Saturday, September 19, 2009

Name That Novel #10

From the past to the present, some stories are worth repeating. That is my hint for the following excerpt. Title and author, please.

I will give another hint... it is based on a very well-known children's novel and movie.

"Look, you can see the snow, white as the grace of the Unnamed God," said the novice, remembering her pastoral requirements. "Think on that, and rest, and sleep. Here's a pillow. Here's a stool for your feet. Upstairs we'll be singing and praising the Unnamed God. I'll pray for you."
"Don't--" said the green ghostly guest, then slumped her head against the pillow.
"It's my pleasure to," said the novice, a bit aggressively, and fled, just in time to catch the processional hymn.
For a while the winter salon was still. It was like a fishbowl into which a new acquisition has been dropped. The snow moved as if done by a machine, gently and mesmerizingly, with a soft churr. The blossoms of the marginium plants closed a bit in the strengthening cold of the room. Oil lamps issued their funereal crepe ribbons into the air. On the other side of the garden--hardly visible through the snow and the two windows--a decrepit maunt, with a more precise grasp of the calendar than her sisters, began to hum a saucy old pagan hymn to Lurline.

Once again, good luck to all. And don't forget....the winner can choose to place a novel winner button on his/her blogsite! (See right sidebar for link to button post)

Congrats to Vanessa! You answered correctly with Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Don't forget to grab a winner button to place on your site if you like :-)

6 comments:

Cara Powers said...

I like the new look of the site!
I have absolutely no idea what the book is but I really want to read it.

http://oohbooks.blogspot.com

Sarah said...

guess i'll be flunking this one as well...

Vanessa Rogers said...

"Wicked" by Gregory Maguire
I just read that book. Lucky for me :)

Cara Powers said...

I haven't read that book in years. I remember liking it though.

Author and Reader said...

Cara, thanks for the compliment about the site. Thought it needed a little jazzing up!

Vanessa, congrats for getting the answer. I finished it over the summer. I didn't like it as well as the orginal story :-) Of course, Wicked has received a lot of praise.

Have any of you read anything else by Maguire? I know he's done this with other children's classics.

Vanessa Rogers said...

Yes, I read "Confessions of an ugly stepsister"(The Cinderella story) years ago and I really liked it. I love how he can change the entire feel of the story and keep you wondering what's going to happen when you already know the original ending. I found "Wicked" a very interesting story, tedious at times, but as I had already seen the musical, and as it is a much "nicer" version, I prefer the musical. She doesn't actually turn into an unlikable person in the musical and things end in the "happily ever after" fashion rather than in the depressing fashion of the book.