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rebeccazh's review
4.0
Absolutely fascinating. I didn't know reading about genres could be so interesting. Gail Carriger deconstructs the Hero and Heroine's Journey and uses pop culture examples, and goes in depth to provide writing advice and analysis of the Heroine's Journey. In short, the Hero's Journey defines success as (solitary) victory, triumph, power (Batman); it generates feelings of excitement for readers. Narrative endpoints often see the hero alone or so changed from the journey he can no longer return (Frodo).
The Heroine's journey defines success as connection, belonging, family (blood or found); it generates feelings of comfort for readers. Narrative endpoints often see the heroine with community, family, friends, etc. Think Harry Potter, or the typical romance novel trajectory. Detective novels also fall under this category, which does make a lot of sense to me.
Carriger talked about crossovers between the two genres, which was very fascinating and illuminating. And honestly this explained to me why I like the books I like, because of the feeling of comfort and connection.
I lowkey kind of wish this was a bit more concise but nonetheless, I managed to read the whole book continuously despite being in a reading slump. How do I find more books like this...
The Heroine's journey defines success as connection, belonging, family (blood or found); it generates feelings of comfort for readers. Narrative endpoints often see the heroine with community, family, friends, etc. Think Harry Potter, or the typical romance novel trajectory. Detective novels also fall under this category, which does make a lot of sense to me.
Carriger talked about crossovers between the two genres, which was very fascinating and illuminating. And honestly this explained to me why I like the books I like, because of the feeling of comfort and connection.
I lowkey kind of wish this was a bit more concise but nonetheless, I managed to read the whole book continuously despite being in a reading slump. How do I find more books like this...
tiarala's review against another edition
5.0
Carriger's one of my favorite writers and an absolute expert on the heroine's journey. Lessons in writing this journey by her are a gift. As a writer, I'll be coming back to these lessons over and over.
This is a book I've been seeking for years and I'm so grateful for it.
Fair warning, a lot of the comparisons in this book reference the story structure in the Potterverse, so if that will bother you despite Carriger's inclusiveness in all of her writing, maybe this isn't for you. Just pass on it.
This is a book I've been seeking for years and I'm so grateful for it.
Fair warning, a lot of the comparisons in this book reference the story structure in the Potterverse, so if that will bother you despite Carriger's inclusiveness in all of her writing, maybe this isn't for you. Just pass on it.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
3.0
I was really looking forward to reading Carriger's foray into nonfiction, especially as her book focuses on both literary analysis and writing craft. But the book itself turned out to be rather disappointing. It reads like the notes to several conference presentations/talks, rather than the more in-depth exploration I was expecting from a book-length work. The tone is breezy and jokey, the information often repetitive, and the framework applied to everything, whether it fits or no. Perhaps because I was expecting a more serious book, I was majorly underwhelmed.
Carriger's key insight, though, is vitally important. An alternative to the archetypal masculine hero's journey, as theorized by Joseph Campbell, certainly exists in popular culture, in the form of what she has chosen to call the "heroine's journey," a narrative framework that is not about solitary achievement through violent struggle but rather group achievement, through networking and connecting and sharing the workload. And said archetypal journey has been traditionally disparaged and denigrated by those inculcated into the universality of the hero's journey (can you say "patriarchy"?). So those who, like Carriger, write the "heroine's journey" should stand up and be proud feminists, not cower in embarrassment because our protagonists aren't "heroic" enough.
I think my annoyances with the content of the book stem from the fact that I taught college classes on the Fantasy genre, so I'm familiar with both the Campbellian hero's journey, as well as feminist responses to it. Feminist literary critics have been writing about the heroine's journey for a while now: see Annis Pratt's 1981 book, Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction [b:Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction|1255043|Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction|Annis Pratt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383166884l/1255043._SX50_.jpg|1243821], or Clarissa Pinkola Estés' 1992 Women Who Run with the Wolves [b:Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype|241823|Women Who Run With the Wolves Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype|Clarissa Pinkola Estés|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500974527l/241823._SY75_.jpg|981745] for two examples. So Carriger's argument won't be as novel to literary critics as it may be to those outside the academy.
I was annoyed by the fact that Carriger decided to call this framework the "heroine's" journey; it required her to have to keep reminding readers that despite its name, a "heroine's journey" could be made by a man, or a woman, or a nonbinary person. Over and over again. Obviously, she was responding to Campbell's far more famous "hero's journey," but if she was going to be subversive, she might have renamed them both to de-couple these patterns from gender. Or at least talked more about what is at stake when we label one pattern the "hero's journey," and the other the "heroine's journey."
