metro mama

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Metro Reco: Dream Angus

Dream Angus is Alexander McCall Smith’s contribution to the myth series (read Karen’s review of another book from the series, Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad here).

The book is a retelling of the myth of Angus, a “giver of dreams, an Eros, a figure of youth”. The book is written in McCall Smith’s characteristic style: simple, clear and playful. It’s amusing and whimsical and does not preach: as McCall Smith writes in the book’s introduction, “Angus does no particular moral or didactic work: he is really about dreams and about love-two things that have always had their mysteries for people.”

McCall Smith is a storyteller and he lends his own interpretation to the myth of Angus. He combines traditional lore with connected stories set in modern Scotland; he says, “myth is a cloud based upon a shadow based upon the movement of the breeze”. It’s a fast and fun read.

Alexander McCall Smith is author of the wonderful No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency books (if you’re looking for a light, entertaining read, I highly recommend these). He is a prolific writer, having written over fifty books. He was born in Zimbabwe and currently lives in Edinburgh with his wife Elizabeth, their two daughters Lucy and Emily, and their cat Gordon.

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Thanks for your suggestions for things to do in the winter. We took Karen’s advice and tried Ikea yesterday. Cakes loved it there. I had the $1 breakfast (actually not bad for a buck). Cakes loved the box full of balls, though it was hard to convince her not to throw them as hard as she could at the other kids. I managed to escape the maze having spent only $10 on things we actually needed (a step-stool for Cakes and some napkins). It was not a bad way to spend the morning.

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It's National De-Lurking Week in the blogosphere. I must admit, I'm curious who you are. Say hello, where you're from. Tell me what you've read or seen lately and what you thought of it. If you've hated something I've loved, tell me that too. If you're not a blogger yourself, don't let that stop you from commenting. Don't be shy! I've shown you mine...

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8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

MM - I read The Penelopiad after reading about it on Karen's now defunct blog. In fact, it was the choice for my book club last month. I'm really interested in reading other books in the series. I think it is such a great idea.

Are you back in school or still on break?

12:35 AM  
Blogger Domestic Slackstress said...

Hi there. Thanks for sharing about the parent bloggers network. I want to sign up. I hope they approve my "application," so to speak. The IKEA near us (carson, calif.) doesn't have a ball pit. Bummer. My kids love the crust-less PB & J and I always gorge myself on Swedish meatballs. Viva IKEA.

12:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Not delurking, but just saying hi.

I'm a fan of "The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency" series too. Can't wait for the next one to come out in paperback!

1:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

that's an awesome de-lurking button. glad you had fun at ikea. skol.
-karen

7:50 AM  
Blogger kittenpie said...

I'm a bit tempted by the Parent Bloggers thing, but then, I'm not sure how I feel about going commercial-ish.

1:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dream Angus is one of the few McCall Smith books I haven't read. I think what's holding me back is that so much of his books' charm has to do with setting, and I find it hard to imagine his style applied to mythological materials.

3:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ikea! Yes! We went there on a rainy day fairly recently; MF had a blast! They have a slide in the children's furniture department and all kinds of wall tunnels between displays. He spent a couple of hours following all the bigger kids around the rooms and going down the slide over and over again!

And, yes, the food works.

We'll be going back fairly soon. We need to study the children's bed options. Sigh. Scary.

5:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well it's not like I never comment, but I more often lurk, so, um, awkward, hey!

Ikea is the goods. Also Science Centre, C Level Kidspark area. Highly recommend.

8:30 PM  

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