Reseña: Sunshine

Rseña Bilingue.

Sunshine 

by  

Robin McKinley

 

Hardcover, 389 pages

Published September 1st 2003 by Berkley Books

ISBN:0425191788 (ISBN13: 9780425191781)

Edition Language: English

Literary Awards

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (2004)

Un solo libro. Sin traducción al castellano.

BLURB: "Sunshine” is what everyone calls her. She works long hours in her family’s coffeehouse, making her famous “Cinnamon Rolls as Big as Your Head,” Bitter Chocolate Death, Caramel Cataclysm, and other sugar-shock specials that keep the customers coming. She’s happy in her bakery which her stepfather built specially for her but sometimes she feels that she should have life outside the coffeehouse.
One evening she drives out to the lake to get away from her family, to be alone. There hasn’t been any trouble at the lake for years.
But there is trouble that night for Sunshine. But there is trouble that night for Sunshine. She is abducted by a gang of vampires
And now he needs her help to survive the day..

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What this world doesn’t have is the three-wishes, go-to-the-ball-and-meet-your-prince, happily-ever-after kind of magic. We have all the mangling and malevolent kinds. Who invented this system?

Esta es la segunda ocasión que leo Sunshine. Aparte de ser leido en mi época en que leia cualquier cosa de vampiros que caia en mis manos, tiene la gracia por decirlo asi, de ser el único libro de Mckinley que he podido llegar hasta el final; el resto quedan abandonados a las pocas páginas.

La historia central es acerca de una panadera-pastelera llamada Rae Seddon, a quien apodan "Sunshine".  Tiene 25 años, vive sola, pero trabaja en el cafe/restaurant familiar con su padrastro, mamá, su amante cocinero y motorista, y dos hermanos más jovenes. 

Esta es una suerte de realidad alternativa , donde hay 3 grandes Otros: vampiros (los más temidos), hechiceros y demonios. Hubo una gran guerra hace unos años, las Voodoo Wars, y alli cayó gran parte de la población humana, principalmente a manos de los vampiros. Además hay cambiaformas, pero no se habla mucho de ellos, de hecho todo lo acerca de lo extraño para la gente llamada 'normal' es como 'no pensemos en ellos mejor y así no nos afectará'. Seguro. Aparte, la gente usa magia en el día a día, usando protecciones en vez de cerraduras y como alarmas, pra evitar choques de vehiculos y asi. 

La ciudad es New Arcadia, y todo comienza cuando Rae se va a tomar aire al lago, donde hace muchos años sus padres tenian una casa. Alli es secuestrada por vampiros, y ella piensa que esa es su última hora. Sin embargo, ellos tenian una suerte de juego en mente y le abandonana encadenada con un vampiro que se esta muriendo de hambre y que tambien parece prisionero.

Alli, Sunshine tendrá que echar mano a viejos recuerdos casi olvidados, o tal vez a propósito olvidados para poder sobrevivir a  esa situación,

La novela no es romance. Trata el sexo en forma adulta. Y los vampiros no son romantizados, son seres aterradores y sádicos. No tienen buen aspecto, son grises y repulsivos, todos les tienen miedo y con razón.

El miedo y el estres son grandes motivadores, asi que alli sale que su padre fue un hechicero muy temido , de familia poderosa, y por eso su madre lo abandonó/huyó/escapó  eso no esta claro. Lo que sí se sabe es que su madre ha hecho todo lo posible porque Sunshine sea aburridamente normal, y hasta vegetariana. Odia la violencia y la sangre le da nauseas, y ... puede que eso que hacía con su abuela solo fueran sueños.

I knew that one of the reasons my mom had left my dad was because he wouldn’t stop doing spellworking, and doing business with other spellworkers. I knew he came from a big magic-handling family, but not everybody in it did magic. I had never done any.

Claro, seguir pretendiendo que no pasa nada no resulta cuando hay un maestro vampiro y toda su pandilla detras tuyo, por venganza, despecho, y claro por curiosidad por saber como escapaste.

 That there was a vampire—a master vampire, and his gang—after me. Specifically the ones I’d got away from two months ago, and it turns out suckers are poor losers. And persistent bastards.
That maybe I was the first bad-magic wuss in history.

Sunshine no es una heroina heroica, que dice vamos a cazarlos , sino que es una persona bastante humana. Con temor, y resquemor y deseando que eso nunca le hubiera pasado. También se habla bastante de PSTD (trastorno de estres postraumático), cuando sigue teniendo flashbacks del ataque y de su terror.

El que ella se una a Constantine, tiene sentido pues es cosa humana aferrarse al que sabes tiene fuerza y es tu aliado hasta cierto punto con algo en común: evitar morir en manos del maestro vampiro, ¿no?

Lo peor del libro es que no hay una continuación a pesar de lo mucho que se ha comentado que los lectores querrian una, y en eso me incluyo. Esto parece introductorio, como una suerte de Atlanta con Kate Daniels en sus inicios, y con algo de Morganville con eso de los viajes de los vampiros por una cuarta dimension o lo que sea que hace para saltarse de un lado a otro y lo que pasó cuando va a despertar a Constantine. Eso es muy interesante y hubiese sido mejor si lo expandiera.

