Obernewtyn
The Poison Diaries
Mockingjay
Catching Fire
The Hunger Games


Melinda's favorite books »

Friday 15 February 2013

Review: Green Monkey Dreams by Isobelle Carmody

Synopsis (from Goodreads)
I ride this day upon the Worldroad, alone, except for Courage, who rides on the pommel of my saddle fluffing his feathers. I did not dream of journeying thus as a child...'
This is the unforgettable world of Isobelle Carmody, presented in fourteen stories written over a period of thirteen years.

Within it you will find roads of paradox on which an angel might be a torturer, or a princess might reject a prince to save a rooster. These are paths travelled by seekers of the difficult deepest truths never found on straight roads; here a boy searches for his truename, a group of pilgrims is led by a song on an ancient journey, and a beast discovers hope.
Enter this world and you will never again be sure where reality ends and imagination begins, for sometimes the greatest truths can only be told through imagination... 

Green Monkey Dreams: Stories



This is an amazing collection of short stories. Each story was different and unique. There were so many different themes throughout the different stories. Unlike the other collection of short stories that I reviewed, I won't review each individual story because there are just too many stories.

I love Isobelle Carmody's writing. She is so descriptive without using heaps of words, which meant that each story had depth. The complexity of the stories was quite amazing. The depth of the characters and the intricacies of the plots where amazing for being so short.

The themes and subjects broached in the stories where fairly deep. The book was separated into three sections and each section covered one broad theme. The first section, The High Path, looked at hope and that no matter how dark or hard your life seems there is hope of a new beginning. Most of these stories were set in a later version of our world where war and other things have destroyed life as we now know it. I liked how Carmody showed how hopeful a new start can be.

The second section, The Way of the Beast, was darker than the first. It covered how when we grow up our dreams are often broken. Most of the stories where set in "the real world", with one of my favourite stories being set in the Depression. Most of the stories ended with the person realising that there dream was no longer possible, and often they accepted that. It was very thought provoking .

The third section, The World Road, looked at being different. It looked at breaking out of the norm and being what you want to be. Most of these stories were either set in a different world, or had magical aspects within the stories. One my favourite stories followed a guy who was looking for his lost love. Another followed a princess who had run away from her prince because she wanted to be free. All these stories captured my imagination and still brought thought provoking questions.

I really enjoyed these stories. Some of them were a little odd, particularly Green Monkey Dreams which I had a bit of trouble keeping up with. I give this book 4.5/5.

Mel.

Up next: Seven on Saturday - Favourite Covers.

2 comments:

  1. This sounds great - I have never read anything by Carmody before.

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    Replies
    1. I really enjoyed this story! If you wanted to read anything by Carmody I would suggest starting with Obernewtyn, although this would be a great start too! :)

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