Rating: 
Summary: Well written but far too slow
Review: Not much happens in this book until the last 30 pages or so, and by that point it was too late for me. The characters are, for the most part, fairly well-drawn if not very compelling, but their dialogue isn't very realistic. Their endless discussions of literature, and extremely detailed descriptions of the action of various stage plays, became really tedious and made me feel like the author was showing off her literary education.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I am a big fan of most of the Fairy Tale series and this one is one of the best, in my opinion.
Some earlier reviewer claims you have to have been an English major to enjoy this book. How sad that this person is so negative to readers in general. It is also a sad testament to todays world that not enough reading is done so that books like this would get reviews like that.
It is a clever and well written novel and there are references throughout to the Tam Lin ballad, but unlike less skilled writers Pamela Dean doesn't come out and hit you on the head with them, YOU have to see them.
Excellently crafted and delightful twists and turns make this a facinating read for ANYONE who enjoys a more complicated tale instead of something with all the clues handed to you on a platter!
Rating:
Summary: A subtle book that a modern reader can't "get" in 1 reading
Review: I see many reviews of those who read the book once, and didn't "get" it. This book requires VERY careful reading, and even then, unless you know the "Tam Lin" legend, you are unlikely to unwrap all the layers on one reading.Apparently modern readers can't keep their attention on the details which are the heart of this book. For example, when
the "boys" first appear in the cafeteria, they appear to "glow."
Dean is NOT kidding that they are glowing, for reasons that only
are apparent when Medeous leads the ride on Halloween. For me, I was confronted with a contradiction: Janet Carter belongs with Thomas Lynne (Tam Lin). Why is her boyfriend through most of the book named Nicholas Tooley, and Janet's roommate is dating Thomas? However, note the times that Janet goes sledding (traying, really) with Thomas. She goes to a bunch of plays with Thomas. She gets love advice in The Tea Room from Thomas. Etc. Etc. He comes to Greek Class to divert Medeous' attention from Janet to himself. Thomas knows he is the Fairy Queen' sacrifice to the Dark Power
behind the Queen, and he does not want Janet hurt. He is as subtle in expressing his love as he can be. Robin knows that
Thomas is the next sacrifice (well, all the Riders with the Fairy Queen know). Lots of byplay with Robin: "all right then,
YOU say farewell to this life!" Robin: "If not to you, it may come to me." Thomas is Hamlet to Robin's Horatio. Those who
think that Thomas and Janet are not having a subterranean love
life throughout the book have missed hundred of clues... You must be awake and pay close attention while reading this book! I had most of the details figured out, yet second and third readings showed more things I missed. Ignore Steven Brust's opinion at your peril: "This is what fairy tales are supposed to be; this is what fiction is supposed to be."
Rating:
Summary: great story, nice retelling
Review: I enjoyed the modern retelling, especially using the perils most college women face. The struggles the heroine goes through are timeless for other young women, and she faces them practically. I also really enjoyed the literature quotes and learned a great deal about the classics. Good book!
Rating: 
Summary: interesting
Review: I enjoyed this book very much, but have a few problems with it. It is definitely worth reading, but not for love of the ballad. There are a few plot inconsistancies, but those are easy to ignore, and not too bad compared to some books. In order to read it and enjoy it, you must disgregard any expectations of a wonderful retelling of the ballad, and read the book only for it's own literary value, which is great. There were things that could have been better explored, but the book on the whole rose above that. It was also inspirational to me to pursue my life-long love of English (which I just mangled horribly). Much as I love the book, I must say it was not the almost religious experience I had hoped for, and I find that Tam Lin still lacks a retelling to do it true justice.
Rating:
Summary: A review, rethought
Review: I first reviewed Pamela Dean's _Tam Lin_ (...) and I gave it mediocre marks. This probably wasn't fair; I enjoyed the book the entire time I was reading it, and then panned it because I thought the ending seemed tacked-on and disappointing, and because I felt that the romance between the central characters was not well-developed. I recently re-read the book, and remembered why I had enjoyed it so much in the first place. _Tam Lin_ is beautifully written--you can just see the scenery, and the characters will remind you of people you know. Every college dorm is full of weird people. (I know; I was one of them.) It's also uproariously funny; I got some strange looks from my fiance' as I read it, because I was bursting out into laughter. Basically, the first nine-tenths of the book is an entertaining account of a life at college, with hints of the supernatural. Then, the supernatural takes over when Janet becomes involved with Thomas, the "Tam Lin" character who is in danger of being sacrificed to Hell by the Faery Queen. I still think that the romance between Janet and Thomas feels a little sudden, since there are only a few hints early in the book that there was chemistry between the two. I'm inclined to be more generous than I was earlier, though. After all, in real life, we don't always get lots of advance warning about these things. The abruptness of the beginning of the relationship might even make the climax more believable--if Thomas was Janet's long-term boyfriend, there would have been no mixed feelings to complicate Janet's decisions. The choice would have been clear. As it happened, she didn't know whether to believe him, or whether to take the chance of confronting the Queen. So, after a second read, I'll have to rate this a pretty good book. There are still a few minor plot holes and loose ends, but _Tam Lin_ ain't bad at all.
