DuPrau, Jeanne.  City of Ember.  New York: Random House, 2003.  270p.

Summary: “In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.”

I have decided to post something about the books I have recently read or that I am currently reading.

I recently finished Wings by Aprilynne Pike.  Great book!  I can’t wait for the next one!  It was a quick read, it was very interesting and kept me turning pages.  Wings left me wanting more when it was finished!  Oh!  Who will she choose?!  Again, great book!  Thanks Mrs. Pike!

I have also been reading the City of Ember series – also great books!  I will admit I did not finish the first one because I made the mistake of seeing the movie first.  I really have a problem that I can’t read a book if I know what’s going to happen – there’s no motivation for me to keep going.  Not even curiosity to see what the movie left out will make me read it.  I know that’s a terrible fault of mine because the book was extremely well written, but I just couldn’t do it.  I read the second book, People of Sparks, and it was fabulous!  I loved it so much that I skipped the prequel (book #3) Prophet of Yonwood, and went straight to the fourth book, The Diamond of Darkhold so I could find out what happens to Lina and Doon!  I’m still in the beginning chapters of Diamond of Darkhold, so I will report back on that one later.  Great work Jeanne DuPrau!  I love the characters and the adventure!

I am discovering more and more that I really enjoy adventure and sci-fi and when those two are intertwined, it makes for a great read!

I wanted to read these books for a long time before I picked them up.  In fact, I still might not have if a friend hadn’t given me the first one.  I recently picked the second up from the library.  If I was hoping to be as blown away by the content as I was by the covers (face it, they are pret-tay) then I was disappointed.  City of Embers is charming, to begin with, but as it goes on and on, the mystery is not that exciting, and the city’s situation in general starts to seem ridiculous.  Not that there’s a city underground (which is what Ember is) but because in generations of citizens, the two main characters, Lina and Doon, are apparently the only original thinkers that have ever been produced there.

I find that a little bit hard to believe.  Hard to believe, and a little insulting to the human mind.  The People of Sparks continues in the same way—Lina and Doon have lead the way out of Ember into the world above, but the people there are just as backward-thinking, and while they have had much more available to them (by way of natural and man-made materials) that would help them to re-invent their society, they are instead scraping by with things they’re grafting from the ‘ancient times.’

This is a world generations away from an all-consuming disaster, but the disaster is of a scale that even Hollywood wouldn’t pretend to.  Here, instead of the major cities being destroyed, apparently (or at least, so far as we can tell) all cities everywhere have been destroyed.  Sparks has been built from scratch, and is only just becoming profitable.  I just don’t buy it.  I have to force myself to look at this as an allegory, and I’m not all that enchanted with allegories—especially ones that last nearly 400 pages.  I think if I’d read these when I was younger (say eight, or ten—yes, I think a ten-year-old could read 400 pages if they wanted to) then maybe I might have enjoyed these books, but I just can’t suspend my disbelief enough at this hardened age of twenty-four.  And really, until you get to the very end, the moral lessons DuPrau is trying to teach are so weighed down underneath the negativity surrounding them, that the books are just depressing.  So many of the people are mean, and cold-hearted, and it just made me sad to read it.

That said, The People of Sparks did pull a nice twist on me at the end, that I didn’t see coming, and I’ll give it kudos for that.  Also, despite 99% of the characters being absolutely scathing representations of humanity, Lina and Doon (and those closest to them) really are quite endearing, so you have to root for them, in the mess of everything else.

I give this a nominable B-.  They’re decently-written books, and their short-comings are all in the name of the moral story.  I just hate reading them.

Okay so we all know that I have a tendency to go overboard when it comes to books. Whether it’s my library loot, buying binges, or signing up for reading challenges, it always seems to be all or nothing. My current reading pool for the read-a-thon encompasses almost every genre and ranges from a mere 32 pages for many of my picture books to almost 500 pages for Margo Lanagan’s Tender Morsels. Maybe instead of thinking of this stack as just my read-a-thon picks, we should also think of it as my October/November even possibly December reads.

Plays I started reading plays during last year’s read-a-thon. I found so many wonderful playwrights that I’ve started slowly reading as many as I can especially Pulitzer prize-winning plays. Plays are usually no more than a hundred pages long and contain memorable characters and great settings. For the upcoming read-a-thon, here are a few plays I plan on reading that won the Pulitzer for Drama.

I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. 2004 Pulitzer.
Wit by Margaret Edson. 1999 Pulitzer.
Angels in America by Tony Kushner. 1993 Pulitzer

not shown: August: Osage County by Tracy Letts.