Bonito es que la protagonista lea y recorra ferias buscando tomos que le faltan para su colección de novelas de horror , y su relación con el resto de la gente. Vaya, no hay slut-shaming y si aceptación. Aunque irrita un poquito eso de que no quiera ver las cosas como son, pero creo que es cosa de formación y crianza. hay mucha especulación de crianza versus genetica mencionado.

Una frase que me gustó mucho:

It does not matter if it is them or us, after a certain point. It does not matter. There are some things you cannot live with: with having done. Even to survive.

{No importa si se trata de ellos o nosotros, después de cierto punto. Eso no importa. Hay algunas cosas con las que no puedes vivir; con haberlas hecho. Incluso para sobrevivir.}

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Mi reseña original en GR:

This is my kind of book reading wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea and salty and goey snacks sort. I enjoyed it and I'm not sorry. Pity I'm short of cinnamon rolls, as in they are not around in the town bad.

But more too bad is the author never did a second book.

The story? Rae 'Sunshine' Seddon is a 25 year old woman working in the family cafe/diner as the main baker. (why this book is labeled as Y.A. by some ppl? baffled me). Her speciality are cinnamon rolls and others pastries, she works from 4 am til night. She has a biker cook boyfriend, a sort of friend with benefits.

The setting is an alternative reality where every knows, and fear, the Others: vampires, weres, demons and alike. Everybody use charms and wards, and fear other heavy magic handlers - sorcerers. This is New Arcadia after the Voodoo Wars where vampires converted a lot of people atempting dominate the world, and exterminating a lot of humans. The only protection is the sunlight, and really really onerous heavy wards. Oh, and apple wood wth mistletoe stakes (hello Sabina Kane)

The action start when Sunshine goes to her old house by the Lake, and is abducted by vampires. She thinks is her last day. But instead she is throw into a vampire power struggle where allied with the most unlikely part is the only way to survive.

Refreshing thing: These vampires are totally evil and bad, are not good looking , gray and gross, and everybody fear them and hate them with good reason.

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One of the first stories that any teenager just waking up to carnal possibilities hears about male vampires is that they can keep it up indefinitely. I personally stopped blushing after I had my first lover, and discovered that absolutely the last thing I would want in a boyfriend is a permanent hard-on.)

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Well, the story of the baker would have ended there, if it was not the case that she had something special, right?

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

I knew that one of the reasons my mom had left my dad was because he wouldn’t stop doing spellworking, and doing business with other spellworkers. I knew he came from a big magic-handling family, but not everybody in it did magic. I had never done any.

It turns out that fear and stress are great motivations.

It's not romance, but have a sort of alliance. And moreover explained but almost-death situations. And the enemy of my enemy is my... not-enemy? kind of the thing.

That there was a vampire—a master vampire, and his gang—after me. Specifically the ones I’d got away from two months ago, and it turns out suckers are poor losers. And persistent bastards.
That maybe I was the first bad-magic wuss in history.

Sunshine is not a kickass heroine, is human, has fears, and yeah the mentality of better head-in-the-sand it throwns out a little (but all the population kind of think like that to keep functioning) ; however there are enough talk of PSTD to soft that. She prefers to forgot all the bad things. I think every wants that after a really nasty situation. You try and try to pretend you don't remember and don't want to remember, and yeah maybe it was a nighmare kind of the thing. That made her very human to me.

I wish I could forget how it feels, your hair stuck to your skull with blood, foul blood running gummily down inside your clothes, invading your privacy, your decency, your humanity, till it chafes you with every breath

And I think that Constantine change her as she change him.

“My kind does not surprise easily,” he said. “You surprised me, this morning. I have thus used up my full quota of shock and consternation for some interval.”
I stared at him. “You made a joke.”
“I have heard this kind of thing may happen, to vampires who linger in the company of humans,” he said, looking and sounding particularly vampirish. “It is not a situation that has provoked much interest. And… I am not myself after a day spent in daylight.”

There are many inner struggle of genetics over nurture. She blame/congraluted her mother for raise her a boring baker gal. Because the thing that fear most is herself, what she can do with power.

A very good thing is Sunshine is a reader, of ... vampire fiction horror books. lol. I think is like popl reading about sycho murderers in our world.

And kudos to the peculiar thing of tribute to Star Trek fans, with a Sisko travel agent, lol.

The bad thing of the book is that is like an introductiory book, author think in nifty worldbuilding specially with the way of travel of vampires /SPOILERS--->the wormhole magic, teleportation thingie reminds a bit of Morganville vampires . So vampires knew about four dimension?, about other dimensions? have inner magic? so many questions <---SPOILERS/[ the wormhole magic, teleportation thingie reminds a bit of Morganville vampires . So vampires knew about four dimension?, about other dimensions? have inner magic? so many questions (hide spoiler)]

...and keep wandering about the other fears of the protagonist about inheritance and if there are still magical paternal family left.

It’s pretty amazing what you can not think about. To the extent that I thought about it at all, I missed my gran, but it was a lot simpler to be Charlie Seddon’s stepdaughter.
Outcrosses in a magic-handling family on the decline… like me… are viewed with mixed feelings. We may be salvation. We may be catastrophe. It depends on the bloodline on the other side.

It does not matter if it is them or us, after a certain point. It does not matter. There are some things you cannot live with: with having done. Even to survive.

Hey, Robin, still waiting for the next book here.

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