Rating: 
Summary: Stinky.
Review: Pamela Dean's _Tam Lin_ is part of a series of TOR books based on fairy tales. It's the only one that needed an editor's introduction explaining the fact. That ought to tell you something. To be completely fair, as a folksinger I have my own ideas about retelling and updating the Child Ballad upon which this book is allegedly based, and Dean fell so far short of my expectations that I could barely get through the book. The actual events of the ballad are only dealt with in the last 150 pages or so, and there was no updating, retelling or interpretation as far as I could see. Everything from the ballad was just stuck right in there; no metaphor or symbolism was used at all. Didn't like that. The first 3/4 of the book are taken up with long detailed accounts of the main character's experiences at college. I notice that a lot of people really seem to have liked this, but to me it was considerably more boring than dirt. I've been to a liberal arts college and had my own experiences there, thank you. There was some realistic interaction between the characters, but the Theatre Majors were far too nice, particularly about the production of _Hamlet_. Really, all told, this book was just too starry-eyed for me. I might have liked it when I was about 13, but as an adult it didn't do a thing for me.
Rating:
Summary: You'll like it or love it to death - I love it
Review: Maybe it's that I wasn't a typical college kid, I don't know. But my friends and I could be having a food fight one minute, and be off on some tangent about whether particles of light have mass the other. So, this is why I liked this book. Even though I didn't go to a small liberal arts college, even though I wasn't an English or Classics major, Janet and her friends reminded me of my college experience. Pamela Dean describes the campus so lovingly that you can envision it perfectly - she describes the dining hall equally perfectly, if less lovingly. I read this for the first time in college, and there were just too many similarities between my life and Janet's for me not
to relate to this book. I was in a triple my freshman year with 2 bio majors, I too had a large chunk of Heinlein juviniles on my shelf. The story is so layered, it is fun to reread, because you pick up a different clue each time. There are hints scattered through out the book that all point at the ending, if only you can catch them. If there is one flaw, it is that some of the hints never turn out to mean anything. Peg's lack of a bunkbed is hinted at several times but never explained. And it drives me crazy that the "two dearer'" are never named at the end. I also loved trying to catch and understand all the literary references. I'm sure I missed quite a few of them but I got quite a few - and I was even inspired to go read "The Lady's Not for Burning", which I enjoyed. So, give this book a try, if you don't get it, that's ok - but if you do, you'll love it for many rereads to come.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite all-time books
Review: I was reading some of the other reviews and someone said that if you don't like Anne Rice, you won't like this. Well, I'm not a real big Anne Rice fan, but I love this book. And I wasn't even a Classics major! It has tons of literary references, which I had fun figuring out, and a plot that was
fun to piece together based on the clues the author drops here and there. I've read this book many times and just recently finished my latest reread. I bought this book while I was in college - and Pamela Dean perfectly captures the experience of it, down the dining hall food. Oh maybe it doesn't capture some college kids' experiences. But while my major was different from Janet's, my friends were similarly geeky and strange in their own way.
Rating:
Summary: Yersh!!!
Review: I would have been better served if Titania had turned MY eyes into wood!Then I would not have plodded thru this book TWICE, trying(and valiant efforts they were)to like this book, and I did try,OH how I tried!But,there isnt any way around it folks; this book is nothing, if not long winded,full of unecessary descriptions and saturated with literary name dropping.... IMNSHO,This book was waaaay to long,and Im actually a fan of Uris and Hugo!!!If you dont like Anne Rice, you wont like this...that's not to say that Anne Rice fans will like it either,as it was very anti-climatic,and short on any action that would keep your attention for very long. However, there were a few shimmering moments, where you could actually envision what Dean was decribing,you could feel the cold of autumn,you actually *desired* to be there, but then it was all smashed to bits by some smarmy bit about an obscure poet,or an overdramatic thespian.In the end,this book could have been sooo much,but was actually soooo little.Save your money, and try to find a copy of "Thomas The Rhymer" by Ellen Kushner instead.
|