Short Stories The great thing about reading short stories during the read-a-thon is that you can dip in and out of collections and still feel as though you’re accomplishing something.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie.
Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros. I read this collection years ago and I think it’s really time for a re-read.
Dedicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff.

Graphic Novels

Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry.
Amulet 2: The Stonkeeper’s Curse by Kazu Kabuishi.
Maus by Art Spiegelman

Not shown: The Professor’s Daughter by Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert

Fantasy

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Tigerheart by Peter David
The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Other Notables

Peter and Max: A Fables Novel by Bill Willingham
Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliot

Books not shown:

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
B.P.R.D. series by Mike Mignola
Sprout by Dale Peck
Uglies by Scott Westerfield
The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
Little Brother by Cory Doctrow

You see how crazy I went? This is why I’m calling this pile my October-November-and-possibly-December pile. I have a ton of books on hold at the library that will be coming in sometime next week. I can’t wait for the read-a-thon to start but I’m not going to wait to start reading some of these great books.

Have you read any of these graet books? Which ones do you think I should save for the read-a-thon? Are there any that you think I should move to the top of the pile? Have you thought about what books you’re going to read for the big event?

- Ember il mistero della città di luce (City of Ember) – 2008 – ♥♥♥ -

di

Gil Kenan

Poco importa se il trailer di questo film che lo vende come la nuova fatica dello studio che ha realizzato il film de Le cronache di Narnia ce lo battezza come un fantasy per ragazzi. Pur la storia si concentri su di un’avventura-puzzle intrapresa da tre giovanissimi alla scoperta di ciò che si cela dietro i tanti misteri della cadente città sotterranea di Ember, alimentata artificialmente e messa al sicuro dall’estinzione umana (da cosa venga causata non si sa), la quale è ignara dell’esistenza del mondo, il piacere di vedere questo film risiede in una dedica particolarmente accurata alle luci e i colori, ad una scenografia mozzafiato realizzata da Martin Laing a Belfast nel set più grande del mondo (quello in cui è stato costruito il Titanic di Cameron, per intendersi), alla buona caratterizzazione e scelta di volti per i personaggi narrati originariamente nel romanzo della francese Jeanne Duprau. City of Ember trasuda di fantastici attori di grande esperienza (Martin Landau, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray) e di richiami estetici e non solo a 1984 (sia il romanzo Orwelliano che il film), Brazil di Gilliam, La città dei bambini perduti e Delicatessen di Jenuet e Caro… Per non parlare del più lampante richiamo al mito platonico della caverna. Si inciampa un po’ nell’evitabile creazione di qualche creatura digitale, ma sorvolata questa parentesi e la solita colonna sonora ridondante, la sostanza del film è di natura nobile. Il film non è puro intrattenimento e arrivederci, contiene soprattutto l’essenza della nostra vita, che spesso è conflittuale, in crisi e addormentata da mille comodità e vizi come Ember… I giovani protagonisti, interpretati da Saoirse Ronan e Harry Treadaway, sono convincenti e sembrano usciti appunto da un film di Jeneut. Il regista è Gil Kenan, un ragazzo londinese – ma con ovvie origini mediorientali – coraggioso, che dopo il debutto cinematografici in Monster’s house datosi nelle mani del produttore Tom Hanks e dei colossi d’attori sopra menzionanti, ha portato avanti un progetto discreto e originale.

(Beffardo infingardo sindaco di Ember, interpretato da un sempre ottimo Bill Murray)

(I due giovani protagonisti del film, Lina e Doon, interpreati dalla Ronan e Treadaway)

Author: Jeanne DuPrau

Lina and Doon, two twelve-year-olds, live and work in the underground City of Ember. The city was always intended as a temporary refuge from destruction above ground. However, the instructions for escaping the city were lost in past generations and supplies are running out and soon the lights may go out permanently, leaving the city in complete darkness. Lina and Doon must fight corruption, fear, and complacency to discover a way to the world of light about ground. It was a quick and entertaining read.

“It was too long,” my friend Jo protested of Inkheart.  ”I am just so discouraged by the state of juvenile fiction these days!”  I was only halfway through the book myself, and thought this rather a strong statement.  Although Jo is the Ph.D. I’m not always ready to defer to her literary assessment.  When Dd1 finished and announced she really didn’t like the book, I was beginning to wonder if the book’s content didn’t quite match it’s hype.  I had to admit, I was a little disappointed; but it wasn’t until a discussion with fellow bibliophile, Leah, that I understood why.  

“It was a good idea,” I admitted, “but wasn’t executed very well.”  

“It could be that it was translated from German,” said Leah.

“Oh, yes.  I wondered about that. I mean, why was it written in German.”

“Well, Cornelia Funke is German.”

“Ahhh!” I said.

