Willingham, Bill - Fables: The Mean Seasons

[oyceter]

Wow, I haven't read Fables in a while. I originally loved the series -- it's about fairy tales and fables, all jaded and bitter, living in New York! How could I not love it?

But this collection and the last one (March of the Wooden Soldiers) have an underlying harshness to them that is disconcerting. It's not a sudden thing; it's been there all along, but it's been grating on me more. I can't tell if it's because londonkds's commentary on the way Willingham seems to tend toward the conservative or what. I noticed it especially in this collection.

It's the focus on Bigby and Snow as the sole people who can keep order in Fabletown, with the small exception of Rose Red, and it's especially apparent in this book, where Bigby stresses how he's the one who does the things that no one else wants to do or even know about, and it's those very same unsavory things that keep the town running. londonkds has been drawing parallels to extremely hawkish, conservative politics for a while, (alas, I cannot find the entries!), and it is rather unsettling reading about statements like this after a war and in the current political climate. I am also irked that Bigby gets a nifty, macho WWII war story background while Snow almost always is non-violent unless threatened and a firm believer in order.

I am further irritated by the fact that Snow is now up in the Farm, raising her six babies, while Bigby gets to run free, like an outlaw. Le sigh. It makes sense in terms of the story, but it still vastly irritates me that this always seems to happen to female characters that I like. For once, I would like them to not have miracle babies and become completely maternal.

Comments

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I tried the first Fables collection and couldn't get into it, even though it's the kind of thing I usually like. It wasn't a political thing, really; it's just that the characterization seemed shallow and the humor forced.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm annoyed by Snow going to live at the farm. It's not really mentioned in the Willingham interview (http://buzzscope.com/features.php?id=927) I read recently (character summaries on page 3), he's all talking about how "pro-active" she is. I'm hoping she will miss the power she had and go kick some ass, but I don't know. I loved the creepy interaction with the invisible baby, though, so at least some things are still going right.

[octopedingenue]

"Fables" is on its surface everything that I should love in a series (modernity juxtaposed with fairytales! heroine/big bad wolf romance! snarky characterization and dialogue! strong female characters! stories as landscapes!), and I am still furious at it for falling terribly flat in each of those departments. What made me furious enough to stop reading was indeed Snow getting pregnant (through magically sex that was nonconsensual in its timing if not necessarily in her partner) and immediately dropping everything else in her life that defined her (her career, hard-won political power, even her friends and home in the city) because That's What Good Mommies Do. One kid or even twins I could handle grudgingly; six/seven kids at once officially makes her little more than a baby machine.

Ugh, just thinking about it again is making me mad. Maybe I'll curl up this weekend with one of the Ellen Datlow/Terri Windling fairy tale anthologies or with The 10th Kingdom.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

You know, I failed to notice the baby-machine thing, but you're right that it's there. I think one can argue that Willingham at least portrays it as an imposition and not, IMO, What Good Mommies Do.

I worte posts specifically about March of the Wooden Soldiers (http://londonkds.livejournal.com/65480.html) and The Mean Seasons (http://londonkds.livejournal.com/91043.html"). I've also read and reviewed the latest TPB, Homelands (http://londonkds.livejournal.com/144876.html). I would suggest that you get the TPB before you read the post as it's better read without being spoiled, but there are aspects of it that can be read as a Libertarian or Paleoconservative attack on Neoconservatism, which is interesting in terms of pinning Willingham down. It still does have the general pride in ruthlessness that disturbs me about the series politically though.

[londonkds.livejournal.com]

Messed up the Mean Seasons (http://londonkds.livejournal.com/91043.html) link. LJ really should allow you to edit comments.

[oyceter]

I liked it from the start, just because I liked Snow and was tickled by the fairy tale thing, but... it's getting a little old, and I keep reading the same bitter fairy tales in modern life thing.

[oyceter]

Wargh. I liked invisible baby, but yes. I am still irritated by Snow having a litter of kids and going off to the farm. Particularly when it's contrasted with Bigby's past adventures in WWII and being all action-y and male.

[oyceter]

I know! And... why?? I'm also irritated because it feels like Bigby is the main character. He's all rebellious, with a mysterious past, he's the one who single-handedly protects Fabletown by doing all the nasty things that King Cole and Snow don't want to know about, he's the son of the North Wind, etc. And I like Snow, damnit! It annoys me to see her playing second fiddle, so to speak.

[oyceter]

Ooo thanks for the links! The ruthlessness of all the characters is really starting to get to me; on the one hand, it's nice to know that he won't hesitate to do things to his characters, but on the other, it ends up having the same effect that overly sentimental fiction does, which is just to distance me from the characters.

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

I took all the babies as a reference to (a) the seven dwarves and (b) a litter of wolves.

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Bigby's position as the ultimate cool guy really turned me off the series. It wasn't like that in the beginning where he seemed genuinely befuddled about dealing with people but as things went along it became more about Bigby always being right.

[oyceter]

Yeah... it's really getting to me =(.