The Folk of the Air

Surprisingly light-hearted installment in fantasy literature from the king of beautiful prose and heavy subject-matter, when a group of Ren-fest re-enactors actually seem to really turn into the characters they claim to be. You might remember the author from the gorgeous but melancholy "Last Unicorn," but this novel has hijinx to balance out the pretty writing and theme of decline. The opening sequence had me laughing so hard I was disturbing people three rows behind me on the plane.

Uncanny early version of a genre currently popularized by deLint. If I was a true fan, I'd be able to tell you how derivatory his Newtown and the Jack tales are, and who knows who, but I'm just a humble reader.
I'm sure I had previously read this book, but it was long enough ago that I enjoyed it afresh, with just an occasional tinge of deja vu.
I appreciate that Farrell is a "witness", as John Erne calls him, even tho I am the opposite kind of person--constantly letting go of the past without looking back. What I can't figure out is how the title is relevant to the tale. It is very misleading--the 'folk' are too solid flesh, and those that aren't, are more earth or fire than air. "The Folk of the Air" makes me think about the "little show more people"--fairies and sprites--not elementals. show less

In Which Peter Beagle Discovers the SCA, and Thinks it is Pretty Nifty.

Joe Farrell, a hippieish slacker lute player wanders into the super-Berkeley-ish town of Avicenna, California to crash with his old friend Ben for a while. Ben and Joe's old friend-and-lover Julie introduce Joe to the SCA (I mean, the League of Archaic Pleasures), who's delighted to embrace an expert lutenist.
Joe is slightly weirded out by his friend's new lover, who's much older than Ben, and rather strange. But he rolls with it. However, as he gets deeper into the League, the mundane and the supernatural, the past and the present become intertwined as malicious witchcraft and ancient nature magic head toward a showdown; and innocent enthusiasts may just be in the show more way of forces beyond their control.

I had mixed feelings about the book. As someone familiar with the SCA, I wasn't really that enthused about the detailed descriptions of the activities of the group, which take up quite a bit of real estate here. It takes quite a long time to get into anything supernatural or fantastic at all, and I just wasn't that interested in Joe Farrell's rootless life, his hobbies, or his romantic issues.
However, once it does get going - there's some powerful, good stuff here. It features an excellent portrayal of a nature goddess. In many ways, the goddess here reminded me of another, older aspect of George MacDonald's goddess figures (although I think that might have rather horrified MacDonald). show less

No one ever forgets the fight between the man with the knife, and the man with the Volkswagen Bus! I really like the book, and it explains so much abut the kind of person who ends up in the SCA! You read it, you'll keep it!

It's Peter S. Beagle, in true lyrical form, gentle, wry, humorous, melancholic with a little bit of action.

"The sky was the color of mercury, mushy as a bruise."

"As an afterthought, he also screamed "'Kreegaaahh!' at the top of his lungs, for the first time since he was eleven years old, jumping off of his parents' bed, which was the bank of the Limpopo River, onto his cousin Mary Margaret Louise, who was a crocodile."

"His mouth was badly swollen, but his style was already beginning to regenerate itself, spinning pink-and-white self-assurance before Farrell's eyes, as a lizard grows new limbs."

"She turned her back; as she did so, Farrell felt a curious desolation pass over him--a fox-fierce little autumn wind of abandonment and loss show more that might have blown out of his childhood, when sorrows were all the same size and came and went without ever explaining themselves." show less

I was not far into this book when I realized I had read it previously and not particularly liked it. I liked it better this time out, but I don't think Beagle plays fair with his readers, really, in this novel.

I read this a long time ago, and the only thing I remember about it is the Goddess stuck in a house. On a reread, I found it to be more or less how I remembered it, but much more annoying.

I really didn't like any of the characters. They all seemed petty and annoying. Aife, the teenage girl involved with Creative Anachronism Society, and the bad guy in the story, was just annoying.

The story itself might have been well received in the 80's, but it felt dated in this age of cell phones and computers. Also, the setting of ex-hippies trying a new persona of middle ages characters just seemed sad. Either way, I forced myself to finish it.