“You know, I always wondered, if the characters were leaving the books, I mean, when you read from another copy, wouldn’t they still be in the book.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed, pointing.  ”This is exactly the kind of problems that I had with it.  And then like, why in the world would the aunt try to go back to her house when she knew that the villains knew where she lived.”

“I know.  That made no sense,” I agreed.

On the other hand, there have been some very good children’s books written lately.  Take Michael Buckley’s The Sisters Grimm series.  They are excellent.  The  storyline is well thought out and executed, full of suspense and a lot of humor.  There are blogs upon blogs of kids talking about them, and wondering, like my daughter, when try-outs will be held for the first movie. Speaking of movies, Inkheart was a bit of a disappointment there as well.  It really had the potential to be a great movie, but flopped from the getgo.  Movies based on books are either done really well, as in the case of The Lord of the Rings series or the first Narnia movie; and I must admit the one based on The City of Ember was excellent.  The directors were probably fans of the novels and did their homework.  Others such as Inkheart or Prince Caspian seemed to be rushed onto the screen therefore the storyline had to be manipulated a bit.

In short, I don’t think that juvenile fiction is in a sorry state at the moment.  I forgot to ask Jo how much of that genre she has read lately.  My daughter recently blogged on 21 Balloons by William Pène du Bois herself (See http://talesfromduncanrd.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/the-twenty-one-balloons/). This interesting work of fiction had the added effect of spurring some of the children in her class to watch a documentary on a volcanic eruption on the island of Krakatoa.  The City of Ember (the first in a series of books by Jeanne DuPrau) is a post-apocalyptic book that is not only a non-threatening social commentary that gets kids to think about actions and their impending consequences; but is also full of mystery and edge of your seat action.

In short, I think I’ll spend a little more time in the J section of the stacks.  I’ve got my eyes on Eragon and Pendragon next, so it should be an exciting summer.

A person who thought they knew everything simply didn’t understand how much there was to know.

-Taken from Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau

“Sometimes darkness fell in the middle of the day. The city of Ember was old, and everything in it, including the power lines, was in need of repair. So now and then the lights would flicker and go out. These were terrible moments for the people of Ember. As they came to a halt in the middle of the street or stood stock-still in their houses, afraid to move in the utter blackness, they were reminded of something they preferred not to think about: that someday the lights of the city might go out and never come back on.”

Out of all the young adult literature I have read recently, The City of Ember was my least favorite. After seeing the movie, which follows the book closely, the whole story is a rather anti-climatic experience. Oh, certainly there are a few differences (for example, the time spent in the book talking about the main character Lina’s hobby of drawing), but most of them are minor. This led to there being no real surprises for me in the book, while lacking the kind of depth of character, language, and theme that could have replaced the suspense of experiencing a new plot. Nevertheless, the story is a lot of fun, the language if not mind-blowingly original is still decent enough writing, and the idea is a generally original take on science fiction.

A great tragedy has struck the earth so that scientists known as the enigmatic builders created a city underground to save the human race. However, this solution was meant to be only temporary; the instructions for evacuation procedures have been lost over time. The time to evacuate has long expired. The City of Ember is falling apart. Desperation spreads among the populace over the dearth of food and supplies, the black-outs grow more frequent, and everyone fears that the power may soon fail for good, leaving the city in permenant darkness. The corrupt politicians have no answers, hording prized goods in secret and growing fat on the fruits of their theft.

Lina and Doon, two childhood friends, understand the problems facing their city better than most adults. Doon wants to do everything in his power to find a way to save the city. When Lina finds a message that may have been written by the builders, she teams up with Doon to find a way to escape the City of Ember and save its residents from impending doom, even as the government works to stop them.

The story does a nice job capturing the corrupt politician, that most unholy of characters who follows human beings across different times, lands, and cultures, even into the very heart of the earth itself. It is also interesting to note that the troubles of the people above the earth parallels the city’s current troubles. Human beings build Ember as a way of surviving hard times, the fear of ultimate destruction at the hands of nuclear war, while the residents of Ember who overstay their welcome in the temporary city also fear that the end will soon arrive with the failing of the lights: we briefly hear the fears of a civilization on the brink of destruction in the beginning–presumably our own–only to return two hundred years later to find the solution to that problem transformed into a new civilization on the brink of destruction for different reasons. It is a stark reminder of how quickly civilizations can come and go, implying that the human race must continually strive for progress in order to survive, a testament reflected in the much stronger theme of Lina and Doon’s story itself as two individuals struggling against society to stake new ground that will lead to their survival. The story makes clear that Lina and Doon are to be admired because they do no sink into corruption as a response to impending doom like the mayor or Lina’s friend Lizzie or passively waiting for the government to fix the problems like most of the other residents in the city, but rather they take initiative to finding the solution to the city’s problem themselves. DuPrau demonstrates some intelligent structuring of her plot and themes, each complementing the other, making up for the fact that she is not exactly an amazing wordsmith (though, a servicable one).

