A Lion Among Men

So, due to the full life and three courses I've taken a little break from reading. I guess what I'm really saying is that I've taken a break from having a break. Which I don't really like. So I was probably biased in favor of this book because I was excited enough about it that I pushed off being more responsible in order to read.

AND I still got all my grading done.

I was excited about this book because Maguire's earlier book Wicked makes it in the top five of my favorite books I've read in the last couple years. What else would be on that list? Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. These is My Words by Nancy Turner. But Wicked is one book I've been hesitant to recommend to people because there's plenty of material in it that I can see might be offensive. I didn't want to recommend it, because I wouldn't want anyone to feel they shouldn't be offended if they are. I think being offended is a valid reaction.

Anyway, A Lion Among Men is the third book in the Wicked Years, as Maguire has dubbed his series. One reason I love this series is because I am fascinated by the world that Maguire has created, complete with complex political and economic situations and fascinating creatures. I feel the same fascination with Tolkein's Lord of the Rings series. Maguire hasn't invented a new language, but still.

I haven't enjoyed the second or third installment of the series as much as I enjoyed Wicked. But I enjoyed this book enough. Each of the books is a philosophical study of some subject. Wicked is a study of evil; Son of a Witch is a study of identity. A Lion Among Men seems to be a study of fate. The Cowardly Lion is a character who, through his inaction and efforts to just go with the flow, is slighted at every turn and feels a victim of life's circumstances. It isn't until he decides (at the end of the book) to really begin acting--to stop waiting for people to love and accept him and to instead love and accept others--that the narrative hints at a change.

Maguire begins his book quoting Goethe (or at least a quotation attributed to Goethe):

The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves as well. All sorts of things occur to help on that would never otherwise have occured. A stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen accidents, meetings and material assistance that no one could have dreamed would come their way. Whatever you can do or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

I've heard this quote before and I've thought about this theme a lot in my life, so the thesis of the book wasn't life-changing, but I enjoyed hearing it from Maguire's point of view. Maybe that's why I enjoyed Wicked more than this; Maguire gave me more to consider in Wicked than I had considered before. Perhaps that's why I enjoy some books more than others. Hmmm . . . something to think about.