Those girls/women who were devoted fans of this series originally piqued my interest many months ago at (of course) the bookstore. Many people came in either because they already knew the series and knew what they were looking for, or they had started watching True Blood and wanted to try the books. From conversations with all these different people I had an image formed of the series and what it would be like - same as hearing a lot about someone you haven't met yet. But I still thought 'vampires aren't really my thing' and brushed it off. I should know better by now.
Because of that same vague anti-vampire resentment (fueled by watching all these teens come in everyday looking for nothing but vampire junk novels) I hadn't watched any of the True Blood tv series despite many people going on an on about it the past few years it's been out. That all changed one night when I stopped in at my friend Tasha's place one afternoon in the fall. I meant to visit for a few hours and ended up getting home around 3am. I woke up on the couch the next morning to a disastrous hangover and the effort it took to find my glasses convinced me I wouldn't be going too far from the couch that day. I should add that it wasn't a typical event for me. It turned out that Adam and Tash had loaned me the first season of True Blood. These friends work in the film industry and are always good for a recommendation, but I probably would never had ended up watching the series if I hadn't had such a good time with Tasha that night. Watched half the first season that day. And I knew I'd have to read the books.
When I went to hockey one Wednesday night just after Christmas I noticed my girlfriend was almost finished reading the first book, Dead Until Dark. I asked to borrow it and to my pleasure she finished the last few pages and handed it to me. I was hooked right away. There's so much to love about these novels. I was consistently surprised as I worked my way through the series to find so much depth and realism to the story. It reads almost like an alternate history; an America where vampires and shapeshifters have 'come out' to the general public and are now carefully orchestrating their assimilation into mainstream society. Certainly a complicated task.
Ms Charlaine Harris has created some fabulous commentary on many issues that have plagued society probably for as long as we have been living in societies. She breathes life into these characters and truly makes them walk. Sookie Stackhouse is a wonderful everywoman kind of heroine. The reader feels for her as she tries to navigate her job, the never-ending work of home ownership, the currents that come with living in a small town, and a dating life complicated by the fact that all her beaus are supernaturals.
All of this is further complicated by her 'disability,' her telepathy. Instead of this fantasy skill being jarring in contrast to the rest of her very normal-girl character, it seems to work in harmony with it and she comes across even more clearly as the regular girl next door. The way Sookie struggles with the problems created by her telepathy (like everyone who knows her thinking she's kind of slow/crazy, for example) somehow makes her come across in ever more vivid colour. This trick of Harris'; of taking something extraordinary and using it with such deft ability as to make it blend in realistically with the blandness of our familiar everyday lives is a huge factor in the success of her writing.
I would never have anticipated loving these books so much. I love being surprised like that. They are great for reading that's clear, fast, pulls you in but has depth to it. They're full of action and mystery, but also hot and sexy -- and often completely hilarious. Basically they've got it all, and then some. Loved this little jaunt through Charlaine Harris' supernatural imagination and can't wait for the next book.
A Few Other Thoughts
- I originally thought the illustrated covers were strange, unattractive and childish.....knowing the plots of the books changes everything; they are perfect and they fit perfectly with the fairy-tale feel that underlies the series. Sookie Stackhouse is a modern girl in a modern fairy tale - the girl who lives alone in an old house in the middle of a thick, dark wood, with all manner of creatures coming up to her front porch at night. I loved the sort of dark traditional touches that brush through in some places.
- I was impressed by Charlaine Harris' website (http://www.charlaineharris.com/) which is really well maintained and full of information. At some point I'd really like to try her Grave Sight novels; they are now definitely on my list. She's also written tons of short stories set in the Sookie Stackhouse world; I'm going to try a few of those at some point too. I liked that her dedications and acknowledgments always came across as very carefully thought out as well as heartfelt.
- Finally, these books have ruined the series for me. Even my boyfriend had gotten into True Blood and we'd watched ourselves up to date but now I couldn't care less for the next season. They've veered so far off the track laid out by the plots of the novels I know I'll just be frustrated when I watch again. I hate when that happens. They could have easily followed everything very closely and still had a great tv season without making up wild storylines. They've caught the characters very well but the situations they are in are very different.
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