The real magic, however, is in the world-building itself. A city of light in a world of perpetual darkness plays on our childhood fears and reminds us how much we take the sun for granted. A reader cannot help shivering at the thought of being left without light in the middle of the earth to rot away in the dark; the consequences to the citizens is genuinely frightening. The deeper charm of the story relies in sharing the naivette of the citizens of Ember, who do not understand the principles of electricity or photosynthesis, but know that these things work in their everyday lives. The culture fascinates with its adaptations to the limitations: recipes for canned foods (no protein from meat), vitamins as daily supplements, jobs picked randomly out of a hat based off the city’s needs, red-coated messengers who serve as the city’s primary form of communication. We even have a religion that worships the builders of the City of Embers; they sing hymns, dance, and believe that soon the builders will return to take them away from Ember and that the blackouts are merely a sign of their coming. There are so many nice and convincing touches to this world that you’re instantly drawn into the story. Most importantly we have both a male and female protagonist with which the reader can identify.

City of Ember
★★ / ★★★★

This is the kind of film that would’ve benefited if it had a longer running time and a bit less family-friendly so it could explore its darker undertones. Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway star as Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, respectively, who try to find a way out of Ember, a city illuminated by artificial light. After two hundred years, the generator was beginning to fail so the two must find a way out or everyone in Ember will perish in darkness. Although the premise sounds adventurous, I don’t think Jeanne Duprau’s book was fully realized on screen. I felt like Gil Kenan, the director, held back a lot of the time in order for younger kids to enjoy the film as much as the adults. As a result, we get a motion that looks grimy, menacing and depressing but when one takes a look at the big picture, it’s ultimately safe and empty. Although I did like the partnership between Ronan and Treadaway, it’s hard for me to like the movie as a whole because it doesn’t have much heart since it’s afraid to take risks when it comes to tackling certain emotions. Even the presence of Bill Murray (as the corrupt mayor) and Tim Robbins (as Doon’s father) did not make up for the movie’s shortcomings. I felt like there were a lot of details in the book about these two characters that didn’t quite make it or translate on film. With a longer running time, I felt like the two characters would’ve been established stronger, such as their motivations and their roles when it comes to knowing (or not knowing) information about Ember. Overall, this is a disjointed fantasy adventure that could’ve been so much better if more details were incorporated from the book. This is a prime example of a money-driven movie studio having more influence in the project than people (such as the book’s author) who actually care about the story being accurately executed from the primary source.

I’d been looking forward to seeing City of Ember ever since I watched the trailer. I’m a sci-fi and fantasy fan, I love inventive set design and costuming, and I’m a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic. Plus, Bill Murray! Of course, I hate going to the movies, so I had to wait until I could rent it to watch.

I’m not familiar with the book by Jeanne DuPrau, but was happy to learn that it is a four-book series. I may have to pick those up after Im finished with my current reading.

I get the impression that City of Ember is geared toward children. As such, it does come upon several problems that children’s movies have. The world of Ember is obviously complex, but many of these complexities are glossed over or skipped outright because movie execs think kids (and adults) are stupid and “won’t get” complicated concepts. The pace of the film is very fast, and while we get glimpses into the odd societal structure built by an unground city with few natural resources, we never really get into the intricacies of any of them.

Bill Murray plays the Mayor of Ember, the highest ranking official in the city. He does a great job with the greedy, complacent leader prone to cronyism. He’s not over the top, not cartoonishly mean… just a jerky bureaucrat who is up to no good. Again, the movie skips over any motivation the mayor may have for his behavior. Is it in the book? I don’t know… yet.

All the acting is great. I was never taken out of the story based on strange lines, bad acting, or massive plot holes. The story unraveled in an engaging and enjoyable way, and the actors playing Doon and Lina prove once again that young actors can be good and still seem like children, and can carry a story realistically.

City of Ember is beautiful to watch. The set design and costuming are fantastic and believable. The retro style that the filmmakers employed (Nixie Tube counters, massive amounts of what appeared to be Futura typeface, lots of dials and switches) work well. The minimal CGI is good, not great, but certainly not distracting.

If anything, I could do with the movie being a half hour longer. They perhaps would have had time to get into some of the meat of Ember. As it stands, things like a quasi-religious cult, the socialist structure of the city, and the incentives of a few characters are left out. Whether those things were left out to make it a shorter, simpler movie for children, I don’t know.

