I admit that it took me nine weeks of last semester to read Maps in a Mirror, but, you know, it's not exactly the kind of book that's easy to lug around campus from class to class. It mostly stayed by my bed and I read one or two stories each night. I loved it.
(*Spoiler*)
One story that I really felt personally affected by was "Unaccompanied Sonata." I play the piano and that story about broke my heart. I was properly horrified when they cut off his fingers. It was so tragic! And I cried at the end. I would be positively devastated if I was suddenly physically unable to play the piano.
I love that story very much. My heart goes out to the musician.
Posted by Mr_Megalomaniac (Member # 7695) on :
Spoiler from Unaccompanied . . . I loved Unaccompanied Sonata (I'm sure I spelled it right...) when the main guy started singing I almost convinced myself he wouldn't be found out.
I can't remember if Sonata nearly brought me to tears, but I'm pretty sure a few of the other tales did. Gert Fram (Everytime I looked at this title I thought it said Gert Farm, no idea why) was one that did effect me emotionally. I instantly liked the girl, and the stories she wrote made me laugh, so I liked her even more. It was pretty sad to see her be so broken up.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
The whole Maps in a Mirror collection was probably the most emotional thing I have ever read. It isn't something you could just read day and night because after reading some of the stories (Like A Thousand Deaths, or Unaccompanied Sonata) you are left so emotionally drained that you can't pick the book back up again for awhile.
I think we have many previous threads on this story's impact on people. Obviously, Unaccompanied Sonata is one of Card's best works.
Farmgirl
[ April 20, 2005, 09:00 AM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
What I love the most about Maps are Card's own comments on the stories. I love to know about an author's purpose and motivation and these were so engaging to me.
That said, Unaccompanied Sonata is one of the best stories in the collection. And I believed that before OSC said that it was important to him as well. Didn't he write somewhere in Maps that if he had to choose three stories that best said what he wanted to say (or something like that, I'm loosely paraphrasing) that he would pick Unaccompanied Sonata, The Porcelain Salamander, and Salvage (from Folk of the Fringe)? I loved reading that.
[ April 20, 2005, 09:59 PM: Message edited by: Narnia ]
Posted by Brinestone (Member # 5755) on :
Another "Gert Fram" lover! I thought I was the only one I'd ever meet who was so emotionally affected by that story. I don't often cry when reading books, but I cried my heart out after reading that. Maybe it's because I was in a stage of my life where I felt just like she did.
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
For years I thought Unaccompanied Sonata was the best story I would ever write. so when it came in second for the Hugo Award, I decided right then that I would never win, because if that wasn't good enough, then I could never write anything that was.
So I'm glad to know that even though it's only a short story and therefore not commercially viable <grin>, it still finds a way to touch readers.
But I must confess that I'm THRILLED to have somebody mention Gert Fram! (By the way, I keep reading Framgirl's name as "Framgirl.") Because the "books" within the story are real ones, written by my wife's younger sister Nancy, and my publishing company later published her own novel based around the story, i thought my version of it had been forgotten. thanks for noticing!
Posted by Mr_Megalomaniac (Member # 7695) on :
quote: and my publishing company later published her own novel based around the story
I remember reading in the afterward that you said that Kathy could write a great novel, and now that I know she did, I'm deffintaly going to have to look it up. Just did. "A Kid's Book for Grown-ups", hah! I love it. I'll have to get it from the Hatrack store soon.
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
I really didn't like this story, of all the Maps stories. Not a big music kind of guy, I guess.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)