2018 -- The Emerald Year
Jan. 9th, 2018 12:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blackeiderdownI have just learned how fallible my childhood memories are.
In elementary, I borrowed The Emerald City of Oz from my school library. Their edition had color illustrations with shiny green ink.
I just purchased an edition of The Emerald City of Oz that should have also contained similar illustrations. When I picked up the book, I thought that the illustrations lacked the metallic green ink. In particular, the illustration of Dorothy holding a broom seemed drab in comparison to the illustration that I remembered seeing in the school library book.
Bad advertising provokes my ire. Even the book's afterword highlights its similarity to the 1910 first edition.
I have revised my opinion since I acquired the novel. Both the cover and the illustration of Auntie Em staring down the Cowardly Lion shimmer a bit. The afterword also mentions 'gold glitter'...It might appear in the washes?
So, either A) I have an erroneous memory (which is likely) or B) the publisher has changed how much ink that they layer on specific illustrations in the last 20 years.
I like the version in my memories better. At the same time, I have difficulty justifying sending an email to the publisher about missing ink.
On another note, what does my choice of book for 2018 mean?
Some of my favorite plot points include the following:
Some possible interpretations include
In elementary, I borrowed The Emerald City of Oz from my school library. Their edition had color illustrations with shiny green ink.
I just purchased an edition of The Emerald City of Oz that should have also contained similar illustrations. When I picked up the book, I thought that the illustrations lacked the metallic green ink. In particular, the illustration of Dorothy holding a broom seemed drab in comparison to the illustration that I remembered seeing in the school library book.
Bad advertising provokes my ire. Even the book's afterword highlights its similarity to the 1910 first edition.
I have revised my opinion since I acquired the novel. Both the cover and the illustration of Auntie Em staring down the Cowardly Lion shimmer a bit. The afterword also mentions 'gold glitter'...It might appear in the washes?
So, either A) I have an erroneous memory (which is likely) or B) the publisher has changed how much ink that they layer on specific illustrations in the last 20 years.
I like the version in my memories better. At the same time, I have difficulty justifying sending an email to the publisher about missing ink.
On another note, what does my choice of book for 2018 mean?
Some of my favorite plot points include the following:
- Auntie Em and Uncle Henry move to Oz. They experience a bit of culture shock.
- Ozma sends Dorothy on a diplomatic mission to survey Oz. Dorothy encounters communities of creatures that have yet to even hear of Ozma and refuse to acknowledge her sovereignty.
- The gnomes dig a tunnel under the deadly desert that surrounds Oz and aim to invade. Oz "defeats" them when they drink from a fountain of youth that erases memories.
- To prevent future invasions, Oz cuts itself off from the world. Their magic presumably keeps modern technology from locating the country. (Oz might be getting our satellite and radio transmissions, though. X) )
Some possible interpretations include
- Moral of the story: We have to become like children to find peace.
- Political takeaway I: Sometimes live and let live is better, tax income be damned.
- Political takeaway II: If you build a wall to prevent future invasions, the gnomes will dig underneath it.