Worth A Rent? I liked it, and I would watch it again. It’s fun, it has decent action, and everything visual in the film was excellent. I was not disappointed, though I was left wanting more.

“Al crecer sin ningún conocimiento del mundo exterior, evitaremos a las generaciones futuras el tremendo dolor por lo que han perdido”

Saben esa sensación donde uno está esperando ansioso algo, la excitación, la emoción, los nervios y la impaciencia, para finalmente la explosión de placer al ver recompensada la espera con ese algo tan valioso. Esto es exactamente lo que ocurre con esta película, pero con la salvedad, que en vez de darnos lo que estamos esperando, nos quedamos con esa sensación inicial incluso una vez superados los títulos de créditos. Lo cual lo convierte en una sensación de frustración, ira, rabia y tedio.

Lina y Doon

City of Ember es una película con una gran cantidad de puntos a favor, en cuanto a una película de aventuras adolescentes se refiere. Todo lo bueno que tiene: una ambientación genial, una serie de monstruos, inventos estrafalarios y llenos de cables y metal, Bill Murray y Tim Robbins, un mundo fantástico del cual quieres descubrirlo todo, un misterio, y una meta. Vamos, la combinación para haber dardo el petardazo y ser un film de aventuras digno de la estantería de cualquiera. Por el contrario, todo ello lo destroza con una historia donde parece que nunca se termina de alcanzar el clímax para contarnos un final explosivo, y parece que nunca se llegue, con esto lo que han conseguido es que durante los tres primeros cuartos de la película estés un poco desconcertado por no saber de que va lo que estás viendo, pero fascinado por todo lo que lo rodea, y por tanto ansioso de saber cual será el gran final. Al llegar al último tercio sospechas que te pueden haber dado gato por liebre, y el ansia se convierte en desesperación al ver como no hay nada más allá de lo que ves. La historia está diluida, sin fuerza, y acaba siendo aburrida como ella sola.

City of Ember es una película que lo podría haber tenido todo, y acabo no teniendo nada. Una verdadera pena y una gran decepción.

*****

Página oficial

Ficha IMDB

Título: City of Ember. En busca de la luz.

Título original: City of Ember.

Año: 2008

Duración: 95′

Director: Gil Kenan

Escrito: Caroline Thompson y Jeanne Duprau

Reparto: Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Martin Landau, B.J. Hogg, David Ryall, Ian McElhinney, Lucinda Dryzek y Toby Jones

Sometimes I like nothing better than a good work of juvenile fiction. It is so satisfyingly pleasant to spend an afternoon reading an entire Harry Potter book. When looking for light reading material. I would take juvenile fiction any day over a ”chick lit” novel involving babies or boyfriends or shopping. (Why do those books always end up on the “Summer Beach Reading” lists? If I read that drivel at the beach, I’d end up throwing it into the ocean.)

Last weekend, I saw City of Ember and LOVED it. Since then I’ve discovered that it was adapted from a book by Jeanne DuPrau. Here’s the plot summary: “When mankind is about to come to an end, a group of scientists decide to create and populate a city deep underground. The city of Ember is to last for 200 years after which its inhabitants are to retrieve from a strong box instructions to return to the surface. Over time however, the message is lost and life in Ember is rapidly deteriorating. Their power supply is failing and food is being rationed. It’s left to two young adults to unearth the secret of Ember and to lead the way out.”  This is a great tale of a post-apocalyptic society full of hardship, political corruption, and individual resourcefulness. It gives me hope for future generations that topics like these are being explored by authors of books for the 9-12 age group.

DuPrau has since written a sequel and a prequel to City of Ember, which I was very excited to learn, since this was one of those movies where I was sad when it ended. I might have to read those in hopes that they too will become movies before too long.

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

In the year 241, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions.

from www.nancykeane.com

Excellent book

Adoro la letteratura per ragazzi, e di conseguenza spero sempre in adattamenti per lo meno non-indecenti, che ti facciano venire voglia di approfondire il discorso, magari leggendo il libro originale. Ember ci è riuscito.

Non è La bussola d’oro, non è neanche Harry Potter, però Jeanne Duprau scrive una storia cupa ma altrettanto forte, e Gil Kenan la traduce in una città che ricorda Midgar di Final Fantasy VII, o l’incubo di Waterworld. Cos’è successo alla civiltà umana per nascondersi laggiù? Perchè ci sono insetti e animali così grossi? Com’è la vita sotterranea di quella povera gente? Chi sono i protagonisti, da dove vengono, cosa faranno una volta fuori?