I was also annoyed that Carriger doesn't work very closely with Campbell's monomyth, but more with a bastardized popularization of it (or, the way she sees it playing out in popular culture). Campbell's monomyth, unlike the more simplified hero's journey Carriger describes, does not end in isolation. Campbell's hero returns from his journey able to use the wisdom he learned on his quest, and often shares his wisdom or boon with his society. But in order for her message of hero's journey = male working alone, heroine's journey = woman working with others, Campbell's more nuanced framework has to fall by the wayside.
I also felt that many of the books she uses to explain the heroine's journey could just have easily be analyzed using the hero's journey, depending on which aspects of a book one emphasized, and which ones one ignored (Harry Potter, for example). The limits of such an overly broad framework, perhaps? Archetypal criticism fell out of favor in academic circles in the 1990s, if not earlier, as it was seen as too limiting, too totalizing, too willing to ignore the historically specific.
Finally, from a writer's standpoint, the book was rather lacking in a discussion of HOW to apply the beats of a heroine's story to one's own writing. Or how to combine the two. One chapter with 10 pretty basic techniques, techniques that seemed best suited to writing fantasy than to any other fiction subgenre, did not satisfy me as a writer of romance.
Still, despite all my annoyances with the book, I think it will be helpful and energizing for many writers who are unfamiliar with archetypal literary criticism beyond pop cultural understandings of the hero's quest, and who would rather write about building community than fighting the battles before community can be created.
Carriger's key insight, though, is vitally important. An alternative to the archetypal masculine hero's journey, as theorized by Joseph Campbell, certainly exists in popular culture, in the form of what she has chosen to call the "heroine's journey," a narrative framework that is not about solitary achievement through violent struggle but rather group achievement, through networking and connecting and sharing the workload. And said archetypal journey has been traditionally disparaged and denigrated by those inculcated into the universality of the hero's journey (can you say "patriarchy"?). So those who, like Carriger, write the "heroine's journey" should stand up and be proud feminists, not cower in embarrassment because our protagonists aren't "heroic" enough.
I think my annoyances with the content of the book stem from the fact that I taught college classes on the Fantasy genre, so I'm familiar with both the Campbellian hero's journey, as well as feminist responses to it. Feminist literary critics have been writing about the heroine's journey for a while now: see Annis Pratt's 1981 book, Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction [b:Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction|1255043|Archetypal Patterns in Women's Fiction|Annis Pratt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383166884l/1255043._SX50_.jpg|1243821], or Clarissa Pinkola Estés' 1992 Women Who Run with the Wolves [b:Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype|241823|Women Who Run With the Wolves Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype|Clarissa Pinkola Estés|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500974527l/241823._SY75_.jpg|981745] for two examples. So Carriger's argument won't be as novel to literary critics as it may be to those outside the academy.
I was annoyed by the fact that Carriger decided to call this framework the "heroine's" journey; it required her to have to keep reminding readers that despite its name, a "heroine's journey" could be made by a man, or a woman, or a nonbinary person. Over and over again. Obviously, she was responding to Campbell's far more famous "hero's journey," but if she was going to be subversive, she might have renamed them both to de-couple these patterns from gender. Or at least talked more about what is at stake when we label one pattern the "hero's journey," and the other the "heroine's journey."
I was also annoyed that Carriger doesn't work very closely with Campbell's monomyth, but more with a bastardized popularization of it (or, the way she sees it playing out in popular culture). Campbell's monomyth, unlike the more simplified hero's journey Carriger describes, does not end in isolation. Campbell's hero returns from his journey able to use the wisdom he learned on his quest, and often shares his wisdom or boon with his society. But in order for her message of hero's journey = male working alone, heroine's journey = woman working with others, Campbell's more nuanced framework has to fall by the wayside.
I also felt that many of the books she uses to explain the heroine's journey could just have easily be analyzed using the hero's journey, depending on which aspects of a book one emphasized, and which ones one ignored (Harry Potter, for example). The limits of such an overly broad framework, perhaps? Archetypal criticism fell out of favor in academic circles in the 1990s, if not earlier, as it was seen as too limiting, too totalizing, too willing to ignore the historically specific.
Finally, from a writer's standpoint, the book was rather lacking in a discussion of HOW to apply the beats of a heroine's story to one's own writing. Or how to combine the two. One chapter with 10 pretty basic techniques, techniques that seemed best suited to writing fantasy than to any other fiction subgenre, did not satisfy me as a writer of romance.
Still, despite all my annoyances with the book, I think it will be helpful and energizing for many writers who are unfamiliar with archetypal literary criticism beyond pop cultural understandings of the hero's quest, and who would rather write about building community than fighting the battles before community can be created.
emilyrandolph_epstein's review against another edition
5.0
A fantastic addition to any writer's or reader's toolbox. Simultaneously informative and engaging, this guide to the Heroine's Journey is something I'll keep in mind whenever I set out to write something new. It's already helped me figure out how one story is broken and I'm so looking forward to using what I've learnt in my writing moving forward.
nikshelby's review against another edition
5.0
2020 Oct: Brilliant analysis and explanation of a structure that we all love - but didn't know that we knew...
Most books on the craft of story primarily focus on Campbell's "Hero's Journey."
