Anitra
March 19th 2004, 04:27 PM
Book review (by me) done for Real Change, Seattle street newspaper, this week:
Princess Bianca and the Vandals: A Post Modern Tale of Two Kingdoms
By Nick Licata
Fratri Gracci Pub, October 2003
ISBN: 0974327603
Some wonderful children's fantasy books are also favorites of many adults: C.S. Lewis's chronicles of Narnia from its creation by Aslan the Lion to its apocalypse; Madeleine L'Engle's trilogy of the cosmic adventures of the Murry children in A Wrinkle in Time, The Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet; many others which if I list them all will take up all the space and I will never get to telling you about Nick Licata's Princess Bianca.
Like the children in Lewis's and L'Engle's books, Princess Bianca must deal with much more than the dog Spot and a big red ball. Fantasy has long been used to address the problems of reality, and in Princess Bianca and the Vandals, Bianca must address the impact of humans on nature and nature on humans that has begun to concern an increasing number of us since the first days that "ecology" became a buzz-word. Her mother, father, beloved forest, and entire way of life are at risk from greed and violence, and it seems that Bianca is the only one who can set things right.
Relationships are also a big part of children's concerns, and seem to get much more emphasis in "children's" books (the best of them, anyway) than in "adult" books. Some adults may be disturbed that Bianca is the one to rescue her mother and father. While it may not be healthy for children to think that they have to emotionally rescue their parents in reality, physically rescuing our parents and other adults in fantasy, however, seems to be an important part of growing up.
The female characters are definitely the leaders in this story. While the King and the Prince certainly have power, they spend most of the book either dead or asleep. The Queen is more often shown exercising leadership. Bianca herself leads the expedition to rescue the Queen, and the other strongest figures on the expedition are also girls -- and they have very active adventures, indeed. This is all presented so matter-of-factly that it has a much greater effect, I think, than women fighting for power and independence in such books does, even when they win.
Nick Licata never comes right out and says that when we destroy the relationship between ourselves and nature, we also break down the relationships among ourselves; and when we destroy the relationships among ourselves, we also break down our relationships with nature. He just demonstrates it. That is the power of story, to be able to show without telling, and the best story-tellers use that power. When stories are fun, they not only have more effect, but they get read by more people. And Princess Bianca's story, as meaningful as adults may find it, is also fun. I hope it is enjoyed by many children. The bookshelf of juvenile fantasy needs more such entries.
It always gives us Seattleites a special glow when an author is from Seattle. It seems even more special when the author is from the Seattle City Council. Seattle already has a reputation in the rest of the country as being a very literate city, where people sit around in coffee houses and discuss books; Seattleites buy more books per capita each year than any other city in the country except Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that's probably just because they have Garrison Keillor. Now we can even say that our City Council writes books. I don't think even Minneapolis can say that. Write On, Nick!
Princess Bianca and the Vandals: A Post Modern Tale of Two Kingdoms
By Nick Licata
Fratri Gracci Pub, October 2003
ISBN: 0974327603
Some wonderful children's fantasy books are also favorites of many adults: C.S. Lewis's chronicles of Narnia from its creation by Aslan the Lion to its apocalypse; Madeleine L'Engle's trilogy of the cosmic adventures of the Murry children in A Wrinkle in Time, The Wind in the Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet; many others which if I list them all will take up all the space and I will never get to telling you about Nick Licata's Princess Bianca.
Like the children in Lewis's and L'Engle's books, Princess Bianca must deal with much more than the dog Spot and a big red ball. Fantasy has long been used to address the problems of reality, and in Princess Bianca and the Vandals, Bianca must address the impact of humans on nature and nature on humans that has begun to concern an increasing number of us since the first days that "ecology" became a buzz-word. Her mother, father, beloved forest, and entire way of life are at risk from greed and violence, and it seems that Bianca is the only one who can set things right.
Relationships are also a big part of children's concerns, and seem to get much more emphasis in "children's" books (the best of them, anyway) than in "adult" books. Some adults may be disturbed that Bianca is the one to rescue her mother and father. While it may not be healthy for children to think that they have to emotionally rescue their parents in reality, physically rescuing our parents and other adults in fantasy, however, seems to be an important part of growing up.
The female characters are definitely the leaders in this story. While the King and the Prince certainly have power, they spend most of the book either dead or asleep. The Queen is more often shown exercising leadership. Bianca herself leads the expedition to rescue the Queen, and the other strongest figures on the expedition are also girls -- and they have very active adventures, indeed. This is all presented so matter-of-factly that it has a much greater effect, I think, than women fighting for power and independence in such books does, even when they win.
Nick Licata never comes right out and says that when we destroy the relationship between ourselves and nature, we also break down the relationships among ourselves; and when we destroy the relationships among ourselves, we also break down our relationships with nature. He just demonstrates it. That is the power of story, to be able to show without telling, and the best story-tellers use that power. When stories are fun, they not only have more effect, but they get read by more people. And Princess Bianca's story, as meaningful as adults may find it, is also fun. I hope it is enjoyed by many children. The bookshelf of juvenile fantasy needs more such entries.
It always gives us Seattleites a special glow when an author is from Seattle. It seems even more special when the author is from the Seattle City Council. Seattle already has a reputation in the rest of the country as being a very literate city, where people sit around in coffee houses and discuss books; Seattleites buy more books per capita each year than any other city in the country except Minneapolis, Minnesota, and that's probably just because they have Garrison Keillor. Now we can even say that our City Council writes books. I don't think even Minneapolis can say that. Write On, Nick!