A tutte le domande qua sopra non viene data una risposta precisa (perfetto..), la trama è in generale un susseguirsi di eventi e di scene che rendono bene lo sviluppo dell’intreccio e la fuga dei protagonisti. Godibile, accattivante, sì, mi è piaciuto.

Un apprezzamento infine al ruolo del padre Tim Robbins, decisamente meno a quello del sindaco Bill Murray (che però si agita un po’ di più del solito, almeno), e dico, alla ragazzina, ma comecavolofai a fidarti di uno con la faccia di Toby Jones?!?

Piesse: spesi 55 milioni di dollari, incassati 17. Non ci sarà nessun sequel, non avrò alcuna risposta alla mie curiosità. Facciamo finta che sia una sottile tecnica di marketing per far andare a comprare il libro, và…

Book #3 of 2009 was an odd little tale called The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau.  This was a Christmas gift from a friend of mine, and I admit, this was a book I judged entirely by its cover.  I thought it was pretty, and I wanted it.  Maybe not the best criteria for wanting a book, but it didn’t really stop me.

I can’t say this was the best book I’ve ever read.  There are a few things about it that I just frankly didn’t understand, but to tell them to you would spoil some things, so I won’t.  But maybe that’s only because I’ve only read this one?  There are at least, I believe, four novels in the series.  I didn’t even realize, really, that it was also made into a film just last year—somehow I missed that entirely.

That said… this book has some very interesting concepts in it, and a couple of fantastic characters, to boot.  I especially liked the main character’s baby sister, Poppy.  One of my literature professors once pointed out (in a William Carlos Williams class—see White Mule) that writing about babies and small animals is both very difficult and very rare to find well done, and I thought Poppy was just a wonderful portrayal of a toddler.  She was almost the most believable character in the whole novel.  Not that her sister Lina and Lina’s friend Doon weren’t believable, but occasionally there was a bit of a cartoonish feel to the novel.  As I read, I was actually constantly going back and forth between imagining these characters as real people and as some sort of animated movie, which I don’t think has ever happened to me before, as a reader.  It was actually very interesting, and I don’t know quite what caused it.  Some of the background characters—especially the not-so-nice ones—are a bit Roald Dahl-ish, though, so maybe that’s a good part of it.

I’m kind of interested in how this book has had so much buzz and non-buzz about it.  Everyone seems to have heard of it, or at least seen it, but almost no one really knows what it’s really about, or maybe that’s just my experience with it.  I really do think that this has a lot to do with it’s lovely cover.  The whole series has really lovely covers, actually.  Maybe you’re not supposed to judge a book by how it’s packaged… but it sure does have some draw over us, doesn’t it?

P.S.  Wren & Marnie updated – I know they blog late at night… but hey, they’re in college, that’s just how it works.

Ember is a self-contained city, constructed over 200 years ago by “the Builders.” It is the only known settlement of humankind in a world of total darkness. The story begins after the construction of the city. Two of the Builders discuss what will happen when supplies run low and conditions become bad. They leave instructions for the citizens in a special sealed box which will open automatically after 200 years when it should be safe to leave the city. The box is entrusted to the Mayors of Ember, who each pass it down to the successive Mayor as they take office. While the Mayors do not know the contents of the box they are told to keep it safe over the years and to not tell anyone else about it. Over time the box is lost and forgotten. The story then shifts to the year 241 in Ember, after the box had quietly opened. Power outages have become common. No one knows how much longer the generator will last. In addition, supplies are dwindling, and the city seems to be falling apart. Lina and Doon live in Ember, a secluded city that runs on power provided by the river under ember.  These two children have finished school and are ready for their first jobs. Lina lives with her frail grandmother and her baby sister. She gets the job as messenger and looks forward to running around ember and meeting new people. Doon gets the  pipeworks job, near the generators. Doon is excited, for he feels this might be his big chance (if he can fix the generator) to prove himself. Later Lina finds an ancient-looking document that was chewed up by her sister. With the help of Doon, she manages to decode the message. They find a way out of ember, but they will need to convince the rioting citizens first…

This is a general fiction book that will appeal to any capable reader. Jeanne DuPrau has created an unbelievably realistic environment in her book, and this is an extremely imaginative book that stresses immesurably important values that should be present in any child. I highly recommend this book to any child above 8 who enjoys reading.

Books à Gogo Rating: 9/10

Réalisé par : Gil Kenan ; Ecrit par : Caroline Thompson, d’après le roman de Jeanne Duprau. Avec : Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Mackenzie Crook, Mary Kay Place, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Liz Smith, Lucinda Dryzek, Martin Landau, Toby Jones, Tim Robbins. Année : 2008.