However, that is not the only "chassis" that has provided a familiar guide over the centuries.
Ignored by scholars, misunderstood by us all, Gail Carriger has finally given us the flashlight we need to see into the dark of story structure.
I've been anticipating the release of this excellent nonfiction work for awhile...and Carriger's book has exceeded all of my expectations.
Seeking to write a novel and are unsure about the structure principles that might aid you? Read Heroine's Journey. Fan of movies, comic books, and novels - and you'd like to better understand what it is that you enjoy? Read Heroine's Journey. Seeking a scholarly work on narrative structure that is actually accessible and understandable? Read Heroine's Journey.
2020 Sept 27 - I just needed to take a moment to say just how much I’m enthralled with “Heroine’s Journey.”
I’ve been anticipating it for a few years, after listening to our favorite AuthorBeast discuss some of this narrative on a podcast. I went searching for more information - and not finding it anywhere. And then...the ever-delightful Miss Gail, herself, finally provided the guidance we needed on our quest. (and her book is a more pleasant treasure than the search of Isis!).
I haven’t completed this brilliant nonfiction yet (though I began on the day I received my preordered copy), because I’m taking my time to savor it, and take notes, and apply it to my favorite stories, and talk about it, and think about it. Anybody else need to burble like me?
Thank you, Gail Carriger, for being an author - and sharing your knowledge and talents.
Most books on the craft of story primarily focus on Campbell's "Hero's Journey."
However, that is not the only "chassis" that has provided a familiar guide over the centuries.
Ignored by scholars, misunderstood by us all, Gail Carriger has finally given us the flashlight we need to see into the dark of story structure.
I've been anticipating the release of this excellent nonfiction work for awhile...and Carriger's book has exceeded all of my expectations.
Seeking to write a novel and are unsure about the structure principles that might aid you? Read Heroine's Journey. Fan of movies, comic books, and novels - and you'd like to better understand what it is that you enjoy? Read Heroine's Journey. Seeking a scholarly work on narrative structure that is actually accessible and understandable? Read Heroine's Journey.
2020 Sept 27 - I just needed to take a moment to say just how much I’m enthralled with “Heroine’s Journey.”
I’ve been anticipating it for a few years, after listening to our favorite AuthorBeast discuss some of this narrative on a podcast. I went searching for more information - and not finding it anywhere. And then...the ever-delightful Miss Gail, herself, finally provided the guidance we needed on our quest. (and her book is a more pleasant treasure than the search of Isis!).
I haven’t completed this brilliant nonfiction yet (though I began on the day I received my preordered copy), because I’m taking my time to savor it, and take notes, and apply it to my favorite stories, and talk about it, and think about it. Anybody else need to burble like me?
Thank you, Gail Carriger, for being an author - and sharing your knowledge and talents.
jjvaldezbooks's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars rounded up. would LOVE to read a version with some more academic studies but hey, if they don't exist, they don't exist. Carriger did a great job describing the type of story I am drawn to writing and have always pulled myself away from in order to tell a Hero's Journey, and now that I've got the words for it, I feel like I can let myself go down that path and tell the story I was always actually trying to tell!
corita's review
5.0
Knocked my socks off—looking for missing sock!
I love the book! In almost every chapter, I found myself evaluating my assumptions and prejudices. Wow! Before reading this book, I had a rudimentary grasp of the heroines journey. After reading it, I came away with a deeper understanding of the heroine’s journey and why certain stories resonate with me.
I am a collector of writing books. I love them. Reread them. Some I cherish because they’ve influenced my writing and story telling.
This book is a game changer for me.
For years, I’ve wondered why I love certain stories. Sure I could see commonalities among the stories, but I have eclectic tastes and had trouble seeing the connections of all the various genres. This book opened my eyes to the structures that tie my beloved stories together.
If you’re a fiction writer or someone who likes story structure, I enthusiastically recommend this book. It’s an intriguing book.
I love the book! In almost every chapter, I found myself evaluating my assumptions and prejudices. Wow! Before reading this book, I had a rudimentary grasp of the heroines journey. After reading it, I came away with a deeper understanding of the heroine’s journey and why certain stories resonate with me.
I am a collector of writing books. I love them. Reread them. Some I cherish because they’ve influenced my writing and story telling.
This book is a game changer for me.
For years, I’ve wondered why I love certain stories. Sure I could see commonalities among the stories, but I have eclectic tastes and had trouble seeing the connections of all the various genres. This book opened my eyes to the structures that tie my beloved stories together.
If you’re a fiction writer or someone who likes story structure, I enthusiastically recommend this book. It’s an intriguing book.