Depuis des générations, les habitants de la cité d’Ember mènent une vie harmonieuse sous les millions de lumières qui illuminent leur cité souterraine. Pourtant, depuis quelque temps, les coupures se multiplient et face à la nuit qui menace, tous commencent à s’inquiéter. Leur survie est en jeu…

Pas particulièrement d’envie particulière, j’opte pour City Of Ember (ou La Cité de L’Ombre) pour faire passer la soirée, et éviter à me retrouver à l’arrivée à avoir perdu mon temps à surfer sur le web sans but précis. Au moins, quelque chose de concret se sera passé.

Nous voici donc avec une adaptation d’un roman de fantasy pour jeunesse. La fantasy pour adulte, cela doit coûter trop cher en droits d’auteur, je ne vois pas d’autres explications à ce phénomène (la grosse hypocrite que je suis là…). Je dois bien dire que, malgré son casting, j’ai trouvé que le film n’avait bénéficié que de très peu de promo. Il n’y avait pas d’argent pour le financer, avec un budget de 38 millions de dollars, c’est du ciné indé pour de la fantasy.

Passons là-dessus, le film fait amplement passer la soirée. Il a une esthétique travaillée, un casting assez convaincant, mais – bah oui, il y a un mais – un manque d’aventure certain. Il tarde à démarrer sans que cela soit trop gênant. C’est plaisant à suivre. Seulement, au fond, malgré le décor, l’évasion n’est pas totale. Peut être est-ce la difficulté d’accorder tous les violons : le côté familial, avec celui de l’aventure, de la fantasy-sf, et du message écologique et social du film. Je dirais pour faire simple qu’on échoue à faire ressentir de l’émotion, ce qui pourtant fait la force du genre. Le film aurait bien gagné à être plus long, pour le développement des personnages, pour étoffer l’univers et l’intrigue. L’exemple assez concret pour moi est le personnage de Bill Murray, fort caricatural d’un univers de jeunesse.

City Of Ember offre quand même un moment sympathique et détendant, et quitte à coller la jeunesse devant des films, il me semble que celui est très bien pour eux, et agréable à voir.

Verdict :

(je commence à penser que c’est ma note préférée)

Sur le web : une cagette à moitié pleine de tomates fraiches, la critique de FilmDeCulte (pour toi, Tink!), la critique de ygrael.

Antes de mais nada, gostaria de deixar claro que há muito tempo eu não assistia a um filme tão interessante. Não sei se o fato de não ter acompanhado a produção, que me levou a não guardar expectativas, tiveram a ver com a minha opinião sobre o filme, o que importa é que vi e gostei muito.

Eu acho super interessante quando acabamos de asssitir um filme e começamos a procurar coisas sobre ele. No início dos créditos, no final do filme, eu li que ele se baseava em um livro. Durante todo o tempo assistindo-o pensei: caramba isso daria um senhor livro. E não é, então, que veio de um? Me pus a procurar e encontrei algo interessante – viu, taí as coisas interessantes que encontramos quando pesquisamos mais a fundo um filme. O livro tem continuações. Não vou dar spoiler, mas o filme acaba com tanto gosto de quero mais que saber dessa informação é um alívio.

A autora do livro, Jeanne DuPrau, criou um mundo, ou uma cidade pra quem assim preferir, onde, além de mínima, depende de um gerador para dar ao habitantes a luz/eletricidade/energia que necessitam. Esse lugar se encontra à baixo de nossos pés, alguns bons metros à baixo do solo. Isso já torna a coisa toda interessante, porém, os detalhes que seguem a história criam uma melhor extrutura. Existem elementos de drama, suspense e uma comédia hilária provida pelo mestre – eu assino embaixo – Bill Murray. Nada escrachado, e sim aquela comédia que só ele sabe dar a Ghost Busters, por exemplo. Ele vive o prefeito da cidade, que mais está preocupado em garantir sua sobrevivência junto a uma boa e farta vida. Mas, pelo que entendi, ele apenas se acomodou, pois nada tinha a fazer já que uma caixa, onde estavam as coordenadas/informações para serem usadas em caso de emergência havia sumido. Essa caixa era passada de prefeito para prefeito, sendo que algo aconteceu com um deles e essa caixa ficou escondida até o dia de se destrancar – o relógio estava ajustado para abrir em 200 anos.

Dentre o elenco principal estão dois adolescentes. Saoirse Ronan (Desejo e Reparação), que interpreta Lina e Harry Treadaway, que interpreta Doon. Lina é uma mensageira. Ela leva mensagens às pessoas da cidade ao custo de 20 centavos – eu não faço a menor idéia de como é feito o dinheiro por lá, não mostrou. Ela foi parente do 7º prefeito da cidade, o prefeito que deixou que a caixa se perdesse. Doon é o filho de um homem, vivido por Tim Robins, cujo qual não sei lhes dizer se é um encanador ou um eletricista. Após conseguir se tornar encanador, descobre que seu pai havia tentado sair da cidade junto com um amigo, mas que a tentativa havia falhado, pois eles não tinham informações suficientes. Lina e Doon possuem a informação que falta e vão atrás da saída de Ember, a cidade das sombras.

Como eu já mencionei, existem continuações do livro. Até onde sei são três constinuações. Quatro filmes não seriam necessários, mas três acho que valeriam muito a pena. Ainda mais abordando as descobertas de um novo mundo completamente desconhecido. Os livros se chamam: The City Of Ember, The People Of Sparks, The Prophet Of Yonwood e The Diamond Of Darkhold.

No Brasil apenas o primeiro tem tradução até agora, mas eu sinceramente espero que logo os demais sejam publicados. O primeiro é da eidtora Nova Fronteira – pelo menos a edição de 2005 – e possui 224 páginas.

Sobre o filme, me voltando para o conteúdo técnico, posso dizer que  impressiona na simplicidade do cenário da cidade que se olharmos com cuidado enxergamos muitos detalhes, principalmente nos edifícios. O figurino também é simples e carrega a idéia de que viveremos de trapos no futuro. O roteiro ficou gostoso, nem muito pesado e nem muito banal, mas como ele foi adaptado do livro e ainda não o li, fica difícil dizer se teve um bom resultado como adaptação. O elenco ficou bom, agradável e convincente – a não ser que uma menininha de 2 anos de idade não conte como café-com-leite. A direção de Gil Kenan (A Casa Monstro) foi boa, manteve um nível apurado para um gênero que geralmente leva fama de “infanto-juvenil”.

Não posso deixar de comentar a minha maior fobia durante o filme. Existem insetos gigantes que as vezes aparecem na cidade. Esses insetos são de fora da cidade, e fora da cidade se encontra um lugar bastante modificado da Terra atual. Não fisicamente, mas biologicamente.

Enfim, que venha o segundo filme. Eu sinceramente espero uma boa recepção do público. Minha segunda boa surpresa do ano. Comecei bem.

Jeanne Duprau
City of Ember
270 pages
Yearling, 2003

Story: Lina and Doon are worried that their underground city will soon run out of supplies and that there are certain things the Mayor isn’t telling the citizens of Ember. All the light in the city comes from lamps and floodlights that have to be turned on and shut off every day. When they are turned off, the city is completely dark, with no stars, sun, or moon. The electricity in the city comes from an ancient hydro-electric generator in the underground Pipeworks. Lina and Doon notice that there are more and more “blackouts” recently when all the lights shut off in the middle of the day, they try to uncover the secrets hidden in the Pipeworks and find their way to a city beyond Ember.

Main Character: The main characters are Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, two 12-year-olds. The story alternates with every other chapter being from one of the main characters point’s of view. They are two young people just entering the world of work in the underground city of Ember. They draw their jobs from a bag (much like jobs that are assigned in The Giver) All the books in the library have been written by hand by residents of Ember except “The Book of Ember”, “The Book of Letters” and “The Book of Numbers.”

Audience: Anyone who likes fantasy that “maybe could happen.” It is in a class with other great books like The Giver and Anthem. This is a story that encourages young people to find the truth out for themselves and to not take knowledge for granted.

Comments: I loved this book! I loved that there were both a female and male character but that you are free to identify with whichever one you want. The way the city is described is so neat you feel like it could really exist. The politics of the story are also fascinating, after reading City of Ember be ready for great conversations about society and censorship.

Discussion Questions:
#1 Have half the class read City of Ember and the other half read The Giver by Lois Lowry, have them switch and then compare and contrast the two stories. Use this as an introduction to alternative types of societies.
#2 If there is a lot of interest in the story you could also introduce Anthem by Ayn Rand as a book that delves even more deeply into similar themes.
#3 Think about everyday objects that are scarce or nonexistent in Ember, like certain foods or crayons and pens. The residents of Ember have to reuse and recycle everything in order for life to go on but they continue to operate a somewhat capitalistic society (supply and demand and other similar ideas apply) what would our lives be like if there was nothing new and we had to build our lives out of old, discarded objects?
#4 Create a map of the different places in Ember (have students work on a large map by piecing smaller maps together) recreate Lina and Doon’s journey, and for effect have a few “blackouts” while you are trying to navigate their progress on the map!
#5 Create a message that is a secret code, have students decode the message like Lina and Doon did to find out where the exit out of Ember was.
#6 Have students draw from a list of jobs like Lina and Doon were forced to in the story.